RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today
TEXAS police were left in shock after they found a deadly weapon stashed in a rather uncomfortable place inside a female suspect.
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:
Australians who aren’t actively using their bank accounts will have an extra four years before having to retrieve their cash from the government.
Legislation to reverse the Labor-imposed three-year deadline for unclaimed money to seven years passed the parliament this morning. After seven years lying dormant, customers can then get their cash from government coffers which accrues interest at the bond rate.
-AAP
9:30am:
A man accused of pushing his wife to her death off a cliff as they hiked in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park might have killed his first wife in what also appeared to be a freak accident nearly 20 years earlier, US prosecutors allege.
Harold Henthorn, 58, has gone on trial for murder after his wife fell about 40 metres off a cliff in a remote area where the couple were hiking to celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary.
Mr Henthorn could not explain to investigators why he had a park map with an “X” drawn at the spot where his wife fell, prosecutors said.
The spotlight has also been placed on the death of his first wife Sandra Lynn Henthorn, who was crushed when a car slipped off a jack while they were changing a flat tire in 1995 — several months after their 12th wedding anniversary.
Read more at the New York Post.
9:10am:
NASA has released an amazing new photo of the International Space Station in transit crossing the sun’s face.
Such transits don’t last very long, because the space station zooms around Earth at more than 27,000km and hour, according to Space.com. Apparently, the $US100 billion satellite completes one lap around our planet once every 90 minutes or so.
The picture is a composite of five images and was snapped by NASA photographer Bill Ingalls from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
8:50am:
Texas police made an unnerving discovery during a recent traffic stop in Waco when they found a fully loaded gun in the vagina of a female suspect. The incident happened late Monday night in the US when officers pulled over the car and discovered a large quantity of Methamphetamine, reports KCEN.
During the arrest a male and female were taken into custody but while the suspects were being transported, police found a fully loaded Smith and Wesson .22 calibre semi-auto handgun inside Gabriel Garcia’s vagina.
Let’s hope the safety was on.
8:35am:
Witnesses to a terrifying road rage attack on the Gold Coast yesterday say a man was bashing a trapped woman with a brick after he ran her off the road.
The woman, mother-of-one Tara Brown, was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital in a critical condition after her car was allegedly forced down an embankment into a front yard during a crash at Macquarie Ave, Molendinar at 8.45am.
The man, believed to be her ex and former Bandido Sergeant-at-arms Lionel Patea, allegedly stole a white council ute but later surrendered to police at Coomera and has also been taken to hospital, allegedly with stab wounds.
8:15am:
An escapologist is lucky to be alive after he lost consciousness during his most recent stunt. He makes it his business to get out of a tricky spot, but Antony Britton’s latest escape attempt didn’t go as planned.
The stunt involved being handcuffed and buried six feet below the ground but after almost nine minutes in the subterranean prison, he had to be rescued by crew members.
British escapologist 'seconds from death' after Buried Alive stunt goes drastically wrong http://t.co/ZEd6A4Z9qo pic.twitter.com/gn6nSZgCL1
Mr Britton was unconscious when he was brought to the surface had to be given oxygen by a waiting ambulance.
“The pressure of the soil was crushing around me. Even when I found an air pocket, when I exhaled the soil around me was crushing me even more,” he said.
“I almost died, I was just seconds away from death. It was scary.”
8am:
England has spun its way back into one-day series contention with an emphatic win over Australia at Old Trafford this morning.
Mitchell Starc looked ragged in his action and in need of a rest after turning in the worst figures of his glittering white ball career as England charged to a total of 8-300 that laid the platform for an emphatic 93-run triumph.
Australia captain Steve Smith got the Ricky Ponting treatment in Manchester and was booed relentlessly as Australia were rolled for just 207 in 44 overs in reply.
7:45am:
A video of a young German girl giving food to a newly arrived Syrian refugee has gone viral and shows a rather touching moment as the world debates how to handle the spill over of refugees from war torn Syria and elsewhere.
Cassandra Vinograd is an NBC journalist who has been in Austria and Germany covering the migrant crisis. She captured the moment as two mothers held their young daughters during the meeting.
