RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today
MUCH has been made about the supermarket wars and one Woolworths store is clearly showing signs of battle fatigue, because this is a joke.
- Man narrowly avoids possible death from a falling pane of glass
- NSW man under police guard at hospital after woman’s body found
- Donald Trump’s Twitter Q&A predictably backfires
- Coalition receives major jump in polls with Turnbull as leader
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:
South Sydney NRL players Dylan Walker and Aaron Gray have been rushed to hospital this morning.
The pair were initially listed as serious but are now reported to be in a stable condition. It is believed the players had a bad reaction to medicinal substances Oxycodone and Tramadol prescribed after a recent surgery.
Walker, 20, played four games for Australia and made his NRL debut two years ago with Souths.The centre played a pivotal role in Souths’ premiership success last year.
Gray made his first grade debut this season and scored seven tries in 12 matches, earning himself a new contract with the South Sydney club.
9:45am:
A lot has been made about the “supermarket wars” but one Woolworths in NSW is showing signs of battle fatigue.
An advertisement photographed by a shopper at the supermarket in Dural yesterday shows a large sign advertising a one cent discount. That’s rights, the childrens toy was proudly marked down from $20.00 to the low low price of $19.99.
“Save 1c” the sign exclaims...
*slow clap*
9:25am:
man has been charged after a brawl in Adelaide that’s left one man with stab wounds.
Police say a 20-year-old was arrested after a man was stabbed in the back and another suffered minor injuries during a fight between two groups of men in Adelaide’s northern suburbs on Thursday night. The suspect was refused bail and will appear in Elizabeth Magistrates Court today charged with aggravated assault causing harm.
-AAP
9:15am:
Desperate football fans in Seattle started a GoFundMe page in an effort to break up the relationship between their star quarterback and pop singer, Ciara.
The Seattle Seahawks have gotten off to an 0-2 start this NFL season. Fans are worried and they believe they’ve found a culprit for the team’s woes.
Curse of Ciara: Seahawks fans started a GoFundMe to break her and Russell Wilson up http://t.co/IPtKIQk2Bq pic.twitter.com/6hobHv3zlR
— saycheesetv.com (@SayCheese_TV) September 21, 2015According to For The Win, fans sought $50,000 to give Ciara’s music career a boost so that “she has no time to be in a relationship.”
Ciara’s former partner, rapper Future, has gone on to have huge success since breaking up with her, and fans apparently want a similar fate for their struggling playmaker.
“After seeing how great Future Hendrix career has been since Ciara broke up with him. We think the same thing can happen to Russell Wilson again!!” the campaign said.
The page was undoubtedly a joke, and surely Ciara wouldn’t have minded the extra cash but the campaign was quickly removed by the crowd funding website.
If I'm Pete Carroll, I'm putting Ciara in the end zone wearing a wedding dress. Just try to stop Russell Wilson from scoring, Green Bay.
— BigHeadSports (@BigHeadSports) September 21, 20159am:
Hungary on Monday gave the army drastic new powers to protect its borders, as the UN chief said he was “extremely concerned” about the treatment of migrants and refugees in overstretched Europe.
On the eve of two key European Union meetings, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to leaders across the 28-nation bloc, urging them to “show leadership and compassion” as the continent grapples with it worst migration crisis since World War II.
His statement was issued shortly after Hungary said it was broadening the military’s powers to block the entry of migrants seeking passage to northern Europe, many of whom are refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria.
-AFP
8:45am:
New Zealand’s favourite competitive eater, slash model, is back with her latest challenge. And this one is pretty impressive, albeit disgusting.
Nela Zisser decided to gulp down five times the recommended daily intake of calories for an average woman in a single sitting with a giant ice cream sundae.
“This is the most food I’ve ever eaten at once to date,” she says in the video’s caption. “My final time was 13 minutes and 52 seconds which I’m very happy with considering the fact I actually finished this Monster of a Dessert!”
Not a bad effort.
8:30am:
A man has serious injuries after scaling a building and allegedly ransacking an apartment before falling several storeys from the building in western Sydney.
The 36-year-old was treated at the scene in Liverpool after he fell three floors from the building in the early hours this morning, police said.
He’s been taken to Liverpool Hospital while police continue to investigate the incident and will likely face charges when he is able to be interviewed by police.
