RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today
CANDID photos from the Star Wars set shows its young actors in scenes far, far removed from the world of lightsabres and storm troopers.
• Coalition backbenchers are rebelling against plans for a new debt levy on Australians earning more than $80,000, which will means Australians will pay the 14th highest top tax rate in the developed world.
• The man who was gunned down in Argentina has been remembered as an adventurer who was thinking of returning home to Brisbane in the days before he was killed.
• Alex McKinnon has been offered a job for life, as the rugby league family vows to support him in his battle against spinal injuries.
• A Melbourne woman has walked in on a naked burglar masturbating in her home.
10am
That’s it for our Wednesday morning live #RUSHHOUR news blog.
You can get across the stories you need to know today below, in the meantime all the latest headlines are right here on news.com.au. See you bright and early tomorrow morning.
9.30am
Rare photos taken on the set of the Star Wars films are up for auction from Carrie Fisher’s personal collection.
The actor who played Princess Leia in the hugely popular films has offered 20 candid photos of herself and fellow actors Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill on set.
The two-day action is set for May 17 and 18 and includes signed posters and other movie memorabilia.
9.15am
Television legend Ian ‘Roscoe’ Ross has died after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
The former Seven News presenter, 73, had routine blood tests before Christmas last year which resulted in the news that the pancreatic cancer had spread to his liver and he had five months to live.
He chose not to undergo chemotherapy and instead looked at alternative medicines.
9am
Prosecutors hope to increase the jail time of a couple who killed a four-year-old girl by forcing her to repeatedly ride a motorbike.
Chloe Valentine died after she fell off the motorbike, which was too large for her to handle, and was left unconscious for more than eight hours.
According to the ABC, Ashlee Jean Polkinhorne, was sentenced to eight years jail time, with a non-parole period of four years and nine months.
Polkinghorne’s partner Benjamin Robert McPartland was sentenced to seven years jail, with a non-parole period of four years and two months.
The South Australian Director of Public Prosecutions believe the sentences are inadequate and has applied to lodge an appeal.
8.45am
Bob Katter has proposed a new political alliance with Clive Palmer modelled on the old coalition between the Nationals and Liberals.
Discussions have already been held between the two parties which could help Mr Palmer’s team oust Labor as the official opposition in Queensland – netting the party an extra $3.5 million in taxpayer funded support and more than 20 staff.
Mr Katter told The Courier-Mail it would be “the act of an imbecile” to suggest the two parties should not be working together.
8.30am
Up to seven people have been killed in Mississippi on the second day of violent tornadoes that have claimed at least 21 lives in the United States, officials says.
At least one person died when a powerful tornado devastated the town of Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis Presley.
The death toll in Mississippi is expected to climb.
“It was real bad. We’re trying to pull people out,” Tupelo Police Chief Bart Aguirre said.
8.15am
Malaysian officials are assessing an Australian company’s claims that it may have found the wreckage of MH370 in the Bay of Bengal - 5000 kilometres from the current search area.
Adelaide-based GeoResonance used imaging, radiation chemistry and other technologies to search two million square kilometres of the ocean floor for chemicals found in Boeing 777 jets
“We’re not trying to say it definitely is MH370, however we feel it is a lead that should be followed up by the authorities,” GeoResonance director David Pope told Channel 7 News..
The company has been contacted by Malaysian officials and was asked to give a presentation on its finding.
7.55am
A millionaire businessman who was instrumental in establishing one of Adelaide’s leading health clubs and a nightclub has been murdered in the Caribbean.
Detectives in St Lucia have launched a murder inquiry after the discovery of a charred corpse, believed to be Oliver “Ollie” Gobat, 38, a man “heavily involved” in building the Next Generation gym, in North Adelaide.
While formal identification is yet to occur, devastated friends and former colleagues today paid tribute to the popular property developer, entrepreneur and former junior cricket star.
