Shutterstock / Elena Veselova Shutterstock / Elena Veselova / Elena Veselova

EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #HOUSING CRISIS: The State plans to buy properties that were for rent on short-term letting platforms such as Airbnb, according to Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien.

2. #COVID-19 RISK: US President Donald Trump has worn a face mask in public for the first time, as the US posted another daily record for coronavirus cases.

3. #THE TWELFTH: Bonfires have been lit in loyalist areas across Northern Ireland as the annual July tradition took place amid coronavirus restrictions.

4. #TAOISEACH INTERVIEW: Micheál Martin has said that at the moment, a border poll would be “unnecessarily divisive” in an interview with BBC Northern Ireland.

5. #SEIZED: Gardaí have seized cocaine estimated to be worth €1.2 million after two vehicles were stopped and searched on the M3 near Ashbourne, Co Meath yesterday.

6. #DISPLACEMENT: The UN Security Council passed a resolution to restart cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria – after giving in to one of Russia’s demands.

7. #BARRY COWEN: Gardaí have launched an internal investigation into whether information about Barry Cowen’s drink-driving ban was leaked, reports the Sunday Independent.

8. #BREXIT: A £700 million funding package to help manage the UK’s borders post Brexit has been announced – but doesn’t include measures for Northern Ireland’s posts.

9. #MADELEINE MCCANN: Portuguese authorities have searched wells as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, according to reports.