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

1. #MISSING: Two Irishmen are missing off the coast of San Francisco after waves swept them and six other crew members from a yacht on Saturday. A US Coast Guard spokesperson told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland earlier today that the search for the four people who remain missing has been called off after covering a 5,000-square-mile area of water over 30 hours.

2. #CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL: A submission to locate the new National Paediatric Hospital at a site in Lissenhall, Swords, Co Dublin has been sent to the project’s review group which is looking at alternative sites after planning permission for the hospital’s Mater site was refused.

3. #SPENDING: The latest Irish League of Credit Unions income tracking survey says that almost half of adults in Ireland have less than €100 a month left of their income after paying their bills and household expenses, the Irish Times reports. Over half of the survey’s respondents said they were struggling to pay their bills.

4. #ATTACKS: Afghan officials say that an 18-hour Taliban ‘spring offensive’ attack on Kabul was brought to an end early this morning. Attacks were also mounted in three other Afghan cities yesterday. At least eight security force members, 17 militants and three civilians were killed.

5. #NORWAY: The trial of the man accused of carrying out a double terror attack in Norway in which 77 people were killed last July gets underway in Norway today. Anders Behring Breivik has admitted carrying out the attacks but denies criminal responsibility.

6. #GARDAÍ: The Garda Representative Association is to call on Minister for Justice Alan Shatter to reconsider plans to close garda stations in an effort to cut costs. The GRA’s annual conference gets underway today in Athlone, according to RTÉ, and will be addressed by the minster tomorrow.

7. #SYRIA: The first members of a UN monitoring mission have arrived in Syria amid reports of continuing violence, the BBC reports. The six-person advance team will be joined by more observers by the end of this week and will monitor adherence to the ceasefire agreed by the Syrian government.

8. #GREATEST FOE: Michael Collins has been beaten to the dubious title of ‘Britain’s greatest foe’ by the first US president George Washington, according to a poll carried out by the British National Army Museum.

9. #NEW YORK NEW YORK: So this is how the other half lives… check out the 21 most expensive homes for sale in New York – one of which features both a wine cellar and a ‘grotto’.