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 today's live news blog wrapped up. Thanks for joining me. We will be back up and running from 6am tomorrow. Have a great day.
8.55am: As we get closer to the Rugby World Cup Wynne Gray outlines the three phases the All Blacks squad goes through to reach the opening game. After all the waiting and PR, the focus will shift to who plays - and when. Have a read here.
8.50am: We need you to help the Forgotten Millions one more time. The Herald and World Vision have relaunched a major campaign to raise funds and help the millions of children left homeless by war in Syria. With your help we can make a difference to the children and their families in desperate need throughout this region. Read more here.
8.45am: This is important for parents in today's news environment: How to talk to kids about tragic events. Brutal wars, tragic air crashes, grisly beheadings... it's now a fact of life that we are disturbed regularly by stomach-churning news and current affairs. The latest heartbreaking images of exhausted and desperate migrants are top of mind. The senseless deaths of children and their parents, and the grief of adults doing all they can to protect their young, leave us stunned and triggered by powerful emotions. Have a read here.
8.40am: The Reserve Bank is expected to cut interest rates this week and may again reduce its forecast for economic growth, although the drop in the kiwi dollar means the bank will probably maintain its projection for inflation to accelerate through the middle of 2016. Governor Graeme Wheeler is expected to cut the official cash rate by a quarter point to 2.75 per cent with the quarterly monetary policy statement on Thursday, according to all 11 economists in a Reuters survey. Read more here.
8.35am: There's some heavy traffic on Auckland motorways this morning, and it's spilling off onto the off-ramps.
#AklTraffic is busy this morning, with queues at several off-ramps (Onehunga, Albany Highway, Highbrook, Nelson St), expect delays ^LC
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Auckland & Northland (@WakaKotahiAkNth) September 6, 2015
8.30am: A James Graham try at the death denied the Warriors a dramatic final round win over the Canterbury Bulldogs and consigned them to a record-equalling eighth consecutive defeat to cap a miserable end to the season. Here's the final match report for the Warriors' 2015 season.
8.25am: Model/actress Emily Ratajkowski says Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines music video has become "the bane of my existence". The racy video featured her topless and wearing skimpy nude-coloured underwear while dancing to the song. Find out what she thinks is so bad about it here.
8.20am: Helicopter parents are doing more harm than good to their children. Parents who exert too much psychological control over their children leave them unhappy and dependent later in life, a study of thousands of Britons from their teens to their sixties has found. Read more here.
8.15am: Fat Freddy's Drop have confirmed they'll release their fourth album this year - and they're heading out on tour to celebrate. Check out tour dates here. They're always a great show to see in summer.
8.10am: There's long delays after an earlier crash at Sockburn roundabout in Christchurch.
#crash now clear from Sockburn roundabout - delays expected as traffic dissipates. #chchtraffic ^TF
— Waka Kotahi NZTA Canterbury & West Coast (@WakaKotahiCWC) September 6, 2015
8.05am:
Bill English won't revisit Red Peak as a flag design. Photo / Supplied, aotearoaflag.tumblr.com
What do you think of the popular Red Peak flag design?
Dick Frizell
told Newstalk ZB he is a fan of the geometric flag's simplicity, which can be interpreted in a variety of ways. A campaign to try to force the Government to add a fifth design to the four shortlisted alternative flags has almost 14,500 signatures after three days -
7.59am: I love the sound of this new app that lets friends virtually follow their friends while they walk home. Business Insider reported tens of thousands of people around the world are now using a free personal-safety mobile app Companion.
Former All Black Brad Thorn tackled an English reality TV star in a charity rugby game and sent the man to hospital. Thorn tackled
Made in Chelsea
star Jamie Laing and cracked his ribs at the Rugby Aid for Heroes 2015 game at Twickenham on Friday. You have to see the tackle, the legend Brad Thorn really deals to the reality TV star.
Are you worried about all police officers being armed with tasers? Police documents showed there were concerns that the taser would be used when talking could suffice. Police bosses ultimately decided that such risks could be minimised and the benefits of giving all officers the weapons outweighed them.
7.43am: The privately funded investigation into farmer Scott Guy's death was never going to get anywhere if it focused on the wrong man, says a member of Ewen Macdonald's trial defence team. Kylee Guy has pulled the pin on a private investigation to find her husband's killer because money has run out. Read more here.
