RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today
POP star Ricki-Lee Coulter bared all on the weekend, but it’s Australia's response to her naked body that has everyone talking.
TODAY:
• MEDAL TALLY: GOLD 26 | SILVER 21 | BRONZE 26
• Why is everyone hating on Ricki-Lee this morning?
• Compelling pictures show the flip side of the brutally demanding marathon
• The Simpsons vs. The Family Guy: here’s a sneak peek
• Sweeping changes to work for the dole scheme
• Over 1,000 dead after Israeli raids on Gaza
• Daniel Ricciardo charges to a thrilling Hungarian Grand Prix victory
• 60 Minutes MH17 report: “So many people falling like rain from the sky”
• Heavy fighting in Ukraine forces Australia to delay AFP deployment to crash site
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.
9:50am
A man is dead and his young daughter is fighting for her life after a plane crash-landed on a popular beach.
The father and daughter were walking along Caspersen Beach in Venice, Florida, when a plane was forced to make a dramatic landing on shore, writes news.com.au’s Debra Killalea.
The man died at the scene while his daughter was flown to hospital and a woman, who was with them, was being treated for cardiac arrest.
A plane crash has killed one man and critically injured a little girl off of Caspersen Beach in Venice, Fla. #FOX35 pic.twitter.com/PVCh0iIrUc
— Nikki Bowers (@OnlyNikkiBowers) July 27, 20149:30am
The truth hurts.
@carolinemarcus you're right - Posh carried that group
— Steve Jackson (@Jacko) July 27, 20149:25am
GOLD! (Well, almost).
A skint knee and a half! RT @Record_Sport Marathon runners - they go surprisingly fast. https://t.co/IDaCWqcLaD
— Ross McCafferty (@RossMcCaff) July 27, 20149:15am
This picture says it all.
A man representing the Burkina Faso’s victims' relatives prays in front of debris of the Air Algerie Flight AH 5017 during a visit to the crash site in Mali's Gossi region, west of Gao.
UN experts investigating the Air Algerie plane disaster in Mali have recovered the second black box from the doomed plane, a spokesman of UN peacekeepers in the country said on the weekend.
Officials who had already reached the remote, barren area described a scene of total devastation littered with twisted and burnt fragments of the plane that was carrying 118 on board, including entire families. No one survived the impact and France bore the brunt of the disaster with 54 nationals killed in the July 24 crash.
The flight had taken off from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and was bound for Algiers.
8:35am
Pop star Ricki-Lee Coulter bared all on the weekend, but it’s Australia's response to her naked body that has everyone talking.
She tweeted out a racy pic yesterday, in celebration of her first nude photoshoot for Sunday Style mag.
And while some saw the brighter side....
@TheRickiLee hopefully no splinters in that table ;))) lovely photo.
— shining TraceyLee (@traceyb65) July 27, 2014Do I need to get Kochie on the line @TheRickiLee
— black beauty (@scotty_13_) July 27, 2014But the post caused anger on the singer’s Facebook page, drawing criticism for her double standards.
“I remember when you were championing ‘fuller figured’ women when you had a few extra kilograms, saying how happy you were and not to succumb to pressure and society,” wrote Todd Fraser.
“Then fast forward and you lose quite a number of kilograms and tell everyone how unhappy you were when you were larger.
“Can’t have it both ways. Those that say ‘real women’ are this and that, always seem to change their tune when they have the motivation to get to the gym.”
And then there’s this from Marnie DeGiorgio:
“Never saw her doing a nude photo shoot when she was a little heavier.”
Ouch.
8:30am
The Federal Government says the unemployed should be out there looking for work every day as it prepares to make them search for 40 jobs a month and perform 25 hours of weekly community work.
Details of the government’s new three-year $5.1 billion job placement program, to be launched from July next year, was released this morning.
Most job seekers will be required to look for up to 40 jobs per month and work for the dole will be mandatory for all jobseekers younger than 50, reports AAP.
8:00am
While two Aussies were enjoying the ecstasy of marathon medals, these compelling pictures show the flip side of the brutally demanding event.
Namibian athlete Beata Naigambo was in the closing stages of the Commonwealth Games event on a damp day in Glasgow when it all went horribly wrong, writes Fox Sport’s Patrick Horan.
Ouch! The marathon hurts 😕 #Glasgow2014 pic.twitter.com/J3DsmMccWR
— Nicole Livingstone (@NicLiv) July 27, 2014Despite being an experienced marathon runner who finished in the top 40 at the London and Beijing Olympics, pictures reveal the extent of her agony as her body appears to give up on her. She collapsed and, clearly distraught, was unable to continue despite being so close to the finish. The dramatic moments were captured by News Corp Australia photographer Adam Head at the finish line.
7:40am
Is this the redemption James Magnussen has been hoping for?
After a disappointing effort at the 2012 London Olympics and a string of controversies (Stilnox, anyone?), Magnussen reclaimed his mantle as the sprint king by leading an Aussie trifecta in the 100m freestyle at the Commonwealth Games.
It was the first clean sweep for Australia in the pool on a night when Belinda Hocking also claimed gold in the 200m backstroke, Ben Treffers won the 50m backstroke and the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team stormed home for victory.
Stay up to date with the latest Commonwealth Games updates HERE.
7:35am
Australians have overwhelmingly backed Tony Abbott’s leadership through the MH17 crisis, ranking him well ahead of other world leaders including US President Barack Obama.
