RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today

THE lawyer of a US teenager who encouraged her boyfriend to kill himself via a string of text messages has come up with a novel defence for her actions.

• Text messages urging teen to kill himself just free speech, says lawyer
• Thieves use stolen bulldozer to steal ATM from Victorian petrol station
• Australia could conduct bombing mission in Syria in days
• Chess player kicked out of competition for cheating by morse code
• Man jailed for calling emergency number claiming to be Nicki Minaj

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.

9:30am:

The federal government’s new Jobactive scheme plans to urge the roughly 40,000 people currently on the dole but not seeking a job to secure work.

According to the Daily Telegraph, in July alone 38,000 people claiming the Newstart and Youth Allowance became active “jobseekers” while another 5,000 found work and got off welfare payments. Those classed as “jobseekers” remain on welfare while looking for work.

Social Services Minister Scott Morrison wants to limit access to unemployment welfare.

In March it was announced the government would invest $6.8 billion in the Jobactive scheme, which replaced the outdated Job Services Australia and would aim to provide more incentive for job providers and seekers to make a greater effort to find work.

Labor and the Greens yesterday teamed up to block a bill that would force under 25s to wait a month before they could ­access welfare.

“We do not believe that we should be sending a message to young people that it should be OK to go from the school gate to the Centrelink front door,” Social Services Minister Scott Morrison said.

9:20am:

An Italian chess player was kicked out of a prestigious national competition after being accused of using morse code to cheat.

Officials became suspicious of Arcangelo Ricciardi, 37, who was blinking strangely and holding his arm under his armpit, reports the BBC.

It’s believed he hung a camera around his neck connected to a box under his armpit to transmit the game to someone with a chess computer program, who was feeding back moves using Morse code.

He was “batting his eyelids in the most unnatural way” said referee Jean Coqueraut who confronted him.

“Then I understood it,” he said. “He was deciphering signals in Morse code. ”

9:10am:

Federal Labor wants the government to clarify over what period it will take an additional 12,000 refugees from the conflict in Syria and Iraq.

The first wave of refugees is expected to arrive in Australia before Christmas. But opposition immigration spokesman Richard Marles told reporters in Canberra this morning that Labor wanted to know whether all the refugees would be resettled before the end of June 2016.

-APP

9am:

If you ever needed a good reason not to GoPro and drive, this is probably it.

YouTube user Alex Lopatnyuk wanted to capture some footage out the window of his jeep while driving down a dirt road in Florida when he learnt a valuable lesson.

The group of men were on the way to go kayaking but the GoPro filmer got a bit carried away with his directing skills and ran directly into the car in front of him, smashing his windscreen and bending the kayak.

8:45am:

A Perth man who set up a “backyard” gambling operation to allow his buddies to smoke, drink, gamble and learn to play poker ended up in court yesterday and was fined $3,000.

Professional poker player Brian Joseph Glynn claims to have organised the gatherings at a property he rented to provide training to other players and gamble among friends, who could not smoke at the casino, reports The West Australian.

Little did he know, his activities were being monitored by a nine month covert joint operation by Racing and Gaming WA officers and police.

Mr Glynn’s lawyer questioned the length and cost of the police sting saying the doors were unlocked, there were people playing cards together and the set up was “very backyard”.

8:30am:

A veteran New York police sergeant ​accused of splashing semen on a civilian employee as she walked down a hallway​ has been criminally charged for the sick act, ​ prosecutors announced Wednesday in Manhattan court.

Sgt. Michael Iscenko, 54, allegedly approached the administrative aide from behind and threw the substance on her leg and shoe. He was finally arrested on Wednesday for the January incident.

“Not guilty,” he answered softly in court, his hands cuffed behind his back at his arraignment on misdemeanor sexual abuse charges.

Read more the The New York Post.

8:15am:

Hours after EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Europe had a historic duty to act and relocate 160,000 who have arrived in overwhelmed Hungary, Greece and Italy, a number of Eastern European and Baltic states vowed to reject the imposition of any kind of quotas from Brussels.

The plan is a drop in the ocean for an economic power like the EU, where a half-billion people live, compared with efforts by Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, which are hosting more than 4 million refugees, mostly from Syria.

The Commission’s new plan involves sharing 120,000 refugees from Greece, Italy and Hungary among 22 member states, on top of a proposal the EU’s executive made in May to share 40,000 refugees from just Greece and Italy.

