EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning cup of coffee.

1. #THE RISING: Wine, beer, spirits and cigarettes are all more expensive this morning, as the first of the Budget measures kick in.  The National Off-Licence Association is furious about the extra 50c on a bottle of wine, and says it will be taking the issue up with the EU Commission.

2. #US: Politicians in Washington have been making a last ditch effort to avert a federal debt default, the BBC reports. America needs to raise its $16.7 trillion debt limit by tomorrow or risk defaulting. The Fitch credit agency has warned that the country’s AAA rating could be downgraded.

3. #MORIARTY: The tribunal issued its last report in 2011, but the costs are still mounting. Receipts from the Department of the Taoiseach for the third quarter of this year show €886,482.23 was paid out in professional and legal fees relating to Moriarty — including €635,912.41 on behalf of Fine Gael.

4. #DERRY: A 58-year-old man wanted over last week’s murder of Barry McCrory in Derry city centre has been arrested, BBC Northern Ireland is reporting. Kieran McLaughlin was found hiding behind a car in the Galliagh area of the city at around 3am this morning.

5. #SAVILE: “No. Exactly the opposite.” — Jimmy Savile’s response to police in 2009 when asked if he was sexually attracted to young girls. A transcript of an interview conducted with the former BBC presenter has been released in the UK under the Freedom of Information Act.

6. #ROADS: Motorists are being warned of possible localised flooding this morning, as heavy rain moves eastwards across the country. Up to 40mm is expected in mountainous parts of Leinster. There’s a lot of extra surface water in Cork, Limerick and Galway this morning, according to AA Roadwatch.

7. #BOOKER: 28-year-old New Zealand author Eleanor Catton has become the youngest ever winner of the Booker Prize for literary fiction. Her novel ‘The Luminaries’ is an ambitious 832-page murder mystery set during a 19th-century gold rush.

8. #KIBERD: TheJournal.ie columnist Damien Kiberd reckons Michael Noonan’s arithmetic for Budget 2014 is worryingly precise: “Somebody who’s never watched The Omen told Dr James Reilly to cough up cuts of €666m at Health. He just about got over the line on Budget Day, but the government still cannot say what the Health shortfall for 2013 (yes, this year) will be, never mind 2014.”

9. #WINNING: The Republic of Ireland ended their World Cup qualifying campaign with a win last night — beating Kazakhstan 3-1 at the Aviva Stadium. It ends Noel King’s tenure in charge of the team. The interim boss was happy with the three points, but less than impressed with the line of questioning from RTÉ afterwards.