7.45am
Melbourne residents will have their daily commute impacted after four major train lines were affected by a fire in Richmond last night. Here is a full list of the cancellations.
7.40am
A Melbourne woman has walked in on a naked burglar masturbating in her home.
The woman was at home with family and friends she walked to the rear of the house to use the bathroom late one evening.
As she walked past a bedroom she saw a naked man lying on a bed masturbating.
As the woman called to her husband, the man got up and ran naked from the house.
Police have released a description of the man, as being aged in his late teens, approximately 180cm tall with straight, silky golden brown hair cut to just below his ears, thin eyebrows with a small tattoo on his left shoulder. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crimestoppers.
7.20am
A 4.7-magnitude earthquake has struck outside Yunta near the Flinders Ranges - the biggest in the region in the past 20 years.
The earthquake was recorded 27km south of Yunta in South Australia at 7.24pm last night.
Geoscience Australia estimates the earthquake could have been felt by people up to 125km away from the epicentre but was not expected to do much damage.
7.10am
The NBA has banned long-time Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from professional basketball for life over his racist comments.
Three days after a recording surfaced of Sterling urging his girlfriend not to publicly associate with blacks, NBA commissioner Adam Silver removed the 80-year-old billionaire from the league and urged owners to start the process of forcing him to sell the team.
Meanwhile Magic Johnson has denied rumours he is trying to buy the team, tweeting that “they already have an owner”.
To NBA Fans, I want to put a stop to a rumor. I am not trying to buy the Clippers, they already have an owner.
6.58am
A shooter described as being armed with an assault rifle and having bullets strapped across his chest “like Rambo” opened fire at a FedEx station outside Atlanta.
He wounded at least six people before police found the suspect dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.
After surrounding the perimeter and working to clear the building, officers found the suspect dead, Cobb County police spokesman Michael Bowman said.
6.45am
Bree May and Jessica Liebich have been crowned My Kitchen Rules champions after defeating villains Chloe James and Kelly Ramsay.
The South Australian mums won $250,000 in prize money after scoring 54 out of 60 for their five-course menu — two points ahead of their younger MKR rivals from Western Australia.
6.32am
Coalition backbenchers are rebelling against plans for a new debt levy on Australians earning more than $80,000, which they say breaks Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s pre-election promises of “tax cuts without new taxes” and “no nasty surprises”.
A deficit tax has been locked into next month’s Federal Budget, with Government sources confirming the new levy that will see a 1 per cent increase to people’s income tax — from 37c to 38c in the dollar — for earnings of $80,000 to $180,000.
This means Australian will pay the 14th highest top tax rate in the developed world.
6.25am
Alex McKinnon has been offered a job for life with the NRL, as the rugby league family vows to support him in his heroic battle against spinal injuries.
NRL chief Dave Smith has revealed the NRL would find an ongoing role for the popular Newcastle Knight.
The job offer was part of a five-point plan outlined by Smith to provide lifelong support for McKinnon, as well as any future players if they are severely and permanently injured.
A special foundation will be set up for the 22-year-old Newcastle forward, who faces potentially years of medical treatment costing millions of dollars after suffering a horrific spinal injury.
6.10am
Nick Heyward, the man who was gunned down in Argentina when two men tried to steal his bag, has been remembered as an adventurer and a “much-loved brother, son and friend to many”.
The 31-year-old was an avid rock climber and his jetsetting life is reflected in the photos he posted on Facebook. He saw the world from a Patagonian mountain top, drank Mezcal in Mexico and surfed foreign shores.
However, he was talking about returning home to his friends and family in Brisbane before he was ambushed by two men on a motorbike while walking through a park in the Argentina.
6am
Good morning, and welcome to our “headlines in a hurry” morning news coverage. We will be bringing you the best of what’s happening this morning, so you can get across the news quickly.
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Reason behind shopping centre lockdown
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‘Machete still in his stomach’: Shoppers react
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