7.40am: Two men who held up a Mangere service station last night, armed with a gun, are being hunted by police. The men, dressed head to toe in black, entered the BP station on Bader Drive at about 7.40pm, police said. One fired a shot during the hold up, but the two people in store - a staff member and a customer - were uninjured in the hold up.
7.36am:
Photo / Universal Pictures via AP
Did you go to the cinema to watch
Jurassic World
? Well, you contributed to the movie crossing the $1 billion milestone at the international box office.
7.32am: These kind people deserve to be raved about! "Thank you so much to the four passers-by in Orewa who stopped in their cars to assist me when I felt faint. Two kind young men and then Judith and her husband, who insisted on taking me home. Such kind Kiwis. Thank you."Read more Rants & Raves here.
7.30am: Beware on sunstrike in Wellington this morning. Traffic becoming heavy this morning.
NZTA has issued a warning for snow and ice on State Highway 1 from Waikouaiti to Dunedin this morning.Motorists should take care on the road and drive to the conditions.
Laneway Festival will be back at Silo Park next year. Festival-lovers rejoice! The event will return to the Wynyard Quarter for a fifth time after a mooted shift to Auckland Domain - due to development on the waterfront site adjacent to the park - was rejected by Auckland Council.
6.59am: If you're scared of monsters under the bed, emergency services probably shouldn't be your first port of call. However, yesterday the Fire Service received several 111 calls reportedly from a 15-year-old boy - because he said he was scared of monsters. 111 is for emergencies only, remind your kids!
6.55am: Expect a 25 minute run from Hobsonville to the city on the Northwestern Motorway this morning.
6.53am: If you're coming into the city from Papakura it will take you 45 minutes on the Southern Motorway.
6.48am: Traffic is heavy in Auckland this morning. It's currently taking 35 minutes on the Northern Motorway from Greville Rd into the city.
6.45am:Auckland is the warmest place in the country this morning, it's currently just 9.8C. The coldest place is Blenheim, where it is -1.8C.
6.42am: Occupants of an Auckland apartment block escaped serious injury overnight, after a fire broke out in the unit. One person was treated for smoke inhalation after the blaze took hold of an apartment in the two level complex in Glen Eden around midnight, the Fire Service's Jaron Phillips said. One apartment in the Great North Rd block was "well involved" in fire when crews arrived on the scene, he said. There were reports that the occupants were trapped inside the apartment, so a search and rescue operation was carried out. One person was recovered, and treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, Mr Philips said.
6.38am:
This story has been amazing to follow. Former Australian NRL star Jarryd Hayne is to sign a three-year US$1.538 million ($2.448 million) deal with the San Francisco 49ers after being confirmed on the team's 53-man roster.
Jarryd Hayne, 27, has impressed in the NFL pre-season. Photo / AP
6.35am: New Zealand will have a women's eight at an Olympic Games for the first time in Rio next year. The crew finished second in the rowing world championship final behind the United States to book their trip to the Olympics. Fantastic work!
6.32am: The sun is rising in Wellington and traffic is flowing well.
6.28am: Shaun Johnson has shared a video of him walking unaided for the first time since his season-ending ankle break. Johnson is aiming to be back in form for the NRL Auckland Nines in February. I've got my fingers crossed his recovery goes well.
6.23am: Auckland's Aotea Centre looks set to receive a $64 million facelift and extension in a boost to the city's arts scene. A lot of people would say the makeover is long overdue. Find out what it will entail here.
6.19am:
Photo / Sarah Ivey
Taika Waititi is hosting this year's Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. He says he will keeping things "quite loose" and "uncensored" at the awards' special 50th anniversary, which will be broadcast live on TV3 for the first time.
6.15am: Many Aucklanders are leaving the Super City to buy their first home in cheaper areas. House prices in Whangarei, Kerikeri and Tauranga are rising as the Auckland property bubble spreads out. Find out what houses are worth in the regions here.
6.12am: The Government will today announce a package allowing hundreds of Syrian refugees to come to New Zealand and agreeing extra financial aid for refugee camps in countries bordering Syria. It is understood the Cabinet will sign off on a special intake of Syrian refugees on top of the 750 refugees New Zealand takes under its total annual quota. We will be following this story closely today. Read more here.
The MV Rena caused our worst maritime environmental disaster when it ploughed into the Bay of Plenty's Astrolabe Reef. Nearly four years later, a round of hearings - starting today - will determine whether it stays there.
6.00am: Good morning and a warm happy Monday to you all. It's a crisp spring morning in Auckland today, and a part from the odd shower it should be a fairly nice day.
