Keep this page refreshed through the morning for all the latest news

8.35am: that's all folks! Emma is back with you tomorrow morning. In the meantime, here's what today's Mercury looks like (hint hint)

8.30am: notice a bit of haze around over the weekend? Check our gallery of haze and fog blanketing our beaches

8.25am: Illawarra indie dudes The Vanns are heading off on tour next month. They play two Wollongong shows, November 13 and 23, both at Rad Bar.

8.22am: that truck breakdown on Mount Ousley Road seems to have cleared

8.20am: Halloween's this weekend - don't be THAT guy who turns up in a costume like this:

8.15am: national news

* the Brisbane teenager at the centre of an Ebola scare has tested negative for the virus

* the search is still on for 11-year-old Michelle Levy, after she was reported missing from her Bondi home on Saturday

* the Labor Party's immigration spokesman has said the party "might" continue turning back asylum seeker boats if it wins the next federal election

8.10am: a recap on your big Monday stories

* construction work on the Crown Street Mall upgrade will not be finished on time. 

* a five-year-old girl was rescued from bushland at Mount Kembla over the weekend, after going missing from her home

* Kiama council has distanced itself from controversy over the shifting of beds from Kiama hospital

8.05am: we're coming into the home stretch of our time together this morning! It's very sad. I'll miss you. For just one last time this Monday morn, here's a recap of what you need to know

WEATHER: 30 degrees today, but be prepared for some wind and rain later on

TRAFFIC: there's still a broken down truck on Mount Ousley Road, with one northbound lane closed. Keep an eye out

TRAINS: all good on the South Coast line

8am: could comedian Russell Brand be considering a tilt at politics? There are rumours flying around that the former Mr Katy Perry will stand for mayor of London in 2016. It's a long way off, but watching clips of the man, it's easy to see he's more than a comedy livewire - he also seems to know his stuff, and is very articulate

7.55am: there's total fire bans across northern NSW today, and we're at "very high" fire danger in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven today. Be careful

7.50am: on Michelle Levy, a CCTV image of the girl walking at Bondi Junction on Saturday night - just an hour after she left home - has been circulated in the hope it jogs someone's memory.

7.45am: the search is still underway for Michelle Levy in Sydney, but in Tasmania, 14-year-old Jack Rumsley has been found this morning after disappearing for two days.

7.40am: get some more sports into ya! Manchester United star Robin van Persie this morning scored a goal against Chelsea in the last minute of extra time, giving the Red Devils a 1-1 draw. What a rocket!

7.40am: we've got a truck broken down on Mount Ousley Road near New Mt Pleasant Road - one northbound lane is closed. Keep an eye out if you're driving north this morning.

7.35am: Monday morning got me like....

7.30am: heard about this new app, Kickon? It's being called "the Tinder of parties and events"; in the style of the dating/hook-up app, those looking for a party or club night can swipe left or right on events posted online by hosts, and hosts get to approve or deny their potential guests.

7.25am: really, that last Richard Wilkins reference was just so I could link you all to this masterpiece of Wilkins entertainment reporting - introducing seminal RnB singer Aloe Blacc as "Aloe Vera" on the Today show last week. Check the embarrassing blunder here.

7.20am: it was before my time (hello 1990s babies!) but The Breakfast Club is still one of my favourite films. The film's star, bad boy Judd Nelson, was the subject of a death rumour this weekend, but he has posted a photo online to debunk the hoax

If you watch The Today Show in a few minutes, you'll probably see Richard Wilkins reporting that Judd Apatow has died...

7.15am: pretty sure I've done four of these already this morning.

7.10am: and your national headlines

* the Brisbane teenager at the centre of an Ebola scare has tested negative for the virus

* the search is still on for 11-year-old Michelle Levy, after she was reported missing from her Bondi home on Saturday

* the Labor Party's immigration spokesman has said the party "might" continue turning back asylum seeker boats if it wins the next federal election

7.05am: a recap on your big Monday stories

* construction work on the Crown Street Mall upgrade will not be finished on time. 

