NewsBite

RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today

VLADIMIR Putin isn’t afraid to throw his weight around and now the leader is claiming a new patch of land for Russia.

NICK WHIGHAM and WIRES
9 min read
August 5, 2015 - 5:34AM
Jon Stuart is in his final week hosting The Daily Show and fans have taken to social media in an outpouring of grief and gratitude.
Jon Stuart is in his final week hosting The Daily Show and fans have taken to social media in an outpouring of grief and gratitude.

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.

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.

9:50am:

An African American man in Alabama has been paid $47,000 in hush money after it was revealed a white police officer proposed killing him and creating fake evidence to make it look like self defence.

Even more shockingly, the police officer has kept his job.

According to The Guardian, officer Troy Middlebrooks was recorded making remarks about the plan and the money was paid to Vincent Bias - the intended target - to ensure he would not sue the police department.

“This town is ridiculous,” Mr Bias, 49, said in an interview. “The police here feel they can do what they want, and often they do.”

The city's Police chief Willie Robinson defended Mr Middlebrooks by saying: “He was just talking. He didn’t really mean that.”

9:35am:

Michael Clarke has vowed to battle on as he tries to save his Australian captaincy in a fourth Test tomorrow which he’s referred to as a “grand final”.

The struggling batsman has come out fighting amid calls for Steve Smith to replace him as captain.

“People who know me know how much I want to help this team win and how hungry I still am to be successful,” said Clarke. “At 2-1 down, this fourth Test is our grand final and we’re not scared of that.”

“To question my hunger, it kills me, because I pride myself on trying to get better every day.” Clarke, who averages just 24 this year, arrived ahead of his team for extra batting practice at Trent Bridge yesterday.

The fourth Test begins tomorrow night.

9:20am:

Two people are missing after a suspicious fire ripped through their Melbourne home.

The Mulgrave house was engulfed by flames and suffered severe damage in the blaze which started just before 6am this morning. No one has been found inside the home during initial checks but the owners have not been located, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade said.

Authorities are treating the blaze as suspicious.

9:10am:

A large sink hole has opened up on a Brooklyn street in New York overnight. While large enough that it could’ve easily swallowed up a few cars, luckily no one was injured and authorities quickly closed off the street.

City workers are working to determine the extent of the damage to water and gas services.

9am:

Those of you who are intending to update to Microsoft Windows 10, be warned.

One reddit user received a nasty shock after installing the new software before going to bed. Upon waking, he and his wife discovered his pornography collection scrolling across his desktop screen.

According to the post, his wife was not very happy but eventually found it funny.

Apparently a feature in the new software means that photos in the My Pictures folder automatically get used as a rolling screen saver unless the users selects otherwise.

“Don’t make my mistake, keep your private pictures out of My Pictures, no matter how deep you hide them in sub folders,” the post reads.

“I guess it assumes you will not save porn into the pictures folder,” wrote the top commenter on the reddit thread.

8:45am:

The prime minister’s indigenous adviser wants AFL teams to perform a traditional Aboriginal war dance before matches, much like the Maori Haka.

Tony Abbott and Warren Mundine.
Tony Abbott and Warren Mundine.

Warren Mundine says the idea is aimed at sharing indigenous culture and would not be divisive if all players got involved.

“One thing about the Haka is it’s performed by non-Maori New Zealanders as well as Maori-New Zealanders and they come together and share this cultural experience,” he told ABC Radio.

-AAP

8:35am:

After 17 years as host of The Daily Show, the end in nigh for Jon Stuart.

The satirical pundit is in his final week of hosting the popular show and fans have taken to social media in an outpouring of grief and gratitude by posting messages with the hashtag #JonVoyage.

8:25am:

An argument between two brothers has left one of them in a critical condition after being knifed in the chest at a south Sydney home.

The brothers, both aged in their 40s, were reportedly at their parents’ residence last night when the incident occurred, police said.

