8.49am Arrr my computer just crashed! On that note, I'm off. See you tomorrow for the TGIF edition of the Rush. Ciao :)
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8.42am OSCARS: John Travolta says he's been feeling terrible over his much-ridiculed Oscars mangling of singer Idina Menzel's name. The actor triggered a storm of online mockery - including an app to "Travoltify" your own name - after mispronouncing the star's name as he introduced her performance. (SMH)
NB I "travoltified" my name - hello Ella Scizott!
8.37am BREAKING: Witnesses to a fatal train accident in Sydney's inner west said they saw the victim lose his balance on the platform before falling between two carriages. The train then pulled away from Dulwich Hill railway station on Wednesday afternoon, hitting the man who had landed on the tracks in front of horrified commuters. (SMH)
8.36am SOCCER UPDATE: Australia 3 - Ecuador 2. And they only just missed scoring another goal! Crap!
8.35am I saw this post on Instagram yesterday and it made me laugh - it's so true. Who reads those flipping washing instructions? NB I should read them but don't...
8.33am Don't forget Flix in the Stix is on at the Botanic Gardens tomorrow night. Pray for fine weather!
8.30am A very happy birthday to the lovely Lisa Claridge who celebrates a landmark b'day today!
8.27am SPORT: Australia cricket captain Michael Clarke has apologised for being "out of line" in a spat with Dale Steyn in the tense finish to the series-ending Test against South Africa in Cape Town. NB Ooooo, drama!
8.25 TIARA ALERT: May day, may day, apparently Kate Middleton is planning on chopping off her hair before she heads to Aus. Will she sport a bob down under? We're tackling the big issues here today...
8.23am WORLD NEWS: A pregnant mother in Florida has driven her mini-van into the ocean, with the van full of children. Awful.
8.20am Don't forget $1 dumplings & $10 tea-pots & Long Island Ice Teas at Little Prince tonight. Delish.
8.18am NATIONAL NEWS: Investigators will continue digging up a Gold Coast backyard for a buried ute in the search for missing mother-of-two Novy Chardon.The vehicle is yet to be recovered, but car parts have been found in the dig which went into the late hours of Wednesday evening. (AAP)
8.15am CELEB GOSS ALERT: Kim Kardashian & Kanye West have reportedly set their wedding date - the couple are set to walk down the aisle on May 24, according to US magazine.
8.13am This exists. It is a cat burger pillow. Enjoy.
8.11am SOCCER UPDATE: The second half is underway and the Aussies are still leading 3-0.
8.09am BREAKING: Masked men tried to abduct a man at gunpoint in an underground car park in Sydney’s east overnight. (AAP)
8.07am TV NEWS: Rumours are swirling that How I Met Your Mother could end tragically with the revelation the "mother" character is actually dead. Could they? Would they? Surely not!?
8.05am NATIONAL NEWS: Harry Carr ‘‘got his jollies’’ showing pornographic Christmas films to girls and appearing as a semi-naked Santa with tinsel on his genitals. He was jailed for up to 12 years yesterday. Read more about this Bad Santa here.
8.03am Coffee lovers will most definitely relate to this - the relationship between caffeine consumption & the ability to tolerate colleagues/contacts/anyone.
8.01am TECH TALK: US technology giant Apple has moved almost $9 billion in untaxed profits from its Australian operations to an Irish tax haven in the past 10 years, media reports say. (AAP)
7.59am Have you watched this video of Greens senator Scott Ludlum "welcoming" PM Tony Abbott to WA? It's well worth a watch - he gives him quite the serve.
7.56am Good morning! If you're just tuning in, welcome aboard, great to have you!! Let's check out the weather & traffic situation.
WEATHER We're in for a cloudy day with a shower or two and a top of 22 degrees. They'll be some light winds around too. Right now, in Bellambi, Kiama & Albion Park, it's 20 degrees.
TRAFFIC Everything looks clear for the run around Wollongong at the moment. Don't forget traffic will be hectic around UOW at peak hours - leave extra time. The run to Sydney looks good too.
TRAINS There is a good service on the South Coast line.
7.54am MOVIE NEWS: We've got the teaser trailer for the new Paddington movie, due for release this year. Does everyone remember Paddington Bear? Oh I loved him so - can't wait!
7.51am This ad in a Texas newspaper has to be seen to be believed. The classiest revenge. EVER.
7.48am The trial continues today for the man accused of murdering QLD schoolboy Daniel Morcombe. NB Have you been following it?
7.46am LOCAL NEWS: Residents and business owners in East Corrimal have asked for help to deal with late-night antisocial behaviour in the suburb. Read more here.
