RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today
A POPULAR family restaurant has been shut down while health authorities investigate a mass food poisoning outbreak.
Good morning, and welcome to our morning news coverage. We will be bringing you the best of what’s happening this morning, so you can get across the news quickly.
10am
That’s it for our live #RUSHHOUR news blog. You can get across the stories you need to know today below or go to news.com.au for the latest headlines.
9.20am
Slidestreet’s giant 315m inflatable slip’n’slide has been given approval for pop ups in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney this month.
Slidestreet announced the dates yesterday on their Facebook page after a successful launch in Perth last month:
* Adelaide: Bartels Road on Sunday, January 18
* Melbourne: Lansdowne Street at Fitzroy Gardens, Saturday, January 24
* Sydney: Parkes Drive, Centennial Park, Monday, January 26 (Australia Day)
8.50am
Sydney siege Man Haron Monis reportedly threatened an Islamic school principal for “selling-out” in the same year that federal authorities stopped monitoring him.
Monis repeatedly harassed and threatened Osman Karolia, then principal of the Islamic Arkana College in Kingsgrove, for his friendliness with “infidels”.
According to Fairfax Media, objected to Mr Karolia’s fostering of an inter-school friendship with the Jewish Mount Sinai College, and that the principal organised an inter-faith Anzac Day ceremony for his students.
This was in 2009, the same year the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation dropped Monis from its terror watch list.
8.10am
Justin Bieber has been getting a lot of attention for his hot new Calvin Klein campaign but not everyone is convinced about its authenticity.
Some have questioned whether the images have been photoshopped, comparing his abs in the photos with those in the video.
Others have tweeted using #beiberbulge, suggesting his crotch looks a little more padded, when compared to screenshots of a television appearance in which he stripped to his underwear.
Beiber told Us magazine that he works out five days a week. Are you are Belieber? Judge for yourself:
This Just in. @justinbieber + @LaraStone for S15 Calvin Klein Jeans: http://t.co/RQ68bPTWJb #mycalvinshttps://t.co/NWsPxWamAW
— Calvin Klein (@CalvinKlein) January 7, 2015Where did your abs go? @justinbieber 😱💪 #photoshop #mycalvins @CalvinKlein pic.twitter.com/S4IyeSqTEA
— Whichit (@Whichitapp) January 7, 2015Bieber bulge â¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/xQRpmB7XN7
— Tamara Bosnjak (@TamaraBosnjak2) January 7, 20157.50am
One of two young Australians on death row in Indonesia has lost his final bid for Presidential clemency and is now tipped to face the firing squad.
A bid for clemency by Myuran Sukumaran has been rejected, closing the Bali Nine member’s final avenue to overturn his death sentence for drug smuggling.
A spokesman for the Denpasar District Court has confirmed that Sukumaran’s clemency bid had been denied.
There were initial reports fellow Bali Nine member Andrew Chan had also lost his bid for clemency, though the outcome of his last-ditch appeal to Indonesia’s president remains unclear.
Sukumaran, 33, and Chan, 30, have been on death row since 2006 following convictions over a plot to transport more than 8kg of heroin from Bali to Sydney.
7.25am
Terrorists are on the loose in Paris after masked men claiming to be affiliated with al-Qaeda opened fire at a French newspaper killing at least 12 people and injuring 11.
Armed with pump-action Kalashnikovs and a rocket-launcher, the gunmen stormed satirical paper Charlie Hebdo’s Paris headquarters about 11.30am on Wednesday (9:30pm AEDT Wednesday) shouting “we have avenged the Prophet” and “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the greatest) as they fired.
Click here for our rolling coverage.
7.10am
Nicole Kidman has made a hilarious appearance on The Tonight Show, leaving host Jimmy Fallon lost for words.
The Australian actor who is now married to singer Keith Urban, revealed she “liked” Fallon and arranged through a friend to meet him, but all he did was “put on a video game” and not talk.
“I don’t know if you remember this but we’ve met before,” Fallon said as he started to interview Kidman.
Fallon became so embarrassed while Kidman was recounting the story that he hid under his desk, buried his head in his hands, and even ended up lying on the couch, while Kidman stepped into the host’s seat.
7am
Health inspectors have shut down a popular family restaurant while they investigate one of the biggest food poisoning outbreaks in Queensland.
According to the Courier Mail, up to 85 people fell ill after eating at Chin Chin Chinese Restaurant at Springwood on the weekend. Some were still in hospital last night.
Queensland Health has taken samples from the patients and believe the deep-fried ice cream could have been the source of contamination.
Logan City Council has slapped a temporary closure order on the restaurant.
6.40am
A mother who killed her baby daughter and critically injured the little girl’s twin has been granted access to the surviving child and her older brother, despite the father’s expressing fears for the children’s wellbeing.
According to the Herald Sun, baby “Alex” was so badly injured by her mother that she suffered cerebral palsy and brain injuries and is confined to a wheelchair.
Twin sister “Ava’’ was killed after a series of assaults causing injuries likened to those of car crash victims.
But the mother will now be able to have supervised access to Alex and her older brother after winning a court case where the mother’s application was supported by Department of Human Services experts.
A magistrate ruled yesterday that the suburban Melbourne mother had sufficiently recovered from the post-natal depression she suffered when she caused the horrific injuries to the newborn twins in April 2012.
6.10am
There is reportedly not enough evidence to investigate claims by Senator Nova Peris that her email account was hacked.
The NT News in October first reported leaked emails written by Ms Peris to Olympian Ato Boldon about procuring funding for his trip to Australia to carry out an extramarital affair and help train athletes in 2010.
According to the NT News, the AFP said there was “insufficient evidence available to commence a prosecution” over the leaking of the emails.
5.50am
A cool change has helped firefighters get dangerous bushfires threatening Victorian towns under control.
Torrential rain pummelled Melbourne, but it was a cool change that brought firefighters some relief in regional areas.
The wind change eased fire conditions around Kyneton, north of Melbourne, which had been under threat from two blazes. The emergency warning was downgraded to a watch and act alert later in the evening.
Out-of-control fires near the South Australian border forced emergency warnings to be issued for communities at Mitre, Nurcoung, Gymbowen, Winiam, Winiam East, Minimay and Booroopki.
The fire warnings were downgraded on Wednesday night as conditions eased.
Meanwhile volunteers continue to care for wildlife injured in the fires.
The Australian Marine Wildlife Research and Rescue Organisation in Port Adelaide posted photos of Jeremy, a young male koala, that was treated for second-degree partial thickness burns on all four paws.
“He is doing very well and is in great spirits,” the post said.
While fires burnt north of Melbourne, the city’s southeast suffered flash flooding and wind damage from a thunderstorm. The SES had more than 350 calls for help in the afternoon, while 14 skydivers had lucky escapes when the storm brought them out of the sky.
A SES spokeswoman said Knox, Maroondah and Whitehorse in Melbourne’s suffered the brunt of the storm.
Public warned about suspended dentist
The public have been warned about a suspended practitioner who authorities say may still be operating as a dentist or nurse.
Manhunt after alleged gangland shooting
A major police taskforce has taken charge of the investigation into the shooting of three people, including an alleged underworld figure, in a busy western Sydney street.
‘Devastating’: Cop shot dead at rural property
A police officer has been shot dead while trying to serve a court ordered warrant at a remote property, in what has been called a tragic day for the force.