RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today

THIS could be the stupidest selfie ever taken. But despite the less than desirable setting, this teen felt the compulsion to document it.

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.

9:45am:

Workers for London’s underground train system went back on the job Tuesday after a strike which caused massive headaches for commuters.

One man in particular is exceptionally happy about their return and decided to throw a party — on one of the underground trains.

Dressed in a suit and armed with a microphone and balloons, he took to the carriage and encouraged people to celebrate.

Most were reluctant but eventually he gets a whole trainload of people to dance in celebration.

9:30am:

A student accused of passing out brownies laced with hashish to students and a teacher at his Ohio high school has been indicted on felony drug charges.

The 19-year-old, Edward Goschinski III was just looking to have a good time but now he’s looking at a laundry list of charges including the trafficking and possession of concentrated marijuana, corrupting another with drugs and contributing to the unruliness or delinquency of a minor.

“He made a very serious mistake thinking it was a joke, and now he’s going to have some lifelong consequences,” Prosecutor David Fornshell told WLWT-TV.

9:20am:

Here’s your feel good story for the day.

Josh Cyganik, 35, lives in Oregon and every morning on his way to work he waves to a 75-year-old neighbour who reliably sits on his front porch each day.

One day when Mr Cyganik was taking out the rubbish, he heard two teenagers passing by yell: “Look at this crappy house. They just need to burn it down!”.

As he glanced over, he saw the old man sitting on the porch with his head down, he told CBS News.

Mr Cyganik struggled to forget the rude comments and decided to do something about it. He called a friend who runs a lumber and paint store and asked for help. He then put a call out on Facebook explaining the situation. Over 6,000 people shared the post.

Days later, he went and knocked on the man’s door with a few helpers and asked if he wanted his house repainted.

“He was just flabbergasted,” Cyganik said. “He was excited and he said he would love that!”

And it turned out pretty well.

News_Image_File: The before and after. Pic: Josh Cyganik

9:10am:

An international web of hackers and traders made $136 million on Wall Street by stealing a look at corporate press releases before they went out and then trading on that information ahead of the pack, federal authorities charged Tuesday.

Authorities said it was the biggest scheme of its kind ever prosecuted, and one that demonstrated another alarming vulnerability in the financial system in this age of increasingly sophisticated cybercrime.

News_Image_File: U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Paul J. Fishman speaks during a press conference next to Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White.

In a 21st-century twist on insider trading, the hackers broke into the computers of some of the biggest business newswire services, which put out earnings announcements and other press releases for a multitude of corporations.

Nine people in the U.S. and Ukraine were indicted on federal criminal charges, including securities fraud, computer fraud and conspiracy.

-AP

8:55am:

If you’re dreaming of a holiday or just simply suffering from a bad case of wanderlust, maybe this video will help tie you over.

Posted this month by YouTuber DevinSuperTramp, it shows an insanely cool natural water slide in British Columbia, Canada.

It’s worth checking out but will surely make you jealous.

8:45am:

A third man who was allegedly involved in the carjacking of a taxi in Sydney’s northwest has been charged. Police say the 24-year-old man jumped behind the wheel of a taxi that was carrying two teenagers in Oatlands on Monday morning, when the cabbie momentarily left the vehicle.

The taxi sped off, leaving the cabbie stranded before crashing in Toongabbie where police arrested the teen passengers, aged 17 and 18.

The 24-year-old man then drove the taxi away from the crash scene and the abandoned cab was found at Seven Hills a short time later.

Following a tip, police attended a home at Doonside on Tuesday afternoon where they chased the man and arrested him in a nearby yard. He will face Blacktown Local Court today.

-AAP

8:35am:

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire privately attacked the Sydney Swans for damaging his career because they publicly criticised him for racially vilifying Adam Goodes.

“You and Horse have f***ing ruined my career,” an enraged McGuire reportedly said to Swans chairman Richard Colles.

The heated exchange took place at a 2013 meeting but has just surface in the media. The meeting took place after McGuire liked Goodes to King Kong on his radio show.

Read more at the Courier Mail.

