1. “We had this monster living under our roof and we didn’t know”: The family who took in the teen who shot and killed 17 people at school.
The couple who took in accused Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz have opened up about the "monster living under their roof".
Last week, the 19-year-old walked into his former high school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and opened fire on students and staff.
Seventeen people were killed in the shooting and more than 15 were left injured.
Nikolas then concealed himself in a group of terrified students fleeing the school, before he was found and arrested by police.
Speaking to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Kimberley and James Snead revealed how Nikolas had come to live in their family home in the months leading up to the tragedy.
Around Thanksgiving, the couple's son asked if Nikolas could move in, just weeks after his biological mother had died from complications from pneumonia. They described the teen as "extremely depressed" about the death of his mother, but said he appeared to be growing happier in their home.
At 19 years old, the Sneads say Nikolas didn't know how to cook for himself, and had to be taught how to use a microwave and do his own laundry. They insisted he enrol in adult education classes held nearby and drove him to school every day.
They knew he owned weapons - including the AR-15 he used during the shooting - but made him lock them in a gun safe the day he moved in, with James taking what he believed was the only key.
Since the shooting, it's been revealed that a disturbing YouTube comment had been reported to the FBI five months earlier. Staff and students who knew Nikolas have described him as "troubled" and his actions have been labelled by some students as "predictable".
But James and Kimberly said they have no idea how the teen they took in became a killer.
"We didn't see this side of him," Kimberley told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "We had this monster living under our roof and we didn't know."
"Everything everybody seems to know, we didn't know. It's as simple as that," James added.
On the day of the shooting - Valentine's Day in the US - Cruz said he "didn't go to school on Valentine's Day" and wouldn't need a ride. He told Kimberley he was going fishing for the day.
That afternoon, after his son called "panic-stricken" that he had heard shots fired at his school, James received a call from a SWAT commander asking where Nikolas was.
After putting two and two together, James realised the last he knew, Nikolas was home alone with his wife. He told the police to send a presence to his home, and began "fearing for her life".
Later, the couple were brought to the Broward Sheriff's headquarters to be reunited with their son, who was being questioned by police to determine if he was involved in the planning of the shooting (police quickly determined he was innocent).
It was there they saw Nikolas, handcuffed, surrounded by police officers and wearing a hospital gun.
"Really, Nik? Really?" Kimberley remembers screaming at him.
James said the teen "said he was sorry".
"He apologised. He looked lost, absolutely lost," he said. "And that was the last time we saw him."
2. Australians have spoken, and 65 per cent of them want Barnaby Joyce to resign as Deputy Prime Minister.
A majority of Australians believe embattled Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce should resign following his affair with a staffer, the latest Newspoll shows.
Up to 65 per cent of voters across the country believe the Deputy Prime Minister should resign with a third of those also believing Mr Joyce should quit federal parliament.
Newspoll quizzed 1632 voters across Australia including those in regional areas and cities for the findings released on Sunday.
Of the voters who want Mr Joyce gone, 29 per cent believe the New England MP should step down as the Nationals leader but remain on the backbench while 21 per cent believe he should step down and not recontest the next election.
A quarter of regional voters wanted to see Mr Joyce resign from parliament immediately because of the love-child scandal, with just 20 per cent of city voters wanting to see him go.
Meanwhile Malcolm Turnbull's personal approval ratings fell, dropping five points to 40 per cent, leaving only a seven point margin between the Liberal leader and Labor leader Bill Shorten as preferred prime minister.
The coalition's primary vote also fell two points to 36 per cent, one point behind Labor's which remained unchanged.
The two-party-preferred vote has returned the coalition to the position it held in December trailing Labor 53 per cent to 47.
3. Older Aussies will be offered free 'enhanced' flu vaccines in an effort to avoid another deadly season.
Two new, stronger flu vaccines will be available to older Australians for free this season in a bid to prevent another deadly outbreak, AAP reports.
More than 1100 people across Australia died from the flu last year, with most of them over the age of 65.
FluAd and FluZone will be free for over 65s when the supply arrives in Australia in April, the federal government announced on Sunday.
