RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today
WHEN Toronto woman Sandy Seliga wanted to tick whale watching off her bucket list, she never thought she’d get this lucky.
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:
A police officer in Alabama has shot and killed a man who brandished a “large metal spoon in a threatening manner” as he approached the officer, according to local officials.
Jeffory Tevis, a 50-year-old white man, was tasered before being fatally shot by police when a fight broke out between him and officers after they were called to an incident at his residence, reports the Guardian.
The cop who shot Mr Tevis was wearing a bodycam but police say it wasn’t turned on.
Police captain Gary Hood confirmed the victim only had the spoon in his possession which he estimated was “maybe 10-12 inches” (25-30cm) in length.
9:25am:
A curfew could be introduced in a remote north Queensland town to reduce juvenile crime.
Hundreds of residents have signed a petition following a fire that burned down a Mt Isa shopfront.
A 10-year-old boy on Monday faced court on arson charges after allegedly lighting the fire but locals say more needs to be done to keep local youths in line.
“All the vandalism, arson, rock throwing and thieving is a sign something is out of control in Mt Isa,” Mary Gerber wrote on an online petition which had attracted 836 signatures on Tuesday morning.
— AAP
9:15am:
Aspiring NFL convert Jarryd Hayne has laughed off a fine he was slapped with during his second run with the San Francisco 49ers yesterday.
On the second of his three impressive runs, Hayne was tackled by the opposition punter on the play, something considered slightly embarrassing for a return player.
After the match he joked with the media about making sure it didn’t happen again.
“As soon as I came off, the boys were into me and said I had to pay a fine and what not,” Hayne said.
“I actually saw a replay and he grabbed my jersey, so I’ll tighten the jersey up a little bit and it will all be sweet.”
First game at home n got the W ! Feeling the love from down under. #49ers #australia #fiji #ctown #2566 LOVE ✌ðŸ½ï¸
9am:
By now most travellers are accustomed to the restrictions for carrying liquid when boarding planes. However one woman identified as Miss Zhao, was clearly caught off guard when she tried to board a flight at Beijing Airport with her expensive bottle of cognac.
Not wanting it to go to waste, she came up with a drastic solution. She took a seat and proceeded in an attempt to drink the entire bottle.
According to The Fang, the woman’s valiant efforts didn’t help her situation and she was unable to board the flight after she began yelling incoherently before collapsing to the floor.
8:45am:
Tinder is about to get hairier thanks to one native Australian.
Ballarat legend Patrick the Wombat is joining the dating app to celebrate his 30th birthday.
The buck-toothed Wombachelor is hoping someone will swipe right and join the world’s oldest bare-nosed wombat in captivity for a birthday bash at Ballarat Wildlife Park.
Hip hip hooray for #PatrickTheWombat who turns 30 today at #BallaratWildlifePark! @abcnews @abcnewsMelb @ABCNews24 pic.twitter.com/Ki35QAbnWk
Patrick became a social media phenomenon last year after a photo of him on Facebook received more than 250,000 likes in 24 hours. He has his own website and once crashed his handler’s car when he climbed into the unattended driver’s seat and nudged the car into gear.
The 38-kg marsupial was named third greatest city mascot in the world by CNN last year.
-AAP
8:25am:
Scientists have taken a major step towards creating a vaccine that works against multiple strains of influenza, according to two studies published Monday in top journals.
A “universal vaccine” is the holy grail of immunisation efforts against the flu, a shapeshifting virus which kills up to half a million people each year, according the World Health Organisation.
Existing vaccines target a part of the virus that mutates constantly, forcing drug makers and health officials to concoct new anti-flu cocktails every year.
The new research, tested on mice, ferrets and monkeys could likely pave the way for a more comprehensive and long term vaccine.
-With AFP
8:15am:
A female TV reporter has been mobbed live on air during the Beirut protests that continue to engulf the Lebanon city.
As she attempts to describe the chaotic scene she is mobbed by protesters and can be heard screaming loudly as police move in a begin bashing people with batons.