Britain, Ireland and Denmark are not legally bound to take part. Greece, Italy and Hungary are too overwhelmed to participate.

-AFP

8am:

Victorian police are hunting for burglars who used a bulldozer to smash through the wall of a service station in Whittlesea and steal an ATM this morning.

Investigators believe two offenders arrived at the service station in a white ute around 3am this morning.

One of the offenders then entered an adjacent business and stole a bulldozer, which he as driven back to the service station before using it to demolish a wall, police said in a statement.

The pair then dragged the ATM out of the store before loading it onto the waiting vehicle.

Police are seeking to speak with anyone who may have seen anything and are urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Theives used a bulldozer to extract an ATM from a petrol station.

7:50am:

A Chinese farmer who pretended to be a princess descended from the Qing dynasty to swindle people out of more than 2 million yuan ($450,000) has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for fraud, a court said.

Wang Fengying and her co-accused Yang Janglin said she was called Princess Changping and persuaded people to lend them money to help them get back assets worth billions of dollars held by authorities, the Lianhu District Court in Shaanxi province said. They promised high returns on the investments and the fraud lasted two years until a victim went to the police. In the meantime Wang had bought a sedan car and put a down payment on an apartment.

Police seized 41 gold bars, thousands of fake dollars and treasure maps that Wang offered to investors as collateral.

-AP

7:35am:

Three Javan rhino calves have been filmed in a national park in Indonesia, fuelling hopes of conservation efforts for one of the world’s most endangered rhino species.

One female calf and two males were spotted in recent months in Ujung Kulon park on Indonesia’s Java, and were all likely born in the past year, said park chief Mohammad Haryono.

A handout photo released by Ujung Kulon National Park shows a female rhino and a calve roaming.

The species once numbered in the thousands across South-East Asia but poaching and human encroachment has meant their numbers have now been reduced to 60 — including the new arrivals.

“This is wonderful news, now we just need to ensure their protection,” said Widodo Ramono, head of conservation group the Indonesian Rhino Foundation.

7:25am:

Dragons fullback Josh Dugan has said he would like to follow in Jarryd Hayne’s footsteps and defect to the NFL.

“If I was going to defer to any game I’d like to go to the NFL, but at the moment it’s just a dream at the back of my mind,” Dugan told Channel Nine.

Josh Dugan think he could follow the Hayne plane.

Dugan has always appeared to be one step behind Hayne after stepping into the NSW State of Origin No. 1 jumper vacated by Hayne this season.

Dugan said he believes he has the skills and drive needed to succeed in the NFL.

“It’s awesome that Haynesy’s achieved his dream and he’s doing good things over there and he’s opened up the door for a lot of other people as well.

Read more here.

7:15am:

A US woman has pleaded guilty to administering a silicone injection into a man’s penis that killed him.

Kasia Rivera conducted the fatal penis enlargement procedure at her home in 2011 despite not having any medical training or qualifications, reports NJ.com.

The injection shot directly into the man’s bloodstream, shutting down his organs and he died as a result the following day, authorities said.

As her trial is set to get underway in a New Jersey court, her guilty plea for reckless manslaughter will likely see her receive a five-year prison sentence but also risks being deported to her native Jamaica.

7am:

UFC fighter Ronda Rousey is set to take her acting career to new heights and will star in a reboot of the 1980s cult classic film, Road House.

The role will easily be the MMA fighter’s biggest acting gig to date as she reprises the role made famous by Patrick Swayze.

The original was released in 1989 and starred Swayze as a Ph. D educated bouncer who is hired to clean up the meanest, loudest and rowdiest bar in Missouri.

Rousey, who fights in Melbourne in November, has played minor roles in Furious 7, Entourage and The Expendables 3.

http://t.co/hVA44maR3h pic.twitter.com/YakdrFHSGv

— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) September 9, 2015

6:50am:

Australian combat aircraft could conduct their first missions to bomb Islamic State forces inside a week. Prime Minister Tony Abbott says there’s no reason why Australian air strikes into Syria couldn’t take place within days.

Announcing the long-expected decision to extend RAAF combat operations to include Syria as well as Iraq, he said there could be no stability and no end to the persecution and suffering in the Middle East until the Daesh death cult was degraded and ultimately destroyed.

Defence force chief Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin said they were looking for operations into Syria to start within the week. “It depends on the tasking cycle and what targets may come up in the particular areas at the time,” he said.