"The two new vaccines are about giving Australians the best chance at getting through the flu season with as little impact as possible," Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters in Melbourne.
Last year's flu season was deadly because the elderly immune response to the vaccine had been waning in recent years and the A-strain of the flu mutated mid-season, leaving even vaccinated people vulnerable, Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said.
"That was an unusual shift and it's being analysed very closely by the world health organisation," Prof Murphy told reporters.
The new vaccines were aimed at improving the response in elderly people in two ways.
"One of them has more of the killed-virus antigen in it, that produces a stronger immune response, and the other one has a standard amount of the antigen but has... a chemical which tickles up the immune system to respond better," Prof Murphy said.
4. An internal police investigation is underway after a 30-year-old man collapsed and died during an arrest in Sydney.
An internal police investigation will try to find how a 30-year-old man died after he collapsed while being arrested in Sydney's inner west.
According to AAP, police were called to a street in Newtown after a man, who was being held under the Mental Health Act, fled a nearby hospital on Sunday.
It's reported the man was seen running through St Andrews College "behaving erratically" before his arrest.
The man collapsed while resisting arrest, police said. He was taken to a Sydney hospital but did not survive.
According to 7 News, police used capsicum spray on the man, who was also tasered during his arrest.
Witnesses told 7 News there were "several officers" on top of the man during the arrest.
"We didn't really see the original takedown we just sort of saw them all laying on top of him," they said.
The investigation will be independently reviewed and a report will be prepared for coroner.
5. New South Wales' lifeguards saved the lives of 150 people this weekend during horror surf conditions.
A man is missing and 150 people have been rescued from the surf over the weekend as cyclonic swell lashes the NSW coastline.
Surf Life Saving NSW rescued 15 people in a single incident after the group ran into trouble in dangerous waves at Broulee on the state's south coast on Sunday, AAP reports.
In Sydney, lifeguards from Manly picked up two people as their boat capsized and sank on Sunday, according to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
At North Cronulla another 10 people were saved and, across NSW, numerous people received suspected spinal injuries from the waves.
Meanwhile, the search for a man, swept out to sea while swimming with a group of people at a Nambucca beach on the NSW mid-north coast on Saturday afternoon, will be postponed overnight.
Police say the 22-year-old was caught in a rip.
The search will resume on Monday morning but the rough conditions are making the search difficult.
The horror weekend comes as Tropical Cyclone Gita - which damaged parts of southern Fiji - moves south, bringing massive waves and winds to Australia's east coast.
Authorities warned swimmers and surfers to stick to patrolled beaches and rock fishers to avoid the water throughout the weekend.
Surf Life Saving NSW, on Sunday night, extended the warning for a further 48 hours.
"Conditions will be particularly bad in the north of the state," a spokesman told AAP.
"We're expecting waves up to four metres, conditions are expected to ease briefly then pick back up."
Swimmers have been warned to stick to patrolled beaches and use common sense in the water.
The Bureau of Meteorology's hazardous surf warning for Monday covers almost the entirety of the NSW coast - from Byron to Sydney to Eden.
6. According to new research, millennials are the most patient generation of all.
While often labelled restless, unreliable and in the constant pursuit of perfection, new research has found that millennials are actually the most patient generation of all.
A study of customer service expectations from Jive Communications found millennials were prepared to wait the longest times before getting agitated, and are less likely to complain after a bad customer service experience.
The study of 2000 people found the average 18-35 year old was happy to wait 11 minutes on hold before their “mood began to sour” - 38 per cent longer than respondents over the age of 55.
The study also revealed millennials are willing to wait up to 21 minutes longer than any other generation for a meal.
They’re also more likely to forgive mistakes, with 15 per cent willing to overlook a dirty hotel room. In comparison, more than two per cent of those over 55 say they would do the same. A third would “let it pass” if they were served the wrong drink in a restaurant and 20 per cent wouldn’t make a fuss if given the wrong food.
Fifteen per cent of millennial wouldn’t even bother returning a new item of clothing if they discovered it had a hole.
