RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today

WOULD Lucas Taylor have died without “death coaching”? His mum was shocked at what she found on his computer after his death.

TODAY

• A Melbourne mother has described the “death coaching” which she believes led to her son’s death.

• The missing Air Algerie plane has been found in Mali.

• Creepy porcelain dolls crafted to resemble up to eight young girls have been left outside their homes.

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

9.45am

Former Labor minister Greg Combet says Julia Gillard was prepared to stand down as prime minister to support him in the 2013 Labor leadership tussle.

Mr Combet said he spoke to Ms Gillard in June 2013 shortly before the spill when Kevin Rudd reclaimed the prime ministership.

“Julia surprised me in that discussion by suggesting that she would support and stand down in favour of me if I stood.” Mr Combet declined the offer for a number of reasons, including personal, but also because support for Mr Rudd was building momentum.

Job could have been his: Julia Gillard offered to support Greg Combet as leader.

9.25am

Tasmania is demanding an apology after the state was left off the women’s Commonwealth Games swimming suits, describing it as “un-Australian” and “unforgivable”.

“I have written to the Australian Commonwealth Games Association demanding an ­explanation and an apology,” Premier Will Hodgman said.

Where’s Tassie? Kotuku Ngawati wearing the offending swimsuit. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

9am

The brother of a Sydney mother facing jail time for adultery in Lebanon says he hopes she “rots in hell”.

He told The Daily Telegraph that it was against Islamic law for a woman to remarry unless she had been divorced for at least a year. He claimed his sister married her new partner while in Lebanon, but she has denied this.

Mahassen Issa facing jail time for adultery with new partner in Lebanon.

“She’s my sister, I would put a bullet between her eyes, I couldn’t give a sh**,” he said.

Mahassen Issa said her former husband had alerted authorities in Lebanon that she was with another man and brought about the adultery charges.

8.45am

The family of an Australian teen that authorities believe became a suicide bomber in Iraq claim that he is alive.

The father of Adam Dahman, 18, told The Daily Telegraph that his son was not the bomber that killed five people, that he was alive in Syria and had contacted them last week.

Adam Dahman, the Melbourne teen who allegedly blew himself up with a suicide bomb in Iraq.

8.30am

Porcelain dolls crafted to resemble up to eight young girls have been left outside their homes in San Clemente, creeping out the girl’s parents.

Some of the girls, who are all aged about 10 years old, attend the same California elementary school in the US, according to KTLA 5 News.

Police are investigating whether there is a sinister motive after families voiced concerns that the dolls resembled their daughters.

Two dolls left outside homes in San Clemente. Photo: KTLA 5 News Facebook.

8am

Australian investigators have reached the crash site of MH17 for the first time as more bodies are reportedly recovered. All our Malaysia Airlines updates are available here.

Wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 lies in the road in Petropavlivka, Ukraine. Photo: Rob Stothard/Getty Images

7.25am

There was a fire alarm frenzy on the set of breakfast television program Sunrise this morning. The hosts didn’t seem too concerned, continuing to crack jokes while Larry Emdur donned his fire warden hat. The show went to a commercial break but the crew was eventually forced to evacuate.

Interrupted: Sunrise co-hosts Samantha Armytage and Larry Emdur forced to evacuate: Photo: Instagram @__my___

We've been evacuated. !! Seriously code red !! @sunriseon7 http://t.co/uX0AIGm0mg

— Larry Emdur (@larryemdur) July 24, 2014

The hosts were eventually allowed to return to the studio but not everyone was impressed with their relaxed response:

@sunriseon7 very sad that you are not taking an #emergency alarm seriously ? #Emergency Plans save lives #fire #Police #prepared

— First24hrsFoundation (@first24hrs) July 24, 2014

7.10am

UPDATE: The wreckage of the Air Algerie plane has been found in Mali.

A Burkina Faso official has confirmed to AP that the missing plane had been located.

An Air Algerie plane carrying 116 people has crashed in Mali in bad weather, wreckage found (@NinaBStevens)

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) July 24, 2014

6.55am

The Commonwealth Games has just begun but Aussie swimmers are already making waves. The female swimmers set a new world record in the 4x100m freestyle relay this morning and cyclist Anna Meares has also won gold in the 500m time trial. Catch up on all the action on our live blog.

Aussie champs: Anna Meares (centre) wins gold and Stephanie Morton (left) got silver and England's Jess Varnish with her bronze medal. AP Photo/Alastair Grant

6.30am

It’s almost unbelievable, but there’s another missing plane. An Air Algerie plane with 116 people on board has vanished, not long after it took off leaving Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso on its way to Algeria.

The head of the emergency investigation said it was seen “falling” in northern Mali.

“A witness informed us they had seen the plane falling at 0150 (GMT) (11:50am AEST),” said General Gilbert Diendiere, co-ordinator of the crisis unit.

“We are in contact with the witness and we intend to survey the site” to verify the information, he added.

UPDATE: Air Algerie Flight #AH5017 carrying 116 people crashed in Mali, airport official says http://t.co/FGiUFPubQT pic.twitter.com/nKqOxwKcnG

— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 24, 2014

6.15am

The term “death coaching” is how one Melbourne mother describes the tragic suicide of her 26-year-old son Lucas in a deserted park in Germany.

“It was death-coaching, not life coaching, that killed him,” Judi Taylor told The Australian.

Ms Taylor did not know her son was depressed until she hacked into his computer after his death and found details of the online conversations and advice he was getting on the best ways to commit suicide.

Mum blames “death coaching” for her son’s death.

Lucas, a talented linguist, ended his life after taking a ­euthanasia drug he had bought in Peru. He was found surrounded by bottles of alcohol and cigarettes, exactly as suggested by the Peaceful Pill online forum run by Exit International, the pro-euthanasia lobby group run by now-suspended medical practitioner Philip Nitschke.

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.