8:20am:
The man accused of murdering the little girl known to the world as “Baby Doe” allegedly told her mother that the two-and-a-half-year old was “possessed by demons” and required punishment.
After allegedly beating Bella Bond to death in her bed, Michael McCarthy reportedly stuffed the little girl’s body in a refrigerator while he and his girlfriend, Bella’s mother Rachelle Bond, went on a heroin binge that lasted for several days, before placing her body in a plastic bag and dumping it.
Grim details over Bella’s murder were read out in a Boston court overnight, including details of abuse where the child endured yelling and spanking. In the most serious of accusations, the couple would lock Bella in a closet for up to an hour while she screamed to be let out.
8:05am:
A horror crash north of the Gold Coast is causing major road delays in both directions on the Pacific motorway.
Queensland Ambulance says a 35-year-old man suffered head and leg injuries when a truck and two cars collided in a northbound lane at Pimpama about 6.30am this morning. Two others received minor injuries.
Queensland Police warned the accident would cause major disruptions and motorists should avoid the area if possible.
Read more at The Courier Mail.
7:50am:
The quality of TV programs may be at an all time high, but people’s tolerance for the self-congratulatory nature of award shows may be at an all time low.
According to rating giant Nielsen, yesterday’s three-hour Emmys special which aired on Fox in the US averaged just 11.9 million viewers, making it the least-watched Emmys in history.
Last year, when it aired on a Monday in late August on NBC, it logged 15.6 million viewers.
In 2013, 17.8 million viewers tuned in for CBS’s broadcast, teamed with an NFL game as a powerful lead-in.
7:35am:
When will people learn that conducting a Twitter Q&A is not a good idea for controversial figures?
Even though his presidential campaign seems impervious to embarrassment, Donald Trump’s attempt at a social media Q&A with the hashtag #AskTrump may have left him a little red-faced after a majority of users took the mickey and peppered him with satirical and unflattering questions.
Surely he must’ve seen a few of these coming:
#asktrump As the head of Slytherin do you feel your association to Voldemort will hinder your chances at becoming the muggle president?
— Rob Eric (@roberic1) September 21, 2015Is it true that if you say Donald Trump 3 times in the bathroom mirror, the hair in the drain will rise up to shout racial slurs? #AskTrump
— P a t r i c k (@ruinedbyreality) September 21, 2015People never learn from history. Don't try invade Russia in the winter. Don't do a twitter Q&A if you are a prick. #AskTrump
— Claire Mas (@MasMusicMadness) September 21, 2015#AskTrumpDo you think this potato looks like you? pic.twitter.com/E6RUFPcwth
— joe heenan (@joeheenan) September 21, 20157:25am:
A distraught husband and father was held back by police after arriving home yesterday to the news that his wife and young child were dead in a possible murder-suicide.
The woman, 29, and their 17 month-old daughter were found dead in their Campsie, NSW home yesterday, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The father came home after hearing the news and was met by grieving relatives who consoled one another on the footpath outside the family home.
Campise Police Superintendent Michael McLean said they were speaking to family and friends in an effort to establish what had taken place.
Police said the pair died of asphyxiation.
7:15am:
Archaeologists have discovered a Pre-Roman era tomb in perfect condition at Pompeii, the team at the archaeological site buried in a 79AD volcanic eruption
“Pompeii continues to be an inexhaustible source of scientific discoveries,” Massimo Osanna, superintendent at the ancient city site, said in a statement.
The tomb, unearthed by a team from the French Jean Berard Centre in Naples in southern Italy, dates back to the Samnite era, and is located at the Herculaneaum Gate at Pompeii.
The Samnites were a group of tribes involved in fierce battles with the Romans in the fourth century BC.
The tomb contained a number of vases and amphoras in perfect condition which give a rare insight into the funerary practices of that era in Pompeii.
-AFP
7:05am:
Wallabies halfback Will Genia has vowed to use the Rugby World Cup to win back the respect of the Australian public, after admitting the team felt underprepared for their failed 2011 campaign.
The Wallabies were knocked out by eventual champions New Zealand in the 2011 semi-finals and Genia insists the exit still sits uneasily with him — as does the criticism directed at the team upon their return to Australia.