8:20am:

Japan has officially ended its ban on nuclear power following meltdowns at Fukushima that forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes, most of them for good.

Crowded, energy-scarce Japan remains committed to nuclear power despite the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant and its messy aftermath, for economic, environmental and political reasons.

News_Image_File: A protester shouts slogans during an antinuclear rally.

However polls show that most Japanese don’t want nuclear power, but public opinion has been trumped by leaders who say keeping the country’s 43 workable reactors offline forever would be too damaging economically.

Protesters amassed at an antinuclear rally in front of Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo, Tuesday to denounce the commitment to nuclear power.

8:05am:

We all make mistakes, but a police officer in Iowa has been a good sport about it.

According to the local Press-Citizen newspaper, 20-year-old Gilbert Phelps was pulled over for speeding by police and taken in on suspicion of drink driving.

He later admitted to drinking and smoking marijuana before getting in the car and was ultimately charged with drunken driving. But his spirits apparently weren’t too dampened.

Officer Ben Hektoen wrote in his report that during the test, Mr Phelps “requested to take a Snapchat selfie with me to which I happily obliged.”

The result was pretty great.

News_Image_File: Smile! Pic: Iowa City Press-Citizen.

7:50am:

Police have seized more than 4kg of the highly addictive drug ice and $17,000 in cash after raids on two Brisbane properties.

Officers say a drug syndicate based in the city’s south was using unoccupied apartments to store drugs and cash before distribution to street-level dealers as far away as the Sunshine Coast.

A 40-year-old man with alleged links to an outlaw bikie gang has been charged with a range of drug offences including trafficking in commercial quantities of ice.

-AAP

7:40am:

The quarterback of the New York Jets will be on the sidelines for six to 10 weeks after he was “sucker punched” by a teammate in the locker room.

News_Image_File: Geno Smith of the New York Jets has two fractures in his jaw after a locker room altercation.

The altercation has left two fractures in his jaw with the playmaker requiring surgery.

“It’s something we don’t tolerate,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said at a press conference. “It’s something we can’t stand. You don’t walk up to another man and punch him in the face.”

Enemkpali, a linebacker drafted in the sixth round of the 2014 draft, was immediately released by the team.

Read more here.

7:30am:

No one can accuse Perth-based artist Stelarc of not being dedicated to his craft.

One of the artist’s current projects has been two decades in the making and involves growing an ear on his arm. That’s right, the Curtin University professor is literally growing a human ear on his arm.

News_Image_File: Perth based artist Stelarc is using technology for another reason.

“People’s reactions range from bemusement to bewilderment to curiosity, but you don’t really expect people to understand the art component of all of this,” he told the ABC this week.

“I guess I’ve always got something up my sleeve, but often my sleeve is rolled down,” he joked.

Even more amazingly, he plans to connect the ear to the internet by inserting a wireless microphone.

“This ear is not for me, I’ve got two good ears to hear with. This ear is a remote listening device for people in other places,” he said.

7:15am:

We’re a nation of sickos.

About half of all Australians have a chronic disease, while one in five have at least two, according to data released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare today.

The release covers eight chronic diseases: arthritis, asthma, back problems, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental health conditions.

Nearly 40 per cent of Australians aged 45 and over have two or more of the eight chronic diseases, while among those aged 0-44, mental health conditions and back problems were the most common, followed by mental health and asthma, and back problems and asthma.

-AAP

7:05am:

It’s a dying sport, and surely fewer people are signing up after witnessing this.

A prominent Spanish bullfighter is in hospital after being gored in the groin by a bull, the government of the north-eastern Aragon region said Tuesday.

Francisco “Paquirri” Rivera Ordonez suffered the injury while fighting the bull in the town of Huesca and was in intensive care.

The bull’s horn sank some 25 centimetres into Paquirri’s groin but did not threaten any vital organs, doctors said

6:50am:

The Liberal Party has voted not to allow a free vote on same-sex marriage by 66 votes to 33. The result came after marathon six-hour joint party room meeting in Canberra on Tuesday night.

