A magnitude 6.8 earthquake has rocked the Solomon Islands this morning
Today's Morning Rush is brought to you by Patrice Dougan
Good morning and welcome to today's edition of Morning Rush. Everything you need to know, including the latest, breaking news, sport, entertainment, traffic, travel and weather information. Share your news tips and photos at #MorningRushNZ or morningrush@nzme.co.nz
8.59am: Alrighty guys,
we're wrapping up the live news blog for today. Stay tuned to nzherald.co.nz for the latest breaking news and analysis. We'll be bringing you all the latest from the Connor Morris murder trial; more on the mum who gave birth on a Wellington roadside; and the Solid Energy announcement at midday.
Thanks for joining us, have a great Thursday!
8.55am: Women are storming social media to let Donald Trump know that they are still perfectly capable of doing their jobs and living their lives while on their periods, with the hashtag #periodsarenotaninsult There's some good, funny ones there.
Hey @realDonaldTrump, I performed life saving medical treatment today, blood coming out of my wherever and everything #periodsarenotaninsult
— Queen of Snark (@snarkymcblonde) August 11, 2015
8.51am: A crash on SH1 adjacent to Hawkestone St Onramp at Wellington is blocking the right lane, NZTA says. Drivers are warned to expect delays.
8.47am: Photos of an enormous tiger shark's corpse are ciruculating on Australian social media, with some claiming it was pulled out of the water in northern New South Wales over the weekend.
8.44am: Kiwi star Cliff Curtis will release his hit movie The Dark Horse in the US in December, hoping to benefit from his increased profile Stateside now he's starring in American primetime show Fear the Walking Dead.
8.40am: Breaking: Former US President Jimmy Carter has announced he has cancer. Recent liver surgery had revealed he has cancer and it has spread to other parts of his body, he said in a statement. He will undergo treatment.
8.37am: But Wellington looks quite nice this morning:
#wellington about 40 mins ago. #NewZealand pic.twitter.com/IxnZBTH8P9
— Chester Lampkin WUSA 9 (@chesterlampkin) August 12, 2015
8.35am: Brr it's a chilly day in Rotorua:
Temps down -2°C in Rotorua this morn, with a grass temp of -4°C! View of Museum of Art & History from @snapithd ^RK pic.twitter.com/uywxPnDXkd
— MetService (@MetService) August 12, 2015
8.33am: Rod Emmerson's cartoon today takes on the speeding NZTA:
8.29am: Beautiful sunrise over Auckland Harbour this morning:
An optimistic looking start across Auckland Harbour, thanks to @snapithd ^RK pic.twitter.com/9bfV6F7CIX
— MetService (@MetService) August 12, 2015
8.27am: A man will appear in Christchurch District Court today after a teenager was raped at a home in the suburb of Linwood overnight on Tuesday. He's charged with burglary and rape.
8.25am: Are the wheels falling off for the Silver Ferns?, Herald chief sports reporter Dana Johannsen and Radio Sport's Rikki Swannell answer the key questions from last night's match.
8.20am: And in more All Blacks news - the boys have teamed up with Air New Zealand for a new safety video, the Men in Black Safety Defenders.
8.17am: If Milner-Skudder gets in, there's a good chance Dagg is out, says Gregor Paul.
8.13am: It might be sunny but you'll still need that scarf today as it's still quite cold out there:
A Fine but frosty start for most. Central N Island is the coldest: nearly -8°C on the Desert Road, -5°C Taupo!. ^ RK pic.twitter.com/vAvYtg1sTs
— MetService (@MetService) August 12, 2015
8.12am: Today's Sideswipe takes you to miss-spelled street names, and proves why so-called 'nagging' partners are always right.
8.08am: The country's senior business leaders are becoming increasingly concerned about the slowing economy, the Government's strategy and our reliance on China and dairy exports. Watch a livestream of the 2015 Mood of the Boardroom meeting here.
