Good morning and welcome to the Morning Buzz for Tuesday, April 18. There is set to be a late shower today, with tops of 25 degrees across the city.
Traffic Buzz
CECIL HILLS: There has been an accident involving a car and motorcycle on Cowpasture Road at Frederick Road. One northbound lane is closed to traffic. There are moderate traffic conditions in the area.
RIVERWOOD: A truck breakdown is affecting eastbound traffic on the M5 Motorway, near Belmore Road.
BANGOR: A truck breakdown is affecting traffic on the Bangor Bypass on Akuna Avenue. The westbound on-ramp is now closed to traffic.
GRANVILLE: A truck breakdown is affecting westbound traffic on the M4 Motorway, near James Ruse Road.
MOSMAN: Vehicles parked in the clearway has caused heavy traffic conditions on Military Road, just past Spit Road. One city-bound lane is closed to traffic.
News Buzz
GAS PRICE HIKE: An increase in the price of gas of 220 per cent will leave Sutherland Shire Council’s three leisure centres facing a bill hike of $500,000 a year. Read more.
INTEREST RATE WARNING: A dangerously overcooked housing market and rising interest rates are poised to plunge thousands of Australian families into mortgage stress in coming years, top economists have warned. Read more.
PARAGLIDING FATALITY: NSW Police are investigating the death of a paraglider killed west of Goulburn on Easter Monday. Read more.
PARKING PROBLEMS: Car-sharing companies could provide relief for Mount Druitt and St Marys motorists struggling to find a space in crammed commuter car parks, according to Parking Australia. Read more.
WOOLWORTHS PLAN: Woolworths is using its once-troubled loyalty scheme to fortify the supermarket business and try to build an Amazon-proof fence around its customers. Read more.
NO REPRESENTATION: Blacktown has no representation on a panel that will determine the flight paths of Western Sydney Airport. Read more.
SUPERBUGS RISE: Thousands of patients are being exposed to potentially fatal superbugs because their doctors and other hospital staff are not washing their hands, new data shows. Read more.
ASSAULT IN APARTMENT: A woman who advertised a room for rent in her apartment in Sydney's inner west was allegedly violently sexually assaulted and choked by a man who turned up to inspect the property, police say. Read more.
SHARK ATTACK: A teenage girl has died after a shark attack near Esperance in WA's south on Monday afternoon. Read more.
RIDE FALL: A boy is fighting for his life after falling from a carnival ride on the Mornington Peninsula. Read more.
WIND FARM COMPLAINTS: The federal government's Wind Farm Commission has handled 90 complaints in its first 14 months of operation, with 67 of those deemed "closed" with no further action to be taken. Read more.
THRASHING PREDICTED: Alan Jones, one of the Coalition's highest-profile media backers, says the Turnbull government is failing to learn from its mistakes and could benefit from an electoral thrashing. Read more.
Sports Buzz
MOSES SHINES IN LOSS: Mitchell Moses almost undid his future employers and Brad Arthur wants him wearing the blue and gold within a week after the Parramatta Eels waged a stunning second-half revival to snap a four-game losing streak at ANZ Stadium on Easter Monday. Read more.
UNCERTAINTY FOR DRAGONS: St George Illawarra recruitment chief Ian Millward has conceded a lower than expected salary cap figure for 2018 has complicated the club's efforts to re-sign off-contract stars Gareth Widdop and Josh Dugan, but he remains confident both can be retained. Read more.
WRONG TICKETS: The Penrith Panthers insist they didn't mean any disrespect to Cronulla after sending the club the wrong allocation of tickets for the Easter Sunday clash at Pepper Stadium. Read more.
MARCHING ON: Sydney FC completed their record-breaking regular season in style, beating the Newcastle Jets 2-0 on Saturday night to break the A-League points record. Read more.
