November 09: Today’s top stories in 60 seconds

Man (36) ‘fell’ on knife, claims female suspect (40s) who was arrested after fatal stabbing
Gardaí are investigating whether a man discovered with a fatal knife wound in a Dublin flat had been dead for a number of days. The Irish Independent also understands that a female suspect in the case told emergency services the deceased “fell” on a knife and has claimed that his death was an accident. The man has been named locally as David Ennis (36), who died following an incident at a flat at Claddagh Court in Ballyfermot. Gardaí were called to the gated community for elderly people at around 2:30am yesterday and when they arrived they discovered Mr Ennis unresponsive. Mr Ennis, who had been staying with a tenant at the facility, was pronounced dead a short time later. An investigation is now underway into the killing. Shortly after the discovery was made, a woman, aged in her late 40s and well-known to the deceased, was arrested and brought to Clondalkin garda station. She remained in garda custody last night under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and can be questioned for up to 24 hours.
Independent.ie

No sign of improvements in hospitals as over 100,000 go without a bed this year
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has admitted there are ‘unacceptable’ shortcomings in the health service, with more than 100,000 patients forced to wait without a bed in hospitals so far this year. Despite an exceptionally mild autumn and a record budget of €23bn, hospitals all over the country are under intense pressure, with patients regularly waiting 24 hours to be seen by a doctor. It has also emerged that 232 of the promised 1,156 extra winter beds have not yet been opened. According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), 100,195 patients have been left waiting on trolleys this year, and of those, 1,903 were children. In the most extreme cases, patients have waited up to four days for a bed, leading nurses to describe it as “possibly the worst crisis our public hospitals have ever seen”.
The Irish Examiner

Wages in Ireland increased by 4.7% in the year to October, according to new figures
Wages in Ireland have increased by an average of 4.7% in the year to October, according to figures released by the Central Bank. This compares with average wage increases of 5.2% across six European countries as of October, and a wage growth increase of 6.2% in the UK. The figures are based on millions of job postings on Indeed, to create a new monthly wage growth tracker.
The Journal

Woman in her 80s critical after Cavan road collision
A woman in her 80s is in critical condition after she was struck by a car in Co Cavan yesterday evening. Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to the incident, which occurred shortly after 7pm on the R165 at Bailieboro. The woman is being treated at Cavan General Hospital. The road remains closed for a technical examination and local diversions are in place.
RTÉ

Republicans gain ground in push to take House as Democrats hold off red wave
Republicans on Tuesday gained ground in their push to take control of the House, although Democrats appeared to be holding their own against hard-right G.O.P. candidates in crucial districts as they grasped to defend their narrow majority. Republicans flipped a handful of crucial House seats in Florida and Virginia, putting the party closer to netting the five seats they needed to win control. That would position them to thwart President Biden’s policy agenda and aggressively investigate his every move. Key races that could determine control of the Senate remained too close to call, but Democrats picked up a critical seat with a victory by Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in Pennsylvania. Far from the red blood bath that Republicans had forecast in the fight for control of Congress, early results indicated that Democrats had held off some of the bleakest forces that have historically left the president’s party with sizable losses in midterm elections.
New York Times

Meta reported to begin job cuts on Wednesday
Facebook owner Meta will reportedly start laying off staff on Wednesday, in a move which may have significant implications for Ireland. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told several executives at the company of the plan on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. Mr Zuckerberg told executives he was accountable for the company’s missteps and that his over-optimism about growth had led to overstaffing, the newspaper reported. A Meta spokeswoman in Dublin declined to comment.
The Irish Times

NASA launch of moon rocket delayed again by tropical weather
NASA is again postponing the launch of its new moon rocket because of a storm threatening the Florida coast. Fuel leaks have kept the rocket grounded since August. Then Hurricane Ian forced the rocket back to the hangar at Kennedy Space Center at the end of September. The rocket was moved back to the launch pad last week, and NASA was aiming for a launch attempt early Monday. But on Tuesday, the space agency said it was delaying the launch until at least next Wednesday because of Tropical Storm Nicole, which is expected to hit Florida’s Atlantic coastline as a Category 1 hurricane over the next few days. The space centre is under a hurricane warning but NASA is keeping the rocket at the launch pad. NASA said the rocket is designed to withstand heavy rains and high wind. The $4.1 billion mission will send an empty crew capsule around the moon and back in a flight test before astronauts climb aboard in a couple of years. It is NASA’s biggest step yet to get astronauts back on the moon by 2025. The space agency is nearing the 50th anniversary of its last human moon landing: Apollo 17 in December 1972.
ABC News

Discovery of 2,000-year-old Italian bronze statues will ‘rewrite’ history of Roman Empire
The discovery of perfectly preserved 2,000-year-old bronze statues in Italy will “rewrite history”, authorities have said. The 24 figurines and other bronze objects had been found at an archaeological dig San Casciano dei Bagni in Tuscany, it was announced on Tuesday. After being found inside mud at the ancient thermal spring near Siena, the statues remain in a good condition, bearing delicate facial features, inscriptions and rippled tunics. 5,000 coins in gold, silver and bronze were found alongside the figurines, the Italian Ministry of Culture said. The discovery could provide historians with a greater insight into the transition from the Etruscan civilisation to the Roman Empire in central Italy between the second and first centuries BC.
ITV News

Today’s forecast
Sunny spells and scattered showers will continue this morning with some heavy ones in the east. Whilst drier conditions will develop, it will be become cloudier and southwest winds will freshen. Later today, patchy outbreaks of rain and drizzle will move into the west and northwest. Highest temperatures of 11°C to 14°C. Mostly cloudy and turning windy tonight with patchy outbreaks of rain spreading northeastwards across the country. Fresh to strong southerly winds will keep it very mild with lowest temperatures of 9°C to 13 °C.
Met Éireann