EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you nine things you need to know with your morning cup of coffee.

1. #SHOOTING: A man who was injured in a shooting in Clondalkin, Dublin, last night has died. Gardaí are now appealing for information about the incident which occurred at about 10.30pm yesterday at Cherrywood Drive.

2. #COWEN: Former Taoiseach Brian Cowen has defended himself against criticisms over remarks he made in an interview with TG4, telling reporters that nobody is more sorry than him but that he was not responsible for everything that happened to the Irish economy, RTÉ reports.

3. #ROBBERY: Gardaí have arrested a 28-year-old man in connection with a robbery at a supermarket on the Malahide Road in Dublin, last night. The man threatened staff and demanded cash but was tackled by the shop’s security guard and gardaí were called.

4. #BIG FISH: Staff at video game company Big Fish Games who were made redundant last week have written a scathing letter to the company’s president. The 79 employees described their redundancy packages as “barely above minimum legal amounts”.

5. #ALTERNATIVE BUDGET: The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called for taxes on the wealthy, a €4.5 billion stimulus and no cuts to primary spending in its pre-budget submission to the Department of Finance. The union said its plans would “reach deficit targets, spur job creation and boost recovery prospects”.

6. #JOBSWATCH: The four-year long recruitment moratorium for the public sector will be loosened from today with a number of advertisements for graduate positions in the civil service to go live. The Public Appointments Service will be looking for people who have studied economics, banking and finance, law HR and tax policy.

7. #SYRIA: The US is still seeking to find an international coalition to act together against the Syrian regime after British lawmakers rejected the government’s call for military strikes yesterday. The UN has said it has collected “considerable evidence” and will brief the secretary general tomorrow.

8. #STRIKE: Fast-food workers held a nationwide day of demonstrations yesterday calling for the right to unionise without interference from employers and for pay of $15 an hour. The walkouts and protests reached about 60 cities across the US.

9. #ELECTRIC PICNIC: Today is the 10th birthday of the Electric Picnic music festival with the campsites open from 9am this morning. Some 35,000 people are expected to attend the sold-out festival at Stradbally in Co Laois over the next three days. Will you be there?

• Over on DailyEdge.ie: “Miley Cyrus displays her breasts in mesh”, and who called their baby Axl?… It’s the Dredge>