This photograph of a mother a child has moved the world. Photo / Brandon Stanton / Humans of New York
Today's Morning Rush is brought to you by Sophie Ryan.
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.
9.00am: That's all from this morning's live news blog. We will have all the latest updates on this morning's court appearances of the people linked to yesterday's man-hunt. I'll be back on deck tomorrow at 6am for tomorrow's edition of Morning Rush. See you then.
8.57am: Police have confirmed two people have been arrested in relation to the knife-point robbery in Queenstown.
8.53am: Is this creepy or beautiful? A picture of Princess Diana has been photoshopped into a photo from Princess Charlotte's christening. What do you think?
8.47am:
A bit of a change of pace for your morning. Here's a Friends scene that was never aired because it was seen as a joke about a bomb in an airport was bad taste following 9/11.
8.42am: We will have the latest news from Whanganui District Court as the six people arrested in association to yesterday's manhunt across the central North Island appear on charges.
8.39am: Have a read of what Chris Rattue thinks of the possibility of Richie McCaw being knighted. Disclaimer: he calls the honours system a "crock of you know what" and "a ridiculous throwback".
8.34am: Craft beer is growing in popularity so much. Two Auckland students have now designed a bottle specifically for New Zealand craft brewers hoping to crack the Asian market. Check it out here.
8.30am: Want to know how to make your tomatoes tastier? I bought some recently from a fruit and vege store and thought they were bland as anything. Apparently there's a trick that makes them taste fresh and juicy, check it out here.
8.25am: A crash has blocked two city-bound lanes on the Northern Motorway after the Oteha Valley Rd on-ramp.
A #crash is blocking the 2 right lanes S-Bnd on the Nthn Mwy after Oteha Valley on-ramp. Expect #delays heading to Auckland City ^LC
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) August 19, 2015
8.20am: Fletcher boss Mark Adamson says the company is dealing with legacy issues - and this is the 'dark before the dawn'. Read the full story here.
8.15am: WeatherWatch.co.nz says the heaviest showers around the country today will be in Auckland, western Waikato, western Northland, Taranaki and south Wairarapa.
After today is done a high will move over New Zealand, giving us fine weather for the weekend - yay!
8.08am: Since last year's Ashburton shooting the number of assaults on Work and Income staff has doubled, newly released figures show. The numbers, obtained by Radio New Zealand under the Official Information Act, also show a growing number of beneficiaries trespassed from Work and Income offices for threatening behaviour.
8.05am: This is spooky... A legendary Nazi ghost train carrying gold which allegedly disappeared without trace in the dying days of World War II might have been found. Two men have filed a "finder's claim" with a district council in Poland for an "armoured train" carrying precious metals, fuelling speculation the mysterious train has been located. Read more here.
7.58am: Luxury jewellery house Tiffany & Co is opening a store in Auckland. Check out the details of the new store that will open in Auckland's Britomart here.
7.53am:
Have you seen the McDonald's "goddess"? Famed for her big round eyes and anime character looks, Wei Han Xu - also known as Weiwei, or Haitun (dolphin in Chinese) - has attracted fans from all over the world.
7.48am: Subway man Jared Fogle is understood to plead guilty to child sex charges as part of a plea negotiation. Read more about the negotiation, which could see Fogle in jail for 10 years, and the charges he's facing here.
7.43am:
Have you heard about the new festival coming to New Zealand in January? It's called the McLaren Falls Festival and has some pretty heavy-hitters coming to the Bay of Plenty, including Disclosure and The Flaming Lips.
7.38am: This is something a little creepy. Read about the woman sending love letters to a mass murderer in Norway. She says she's going to wait for her "dearest Anders.
7.34am: Police in Thailand have released a sketch of the face of the man they suspect planted the bomb that killed 20 people at a Hindu shrine on Monday. Have a look here.
7.30am:
Check out this beautiful Onehunga home on Maungakiekie that's for sale.
Writer and broadcaster Max Cryer is selling up.
7.25am: A 22-year-old Sydney man has been rescued by the Fire Service after getting stuck in a washing machine.
Why he put his legs in a washing machine, I have no idea.
The Bankstown Fire and Rescue posted pictures of the complicated procedure to get the man free on their Facebook page.
They said the man had been trapped for at least 3 hours and they had to completely take a part the washing machine to free him.
7.23am: Its going to be a rainy day for the North Island, but a fine day in parts of the south.
Morning showers spreading across the North Island today. Fine for Canterbury & Westland. http://t.co/oKYtro2Yts ^CL pic.twitter.com/iKplOu3hkg
— MetService (@MetService) August 19, 2015
7.18am: It's a reasonably good run on the motorways this morning. Travel time into the city from Hobsonville on the North-Western and Greville Rd on the Northern is currently 40 minutes. It's taking 40 minutes to get to the city from Manukau.