The violent demonstrations erupted over the growing piles of rubbish in the streets as the dysfunctional government struggles to provide basic services.
8am:
Over half of Aussie students are training and studying for jobs that will not exist in the future, according to a new report by the Foundation for Young Australians.
Due to automation, changes in technology and an outdated curriculum, 60 per cent of young Australians are not adequately prepared for the future workplace.
Foundation chief executive Jan Owen told the ABC that people are not prepared for a work life that could include five career changes and an average of 17 different jobs.
Her concerned were echoed by Jillian Kenny, the co-founder of a program that inspires young women to take up engineering.
“Nearly 60 per cent at university and nearly 70 per cent at TAFE were studying jobs that will be automated,” she said.
7:50am:
A Texas police chief is among two men believed to have killed themselves after hackers published the names of millions of members of the cheating website Ashley Madison.
San Antonio police captain Michael Gorhum died last week in an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to local news reports.
Police in Canada said Monday two possible suicides may be linked to the hacking, though they offered no details about the identities of the victims.
7:40am:
Labor says extending the GST to health, which was alluded to by Joe Hockey yesterday, would amount to a GP co-payment by stealth.
Opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King says the tax burden would fall disproportionately on the sickest Australians, costing patients $3 billion a year, while shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says it would amount to a co-payment by “stealth”.
“It would be terribly regressive health policy to see the sickest and the poorest basically having to pay more and being punished for being sick,” Ms King told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
-AAP
7:30am:
This month universities across the United States are opening their doors to a new class of students as fraternities and sororities also prepare for a fresh intake. And it didn’t take long before one frat house found themselves the subject of unflattering headlines.
The president of a Virginia college is “outraged” and has pledged action after several vulgar signs directed at incoming female students — and their mothers — were draped from the ledges of nearby off-campus houses.
Really ODU... so classy pic.twitter.com/pN82HwMBvv
The crude banners were handwritten on what looked like large, white bedsheets and hung from porch railings of private housing near the Norfolk campus.
The Old Dominion University President has promised action. “I said at my State of the University address that there is zero tolerance on this campus for sexual assault and sexual harassment,” John R. Broderick wrote in a Facebook post.
7:20am:
Two New Zealanders say they accidentally consumed methamphetamine after making casseroles in a slow cooker which was contaminated with the drug.
The pair from Auckland went to hospital shortly after complaining of symptoms including nausea, heart palpitations and swollen tongues, reports TheNew Zealand Herald.
Testing confirmed that methamphetamine was found in both casseroles and on the inside of the slow cooker but how it got there remains a mystery.
The incident occurred in 2013 and has been made public by it’s inclusion in the latest report by the NZ Ministry of Health.
7:10am:
The Australian dollar has hit a fresh six-year low, extending deep losses following a rout in world markets over China’s slowing growth.
At 6:30am this morning AEST, the currency was trading at 71.59 US cents, down from 72.36 cents on Monday.
Commodity prices also hit new lows and global stock markets plunged, fed by fears of a damaging slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.
The global stock market crash has been dubbed the “Great Fall of China” and is being stoked by fears China has lost control of the situation and doesn’t have the means to fix it.
7am:
As heavy rains and hail fell in Sydney, Dubbo experienced something even more dramatic.
A tornado was spotted in the NSW town yesterday afternoon with one resident telling Nine News that it brought the ceiling down.
“I’m calm now, but oh my god — I heard it coming. I was cooking dinner, and I have never heard anything like it in my life — it screamed and it hit all around us, it took gum trees down, the ceiling came down in our lounge room,” Maria Wallace said.
@9NewsSyd @TenNewsSydney @7NewsSydney @abcnews #dubbo #tornado pic.twitter.com/dfJnJA1eZB
6:50am:
State Emergency Service crews have responded to 579 call-outs and helped with 34 flood rescues as heavy rain and hail lashed parts of NSW.
The SES took the their Twitter account to urge people not to take any unnecessary risks in the difficult conditions and said the focus of the severe weather was now in the Illawarra region.
