GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news you need to know as you start your day.

Weather

1. Met Éireann is forecasting highs of over 31 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country today, as a nationwide Status Yellow temperature warning continues.

The mercury hit 30.5 degrees in Carlow yesterday.

Today’s forecast is a hot, dry and sunny day with highest temperatures generally between 26 to 31 degrees

New York 

2. Author Salman Rushdie, whose writings have attracted death threats from Iran, is reportedly on a ventilator and may lose an eye after he was stabbed on stage in New York yesterday.

The 75-year-old Indian-born British author sustained nerve damage to his arm and damage to his liver, according to the New York Times.

Climate Action

3. The Government has been urged to hasten efforts to reimburse people who sell excess renewable energy that they produce ahead of a feared national shortage in the winter.

Under a new scheme, homes, businesses and farms that generate renewable energy, such as through solar panels, will be able to sell back any extra power that they produce to their supplier.

Travel

4. If you’re travelling into Dublin today, Iarnród Éireann has reminded passengers that due to works being carried out the rail line between Connolly Station and Grand Canal Dock today and tomorrow.

Tara Street and Pearse Stations will be closed and Northside DART services will operate from Howth/Malahide to Dublin Connolly in the city centre. 

NCT

5. Ever wondered what make, model and NCT test centre has the highest and lowest pass rates. Well, all is revealed. 

An analysis of NCT tests carried out on more than 1.4 million vehicles last year found that 85.42% of the hybrid Toyota C-HR cars inspected passed their initial test.

Cars were tested at 49 NCT centres around Ireland in 2021, with Portlaoise having the highest pass rate at 60.22%.

In contrast, just 38.12% of cars tested in Castlerea last year passed on the first attempt. 15 test centres had pass rates below half, while the overall pass rate was 52.8%.

Anne Heche

6. Actress Anne Heche has died aged 53, a week after she was critically injured in a car crash in Los Angeles. 

In a statement to CNN, her family said she is “brain dead”, which is the definition of death under California law, but remains on life support as they seek a match for organ donation, in respect of her wishes.

Nuclear

7. Irish diplomats are involved in high stakes talks in the United Nations to bring an end to nuclear weapons – but efforts to take “the bomb” out of global politics are stymied as Russia and China seek to grow their arsenal. 

The tenth review conference on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in New York opened last week, with Ireland playing a pivotal role among non nuclear countries in the talks. 

Monkeypox

8. The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection says that those who need to self-isolate after contracting monkeypox may be entitled to Illness Benefit.

Concerns have been raised about the financial supports available to individuals who are self-employed or on hourly contracts should they catch the virus.

Trump 

9. FBI agents recovered records marked “top secret” during their search of former US president Donald Trump’s Florida estate, according to documents made public in a probe that includes possible violations of the US Espionage Act.

The extraordinary search was partly based on suspicions of violations of the US Espionage Act related to the illegal retention of sensitive defense documents, the warrant showed.