EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the stories you need to know as you start your day.

1. #LIAM COSGRAVE: Tributes have been paid to former Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Liam Cosgrave, whose death at the age of 97 was announced yesterday.

2. #LAS VEGAS: The gunman behind the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history led a secret life that has so far thwarted investigators trying to figure out a motive for the attack.

3. #ABUSE: Almost half of all calls to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre in 2016 were related to childhood sexual abuse, according to the organisation’s annual report.

4. #BUDGET 2017: Ahead of next week’s Budget, the Economic and Social Research Institute has predicted more jobs, more spending and higher wages in 2018.

5. #CATALONIA: Spain’s government has rejected calls for mediation over Catalonia’s push for independence as the two factions head towards another showdown.

6. #RYANAIR: Belgium has said it plans to take Ryanair to court, and accused the airline of illegally punishing customers who’ve been hit by thousands of flight cancellations.

7. #OPINION POLL: Almost half (49%) of people surveyed in an Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI opinion poll are satisfied with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s performance, however just 36% of voters say they are satisfied with the government’s overall performance.

8. #MYANMAR: Sir Bob Geldof has said Aung San Suu Kyi has become “one of the great ethnic cleansers of our planet“. Myanmar’s figurehead leader has been broadly criticised for failing to protect the country’s Muslim Rohingya minority.

9. #JOB FAIRY: Microsoft has announced it will create 200 new jobs through the expansion of its operations in Dublin.