7.14am: The earlier breakdown on Highbrook on-ramp has been cleared.
7.12am: The sun is up in Auckland, send in a pic of what the morning looks like where you are. Email photos and news tips to morningrush@nzme.co.nz
7.08am: Today's editorial is on the Saudi sheep deal and why Murray McCully should stand aside while the enquiry into the deal is underway. Have a read here then comment your thoughts.
7.04am: Oscar Pistorius won't be getting the early release from prison he was expecting. His release has been sent back to the Parole Board, after serving ten months of a five-year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
7.00am:
The short-list for the prestigious Silver Scroll songwriting awards has been announced.
Find out who the finalists are here.
6.57am: The man sentenced to death over the Boston Marathon bombing has demanded a fresh trial. The Independent reports Dzhokhar Tsarnaev claims social media and publicity around the trial led to the guilty verdict.
6.52am: Today's great cartoon by Rod Emmerson on the Saudi sheep deal.
The Saudi Sheep Deal Inquiry - my cartoon in today's @nzherald pic.twitter.com/9lW9t3NLyG
— Rod Emmerson (@rodemmerson) August 19, 2015
6.50am: Here's the full match report of the Black Caps loss against South Africa this morning.
6.48am: Six people charged over yesterday's man-hunt will appear in the Whanganui DIstrict Court today.
6.45am: A heartbreaking photograph of a mother holding her child while wiping a tear from her eye has sparked an outpouring of support from social media users across the globe.
The image, which was shared last week by photographer Brandon Stanton on the Humans of New York Facebook page, shows the mother and baby in Lahore, Pakistan, alongside the following caption:
"I left an abusive relationship and I have nowhere to go. I have Hepatitis C, so no one is willing to take me in. I don't know how long I will live. I tried to give her up for adoption so that she'd have a good home. The wife of a minister told me about a place where I could drop her off. But when I got there, I just couldn't bring myself to do it."
The next day, Stanton explained to his 14 million followers that the woman had been found:
"We have located the woman from yesterday's post, and are in contact with her. We also have someone in Lahore who is going to help connect her with those who wish to help. In order to streamline that process, we created a new email account for all such offers. She is hoping for someone who can help connect her with services, as opposed to cash donations. If you believe you can help this woman with accommodation and/or medical treatment, please email: honypakassist@gmail.com. Thanks everyone. Based on the outpouring of offers and support from yesterday, hopefully we can help her heal and get back on her feet."
The images have received hundreds of thousands of likes, comments and shares with Facebook users rushing to offer their support.
6.34am: And that's it. South Africa have won the first ODI against the Black Caps.
.@BLACKCAPS lose the first ODI by 20 runs at Centurion. Great game that went down to the wire #savnz ^PT
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) August 19, 2015
6.30am: How's the traffic where you are this morning? The only report of traffic woes across Auckland is a breakdown partially blocking the left-lane of Highbrook on-ramp city-bound.
6.27am: There's been a huge increase in the amount of New Zealand swamp kauri being sent overseas. Check out the new figures that show how much is being sent overseas and who is behind the drive for "black gold".
6.24am: The warmest place to be this morning is Whanganui, where it is currently 11.3C. The coldest spot is Alexandra, where it's a fraction above freezing. Currently 0.1C.
6.22am: This is how the morning is looking across Auckland. Not so nice. Wrap up warm with a waterproof layer if you're heading out and about.
6.18am: And in more crime news from last night, a convicted murderer who breached his parole conditions handed himself in to police in Auckland. Christopher Gregory Thomas, 36, was wanted for arrest after an alleged violent incident and threats in Massey on Monday. He handed himself in to police in Henderson last night.
6.16am: The Black Caps need 54 runs off 5 overs to win.
6.14am:
A knife-wielding man stole cash from a Queenstown liquor store last night, before stealing a car at knife-point and fleeing the scene. One man linked to the scene was still on the run last night.
6.09am:
Hackers published log-in data of cheaters looking for a hook-up on AshleyMadison.com yesterday, and someone's been using John Key's name to get lucky. But, the fake address of jonh.key@pm.govt.nz doesn't have to be verified for the person to gain access to a profile on the site.
Find out more about the data leak here.
6.07am: Yachting commentator Peter Montgomery says Grant Dalton "tried to break me and take me out" in his new autobiography. Read more about the legendary stand-off between the two here.
6.05am: A massive manhunt across the central North Island yesterday was resolved last night. Find out more about where police arrested Dolphy Kohu here.
6.02am: Here's the live scorecard for the cricket, and a link to live commentary from Radio Sport if you're keen to know how the Black Caps are doing this morning against South Africa.
6.00am: Good morning everyone. It's a little bit wet in Auckland this morning, with a few spits of rain on my journey to work.
It's time to check your ticket for the winning numbers.