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

1. #RACE FOR THE ÁRAS: Four of the five declared presidential candidates met for the first debate of the campaign last night at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties. The Independent reports that each emphasised the importance of restoring Ireland’s reputation internationally. Meanwhile, the paper also reports that some of David Norris’ top campaign staff have resigned. Norris did not attend the Glenties debate.

2. #FARM DEATHS: A four-year-old girl has died following an accident at a farm in Co Offaly. It it is thought she was riding on a tractor at the time and two investigations into the incident have been launched. On Thursday, Darren Philpott, 66, was killed in an accident on his Co Cork lands on Thursday, according to the Independent.

3. #CHILD ABUSE: The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart order plans to interview past pupils and teachers at its boarding school in Cork city over allegations of sexual abuse made against one of that school’s former principals, according to the Examiner.

4. #TICK TOCK: The US political deadlock over its debt crisis continues as the 2 August default deadline looms closer. The US Senate rejected a Republican fiscal plan after it had been narrowly passed by the House of Representatives last night, prompting House Speaker John Boehner to say: “We tried to do our best for our country, but some people still say no.”

5. #SOMALIA: The United Nations has warned that famine could spread right across southern Somalia. VOA reports that the UN says one-third of those in urgent need of aid are children. Over 10 million people are affected by the ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa which sparked the Somali famine.

6. #DRUGS SUB: Honduran authorities have recovered several tonnes of cocaine from a small submarine used by drug smugglers. The vessel was intercepted off the country’s coast on Wednesday.

7. #COURTS: Three people have been sentenced to jail time ranging from six months to ten years over the killing of New Age Traveller Gary Bull at a Co Cork farm in September 2007, the Irish Times reports. Bull’s body was found in a slurry pit at the west Cork farm in October 2007.

8. #LIBYA: NATO claims to have disabled three state TV satellite transmitters in its latest airstrikes, according to the BBC.

9. #YIKES: New York farmers have a new pest to cope with – wild boar. Reuters reports that the non-native swine are terrorising farms by killing pets and attacking livestock.