* a five-year-old girl was rescued from bushland at Mount Kembla over the weekend, after going missing from her home

* Kiama council has distanced itself from controversy over the shifting of beds from Kiama hospital

7am: top of the hour, time for a rundown of your Monday morning need-to-knows:

WEATHER: hot but maybe a bit wet and windy today - high of 30 degrees around the Illawarra, but possible showers and wind later on.

TRAFFIC: all good on the roads this morning

TRAINS: good service on the South Coast line, with no delays reported

6.58am: actually, this one is probably more like Jarryd. The former Eels star has said he sees himself as a kick returner, and this sort of play is something we've seen the Plane/Train/whatever form of transport he calls himself now, do on a regular basis in the NRL

6.55am: reckon Jarryd Hayne can do this? Watch an amazing diving catch from the Houston v Tennessee NFL game. The Hayne Plane has a bit of work to do if he wants to crack the big time American football ranks

6.50am: with all the talk and hysteria around Ebola and how it might spread in public, we often forget one thing - the people actually suspected of having it. One American woman, a nurse from Texas, was quarantined in New Jersey after returning from Africa - she said she was made to feel like a "criminal" in lockdown as they checked her out.

6.45am: I'm probably not the only one who is feeling the heat already. Temps will hit 35 degrees in Sydney today. 

6.40am: the air con isn't on in the building and I don't know how to turn it on and I'm the only one here. Send help, and also a bottle of cold water.

6.35am: the family of Cordeaux Heights boy Jack McMillan were on 60 Minutes last night, speaking about "shallow water blackout." Jack died in January 2013 after swimming underwater laps in his pool, blacking out and drowning (see the Mercury story here). His family spoke out about the silent killer, looking to raise awareness.

If you missed it, you can rewatch the episode here. 

6.30am: OVERNIGHT: Lake Illawarra police have arrested a woman after a man died from multiple stab wounds near Windang bridge. Police are still investigating the incident. We'll have more for you through the day.

Did you see or hear anything last night in Windang, around 9.30pm? We'd like to hear from you - email joshua.butler@illawarramercury.com.au, or call 4221 2311

6.25am: the Brisbane teenager has apparently tested negative for ebola.

6.20am: winter is over, the warmer weather is on, and so are all our summertime sports. Let's see how our Illawarra teams fared over the weekend

* the Hawks lost again. The ballers went down 79-77 to New Zealand, for their fifth loss in a row

* Dragons premiership-winning captain Dean Young has been named the team's new assistant coach for 2015. Hopefully some of the past glory can rub off on a team who haven't come close to recapturing their 2010 form in recent years

* local cricket is back on, check all the weekend results here

6.15am: what a lovely weekend we've just had! It seemed the perfect time for a cruise in the car, or at least it was according to 1000 people in Oak Flats. The second annual billycart derby took over the main street on Sunday, with 100 billycarts vying for the top prize.

We've got a big gallery of the weird and wonderful entrants, but this is my personal favourite, the Cheezinator - "it's big and it's cheesy," apparently.

6.10am: and some national headlines now:

* an 18-year-old woman has been isolated at a Brisbane hospital, undergoing tests for ebola. Eight members of her family are also in a home quarantine 

* the search is still on for 11-year-old Michelle Levy, after she was reported missing from her Bondi home on Saturday

* the Labor Party's immigration spokesman has said the party "might" continue turning back asylum seeker boats if it wins the next federal election

6.05am: Monday seems a good time to pick up the paper, right? Get a load of what's in today's Mercury:

* surprise surprise, construction work on the Crown Street Mall upgrade will not be finished on time. 

* a five-year-old girl was rescued from bushland at Mount Kembla over the weekend, after going missing from her home

* Kiama council has distanced itself from controversy over the shifting of beds from Kiama hospital

6am: hello! Josh Butler with you this morning, as Emma is having a well-deserved day off. First things first, let's do a quick whiparound of all the morning essentials:

WEATHER: summer is on the way! We're due to crack the 30 degrees mark in the Illawarra today, with Albion Park and Nowra both over that mark. Wollongong will be a little cooler at 28, but we're also warned a shower and some wind may pick up later.

TRAFFIC: all looks fine on the roads so far, no accidents or incidents reported

TRAINS: good service on the South Coast line, with no delays reported