Genia felt the Wallabies went into 2011 an underprepared unit under Robbie Deans, so he’s imploring his young teammates to cherish every moment at this World Cup.
“If I look back to 2011, we didn’t have a really specific plan about how we wanted to go about things in that World Cup - as far as preparation and just little things to focus on,” admits Genia, who will start at halfback in the Wallabies’ Cup-opener against Fiji in Cardiff on Wednesday.
“Whereas preparation this time around ... we’ve left no stone unturned.
“The detail, everything is there, everything’s been done. The groundwork has been done.”
-AAP
6:55am:
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has accused Treasurer Scott Morrison of misleading the public for claiming he was warned his leadership was under threat.
Mr Morrison has said he told Mr Abbott on the Friday before last Monday’s challenge his leadership was at risk and warned him to be on high alert.
“Scott never warned anyone ... not a hint of a warning, so I’m afraid Scott badly misled people,” Mr Abbott told the Daily Telegraph following a surf at Manly Beach yesterday.
“Not true, not true. Scott never warned anyone,” he said. “He certainly never warned me. I spoke to him on (the) Friday — not a hint of a warning.”
6:40am:
A man in Saudi Arabia has escaped serious injury by sheer millimetres in an unbelievably lucky escape. CCTV footage uploaded to an Arabic YouTube channel yesterday, shows a man wandering along an urban sidewalk when a huge pane of glass falls from above.
The pane of glass narrowly misses the man as it skims the side of his face and explodes at his feet.
The man is thrown sideways and while visibly shaken, appears to be okay.
If this footage is genuine, that man needs to buy a lottery ticker, ASAP.
6:30am:
Malcolm Turnbull hasn’t been in the job for much more than a week, but already he’s the most popular Prime Minister in more than five years.
His ascension to the top job has given the Coalition government a five-point leap in support to put it in front of Labor for the first time since before its first horror budget.
The latest Newspoll, taken exclusively for The Australian, reveals voters have reacted very positively to the ousting of Tony Abbott.
Fifty five per cent of those polled rated Malcolm Turnbull as the preferred PM — the highest rating since Julia Gillard in July 2010 and 18 points greater than Mr Abbott’s last measure a fortnight ago.
6:20am:
A man is under police guard in hospital after the body of a woman was found in Mount Druitt, NSW, this morning.
Emergency services were called to the home a short time after midnight where they found the body of a woman believed to be in her thirties. A crime scene has been established a police are treating the death as suspicious.
A short time after police arrived at the scene, a 38-year-old man attended Mount Druitt Police Station with non-life-threatening injuries. The man, understood to be known to the woman, was arrested and taken to hospital.
6:10am:
In case you missed it, this woman’s Family Feud answer was so whack, even her opponent couldn’t stop laughing.
Darci, a contestant on the US version of the show, was asked to name something a doctor might pull out of you.
Her response?
“A gerbil!”
She immediately grimaced, shouting: “I didn’t say that! I didn’t say that!”
The show’s host, Steve Harvey, looked bewildered while her opponent erupted with laughter.
The funny moment happened earlier in the year, but for some reason the media has pulled it out again for a second helping.
The magic of television:
6am:
A Gold Coast man accused of stealing an echidna from a wildlife park is set to face court today. Luke Royes, 25, is due in Southport Magistrates Court on charges of animal cruelty and receiving tainted property.
Royes, along with two other men, have been charged after Piggie the echidna was removed from his enclosure at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on August 1.
Piggie was later found safe and well but all three men have since been charged for their alleged roles in the crime.
-AAP
5:45am:
When Braxton Rocha was attacked by a tiger shark, he didn’t panic. Instead, he hastily exited the ocean and grabbed his phone.
The 27-year-old from Hawaii was bitten on the leg, causing his left thigh to be completely torn open. But despite his dire situation following the attack, Mr Rocha managed to film a horrific Instagram video of his injury while his friends stretchered him from the back of a ute into a waiting ambulance.
“Woo, I just got attacked by a shark. Woo, going to the hospital,” he says in the clip, before directing the camera at his leg.
His friends can be heard telling him they love him as he get loaded into the back of the vehicle.
In the era of social media, few things go undocumented but the compulsion to make an Instagram video at a time like this is really something else.
UPDATE: The Instagram user, Braxton Rocha, has since deleted the video from his account.
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.