A 46-year-old man is in intensive care at St George Hospital, while the younger man has fled the scene. A crime scene has been established at the home as investigations continue.

The brothers were reportedly arguing about a greyhound dog, 2GB Radio reported this morning.

-AAP

8:15am:

Always remember to put the hand brake on.

A couple of garbage collection workers in the US have learnt that lesson the hard way.

Stunning surveillance footage captured from a woman’s home in Pennsylvania shows the moment a runaway garbage truck rolled down the street crashing into a number of parked cars while the driver helplessly runs after it.

According to police, at one point a witness was able to get into the truck but was unsuccessful at controlling the vehicle.

Despite the dramatic nature of the incident, fortunately no one was hurt.

8am:

A drone carrying packages of drugs has sparked a prison fight in Cleveland after dropping the coveted contraband in the yard while prisoners were outside.

The drone-delivered package contained almost a quarter of an ounce of heroin, over two ounces of marijuana and more than five ounces of tobacco, authorities said.

According to prison officials, video footage shows a violent scramble following the drop-off. Two corrections officers were called for assistance and ordered the inmates to stop fighting before using pepper spray to control prisoners.

Read more at the New York Post.

7:50am:

Alcohol-addicted welfare recipients will be stopped from pawning goods to get cash under an anti-fraud system being developed by the Abbott Government.

Elements of the new plan could be announced as early as today and will be rolled out in concert with the Government’s new cashless “basics card”, which will be introduced next year.

The card will work like an EFTPOS card but will only allow participants to withdraw a limited amount of cash and will not work in liquor stores or pawn shops.

Read more at the Courier Mail.

7:40am:

Vladimir Putin really wants the North Pole.

Russia has pressed a claim at the United Nations Tuesday for an additional 1.2 million square kilometres of Arctic shelf, stepping up a race for the region’s hydrocarbon and mineral wealth.

In a submission to back a 2001 claim at the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, Russia said research showed it had rights over the swathe, an area the size of South Africa.

This would include the North Pole and potentially give Russia access to an estimated 4.9 billion tonnes of hydrocarbons, according to government estimates.

The Arctic has become a theatre for rival claims over a sea floor believed to be rich in minerals, oil and gas.

Denmark also claimed the North Pole in a proposal submitted in 2014, although it could be years before the commission formally reviews the research.

Canada filed an Arctic seabed claim in 2013 but later withdrew the proposal and is drafting a new one.

-AFP

7:30am:

As firefighters battled a massive California wildfire threatening numerous homes, some of the 13,000 people urged to flee their residences spent what may be just one of many nights in evacuation shelters.

The blaze grew to more than 100 square miles (160 square kilometres) Tuesday as it chewed through drought-withered brush that has not burned in years in the Lower Lake area, about 100 miles north of San Francisco.

More than 3,000 firefighters tried to stand their ground against the fire that jumped a highway that had served as a containment line and grew by several square miles despite cooler weather and higher humidity. Its rapid growth caught firefighters off guard and shocked residents.

-AP

7:20am:

Talk about professionalism.

BBC reporter, Carole Walker was caught brushing her hair and preparing herself live on air when the producer accidentally went to the 9am news four minutes too early.

She may have been caught off guard, with her open handbag sitting in front of her but she didn’t miss a beat.

7:10am:

The literacy and numeracy skills of Aussie primary school students have shown little improvement over the last seven years.

NAPLAN results released today show nationally student achievement has stalled since 2008 when the tests were first introduced.

The head of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority Robert Randall says while stability is good, the community will expect more improvement over time.

-AAP

7am:

He’s one of the biggest sporting stars on the planet, but for an afternoon he was just an anonymous homeless guy with some surprising skills.

A video was released this week of Real Madrid superstar taking to the streets of the Spanish capital disguised as a homeless man, complete with dirty clothes, shaggy hair and an untamed beard.

