8.48am Have you been snapped out and about? Check out our gallery of social pics.

8.46am OSCARS: Matthew McConaughey wins best speech, followed a close second by Cate Blanchett.

8.44am CELEB GOSS ALERT: So apparently there is drama between Miley & Taylor Swift. I know, right?! Whodathunk it! Read more here.

8.40am Keep up with the latest from the Katie Foreman trial here. The trial is expected to run for several weeks.

8.37am The number of Australians struck down by food poisoning has leapt almost 80 per cent in a decade and the number of outbreaks linked to restaurants has more than doubled, according to the latest government statistics. NB Ewwwww. (SMH)

8.34am OSCARS: Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie have confirmed they are the King & Queen of Hollywood. The couple looked stunning - and so in love.

8.32am SPORT: Manly star Brett Stewart has made an impassioned plea to the NRL to look at salary cap exemptions for long-serving players, with brother Glenn in the firing line to be forced out of the club.

8.30am WORLD NEWS: Chinese police have captured the three remaining suspects of an eight-member, knife-wielding gang accused of killing 29 people at a Chinese railway station, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported Monday. (SMH)

8.28am OSCARS: Pharrell Williams wore shorts to the Oscars. Shorts. And he rocked them, of course.

8.26am LOCAL NEWS: Northern suburbs residents can have their say on the new rail timetable and the parking issues it has caused in a new NRMA survey.

8.24am CELEB GOSS ALERT: Katy Perry is in Australia!

8.22am BREAKING: Firefighters in breathing apparatus are trying to find the source of a gas leak at a nightclub in central Sydney. And in a separate incident 20 houses have been evacuated in Sydney’s west as crews attempt to stop a leak in a gas main. (AAP)

8.16am MUSIC NEWS: It's official - JT is touring down under. Click here for more information.

8.14am Have you been watching MKR? I must admit, I'm just a tad obsessed. I can't get enough! I'm also loving the new series Janet King on the ABC - Crownies fans, tune in!

8.12am OSCARS: I'm sorry but Lupita Nyong'o was best dressed BY FAR. She looked absolutely stunning from head to toe.

8.08am The Rock n’ Vintage Roll Autumn Festival is on this Sunday at the Ryan’s Hotel in Thirroul.

8.06am STRANGE BUT TRUE: A Ballarat ice-cream thief has had her last taste of freedom for four months. Shelley Ann McBain, 38, was jailed yesterday after pleading guilty to a string of charges that included stealing ice-creams from two supermarkets on the same evening. (The Courier)

8.04am OSCARS: Lady Gaga & Donatella Versace partied the night away together. And they look strikingly similar.

8.02am The Wild Rumpus market is on again this Sunday at Thirroul Community Centre. Don't miss it!

8am NATIONAL NEWS: Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes allegedly sexually abused a friend of his daughter who came to the actor's north shore home for sleepovers. Read more here.

7.57am CELEB GOSS ALERT: Scarlett Johnson is pregnant with her first child.

7.55am Here's what's making news in your Mercury today:

*A violent criminal who chased a couple down Burelli Street while wielding an axe, has told a court he was spat at by his alleged victim.

*Shellharbour City councillors have reinforced their opposition to having a popularly elected mayor, despite a review recommending local government areas with more than 40,000 people directly elect their civic leader. Read more here.

*Katie Foreman was supposed to end up in hospital, not dead, one of those accused of her murder allegedly told a close friend just weeks after the young solicitor perished in a deliberately lit fire at her Corrimal home.

*The invitation to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to visit the Shoalhaven remains open according to Shoalhaven Mayor Joanna Gash, despite the royal couple opting for a trip to the Blue Mountains over Jervis Bay. Read more here.

7.53am Good morning! If you're just tuning in, here's your weather & transport info.

WEATHER We're in for a cloudy morning, clearing to a partially cloudy day. We could get some morning drizzle and light winds. Temps are expected to hit 23 degrees. Right now, it's 18 in Albion Park and 19 in Bellambi.

TRAFFIC Everything looks okay on the region's roads - don't forget there could be increased traffic around the uni as session returns. All is clear for the run to Sydney too.

TRAINS There is a good service on the South Coast line but some delays on the Western line.

7.51am OSCARS: Idina Menzel performed the winning song "Let it Go" from the movie Frozen - before John Travolta epically mispronounced her name. Oooo man, it was awkward.

7.49am SPORT: South African captain Graeme Smith has announced he will retire at the end of his side's series-deciding Test against Australia in Cape Town. Read more here.

7.45am NATIONAL NEWS: The federal government plans to cut red tape around some overseas adoptions to make it easier for prospective parents. (AAP)

7.42am LOCAL SPORT: Don't forget to check out the Dragons Den on our homepage. We'll have all the latest Dragons news & pics. Check it out here.

