LAST UPDATE | 5 Feb 2020

EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #GE2020: Leo Varadkar, Micheál Martin and Mary Lou McDonald faced off in an RTÉ Prime Time debate last night – covering topics such as healthcare, housing and Northern Ireland – ahead of Saturday’s general election. Here are the key points.

2. #STATE OF THE UNION: US President Donald Trump declared America is “stronger than ever before” in his State of the Union address on the eve of his probable impeachment acquittal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of the speech after Trump finished speaking, after he earlier appeared to refuse to shake her hand.

3. #CORONAVIRUS: The number of people killed in China by the coronavirus outbreak has increased to nearly 500, after Hong Kong reported its first death from the disease and millions more in China were ordered to stay indoors.

4. #HOMETOWN: In the latest in our ‘Hometown’ series TheJournal.ie visited Carrick-on-Suir in Tipperary, an area in need of more mental health services, where locals have devised a plan to help themselves.

5. #CHILDCARE: A protest in support of childcare workers is due to take place in Dublin today, calling for more support from the government for the sector.

6. #SOCIAL MEDIA: Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have spent over €100,000 between them since the start of the general election campaign on adverts on Facebook and Instagram.

7. #IOWA: Pete Buttigieg seized a shock lead in Iowa’s debut US presidential nomination vote, according to partial Democratic Party results that placed Bernie Sanders second and national frontrunner Joe Biden a distant fourth.

8. #COURT: A man who knocked out another man’s two front teeth in a Dublin pub has received a fully suspended sentence.

9. #CLIMATE: New figures show that last month was the hottest January on record across Europe, while Met Éireann recorded above average temperatures for the month across Ireland.

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