GOOD MORNING.

The Journal brings you the top stories to start your morning.

1. Private jets

The government has spent more than €1.3 million on the hiring of private jets for overseas trips in the last 12 months as a replacement for its ailing Learjet.

Records obtained by The Journal under the Freedom of Information Act show that, in total, 18 trips were taken by the Government during that time: 11 were by former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar; five were by current Taoiseach Simon Harris; and were two by Tánaiste Micheál Martin.

2. Tipperary

Asylum seekers housed in Dundrum House Hotel in Co Tipperary are fearing for their safety due to “ongoing harassment and intimidation”, according to a migrant rights organisation.

Children have allegedly witnessed their mothers be subjected to slurs on a daily basis, with a vast majority of residents feeling trapped on the site due to feeling “afraid to walk out of the centre” because of the presence of some protesters outside.

3. Biden

Reporting from Chicago, Christine Bohan asks whether Irish-Americans are happy to have seen Joe Biden step aside.

Multiple people told The Journal that while it had meant a lot to see him in office, he did the right thing by bowing to pressure and not running again, and are newly energised heading into November’s  election.

4. Fishermen

A west African fishing crew whose boat sunk off the coast of Galway last ear have been granted visas to stay in Ireland following a campaign by them and their union.

Unite the Union said that it was an example of why better systems are needed to support undocumented workers.

5. Solingen

Three people have been killed and at least five injured following a knife attack at a festival to mark the 650th anniversary of the German town of Solingen.

Police say they are still hunting for the perpetrator, and that investigations are still ongoing.

6. Firearms

Gardaí say that they have arrested three men and sezied a firearm and ammunition after searching a car in the Finglas area of Dublin yesterday evening.

7. Cork

Gardaí are investigating a number of incidents in Cork, including criminal damage in Shanakiel, and a traffic collision on the Churchfield Road, which resulted in the seizure of a firearm.

8. Inch Strand

A man who died after getting into difficulty off the coast of Cork yesterday has been named locally as Stephen Callaghan, of Ashburton Hill, St Luke’s, Cork.

9. RFK 

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr has dropped out of the running for the US Presidential election and endorsed Donald Trump.

Citing his concerns about free speech, the war in Ukraine and “the war on our children,” Kennedy announced he would “throw my support to president Trump” at a news conference in Arizona.