But they have refused to reward the Prime Minister or the government at home, with the electorate still seeking to punish the Coalition over its stalled Budget.
An exclusive poll conducted for The Daily Telegraph over the weekend has revealed most Australians believed Mr Abbott had shown more leadership in response to the shooting down of the MH17 — and his uncompromising stance against Russia — than President Obama, reports Simon Benson.
7:25am
What happened to Lily Allen?
The British singer has landed AFP officers in hot water after tweeting a photo of herself apparently handcuffed at Coolangatta Airport shortly after she touched down on the Gold Coast yesterday afternoon, reports The Courier-Mail’s Suzanne Simonot.
Allen flew into the Coast at 1.20pm on a Qantas flight, and the Courier-Mail understands AFP has launched an investigation but it is yet to respond to questions about the incident.
— lily (@lilyallen) July 27, 2014
7:00am
It’s an animation-lover’s dream all wrapped up into one deliciously illustrated package: The Simpsons meet The Family Guy.
San Diego Comic-Con attendees were treated to a first taste of an upcoming “crossover” episode which will introduce the Griffins to the famous family from Springfield.
'Mmm. Donuts.' https://t.co/8lC2k34MtZ
— Matt Young (@MattYoung) July 27, 2014And a sneak peek released on YouTube looks pretty funny, from Stewie’s attempts at skateboarding with Bart, to Peter Griffin’s classic description of Springfield city.
“Don’t drink the water, everybody around here looks like they’ve got hepatitis,” Griffin says.
The episode will air on the same night a major character of The Simpsons is killed off (September 28), but who?
6:45am
Heavy fighting in war-torn Eastern Ukraine has forced Australia to delay its deployment of federal police officers to the MH17 crash site.
It’s understood the 100 unarmed officers were due to arrive at the crash site overnight, but a fresh outbreak of violence has forced the delay.
Sources told News Corp that the contingent of federal police — sanctioned by the United Nations — was on its way before being told to hold back after exchanges between separatists and the Ukraine military.
The delay came as PM Tony Abbott spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the third time since Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down.
Mr Abbott wanted to reassure him the Australian mission was a humanitarian one, not a justice-seeking one.
6:30am
Renewed Israeli raids on Gaza, which followed a 24-hour lull, have killed nine Palestinians, raising the overall toll from the 20-day operation to more than 1,050.
Following a 24-hour period in which Israel held its fire, the strikes resumed at 4pm AEST yesterday with an initial three people killed by shelling.
Six more were killed in the following few hours, including an elderly Christian woman who was killed in an air strike on western Gaza City, which also seriously wounded her son, Qudra said.
Their deaths raised the total toll since July 8 to more than 1,050 Palestinians, while another 6,000 have been injured.
Since midnight (6am AEST), Palestinians have fired 19 rockets which struck Israel with another two intercepted, a military spokeswoman said.
6:15am
Did you catch 60 Minutes last night?
Michael Usher’s report on the tragedy, complexities and global frustration of MH17 was heartbreaking viewing, including the daughters of 50-year-old Australian victim Liliane Durden describing the treatment of their mother’s body like ‘a sack of potatoes’.
But undoubtedly the most tragic and telling of Usher’s interviews was with local villager Inna Tipunova, who broke down in tears for the as-yet-unidentified victim who fell through her roof.
“The body fell through the roof here, people started falling from the sky,” she explained to Usher.
“So many people falling like rain from the sky.
“Her leg was broken, her foot was lying right up there in the attic.
“She was a human being, she had a family,” an emotional Tipunova said.
It was a telling report by Usher, whose description of the difficulties of accessing the crash site echoes those of many journalists and investigators trying to access the scene.
“To get to the crash site we have to pass through half a dozen checkpoints, manned by armed and sometimes masked thugs who make it clear Australia is top of their hate list because of our government’s tough response,” Usher says.
You can watch the full report HERE.
Tears are universal. What a horrible vision for that woman to find #60mins
— yellow bird (@zzippidydoodaa) July 27, 2014These poor village people. Never sought attention, don't know what to do with it. They pray, they grieve, they fear. #Ukraine #mh17 #60mins
— mary-ann harris (@maharris9) July 27, 20146:10am
More asylum-seekers are reportedly expected to arrive at Curtin Immigration Detention Centre in Western Australia today.
It comes after the first group of 157 asylum-seekers who attempted to enter Australia by boat arrived on the country’s mainland yesterday, after being held at sea for weeks.
Eighty-one asylum-seekers arrived at the remote detention centre in Western Australia, a spokesman for the facility said, after they were reportedly flown there by the government from the remote atoll of Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean.
The boat people, thought to be mostly minority ethnic Tamils from Sri Lanka, were the first in seven months to reach the Australian mainland.
6:05am
Congratulations to Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who charged to a thrilling Hungarian Grand Prix victory yesterday — his second Formula One win for Red Bull — as a drenched track caused chaos among world championship leaders.
Ricciardo, 25, held off Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso to take first place in a race which saw several high-speed crashes after a heavy downpour just before the start changed the course of the race.
6am
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.
Call for ‘fashion waste shake-up’
Experts are calling for a “fashion waste shake-up” after a study found Aussie charity shops exported high-quality second-hand clothes to Europe, while resellers imported them back.
Sweeping changes to national investment fund
The Albanese government is announcing sweeping changes to Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, to “maximise its role” for the future.
Dad killed on ‘happiest day of his life’
A father who had just won custody of his children was killed when he was allegedly run down in a rampage in Perth’s east on Tuesday.