7.44am TV NEWS: So, I'm a big fan of Modern Family. And being a little bit tragic, I follow its stars on Instagram. But - they really seem to all genuinely get on. They're always snapped together, including on their recent trip to Aus. Check out this shot from Sofia Vergara.
7.42am SOCCER UPDATE: Aussies 3 - Ecuador 0. Yippee!!!!
7.40am A little quote to think about on this gloomy Thursday...
7.38am Legally Blonde is coming to Wollongong! MoonGlow Productions is set to stage the musical on July 4-5 @ the WIN Entertainment Centre. Tickets on-sale Monday, book via Ticketek.
7.36am These pictures are either inspired or courtesy of someone with WAY too much time on their hands. Oscar nominees transformed into hipsters. I know. You be the judge.
7.34am THEATRE NEWS: Glee's Lea Michele is set to take on Barbra Streisand's famous role in a Broadway revival of musical Funny Girl.
7.33am BREAKING WORLD NEWS: A senior UN diplomat sent to Ukraine's Crimea region to assess the Russian military takeover there was threatened by armed men at gunpoint a day after his arrival, and a journalist who witnessed the confrontation said the diplomat was aborting his mission. (SMH)
7.31am SOCCER UPDATE: Australia 2 - Ecuador 0. Go Aussies!
7.30am This great video is doing the rounds - ta to Graeme from Pulse 94.1FM for passing it on. Could the hoverboard be coming to a store near you? Back to the Future fans, keep your fingers crossed!
7.28am Want to know what's on over the weekend in the Illawarra? Check out our gig guide - it's all there!
7.26am CELEB GOSS ALERT: Cate Blanchett & Amy Adams have been spotted hanging out outside a tattoo parlour. Oscars tribute tatt, perhaps?
7.24am BREAKING: Two men have been taken to hospital after the vehicles they were driving collided on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. (AAP)
7.21am Don't forget the Wollongong Hawks are playing this Saturday night at the WEC. Please support our boys - it's a great night out!
7.18am The Kiama Jazz & Blues festival is on this weekend. We've got all the details here.
7.16am TV NEWS: Lena Dunham is set to guest star on SNL this weekend. We've got the promo for the episode here - she is one funny lady.
7.14am SPORT: The Socceroos are currently playing Ecuador in an international friendly. Check out the live updates from the game here.
7.12am CELEB GOSS ALERT: Model Cara Delevigne is set to make her acting debut - I wonder if she's got acting chops!? Time will tell...
7.10am The Wild Rumpus suitcase market is on this Sunday at Thirroul Community Centre. The Rock & Roll vintage festival is also on - definitely head to Thirroul this weekend!
7.08am We're giving away double passes to the CineBuzz Seniors Club showing of The Monuments Men. The film looks great - who doesn't love Clooney?! Enter here.
7.06am Feeling like this week will never end? Feeling a little, well, flat? Don't despair - it could be worse. You could be this guy.
7.04am LOCAL NEWS: Major Indian investors of the recently renamed Wollongong Coal have backed their financial support with a visit to the company's Illawarra mines.
7.02am STRANGE BUT TRUE: Only in the US - a teen is suing her parents for college tuition.
7am WORLD NEWS: Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was seething yesterday after it emerged that an aide had secretly recorded hundreds of hours of meetings and private conversations involving Sarkozy when he was in office. Oops. (SMH)
6.58am MUSIC NEWS: Clueless fans, rejoice! Singer Iggy Azalea has paid tribute to the 90s cult film in her new video clip. Watch it below.
6.56am Good morning! If you're just tuning in, welcome aboard, great to have you!! Let's check out the weather & traffic situation.
WEATHER We're in for a cloudy day with a shower or two and a top of 22 degrees. They'll be some light winds around too. Right now, in Bellambi, Kiama & Albion Park, it's 20 degrees. And it looks pretty dark out there :(
TRAFFIC Everything looks clear for the run around Wollongong at the moment. Don't forget traffic will be hectic around UOW at peak hours - leave extra time. The run to Sydney looks good too.
TRAINS There is a good service on the South Coast line.
6.54am Check out these cheeky pics. They got banned on Facebook & turned a Cobar farmer into an overnight social media sensation!
6.52am LOCAL NEWS: Shellharbour councillors have experienced first-hand the perils of social media. Oh dear. Read all about it here.
6.50am Arrrrr!!! A chipmunk!!! Eating corn!!
6.48am NATIONAL: The Great Barrier Reef will be irreversibly damaged by climate change in just 16 years, according to leading reef researcher Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. Read more here.
6.46am CELEB GOSS ALERT: Girls star Alison Williams is engaged! And she showed off her HUGE sparkler on Late Night in the US.