The Portuguese international then began playing with a soccer ball in the busy Plaza de Callao, but despite showing off his amazing skills, nobody picked up who he was.

After almost an hour at the piazza, Ronaldo finally convinced a little boy to join him in a game of one-on-one. The boy seemed bemused when he asked him what his name was and signed the ball for him, before removing his fake hair and beard, revealing himself to the crowd who immediately surrounded the 30-year-old.

Read more here.

6:50am:

Three people have been taken to a Sydney hospital after a car that had previously evaded police crashed into an innocent motorist.

A Holden Commodore was stopped by police but fled as officers approached the car. Police pursued the vehicle but later abandoned the chase due to safety concerns. However the car was later found after crashing into another vehicle on Woodstock Avenue in Hebersham.

Two men in the Commodore, aged 46 and 29, were taken to Westmead Hospital with non life-threatening injuries and remain there under police guard.

6:40am:

China may be celebrating after they were announced as hosts of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, but critics are accusing them of ripping off a popular children’s movie.

To many, the official song of the games The Snow and Ice Dance sounds remarkably similar to Let It Go from the Frozen movie.

On the Chinese social media website Weibo, there has been intense debate about the two songs, reports The Telegraph.

“People who are familiar with let it go will notice the plagiarism the second they hear it. How can it represent China when put on the international stage?” wrote one user.

While on the YouTube page of the song, users also admonished the song. “Their shame knows no bounds,” wrote Ben Wang in the comments section.

If you’re in the mood to do some forensic investigating, you can find Beijing’s Olympic song here and the much loved Frozen song here.

6:25am:

Two people have been shot dead and three injured at a party hosted by Grammy-winning rapper Drake in Toronto, Canada.

Toronto Deputy Police Chief Peter Sloly said despite a large police presence outside the venue, shots were fired inside Muzik nightclub on the grounds of Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto.

Two people are dead after attending party hosted by Drake.
Two people are dead after attending party hosted by Drake.

“This was a brazen, large-scale, ongoing firearm incident where our officers and members of the public were directly in the line of fire,” Sloly said.

He told a local television station there were “high-profile entertainment figures” at the party, but he couldn’t say whether Drake and rapper Kanye West were there at the time of the shooting.

Read more here.

6:15am:

Police in the Northern Territory are investigating after up to 70 rotting crocodile heads were found in an old freezer dumped in Humpty Doo, 40 kilometres outside of Darwin.

Police said at least 50 saltwater crocodile heads, and as many as 70, were stuffed inside.

“(We saw) a deep freezer in a sad state of affairs,” senior wildlife ranger tommy Nichols, who specialises in crocodile management, told the ABC.

“There was quite a bad smell and maggots around everywhere.”

Pic: NT police.
Pic: NT police.

No one has been arrested but anyone convicted of killing protected wildlife faces a fine of up to $76,500 or five years in jail.

It was not clear why the heads had been severed but crocodile skins are highly prized and there is a thriving market.

6am:

Police in Kentucky have decided to employ a novel approach to tackling the scourge of drug dealers — by offering them chance to snitch on their rivals.

The police department issued a flyer aimed at getting the attention of local drug dealers and offering them a chance to eliminate their pesky competition.

The tongue-in-cheek effort was posted to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Facebook page this week with the caption: “Please share!!! We need your help.”

It features an image of a marijuana leaf and says, “Is your drug dealing competition costing you money? We offer a free service to help you eliminate your drug competition!”

How thoughtful.

At the bottom of the form, people are asked to fill out information about the drug dealer they are reporting, including the dealer’s name, phone number and vehicle.

The post has since been shared nearly 1,300 times and attracted nearly 100 comments, some of whom think the cheeky flyer might actually work.

Worth a shot.
Worth a shot.
More related stories

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/national/rush-hour/rush-hour-the-stories-you-need-to-know-today/news-story/413d5231167f1ae57ada7e5a2e53053f