The tweet containing the video has been shared over a thousand times since being posted yesterday.
7:35am:
A third of older Australians are living in poverty, a new global report says.
Australia has slipped four places, to 17th spot, on an annual global list that ranks the economic and social wellbeing of people aged 60 and over in 96 countries.
The 2015 Global AgeWatch Index puts Australia’s old age poverty rate at 33 per cent.
That’s slightly down on the 2014 figure of 35.5 per cent, but it’s clear income security remains a serious issue for Australia.
By comparison, Switzerland’s figure was 16 per cent - helping it take pole position as the best place for older people to live based on key indicators including income security and health.
-AAP
7:25am:
The Kentucky county clerk who was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples was released Tuesday after five days behind bars, emerging to a tumultuous reception from thousands of cross-waving supporters.
Kim Davis, whose jailing helped make her a hero to the religious right walked free after the federal judge who ordered her locked up lifted a contempt order against her, saying he was satisfied that her deputies were fulfilling their obligation to grant licenses to same-sex couples in her absence.
“I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied, and you are strong,” she told the crowd after stepping outside, her arms raised like a victorious boxer, to the blaring Rocky theme song “Eye of the Tiger.” She added: “Keep on pressing.”
A number of conservative politicians have shown their support for Ms Davis, including presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz and Mike Huckabee.
A photo posted to Twitter by Mr Huckabee was widely mocked by users with the hashtag #I’mWithKim co-opted by people posting pictures of Kims who are far from Kim Davis.
I was honored to meet w/ #KimDavis. A woman of such strong faith and conviction. #ImWithKim #ReligiousLiberty pic.twitter.com/RhcaENaA6i
#ImWithKim pic.twitter.com/U6HvHxLjWv
7:10am:
One exceptionally keen tech-head has already set up camp outside Sydney’s Apple store.
A photo of a lone tent outside the George Street store was tweeted by Australian CNET reporter Seamus Byrne and if it’s to be believed, it means the person will be the first in line for a product that hasn’t even been announced yet. Two new iPhones and a range of other products are expected to be announced at an event in San Francisco on Wednesday and the urban camper is ready, just in case.
But with new iphones usually released the Friday following an announcement, the tent dweller may be in for a very long week.
Oh my. Peak Apple. Someone is queuing in Sydney before THEY HAVE EVEN ANNOUNCED ANYTHING!!! pic.twitter.com/G16X0ze8eN
7am:
Australians will be “proud” by the federal government’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis, the immigration minister says.
Fresh from attending United Nations talks in Geneva, Peter Dutton told ABC radio there was an urgent need for extra funding to supply food and accommodation.
Mr Dutton said Prime Minister Tony Abbott would soon announce extra funding for the task as well as places to resettle refugees in Australia.
“I think people will be impressed by Australia’s response,” he said, after briefing the national security committee of cabinet. Mr Dutton foreshadowed a “generous” announcement from the prime minister - in terms of both dollars and number of places.
Cabinet will meet this morning to discuss what was decided by the national security committee.
-AAP
6:45am:
A marine biologist enjoyed a close encounter with a pod of humpback whales as the 40 ton animals swam under his kayak.
Giancarlo Thomae was out for an early morning paddle in Monterey Bay off the coast of California in hopes of catching a glimpse of the whales and got more than he bargained for.
He is audibly excited in the video and can be heard describing the roughly ten whales around his kayak as 50 feet long and weighing about 40 tons.
6:30am:
Many were shocked to find out on Tuesday that Lance Franklin would miss the Sydney Swans’ qualifying final against Fremantle on Saturday due to mental health issues.
Among the fans, media and players was one man who shares a much closer bond than most with the full-forward. Yet even he was unaware of the demons Franklin was battling.
Hawthorn player and former teammate of the Sydney spearhead Jordan Lewis is one of Franklin’s best friends. They’re so tight that the defender is going to be part of Franklin’s wedding party when he ties the knot to model fiancée Jesinta Campbell.
