Every morning TheJournal.ie brings you the nine stories you need to know a little before 9am.

1.#DANKE, PENNEYS: The Taoiseach is in Germany today. While he will talk to Chancellor Angela Merkel about the EU, he will also open a new Penneys store.

2.#RESCUED: The Coast Guard was called to rescue four people in three separate incidents in Wicklow yesterday. In one incident, a mother and child were rescued from rocks.

3.#GREYHOUND: A SIPTU shop steward was struck by a van amid a picket at Greyhound recycling, the company has confirmed. A SIPTU organiser said the van had sent the official “flying”.

4.#JOBSWATCH: Applegreen, the retail and fuel company, will create more than 360 jobs in an expansion of its network. Meanwhile, Carphone Warehouse will create 50 jobs.

5.#INDEPENDENCE DAY: The US is stepping up airport security this week ahead of 4 July. Flights going to the US from Europe will be subject to tighter security. The Department of Homeland Security did not say if the move was in response to a specific threat.

6.#PAC-ED UP: The Public Accounts Committee will discuss the Central Remedial Clinic today, but only one of the four board members invited will attend.

7.#PAYMENT: Around 9,000 families will lose their One-Parent Family Payment today, as previously announced changes come into effect.

8.#FRANCE: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy says that French authorities are trying to ‘humiliate and destroy’ him after he was arrested on suspicion of corruption yesterday.

9.#WATERLINE: Jedward had to be rescued by the Coast Guard yesterday after getting stuck on a sandbank in Malahide. Yes, seriously.