Every morning, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things  you really, really need to know with your morning coffee.

1. #HEALTH CRISIS Health Minister Mary Harney responded on Prime Time to last night’s allegations of misappropriation of money by the Skill training fund for  HSE workers, saying it was “unacceptable”. According to today’s Irish Independent, the widespread waste included the spending of €1,500 on a retirement party and €668 on taxi waiting fees. Meanwhile, the Irish Times reports that the HSE plans to see 6,000 jobs axed.

2. #TEENAGERS Four teenagers were admitted to adult psychiatric unit in Waterford Regional hospital over last weekend – despite it only being allowed when all other options have been exhausted. RTE reports that there was just one nurse looking after 30 patients for a period over the weekend, meaning a security guard at the hospital had to look after the 14-year-old.

3. #POLITICS Opposition parties have accepted a government offer of briefings on the budget – but say they won’t be tied into the targets set.

4. #MOTORISTS Motorists will have to pay a string of new tolls on Irish motorways.

5. #STRIKE Aer Lingus cabin crew are planning a work-to-rule in protest over new rosters.

6. #MURDER The so-called shoelace strangler Gerard O’Hara has been awarded a life sentence for the murder of his 24-year-old fiancee Lisa Doyle in Leighlinbridge Co. Carlow in September last year. He told gardai he could not explain why he had murdered her but admitted that he got the urge to strangle “once or twice a year”.

7. #FOR SALE 7,000 unused electronic voting machines. Any serious offers considered. Actually, any offers at all considered.

8. #CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA Amateur stargazer Dave Grennan spotted a supernova – the death explosion of a massive star – from the observatory in his back garden in Raheny, North Dublin, the Irish Independent reports. David Moore of Astronomy Ireland gave an insight into the scale of the exploding star when he said a nuclear bomb would be smaller than a “gnat hitting the windscreen of a billion juggernauts” when compared to it.

9. #SPECNAPPED “Dear Mr. Franzen. We’ve got your glasses; they’re refusing to talk.” A man has been arrested after stealing author Jonathan Franzen’s glasses at his own book party and demanding a ransom of £100,000. A high-speed chase ensued as police called a helicopter to apprehend the culprit … who escaped by jumping into the Serpentine Lake in London. We didn’t make that up. Not a word of it.