-AAP

6:40am:

The Gold Coast mother who was allegedly beaten by her ex-partner in a shocking road-rage incident has died.

Tara Brown’s life support system was turned off last night. She is believed to have passed away not long after.

The tragic news comes as it has been revealed that Ms Brown went to police for advice about leaving her former partner Lionel Patea.

It’s alleged on Tuesday he rammed her car forcing her off the road and, while she was trapped in the wreckage, beat her mercilessly with a piece of steel until she was unrecognisable

Lionel Patea has been charged with the attempted murder of Tara Brown. Photo: Supplied

Last night police revealed the advice given to Ms Brown at Southport police station was under investigation.

“The appropriateness of the police response ... has been reported to the Queensland Police Service Ethical Standards Command and is currently being investigated by a senior officer,” the official statement said.

Read more here.

6:30am:

Apple has showed off two new iPhones, a bigger iPad and an updated Apple TV during its biggest day of product announcements this year.

“We are about to make some monster announcements across several of our product lines,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the start of proceedings in San Francisco early this morning.

Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller speaks about iOS 9 availability during a Special Event at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium September 9, 2015 in San Francisco, California.

The new iPad Pro boasts more power and better performance than any other before it, and features a super sharp 12.9-inch screen that can fit a full-size virtual keyboard.

While the new iPhones may look almost identical to last year’s models, practically everything else about them has been changed drastically — including new screen technology called 3D touch which reacts differently depending on how you touch the screen.

A new Apple TV has finally been announced too, with a focus on apps, powerful new hardware and a new user interface.

Read more here.

6:20am:

The lawyer of a US teenager who sent a string of text messages to her boyfriend encouraging him to commit suicide has tried to have the charges against her thrown out on grounds of free speech.

“You can’t think about it. You just have to do it. You said you were gonna do it. Like I don’t get why you aren’t,” Michelle Carter allegedly wrote to Conrad Roy III the day he parked his truck outside a Kmart store and killed himself through carbon monoxide poisoning.

Michelle Carter listens to defence lawyer Joseph P. Cataldo argue for an involuntary manslaughter charge against her.

Prosecutors have charged Carter with involuntary manslaughter in Roy’s 2014 death. They say that in the week before Roy killed himself, Carter assisted by urging him to overcome his doubts about taking his own life, pressuring him to do it and even telling him to get back in his truck after becoming frightened.

Carter’s lawyer, Joseph Cataldo, said her texts amount to speech protected by the First Amendment. He said it’s clear from the exchanges that Roy had made up his mind to take his own life and Carter, now 18, did not cause his death.

“He had thought this out. He wanted to take his own life. It’s sad, but it’s not manslaughter,” he said.

There is no codified freedom of speech in Australian law and while it is frequently (and vigorously) cited in the US, it is unlikely that such a defence will hold up.

Read more at The New York Post.

6:10am:

Melbourne commuters face a double whammy, with the city’s trams and some of its taxis going off the streets from 10am.

Tram workers are striking again today with neither the Rail, Tram and Bus Union nor Yarra Trams willing to compromise over a pay dispute that has dragged on for months.

The union will hold a four-hour strike from 10am that is likely to disrupt services from 9am to 3pm.

Melbourne commuters face a tough day.

The strike coincides with a rally on the steps of state parliament by the group Victorian Taxi and Hire Car Families to protest against ride share company Uber and its impact on the value of their taxi licences.

Yarra Trams held unsuccessful eleventh-hour talks with the union yesterday.

-AAP

6am:

A man in Northern Ireland has been jailed for four months for repeatedly calling the emergency services number claiming to be pop star Nikki Minaj and telling operators there is a ghost in his house.

Stephen Brown, 24, was jailed for eight months but the judge reduced his sentence to just four months saying Mr Brown was a “nuisance” but said it was clear he needs help.

Judge Desmond Marrinan said police resources are stretched thin and to call out a car when something serious could be occurring could mean people don’t get the help they really need.

According to the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Brown was already banned from making calls to the emergency 999 number and the court heard of two he made on Christmas Day last year.

During the first call he claimed two men were making threats to kill him but was too drunk to provide further information.

A prosecutor said Mr Brown then rang a second time saying he wanted to cancel the first call and also claimed to be US popstar Nicki Minaj and said there was a poltergeist in his house.

Nicki Minaj keeps calling an emergency number in Ireland talking about ghosts.