1. Desperate search for mother and two children after their plane goes missing in Bermuda Triangle.
A desperate search is underway for a New York City businesswoman and her two young children, who were passengers aboard a private plane that has gone missing in the Bahamas.
Pilot Nathan Ulrich was flying Jennifer Blumin and her sons to Puerto Rico when their plane lost contact with traffic control on Monday. It is understood the children on board were Phineas, 4, and Theodore, 2.
The US Coast Guard has located a debris field near the Bahamas, sharing the news on Twitter on Tuesday and crews are now searching for survivors.
The Coast Guard said the twin-engine MU-2B was east of the island of Eleuthera on Monday when air traffic control in Miami lost radar and radio contact with the plane, AAP reports.
It was en route from Puerto Rico and never made it to its destination of Titusville, along the northeastern coast of Florida.
Blumin is founder and CEO of Skylight Group, which provides event space around New York City, specialising in the fashion industry. The company confirmed she and members of her family were on the plane in a statement.
Blumin is in a long-term relationship with architect James Ramsey.
The plane was at about 24,000 feet when air traffic control lost contact.
“There’s no indication of significant adverse weather at the time,” said a Coast Guard spokesman.
2. A NSW mum has been charged after her two-year-old consumed drugs.
A Sydney mother has been charged with child neglect after her two-year-old son consumed drugs.
The Penrith boy was taken to Nepean Hospital in December and doctors were told he had drunk paint thinner, AAP reports.
But it was later discovered he had illicit drugs in his system.
A woman, 36, has been charged with two counts of child neglect and failure to provide for a child in danger of death.
She will appear in Penrith Local Court on Tuesday.
3. A Victorian cat named Omar could break the record as the world’s longest.
Stephy Hirst knew her cat Omar was large, but until recently she had no idea he could be a record-breaker.
Omar is a three-year-old maine coon, who weighs in at 14kg and measures around 1.2 metres long. To put that in perspective, an average cat weighs around 4kg and is less than half that length.
The Croydon woman set up an Instagram account for Omar two weeks ago. After a photo was shared on the Cats of Instagram account his popularity exploded.
Hirst has since been contacted by the Guinness World Records who are in the process of determining whether Omar is larger than current world record holder Ludo from the UK whose length measures at 1.18m.
4. South Australian man charged with murdering his partner and her mother.
A Millicent man charged with two counts of murder has not applied for bail in a brief court appearance following the discovery of the bodies of his partner and her mother at a house in the town.
Bo Olsson appeared in the Berri Magistrates Court on Tuesday and was remanded in custody to return to court on July 25, AAP reports.
The 53-year-old was charged on Monday night after walking into the Berri police station, about 450 kilometres from Millicent, in South Australia’s southeast, to report the deaths that morning.
Police said on Tuesday the two women, aged 63 and 84, may have been killed as long ago as Thursday last week.
5. Donald Trump defends his “absolute right” to share “facts” with Russia.
President Donald Trump is under pressure from US politicians, including his fellow Republicans, to explain why he shared highly sensitive intelligence information with senior Russian officials at a meeting in the Oval Office last week.
US officials said Trump discussed intelligence about Islamic State with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak at last Wednesday’s meeting.
The officials said the information had been supplied by a US ally in the fight against the militant group. The New York Times identified the ally as Israel.
Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday to defend his actions.
6. Police are set to decide whether to charge Cardinal George Pell over child sexual abuse allegations.
Victorian police have been told there is enough evidence to charge Cardinal George Pell over claims of alleged historical sex abuse.
Police received advice from the state’s Director of Public Prosecutions regarding further historical sex abuse allegations involving Pell.
Detectives from Taskforce Sano will now take time to consider the advice before deciding whether or not to take further action, AAP reports.
News Corp newspapers reported that the advice relates to allegations against Australia’s most senior Catholic official, who has vehemently and repeatedly denied all abuse allegations made against him.
Accusations he abused boys while a priest in Ballarat were aired last year and a new book released on Monday makes further claims.
In a statement on Monday, Cardinal Pell called the book “an exercise in character assassination”.
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