6.44am LOCAL NEWS: There are fears Wollongong City Council may be saddled with a hefty repair bill for the lake foreshore at Windang following the demise of the Lake Illawarra Authority.
6.40am I've just been made aware of International Pillow Fight Day. It's on in April. New York is marking the occasion, why can't Wollongong? Any takers?!
6.38am We've been talking about Ellen's ultimate Oscars selfie since Monday. And, as predicted, the shot has resulted in a ton of super cool memes. Check out some of them here - the Simpsons one is great!
6.36am CELEB GOSS ALERT: Sarah Jessica Parker is touring the US with her new shoe collection. It's about time Carrie Bradshaw had her own shoe line, sheesh!? She just posted this pic on Instagram.
6.34am Quick, run out & get a copy of the paper - our free NRL tipping chart is in there! Run, don't walk!
6.32am Don't forget the Tempest is on at the Botanic Gardens this weekend. Shows are on Saturday & Sunday. Fingers crossed for fine weather!
6.30am SPORT: We won the cricket! Nuff said. NB If you want to know how we smashed South Africa, here's some deets.
6.28am How quickly did that storm come over yesterday? Holy good night! There's some great pics popping up on social media of the storm front in Sydney. Check out this one, courtesy of WHO mag.
6.26am Who doesn't love gelato? What if it was made in your very own backyard? Well, a Kiama couple have created their own range of the delicious ice-cream substance - check out their story, from reporter Alex Arnold, here.
6.24am NATIONAL: Schapelle Corby locked herself in the toilet for an entire day and was still on “heavy medication”, her brother-in-law revealed on Wednesday as he begged the media to give her space and not to “twist” the family’s words
6.22am All our regular readers know I am a sucker for a hilarious animal pic. And this morning is no different. This one is too funny - I'll be over here chortling at my desk.
6.20am Don't forget we're crossing to Pulse 94.1FM every hour with all the latest news from the Rush.
6.18am A little bit of history for you this morning - in this day in 1770, Crispus Attucks, the first casualty of the Boston Massacre, was killed 244 years ago.
6.16am WORLD NEWS: The Oscar Pistorius trial continued in South Africa - yesterday the court heard the athlete asked a friend to take the blame after he fired a gun in a restaurant.
6.14am TV NEWS: US viewers got a sneak peek at Lindsay Lohan's new reality TV series last night - and she was seen getting a talking-to from Oprah Winfrey. And you don't mess with Oprah.
6.12am SPORT: The 2014 NRL season officially kicks off tonight with Souths taking on the Roosters. The Merc sports team will be posting their weekly Kick Off videos - check out the first one for 2014 here.
6.10am NATIONAL NEWS: Up to 4000 Qantas staff will be given until the end of the month to accept a redundancy package, according to unions, who described the offer as rushed and chaotic.
6.08am CELEB GOSS ALERT: Katy Perry tried to be a weather girl on Sunrise yesterday morning - and she failed. Adorably. Check it out below.
6.06am Let's check out the national headlines via the SMH:
*Treasurer Joe Hockey has indicated his first budget will be far less tough than had been believed, saying he will ensure cutbacks bite only slowly.
*Close to one-fifth of new properties in Sydney are being bought by wealthy Chinese investors and the flood of money is set to continue.
*The growing concentration of jobs in central Sydney does not mean that new transport initiatives should be funnelled into the middle of town.
6.04am Here's what's making news in your Mercury today:
*A state government plan to free up rail station staff parking places for commuters will do nothing to ease the congestion in Thirroul, according to locals. Read the full story here.
*The reading ability of year 5 students at Primbee Public School has improved significantly over the past four years, according to their 2013 NAPLAN results.
*Lake Illawarra police have a new tool in their arsenal to help fishermen who fall off rocks. Read more here.
*Katie Foreman sexually assaulted Wendy Evans and threatened to kill members of her family before she died, a court has heard.
6.02am If you're just waking up, hello, good morning! Let's check out the weather & traffic situation - you might decide to go back to sleep if it's poo.
WEATHER We're in for a cloudy day with a shower or two and a top of 22 degrees. They'll be some light winds around too. Right now, in Bellambi, Kiama & Albion Park, it's 20 degrees.
TRAFFIC Everything looks clear for the run around Wollongong at the moment. Don't forget traffic will be hectic around UOW at peak hours - leave extra time. The run to Sydney looks good too.
TRAINS There is a good service on the South Coast line.
6am Happy Thursday - and good morning! Welcome to March 6 - where is the year going!? Stay with us this morning for all the latest news & online buzz.