7.40am OSCARS: Our girl Margot Robbie walked the red carpet on Sunday - sporting brown locks! NB I HATE it - what has she done!?

7.38am NATIONAL NEWS: Another Australian woman has been sentenced to a term in an Indonesian prison for drug possession, but Julie Anne Joseph, 32, of Port Hedland, should be free to return to Australia by May. Ms Joseph was sentenced to eight months' jail. She has already served five months on remand. (SMH)

7.36am Legally Blonde - the musical is coming to Wollongong! Moonglow Productions is set to stage the musical for the first time in Wollongong on July 4-5 @ the WIN Entertainment Centre. Tickets are on sale now - book via Ticketek.

7.34am OSCARS: Support for Leonardo Dicaprio, who missed out on the best actor award, is loud & clear on social media. Dozens of memes have popped up, showing outrage for the "robbed" star. Love this one - hilarious.

7.30am If you didn't get a chance to read this great yarn over the weekend, you should. Reporter Ben Langford has written a wonderful piece on the work of Wollongong lawyer Michael Sergent. Check it out here.

7.29am BREAKING NATIONAL NEWS: Shaun McNeil, the teen accused of punching Daniel Christie in Kings Cross, is due back in court today.

7.26am OSCARS: Pink celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Wizard of Oz with a gorgeous rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Wow, has it really been 75 years!? Still a classic. Now, where's my ruby slippers!?

7.24am LOCAL SPORT: Former Dragons playmaker Nathan Fien has backed under-fire coach Steve Price to remove doubts about his future by delivering a successful start to the NRL season.

7.22am Don't forget we're crossing every hour to Pulse 94.1FM. Tune in for the latest news from the Rush.

7.16am OSCARS: Host Ellen DeGeneres bought her audience some pizza during the loooong ceremony. Then she forced celebs to cough up for the bill! Here's Brad Pitt enjoying a slice!

7.14am If you haven't seen the pics of a python eating a crocodile, then do yourself a favour and check them out. Good lord, it's brutal.

7.12am CELEB GOSS ALERT: One of the Olsen twins is set to walk down the aisle. Former child star Mary-Kate Olsen is to marry the half-brother of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. He's 44, she's 27. Good luck to them! NB Does that make her French political royalty?

7.10am CUTENESS ALERT: This is a picture of a mouse wearing a teeny tiny jumper. I know, you're welcome.

7.08am SPORT: Our Wollongong Hawks are rocking it - but they need our support! Head along to the game at the WEC on Saturday night and help cheer them (hopefully!) on to glory.

7.07am Flix in the Stix is coming to Wollongong! That's right, the outdoor movie + live entertainment is on at the Botanic Gardens this Friday night. We're giving a reader the chance to meet Axis of Awesome on the night. Enter here.

7.05am OSCARS: This is, quite frankly, the best photo bomb of all time. Benedict Cumberbatch epically bombs U2. Love it!

7.02am BREAKING: A man has been charged after allegedly filming up the skirts of women travelling on an escalator at a popular Sydney shopping centre. Read more here.

7am Okay, so earlier I mentioned it was Pancake Tuesday. What I did not provide was some scrumptious recipes (silly me!) - so here they are!

6.58am BREAKING WORLD NEWS: Tension mounting between Russia & the Ukraine.

6.54am Here's what's making news in your Mercury today:

*A violent criminal who chased a couple down Burelli Street while wielding an axe, has told a court he was spat at by his alleged victim.

*Shellharbour City councillors have reinforced their opposition to having a popularly elected mayor, despite a review recommending local government areas with more than 40,000 people directly elect their civic leader. Read more here.

*Katie Foreman was supposed to end up in hospital, not dead, one of those accused of her murder allegedly told a close friend just weeks after the young solicitor perished in a deliberately lit fire at her Corrimal home.

*The invitation to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to visit the Shoalhaven remains open according to Shoalhaven Mayor Joanna Gash, despite the royal couple opting for a trip to the Blue Mountains over Jervis Bay. Read more here.

6.52am Good morning! If you're just tuning in, here's your weather & transport info.

WEATHER We're in for a cloudy morning, clearing to a partially cloudy day. We could get some morning drizzle and light winds. Temps are expected to hit 23 degrees. Right now, it's 18 in Albion Park and 19 in Bellambi.

TRAFFIC Everything looks okay on the region's roads - don't forget there could be increased traffic around the uni as session returns. All is clear for the run to Sydney too.

TRAINS There is a good service on the South Coast line.