8.06am: Here's the link as promised to the baby delivered on Wellington roadside story, by our lovely Welly reporter Nikki Papatsoumas.
8.05am: Wellington traffic update:
8:00am ETAs: Melling - CBD 32min; Tawa - CBD 35min; Cobham Drive - CBD 13min #WgtnTraffic ^DB pic.twitter.com/fhQQDFieYl
— Waka Kotahi Wellington (@WakaKotahiWgtn) August 12, 2015
8.03am: A truck is blocking a lane near the Lindis Pass, NZTA says, warning caution.
Truck blocking a lane at Clunden Hill SH8 from overnight #crash near the Lindis Pass - will be removed this morning - caution advised. ^TF
— Waka Kotahi Otago & Southland (@WakaKotahiOS) August 12, 2015
8am: BREAKING: A woman has given birth to a baby in a car on the roadside in central Wellington this morning, with the help of a police officer, the father and a friend. I'll have a link to the story soon.
7.58am: The earthquake which shook the Solomon Islands this morning has been downgraded to magnitude 6.4, from an initial 6.8. It follows a 6.6 tremor which struck on Monday afternoon.
7.54am: New Zealander David Hyde, 22, has quit his unpaid internship with the UN after it was revealed he had been living it rough in a tent. He says he knew what he was getting into when he accepted the internship, but still believes it is not a fair system.
7.50am: Auckland swimmer Marina Macartney, 24, is reeling after having valuable equipment stolen while she was having a celebratory dinner with her mother and sister, after returning from the Gold Coast where she won a silver medal at the Surf Lifesaving Australia Pool Rescue Championships.
7.47am: Polynesian factor is working its magic in Australian rugby, says Chris Rattue.
7.45am: An early verdict could arrive in the murder trial of the man accused of killing Connor Morris. Originally set down for four weeks, the trial is set to wrap up today and a verdict could be reached by the end of tomorrow, bringing it to an end after two weeks.
7.41am: A $100 million office block is planned behind the Britomart Transport Centre. Commercial property investor and developer Cooper and Company wants Britomart foundations strengthened so the hub can be expanded and a big new $100 million office block can rise behind the historic Central Post Office.
7.34am: This is a funy piece, definitely worth a read: Aussies don't know how to pour beer. And under no circumstances can they be allowed to make off with the Bledisloe Cup, because they would almost certainly abuse it by pouring beer into it badly, says Steve Deane.
7.33am: A crash on SH3 has closed a road between Wanganui and Bulls, NZTA says.
#SH3 is #RoadClosed between Wanganui & Bulls due a #Crash. Please #BePatient as the scene is cleared. See http://t.co/xZco014DUQ for info^DB
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Central North Island (@WakaKotahiCNI) August 12, 2015
7.28am: Nice pic of the sunrise-tinted sky over Ponsonby this morning:
7.24am: Kiwi stunt woman and actress Zoe Bell has once again teamed up with her friend Quentin Tarantino for his new western The Hateful Eight. She will star as Six Horse Judy, alongside Channing Tatum, Kurt Russell and fellow Tarantino-favourite Samuel L. Jackson.
7.21am: A huge explosion has rocked the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin, injuring at least 50 people.
7.19am: The earlier breakdown on the Northwestern Motorway has now been cleared, NZTA says. But drivers can expect delays - about 40mins to get to the city from Hobsonville.
7.17am: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake has rocked the Solomon Islands this morning, 226km west of the capital Honiara. A destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected, the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says.
7.16am: Your Thursday weather outlook.
Thursday outlook: Rain moving into West Coast of the South Island. http://t.co/oKYtro2Yts ^CL pic.twitter.com/NgZJ0vMSa9
— MetService (@MetService) August 12, 2015
7.12am: This is so gross. You might not want to read this if you're still eating your breakfast. Model Chrissy Teigen has revealed she licks the cheese flavouring off Doritos to avoid the carbs, but - wait for it - then puts them back in the bag! Urgh!
