RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today

MOVIE darlings Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton have taken a well-earned winter break — but are their unlikely replacements any good?

TODAY

• Are Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton’s At the Movies replacements any good? You be the critic.

• Survivors of a rush-hour train derailment in Moscow have told of how they thought they were doomed as the death toll continues to rise.

• Inside the Costa Concordia.

• The chilling moment a gunman opens fire outside a busy nightclub.

• The Senate will again turn its attention to the carbon tax today as one of six pieces of legislation the government wants urgently addressed.

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.

9:35am

Former freestyle world record holder Eamon Sullivan has announced his immediate retirement from competitive swimming due to ongoing shoulder injury concerns.

During his ten years on the national swimming team, Sullivan competed at three Olympic Games (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012), two Commonwealth Games (Melbourne 2006 and Delhi 2010) and two World Championships (Melbourne 2007 and Shanghai 2011), reports Fox Sports.

Almost as exciting as the news of ex-girlfriend Stephanie Rice’s retirement. Almost.

Here’s a reminder of the pair's golden years. Sigh.

Swimmers Eamon Sullivan and Stephanie Rice during a photo shoot for Australian underwear company Davenport.

9:25am

Detectives bugged the flowers at Allison Baden-Clay’s funeral in an extraordinary bid to catch her husband confessing.

The lengths police went to in their investigation into Allison’s disappearance and death can now be revealed.

Police set the trap because they thought Gerard Baden-Clay might break down if he was alone with the coffin, reports The Courier-Mail.

However the attempt failed when Baden-Clay arrived to the funeral late with his young daughters in tow. The bugging was one of a number of bids to trap Baden-Clay.

Gerard Baden-Clay stands for the guilty verdict in this artwork from the Supreme Court in Brisbane. Illustration: Brett Lethbridge

9:15am

Israel has resumed a punishing air campaign against Gaza after its Islamist foe Hamas rejected a six-hour truce and fired dozens of rockets over the border.

The renewed strikes killed one person in southern Gaza, raising the toll in eight days of violence to 193, medics said.

In an early morning vote, Israel’s security cabinet said it would accept an Egyptian ceasefire plan, which went into effect at 0600 GMT (1600 AEST) despite Hamas rejecting the initiative, reports AFP.

But the calm was short-lived, with sirens sending tens of thousands running for cover along Israel’s Mediterranean coast as militants fired rockets at the densely populated plain.

An Israeli woman and her son take cover as a siren sounds during a rocket attack fired by Palestinians militants from Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Picture: Oded Balilty

Debris lies scattered at the scene of a damaged apartment block after it was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip. Picture: Adel Hana

9:05am

The Senate will again turn its attention to the carbon tax today as one of six pieces of legislation the government wants urgently addressed.

Extended sitting hours (what we like to call ‘overtime’) have been approved for the upper house to deal with the top-priority business and senators will be expected to front up every day and work late into the night until the carbon tax is repealed and other bills considered, reports AAP.

“I’ve no idea how long we will be here,” senior Labor MP Tony Burke told ABC of the revised hours.

With the Palmer United Party and crossbencher Ricky Muir on side, the coalition is believed to have the numbers needed in the upper house to scrap the carbon tax.

However the government remains cautious about the timing of when the bill would be passed.

9:00am

GOLD.

Post by Hee Buratino.

8:45am

A mother has been lambasted after leaving her children in the car of a Jeep while getting a haircut.

A witness captured the moment anxious onlookers smashed the window of the mother’s vehicle with a hammer, after reportedly hearing crying noises from the kids trapped inside.

When she returned, the mother admitted she had made a “terrible mistake”.

Hmm. It seems beauty knows no bounds.

8:25am

A huge but mysterious crater spotted in remote Siberia has scientists scrambling for answers: Was it a meteor? Was it a weapon? Or was it an explosive sign of global warming?

The seemingly bottomless was pit spotted by an oil-and-gas industry helicopter flying over northern Siberia — a region notorious for devastating events. The place where it has been found is known as Yamal, meaning “the end of the world”, reports News Corp.

Remote impact ... The stain of upturned turf and the blackness of a pit stands out starkly against the permafrost of remote Siberia.

Bottomless pit ... What appears to be sand may be cascading into the depths of a Siberian methane-gas blowhole, an ominous sign for global warming

8:00am

Parents and schoolmates of the 219 schoolgirls held captive by Boko Haram extremists refused at the last minute yesterday to meet with Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, who accused activists of “playing politics.”

The mass abduction April 15, three months ago, has been plagued by politics from the start. First lady Patience Jonathan charged the kidnappings never occurred and were being fabricated by her husband’s enemies to damage his image, reports AP.

“My priority is not politics. My priority is the return of these girls,” Jonathan said in a statement.

Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai shakes hands with Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan (R) next to her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai ( L). Picture: Wole Emmanuel

Jonathan has never met with the parents or the escaped girls, though they have been asking to meet with him for weeks. In May, he canceled without explanation a trip to Chibok, the remote northeast town where the girls were kidnapped.

On Monday, Nigeria’s leader promised Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai that he would meet the parents. Malala said that was the parents’ wish, that they wanted the support of their president.

“I want to be clear, this government stands with complete solidarity with the girls and their parents. We are doing everything in our power to bring back our girls,” he said Tuesday after the meeting was cancelled. “As a father of girls, I stand ready to meet with the parents of our abducted children and the truly brave girls that have escaped this nightmare through the grace of God.”

Yousafzai holds a picture of kidnapped schoolgirl Sarah Samuel with her mother Rebecca during a visit to Abuja, Nigeria. Picture: Olamikan Gbemiga

7:40am

This is the chilling moment a gunman opens fire outside a busy nightclub.

But the bad news for 22-year-old Dayron Willis, who appeared in court on Monday charged with five counts of first-degree assault, is that it was all caught on camera.

Five people were wounded when Mr Willis allegedly fired his handgun after being hit in the face by another man over a woman.

The gunman uses a red laser attached to the handgun and fires.

Stamford police in Connecticut released the footage, caught by a witness just metres away when the fight broke out at Tino’s Nightclub in Connecticut, hoping to bring witnesses forward to the case.

No fatalities were recorded but Stamford Police Lieutenant Diedrich Hohn said of the clip, “We don’t recommend people doing this – although it turned into a great piece of evidence.”

7:15am

This is the Costa Concordia as you’ve never seen it — its glamorous bars, decks and rooms now just ghostly remains after lying abandoned for more than two years.

As an operation to refloat the 114,500-tonne cruise ship continues, unseen photographs have emerged, reports Shoba Rao.

They reveal what is left of the vessel that once offered a luxurious journey to thousands of holiday-makers keen to cruise the Mediterranean Sea.

MORE PICS INSIDE COSTA CONCORDIA AS IT LOOKS NOW

Then and now: The wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise ship on January 23, 2012 (top) and on July 15, 2014 after being refloated.

Eerie: first pictures of the interiors of cruise ship Costa Concordia since the 2012 accident. Picture: Massimo Sestini

Bedrooms were turned upside down during the wreck. Picture: Massimo Sestini/

Uncovered ... lamps still intact in the lounge area. Picture: Massimo Sestini

Abandoned decks still intact. Picture: Massimo Sestini

Waterlogged and rotting ... a restaurant on the Costa Concordia. Picture: Massimo Sestini

7:00am

Survivors of a rush-hour train derailment in Moscow have told of how they thought they were doomed as the death toll continues to rise.

Emergency officials say the derailment has killed at least 20 people and injured 106, of whom 50 are in grave condition.

Several cars left the track in the tunnel after a power surge triggered an alarm, which caused the train to stop abruptly, reports News Corp.

“There was smoke and we were trapped inside,” a man with a bloody cut on his brow told Rossiya 24 television

“It’s a miracle we got out. I thought it was the end.”

“There were lots of injured,” he added.

“Various injuries: heads, legs.”

Park Pobedy is the deepest metro station in Moscow, 84 meters (275 feet) deep, which is making the rescue particularly hard.

While accidents are regular occurrences in the Moscow Metro, deadly incidents are rare.

Workers were seen trying to force open the mangled doors of the car where dead bodies are supposed to be. Picture: Russian Emergency Situation Ministry

Rescue teams working inside the tunnel where several cars of the wrecked train look almost coiled. Picture: Russian Emergency Situation Ministry

Rescuers carry an injured passenger injured. Picture: Mikhail Japaridze

6:45am

Australia’s movie darlings Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton have taken a well-earned winter break, but as always, the show must go on.

But an unlikely replacement in comedian Judith Lucy has become a popular choice for At the Movies viewers and the ABC alike.

Can Judith Lucy review movies on the ABC every week, please? #atthemovies

— ElizabethS (@jinglefrisbee) July 15, 2014

Loving Judith Lucy on @ABCatthemovies #ThatsAll

— Matt Baseley (@MattBaseley) July 15, 2014

Along with co-host Jason Di Rosso (you might know him if you’re a Radio National listener), the pair first appeared on the show for a three-week stint last year, and now it seems they’re in the running to replace Pomeranz and Stratton entirely, as gossip about their impending retirement filters through the industry.

“We’re really excited about Judith and Jason taking over At The Movies during our break. What great troopers they are. We’re big fans of both,” said David and Margaret last year.

But is Lucy any good? We’ll let you be the critic.

6:30am

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.