However, speaking on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Tuesday night, Lewis admitted he had no inkling about what Franklin was going through.
“This is something that’s taken me by surprise,” said Lewis. “This has happened pretty quickly in my eyes.”
6:20am:
A UK woman tricked another woman into having sex by pretending to be a man, a British court has heard.
Gayle Newland, 25, is alleged to have befriended her victim on Facebook claiming to be a man named Kai Fortune and asked her to wear a blindfold when the pair met because he was recovering from a brain tumour and did not want her to see his scars, reports The Guardian.
According to the complaint after an online courtship, Ms Newland solicited sex on a number of occasions and used bandages to cover her breasts and covered her hair with a woolly hat.
It was also alleged that the victim was told she couldn’t touch Kai’s penis but believed she was having sex with a male.
Gayle Newland's victim would rather have been raped by a man - Daily Mail http://t.co/tRa7hnluqc pic.twitter.com/ADuDEkxWJG
Describing in court what she claimed was their last sexual encounter before she went to the police, the woman said: “When I was having sex I grabbed for the back of his head and my hand got caught on something. It did not feel right.
“I was sat on the bed, he was standing up. Something in my mind said ‘pull it [the blindfold] off, pull it off’. I just pulled it off. Gayle was just standing there … I just couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe it. Straightaway she held her hand down over her face and said ‘it’s not what you think’.”
The trial remains ongoing.
6:10am:
The persistent Socceroos overcame a physical and energetic Tajikistan to put themselves in the box seat to top their World Cup qualifying group.
A Tim Cahill double and a third goal from Mark Milligan, all coming in the second half, secured a 3-0 win in front of a vocal 19,000-crowd at the Republican Central Stadium in Dushanbe.
The Socceroos struggled to adapt to the artificial surface, with the slow surface making it hard for the side to impose their high-tempo passing game on the home side.
Buoyed by a full house on the eve of Tajikistani Independence Day, the electric atmosphere spurred the locals on but in the end Australia’s quality told.
6am:
A woman and an 8-year-old boy have been found dead in Sydney’s west overnight.
Police responded to a call about a man armed with a knife threatening a woman and arrived at Kennedy Parade in Lalor Park about 11pm to find a woman, aged in her 60s, on the front lawn of a property.
A 35-year-old man, allegedly armed with a knife, was found nearby. Officers subdued and disarmed the man, before arresting him and taking him to Blacktown police station where he is assisting police with their inquiries.
5:50am:
Embattled deputy mayor Salim Mehajer will be urged to resign “in light of the continuing public outrage” that followed his show-stopping wedding in western Sydney last month. Four fellow Auburn councillors have arranged for an extraordinary general meeting to be held on today so that they can call on Mr Mehajer to step down.
They will ask Auburn City Council to “take action in relation to the misleading pamphlets that were letterbox-dropped to Frances Street residents stating that cars would be ‘towed and removed by police as per DA approval’”.
The four councillors will also call on NSW Local Government Minister Paul Toole to order an investigation into the council’s culture, and for the state government to ban property developers and real estate agents from sitting on local councils.
-AAP
5:45am:
A Brisbane woman found an unwanted surprise in her cereal but unfortunately she made the discovery just a little bit too late. And now 24-year-old Nikki Kemp has a metal key stuck in her stomach.
“I was just having a snack and watching TV, so I wasn’t paying that much attention to what I was chewing on,” she told 7 News.
“I did feel it when I swallowed it, and I choked and tried to cough it up.”
Ms Kemp claims the object was inside a packet of Coles brand Mighty Grain cereal bought from a supermarket in Carrindale.
After accidentally swallowing the object, she said the pain was so bad in her stomach that she had to go to the hospital. Ms Kemp said she isn’t seeking any compensation but wants Coles to recall the product.
“The manufacturing process for this product includes multiple metal detectors and the finished product is X-rayed to check for any contaminants once it is in final packaging,” the supermarket said in a statement.
X-RAY: A 24 year old ate a key that she says was inside a cereal box that she bought from Coles. #7News pic.twitter.com/1nwQPR0HI4
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.