EVERY MORNING, THEJOURNAL.IE brings you the nine stories you need to know as you start your day.

1. #LEAVING CERT: Almost 56,000 students are due to receive their Leaving Certificate results later this morning, with the State Examinations Commission revealing that the pattern of results are ‘broadly similar’ to those of previous years.  The number of students taking higher level maths increased from 15 per cent last year to 22 per cent this year following the introduction of bonus points for any student who receives at least a D3 in the subject, although the SEC said that the percentage of students receiving high grades in maths has fallen.

2. #STORMPOCALYPSE: Met Éireann has warned that high winds and heavy rainfall will cause dangerous conditions in Munster and Leinster today, with a high risk of flooding along coasts and rivers. AA Roadwatch has urged motorists to take extreme care and the Coast Guard has warned the public to avoid going near the shoreline.

3. #TRAGEDY: Post mortems are due to be carried out today on the bodies of two fisherman who were found off the coast of Clare yesterday afternoon. The men, who were neighbours in Quilty, have been named locally as 65-year-old Michael Galvin and Noel Dickinson, who was in his 30s.

4. #DEVELOPER: Property developer Thomas McFeely was receiving rent from at least 30 properties in Ireland when he filed for bankruptcy in London, according to a report by Dearbhail McDonald in this morning’s Irish Independent. A court official in Britain said in correspondence filed in London that he believes that the property developer was not declaring the rental income and that criminal sanctions could have been imposed on McFeely.

5. #NO APOLOGIES:Independent TD John Halligan has said he will not apologise to Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett despite a formal request for him to do so over an incident that took place in a Dáil corridor in July after a contentious vote. The Irish Times reports that the Waterford TD says that he is owned an apology over “scurrilous accusations” that he had carried out a verbal assault on Barrett.

6. #ONCE: Broadway musical Once, based on the Irish film starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, has broken a record for turning a profit in a record time. The hit musical recouped its initial €4 million costs on Broadway in less than 6 months. The BBC reports that less than one third of Broadway shows make a profit and most need at least a year to break even.

7. #WIKILEAKS: There is confusion this morning over whether Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been offered asylum in Ecuador. The Guardian reports that Ecuador authorities have agreed to grant Assange asylum but the president of Ecuador has taken to his Twitter account to say that the news is false, saying that there is still no decision.

8. #WHALE WATCH: The 55-foot fin whale stranded in Baltimore in Cork since yesterday is believed to have injured itself after thrashing in the water yesterday evening. The whale is believed to be seriously ill or underfed and is not expected to survive in the shallow water.

9. #MARS EXPLORATION: A NASA satellite has taken this photograph of the Curiosity rover on the surface of the red planet, days after it landed and began its exploratory mission. The image shows Curiosity within the Gale Crater on Mars and was taken from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.