EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you the stories you need to know as you kick off your day.

1. #KILLING: A murder investigation is under way after a mother of three was stabbed to death in her kitchen in Dún Laoghaire last night. It’s believed the attacker was a man known to the 65-year-old.

2. #STATE OF THE UNION: Barack Obama has delivered an ambitious State of the Union address. The speech is being seen as an attempt to sell a story of a national economy emerging from the “shadow of crisis.”

3. #COURT: The trial of a man charged with killing two women who were living in sheltered accommodation in Dublin almost 20 years ago gets under way later, according to RTÉ.

4. #FATHERS: Irish fathers look set to benefit from two weeks paid paternity leave. Junior minister Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said he’s confident this provision will be included in new legislation currently being drafted.

5. #TAKEOVER: The country’s second largest largest health insurance provider, Laya Healthcare, has been taken over by insurance giant AIG, the companies have confirmed.

6. #ISRAEL: Police in Israel say they have shot a Palestinian man who stabbed at least nine people in an attack on a bus in Tel Aviv, the BBC reports. Three of the victims are said to be in a serious condition.

7. #WHO’S COMING TO THE PARTY? Are the country’s senators beating down the doors of Lucinda and Shane? We’ve been looking into it.

8. #DRINK: Over €7,000 was spent at Oireachtas bars after the passing of the water services bill last December, the Irish Examiner reports this morning.

9. #FROZEN: A yellow weather warning remains in place this morning, with more icy weather on the way, and the occasional wintry shower.