Meanwhile, many Sydney siders took to social media overnight to show the impact of the storm which battered the city.
On tram at Haymarket stuck in flash flood. #Australia #Sydney #weather pic.twitter.com/ccsTRLHwQG
Waterfall stairs tonight at my parents home in Balmain #sydneyweather #sydneystorm pic.twitter.com/4zMtMmRLKS
A BMW and a Mini swept down Boundary St, Darlinghurst in the #sydneystorm @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/aawpTp9c79
6:40am:
Astonishing footage has been captured of a humpback whale breaching the water’s surface and launching itself into the air right in front of a tour boat off Brier Island, Nova Scotia.
Humpback whale pulls off once-in-a-lifetime backflip http://t.co/EZCJ0HbnKH pic.twitter.com/01D6izFrYY
According to the caption of a video uploaded to YouTube, a Toronto woman named Sandy Seliga was vacationing and had whale watching on her bucket list — an activity she can definitely cross off the list after seeing this.
6:30am:
A rather unsavoury Twitter handle snuck through the moderators and appeared on screen during an episode of Q&A last night. The account @Abbottlovesa*al caused quite an uproar from some viewers and the owner of the Twitter account appears to be a friend of acquitted terrorist Zaky Mallah.
What a disgraceful Twitter handle for @QandA to broadcast! #auspol pic.twitter.com/jOToWwVq28
The account told news.com.au the tweet was a “bit of harmless banter. All in the name of #qanda, Tony Jones, democracy, etc,” before tweeting “let’s get it trending”.
The 'Abbott Loves Anal' account is a friend of mine. I never thought he will make it after my fiasco loll. Great work mate. ðŸ‘ðŸ¼ðŸ‘ðŸ¼ðŸ‘ðŸ¼
Can't believe @AbbottLovesAnal made it onscreen and I never have in my 6 years of watching this godforsaken show #qanda
6:15am:
Bill Shorten has bounced from record lows to be five points ahead of Tony Abbott as preferred prime minister, the latest Newspoll shows.
The poll, taken for The Australian on the weekend, also shows Labor has a two-party preferred lead of 54 per cent to the Coalition’s 46 per cent.
Mr Shorten’s five-point lead as preferred prime minister is the first time he has been in front since mid-April.
Mr Abbott is on 35 per cent having lost three points over the past fortnight, while Mr Shorten gained two points to be on 40 per cent.
6am:
An ordinary American tourist has had a rare holiday inside the hermit Kingdom.
Taylor Pemberton spent four days in North Korea recently and documented his trip with some pretty amazing Instagram photos.
Down the alleyway (outside of Pyongyang proper) leaving a smaller city we ate lunch at. #contrateur
The 26-year-old from Minneapolis flew into North Korea’s capital from Beijing. He was closely monitored the whole time and made to stay on a hotel situated on an island to ensure he didn’t wander off.
“My cameras, memory cards, and phones were screened on entry,” he told the BBC’s Newsbeat.
“You are told when to wake up, when meals are available, and when your day is coming to an end,” he explained.
Mr Pemberton said it was difficult to interact with the locals and most didn’t seek to engage him, however he did get the chance to speak with some. There is no internet in North Korea and Mr Pemberton said locals seemed unfamiliar with the concept.
Volleyball in Kim Il-Sung square. #contrateur
While he didn’t mid the food, he said it was far better than what the North Korean people were eating. “The food provided to us was luxury compared to the boiled rice and cabbage which I was told is common in even privileged life. I saw fruit baskets that would be instantly discarded in the States,” he said.
Inside feud that brought Sydney to a halt
Five months of transport disruptions and chaotic commutes were brought to an abrupt halt this week after a fiery fight between the unions and the government.
Driver charged over meat cleaver incident
A man has been charged after reports a driver allegedly wielded a meat cleaver at other drivers on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Commuters warned of further travel chaos
Commuters are being urged to brace for another day of cancellations and delays as the rail union and the NSW government take their fight to court.