6.50am OSCARS: After the Oscars come the parties. All the celebs headed to some big-name parties including Vanity Fair & Elton John's annual Oscars bash. Check out the looks from the parties.

6.48am LOCAL NEWS: Reporter Kate McIlwain sat down with Wollongong Coal boss David Stone. Here's what he had to say about his new gig.

6.46am STRANGE BUT TRUE: Police and paramedics have descended on Stockton Beach, north of Newcastle, after a blue four-wheel-drive was towed from the water. No-one was inside - so how exactly did it get there?

6.44am OSCARS: In case you missed it, host Ellen DeGeneres took an epic selfie with a bunch of celebs. The image broke Twitter - and Liza Minelli's heart as she missed out on the pic!

6.42am Ladies, looking for your man this weekend? Well, he's probably in front of the TV. The 2014 NRL season kicks off this Thursday. And so it begins...

6.40am Want to take a walk down memory lane? Check out our Flashback gallery & see what was happening this week 10 years ago. 

6.38am Apparently, today is World Wildlife Day. In honour of that new-found fact, I give you polar bears.

6.36am TIARA ALERT: Kate & Wills & baby George are on their way down under! Yep, the pair are set to visit Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Canberra, Brisbane & Uluru when they hit our shores in April. No Wollongong?

6.34am OSCARS: Speaking of J-Law, the Oscar winner managed to stack it AGAIN at the awards ceremony - this time on the red carpet.

6.32am WORLD NEWS: "Bang. Bang, bang, bang." It was always going to be an explosive start, but with those words the first witness in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial transported a fascinated international audience back to the night Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead by her boyfriend on Valentine's Day last year. Read more here.

6.30am OSCARS: Jennifer Lawrence mucked around backstage with best supporting actress winner Lupita Nyong'o, threatening to steal her Oscar. Oh she's a funny one! #lovejen

6.28am SPORT: Australia is likely to seek quick runs and then make an early declaration of its second innings on day four in Cape Town as it seeks to become the first team in five years to beat South Africa in a series.

6.26am OSCARS: Nude was the big colour on the red carpet at the Oscars. But who wore it best? My vote goes to Cate Blanchett - she was flawless.

6.24am LOCAL NEWS: Corrimal childcare worker Emma Barrow is taking part in the Leukaemia Foundation's World's Greatest Shave not just to raise money for a great cause, but to teach her young charges the meaning of empathy. Great effort Em!

6.22am I know it's only Tuesday (it's Monday for me boohoo!) so here's a picture of a happy dog to ease you into the morning.

6.20am Today is pancake Tuesday. Enjoy! 

6.13am Love jazz? Then head to the Kiama Jazz & Blues festival this weekend - it's all free!

6.11am OSCARS: If you missed all the glamour of the red carpet yesterday, check it out here.

6.06am Let's check out the national headlines, courtesy of the SMH:

*Almost 50,000 of the state’s most vulnerable children are still not being seen by DFCS caseworkers.

*Pressure is building in Indonesia for Schapelle Corby to have her parole revoked after Indonesia’s deputy justice minister said she may have been ‘‘sneaking around the law’’ in her appearance on the Seven Network.

*Tony Abbott has arrived at the only outcome he thought acceptable on Qantas, even though he had to roll his Treasurer to do it.

6.04am Here's what's making news in your Mercury today:

*A violent criminal who chased a couple down Burelli Street, Wollongong, while wielding an axe, has told a court he was spat at by his alleged victim.

*Shellharbour City councillors have reinforced their opposition to having a popularly elected mayor, despite a review panel recommending local government areas with more than 40,000 people directly elect their civic leader. Read more here.

*Katie Foreman was supposed to end up in hospital, not dead, one of those accused of her murder allegedly told a close friend just weeks after the young solicitor perished in a deliberately lit fire at her Corrimal home.

*The invitation to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to visit the Shoalhaven remains open according to Shoalhaven Mayor Joanna Gash, despite the royal couple opting for a trip to the Blue Mountains over Jervis Bay. Read more here.

6.02am Let's check out the latest weather, traffic & trains, shall we?

WEATHER We're in for a cloudy morning, clearing to a partially cloudy day. We could get some morning drizzle and light winds. Temps are expected to hit 23 degrees. Right now, it's 18 in Albion Park and 19 in Bellambi.

TRAFFIC Everything looks okay on the region's roads - don't forget there could be increased traffic around the uni as session returns. All is clear for the run to Sydney too.

TRAINS There is a good service on the South Coast line.

6am Good morning and happy Tuesday! Your host Emma Spillett is back after a two-week hiatus. Sadly, I haven't been on holidays but filling another role in the newsroom. Anywho, stay with me this morning for a special Oscars edition of the Rush!