RUSH HOUR: Stories you need to know today

THOUSANDS of customers have been warned not to use an $80 Chinese-made Aldi tap after tests proved it contaminates water with 15 times the safe limit of lead.

Cardinal George Pell seen relaxing in Singapore on his way home to Australia. Picture: Nine News

• Why you should nap at work
• Man rescued with crane hook
• Turnbull loses ground to Shorten
• Activist tried to “sneak” into mosque
• Lead warning for Aldi taps
• Sydney’s toll road nightmare
• Cardinal Pell returns to Australia
• Aussie’s viral Trump take-down
• Horror crash ends Tour hopes

Live: Rush Hour

Good morning! Australian Richie Porte’s Tour de France dreams have been shattered, following one of the worst crashes in the race’s history. A scathing take-down of Donald Trump by ABC political editor Chris Uhlmann is going viral, and Cardinal George Pell landed in Australia early this morning to face historical sex offence charges.

9:10am

Why you should nap at work

A new study has suggested asking your boss for a quick break from work to go and have a quick power nap may make you more productive.

The research, published in Nature Neuroscience, found that while most people’s work performance deteriorates throughout the day, a 30-minute nap can stop deterioration, while a 60-minute nap can actually boost performance.

A nap can help reinforce memory and help you learn things quicker, however, napping for too long, can cause sleep inertia or a feeling of “grogginess”.

She’s probably contemplating whether five coffees in a morning is too much. Picture: iStock

8:45am

Man rescued with crane hook

A man has been rescued from the top of a six-storey burning building in Denmark by holding onto the hook of a crane.

As fire crews battled the flames from the ground, crane driver John Pederson jumped into his machine and steered it to the roof.

The man was able to grab hold and was safely lowered to the ground.

8:20am

Turnbull loses ground to Shorten

Malcolm Turnbull has lost ground to Bill Shorten as the nation’s preferred prime minister, according to the latest Newspoll data.

Mr Shorten gained on Mr Turnbull after weeks of Liberal party infighting but Mr Turnbull remains the preferred prime minster with 41 per cent of voters naming him over Shorten, who received 33 per cent of the support.

The poll, conducted for The Australian, also shows Labor leading the Coalition by 53 to 47 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

The new poll came as Mr Turnbull tried to downplay a growing rebellion in his party over same-sex marriage.

7:55am

Activist tried to “sneak” into mosque

Anti-Islam activist Sandra Solomon has appeared in a video encouraging people to put on a burqa to sneak into a mosque and “spy on Muslims”.

Ms Solomon, a former Muslim who now describes herself as a “follower of my beloved Jesus Christ” donned a burqa with her male friend Jesse to enter the women’s section of a mosque at Calgary, in Canada.

“We must keep our eyes open for everything they do or say. Don’t trust any Muslim no matter how peaceful they look,” she wrote on her website.

However, the plan backfired, with many condemning her actions on Twitter.

We have reached peak Islamophobia idiocy.

Two morons "demonstrate" how to spy on Muslims. pic.twitter.com/qqmAiQ6Yr3

— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) July 6, 2017

Muslims are begging ppl to come learn about Islam at the mosque instead of from media & these geniuses think they have to sneak in.🤦🏽‍♂️ https://t.co/Uxl7p7SiYz

— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@MuslimIQ) July 6, 2017

Do they realize they're free and open to the public? This is about as daring as sneaking into a public library at noon. https://t.co/UVSOr82hHv

— Jesse Mac (@JessetheMac) July 7, 2017

7:30am

Lead warning for Aldi taps

Tests on water run through a cheap Aldi tap from China have found up to 15 times the maximum allowable level of lead.

The estimated 12,000 households that bought an Easy Home spiral spring mixer are now being warned against using it for drinking or cooking.

“There is a cause for concern,” said Brett Bassett, head of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, which identified the threat and commissioned the testing.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also cautioned against using the $79.99 tap and said it had begun an investigation.

— by John Rolfe, click here to read more

The Aldi tap found to put lead into water. Picture: Supplied

7:05am

Sydney’s toll road nightmare

Sydney will have more toll roads than any city in the world by 2023.

Australia’s largest city already has 135 kilometres of tolled roads across nine major roadways, with some drivers spending more than $8000 a year just getting work.

A special investigation by the Daily Telegraph has revealed this is only set to get worse over the next five years, with six more toll roads set to open.

“There is only so much people will be willing to pay before they reach what I call toll saturation,” said Sydney University researcher David Hensher.

— read more in the Daily Telegraph

New toll roads could alleviate traffic on Sydney’s overwhelmed infrastructure — but the population is expected to more than double within the next 40 years. Picture: Ian Waldie/Bloomberg

6:40am

Cardinal Pell returns to Australia

Cardinal George Pell, Australia’s highest-ranking Catholic, has returned to Australia to face historical sex offence charges.

He landed at Sydney Airport early this morning after flying in from Rome, and is due to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on July 26 for a filing hearing.

The 76-year-old has always strongly defended is innocence and has previously said he is looking forward to his day in court.

6:15am

Aussie’s viral Trump take-down

A scathing take-down of Donald Trump by ABC political editor Chris Uhlmann is going viral, resonating with people around the world.

Speaking to Insiders from Hamburg, Mr Uhlmann delivered a wrap on the G20 summit — describing the US President as “an uneasy, lonely, awkward figure”.

“Donald Trump is a man who craves power because it burnishes his celebrity. To be constantly talking and talked about is all that really matters,” he said, adding, “You get the sense that some of the leaders are trying to find the best way to work around him”.

He said it was clear Mr Trump has “no desire and no capacity to lead the world” and that he has “pressed fast-forward on the decline of the United States as a global leader” by isolating his nation and confusing and alienating his allies.

After it aired, Mr Uhlmann’s statement began trending in Washington.

What did we learn about @realDonaldTrump at this #G20? @CUhlmann explains. #Insiders pic.twitter.com/TGOXdiFWhB

— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) July 8, 2017

5:50am

Horror crash ends Tour hopes

Richie Porte’s Tour de France dreams have been shattered after the Australian was involved in one of the worst crashes in the race’s history.

Porte was part of an elite group screaming down the treacherous Mont du Chat descent in the closing stages of an carnage-laden Stage 9 when he lost control on a twist in the road and slammed into the bitumen at 72.5km/h.

The Tasmanian veered onto the roadside dirt where he came off his bike, skidded back across the tarmac and into a rock wall where he was hit by trailing Irishman Dan Martin.

Porte lay bloodied and motionless for several minutes before being fitted with a neck brace and loaded into an ambulance.

— by Sam Edmund, click here to read more