7.07am: Folk rockers Mumford and Sons are returning to New Zealand for their first tour since 2012. The London quartet will play the Vector Arena on November 10.
7.04am: A blaze which began behind a fireplace at a home on Victoria St in Masterton last night was quickly brought under control, and no-one was injured, the Fire Service says.
7.01am: A breakdown on the Northwestern Motorway means traffic is moving slow at the Causeway, NZTA says.
#Breakdown blocking left lane of the Causeway, citybound on the Nth Wstn Mwy (#SH16). #AklTraffic moving slowly nearby. ^WS
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) August 12, 2015
6.59am: Solid Energy staff will learn the future direction of the state-owned company today. It comes after the Government said it would not pumpt more money into the enterprise, which is struggling to service $320 million of debt.
6.56am: Smoke alarms are being credited with saving the lives of a family after a fire broke out in the ceiling of their Canterbury home early this morning. Everyone in the house managed to get out safely, the Fire Service says.
6.51am: Fans of 3News at 6pm, watch out - a major revamp of the show could see Hilary Barry and Mike McRoberts cut as the faces of the evening news programme.
6.48am: This is pretty cool - A Bay of Plenty doctor is designing software for a smartwatch he says will replace conventional medical alert alarms. The 'Q Watch will "do the same thing as my Samsung Galaxy", he says, working at a greater distance, have voice control and store medical records.
6.45am: In Part 2 of the Herald's World-Class Auckland series, science reporter Jamie Morton looks at Auckland's environmental issues, and says urban sprawl is our biggest challenge.
6.40am: In a worrying development overnight, Isis says it has hacked the computers of US military personnel, publishing an extensive list of names and contact details and urging supporters to kill them.
6.35am: In a riches to rags tale, a friend of the Wolf of Wall St who lived the high life with Jordan Belfort, is now sleeping on the streets of New York.
6.34am: Travel times to Wellington: ETAs: Melling - CBD 18min; Tawa - CBD 17min; Cobham Drive - CBD 9min
6.31am: If you missed it last night, here's our Big Read for the day: The Big Read: Ratings wars.
6.30am: Looks set to be a dry day, MetService says:
Good morning, another frosty start in #Auckland. Dry today, with clouds increasing later. http://t.co/oKYtro2Yts ^CL pic.twitter.com/FEgWUqfmff
— MetService (@MetService) August 12, 2015
6.24am: In more sports news - Victor Vito has received a golden opportunity to stake a late claim for a place in the All Blacks' World Cup squad after being selected at blindside flanker for the winner-takes-all Bledisloe Cup test against Australia at Eden Park.
6.20am: The Silver Ferns remain unbeaten at the Netball World Cup in Sydney - go girls! But for 55 minutes of the second round clash against Malawi that record looked seriously under threat. Check out the highlights here:
6.16am: Hundreds of cops have been caught speeding in police vehicles - in the year to June 30, 336 fines were paid by drivers of speeding cop cars. A further 612 tickets were waived.
It comes after a number of NZTA staff were caught speeding in company vehicles, figures published yesterday showed - with at least one going more than 145km/h.
6.12am: Weather around the country this morning is slightly warmer than it has been this week *collective sigh of relief by everybody*. But it's still only -3.8C in Taupo, the coldest place this morning. Westpost is the warmest at 9C, it's also the windiest with gusts of 19km/h; Stewart Island is the wettest with 0.4mm of rainfall.
6.08am: And in overseas news overnight - Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is expected to be cleared of three sexual assault claims after spending so long in hiding in Britain that the allegations have expired.
6.04am: First up, some of Auckland's leafy suburbs could be rezoned for multiple townhouses, apartments and studios. It's got residents groups up in arms.
6.01am: Morning! It's Thursday, almost the weekend - I'll get started bringing you all the news and info you need to know to get you through the day.
Police say they are following lines of inquiry to catch the offender.