The Prime Minister defended the outcome of the vote saying it was in accordance with voter’s expectations.

“The last thing you should do is dud the people who voted for you,” Mr Abbott said during a press conference.

“There was a strong view in the party room today that if we were to drop the policy, even if we were to adjust the policy to the extent of having a free vote, a lot of the people who voted for us were going to feel dudded.”

News_Rich_Media: Tony Abbott's sister Christine Forster says the Coalition have made the wrong decision after rejecting a vote on same sex marriage. Courtesy: Lateline/ABC

Mr Abbott has opened the door to a plebiscite or referendum on gay marriage, insisting it should be the decision of the Australian people.

Australia is the last developed English-speaking country not to allow same-sex marriage.

Read more here.

6:40am:

The woman who won $23 million from her boss in a sexual harassment suit in June says she will be “forever paranoid”.

Hanna Bouveng, 25, penned in a first-person piece for Cosmopolitan magazine about how she is now considering uprooting her life and changing her name.

News_Image_File: Hanna Bouveng beams after being awarded $23 million by a New York jury. Source: New York Post

“I wonder whether my relatives and I should get new identities and move somewhere new,” she wrote. “I think I will forever feel paranoid,” she added.

Ms Bouveng was awarded the money after she was extensively harassed and pressured her into sex by her CEO boss Benjamin Wey in exchange for keeping her job, visa and the apartment.

Read more at the New York Post.

6:25am:

The death toll from severe flooding across Myanmar has topped 100, with nearly a million people affected by the disaster.

A result of heavy monsoonal rains, the inundation has cut through swathes of South and Southeast Asia in recent weeks, claiming hundreds of lives and displacing millions.

News_Image_File: A flood-affected resident swims in floodwaters at Kyaut Ye village near the Hinthada town in Myanmar's Irrawaddy region on August 11, 2015.

Myanmar, one of Asia’s most impoverished countries, has been hit particularly hard by weeks of torrential rain with 12 of 14 states and regions suffering flooding.

International aid has been stepped up following a government request for help.

Last week the Australian government offered $2 million in emergency relief aid to the country.

-With AFP

6:15am:

A 91-year-old retired surgeon who claims he was duped into importing almost five kilograms of cocaine inside soap bars has had his bail continued.

Police say Sydney man Victor Twartz was “legitimately scammed” by an organised crime syndicate who befriended him via email and gained his trust before luring him overseas.

News_Image_File: The drugs that were found on 91-year-old.News_Image_File: Victor Twartz.

Australian police are warning all Australians to be wary of offers that sound too good to be true but could end up turning them into inadvertent drug mules.

Mr Twartz was returning to Australia from New Delhi on July 8 when he was caught allegedly carrying 27 bars of soap, filled with about 4.5kg of cocaine.

The Epping man has been charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. He will return to court in October.

6am:

Sometimes the mind just boggles. How could a company get it so wrong?

The South African branch of pen company Bic has been lambasted online after it released an undeniably sexist advert which completely missed the mark.

News_Image_File: At the bottom of the poster was the company’s logo and the text: #HappyWomensDay.

Below the text which can easily be described as sexist was the company’s logo and the text: #HappyWomensDay.

Unsurprisingly, the reaction was fierce. And online outrage quickly ensued. Here’s just a sample of the more mild Twitter reactions.

Bic please, that's not how we roll in 2015. #WomensDay

Look like a girl Act like a lady Think like a supervillain Work to destroy the Bic corporation.

@elainephipps they've already apologised on their Facebook but blamed it on stuff they found on another blog. Oh dear.

Next from Bic: "Work like a black, think like a white". "Oh sorry we just took it from this KKK blog"

As a pen brand you'd think BIC would know where to draw the line. Haha.

They made a Bic mistake.

Bic took to its Facebook page to apologise and try to redeem itself:

“Hi everyone. Let’s start out by saying we’re incredibly sorry for offending everybody — that was never our intention, but we completely understand where we’ve gone wrong. This post should never have gone out. The feedback you have given us will help us ensure that something like this will never happen again, and we appreciate that,” the company wrote.