news

Monday's news in 5 minutes.

1. Brisbane father-to-be dies of heatstroke, weeks before birth of first child.

A young Brisbane man has died of heatstroke on Friday, just weeks before the birth of his first child after overheating while riding his dirtbike.

Matthew Hall was riding in Beerburrum State Forrest, Sunshine Coast, with temperatures in the low 30s, when he collapsed with heatstroke, Seven News reports.

When teams of paramedics reached the Virgin pilot he was confused and giving a temperature reading of 42 degrees. Critical heatstroke starts at 41 degrees.

The man’s organs were shutting down and he deteriorated as the rescue helicopter landed and died – just two weeks before his wife was due to give birth to their son.

His wife, Emily Hall, said in a statement that her husband will live on through their son.

“He was my best friend and my soul mate,” the 30-year-old said.

“I can’t fathom life without him but my strength is knowing he will live through his son.

“I will love him enough for the two of us and I will make sure I do Matt proud and be the best mum to him.”

Channel Seven reports heat stress is the second most common cause of death for dirt bike riders, following head injury.

2. Teen defends kidnapper as she is reunited with parents 18 years after abduction.

A teenager reunited with her biological parents 18 years after she was taken from a Florida hospital at birth has defended her kidnapper.

Kamiyah Mobley was stolen from Jacksonville University Medical Center, Florida hospital hours after she was born by a woman dressed as a nurse, who then fled with the baby.

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Kamiyah was raised by Gloria Williams, who has been arrested on a kidnapping charge, and living in the small town of Walterboro, South Carolina, under the name Alexis Manigo, when she learned her true identity.

The 18-year-old defended her “mother” in a post to Facebook, saying that Williams “raised me with everything I needed and most of all everything I wanted”.

“My mother is no felon,” she wrote.

“The ignorant ones won’t understand that.”

Kamiyah was reunited with her family for 45 minutes in a private reunion at the Walterboro Police Department on Sunday, WCSC news reports.

Her father, Craig Aiken, told WCSC that the family are still trying to process the shock.

“First meeting was beautiful, it was wonderful, couldn’t went no better…she was glad to meet us,” Aiken said.

“It’s a feeling that you can’t explain it, it’s hard to put it in words right now it’s hard to deal with this here right now.

3. Boy, 7, in a critical condition after quad bike accident.

A seven-year-old boy is in a critical condition after he and another boy fell off a quad bike near Griffith, NSW, on Sunday.

The boy was riding with a nine-year-old boy on a property Barellan, east of Griffith around lunchtime when the boys took a turn and fell from the bike.

Police say the bike fell onto the seven-year-old, who was airlifted to Canberra Hospital, where he remains critical, AAP reports.

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In 2015 deputy state coroner Sharon Freund recommended children under 16 years old should be banned from driving the four-wheeled motorbikes.

Meanwhile, two girls in regional Victoria were seriously injured when they received a shock from a power tool on Sunday afternoon.

One of the girls was flown to the Royal Children’s Hospital in a critical condition after receiving CPR at the scene, and the other – who received an electrical burn – was taken to the Goulburn Valley Base Hospital in Shepparton in a serious but stable condition, AAP reports.

4. One dead, one critical after toxic MDMA batch, police say.

One man has died, while a teenager remains in hospital in a critical condition after taking pills that police say were among a toxic batch of the drug ecstasy.

Up to 20 people were hospitalised after taking the dodgy batch of drugs in Chapel Street nightclubs over the weekend.

Police now say a 30-year-old man who died in Elwood on Friday night is suspected of having taken drugs from the same batch, The Herald Sun reports.

A 17-year-old boy is currently at The Alfred in a critical but stable condition after ingesting the drugs.

Police have arrested a 30-year-old man Melbourne man in relation to the hospitalisations, charging him with traffic and possession of MDMA and possession proceeds of crime.

5. Woman dies after being struck by a truck in Bankstown.

A woman has been killed after she was struck by a truck in Sydney’s south-west just before 3am this morning.

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The woman, believed to be aged in her 40s, sustained serious injuries when she was struck the by vehicle as she walked along a crossing at Canterbury Road, Nine News reports.

She was unable to revived by paramedics and police will prepare a report for the coroner.

Police are investigating the circumstances of her death and took the uninjured 69-year-old driver to Bankstown Hospital for breath testing.

6. Cabinet reshuffle after Sussan Ley’s resignation; Matthias Corman’s alleged misuse of taxpayer funds.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will unveil a new ministry this week, prompted by the resignation of Sussan Ley from her health portfolio following allegations she misused taxpayer’s money.

Sussan Ley’s expense claims are being investigated after it was revealed she bought an apartment during a trip to the Gold Coast among other questionable expenses claims.

It has also been revealed by AAP  that Finance Minister Mathias Cormann billed taxpayers more than $23,000 for weekend trips to the beach resort town of Broome with his wife over five years.

A spokeswoman for Mr Cormann claimed all of his expenses on the trips to Broome were legitimate and appropriately declared.

Mr Turnbull is expected to make minimal changes to his cabinet, Fairfax reports he may appoint cabinet secretary Arthur Sinodinos, who is currently acting in the role, to the health portfolio permanently.

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