GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.

1. Laois death

A man was arrested after another man died at a hotel in Laois yesterday evening. Gardaí were alerted to an incident at a hotel in north county Laois and a man in his 60s was found dead.

A man in his 30s was arrested and is currently detained at a Garda station in the Eastern Region.

2. Johnny Duhan

Tributes have been paid to songwriter Johnny Duhan, who died yesterday after drowning at Silverstrand beach at Galway Bay.

Duhan was born in Limerick in 1950 and worked with artists such as Christy Moore, The Dubliners, Mary Black and many Irish and international singers.

3. Search continues

A major search operation is still underway to locate a woman missing in Silverstrand in Galway Bay, who went missing in the same incident.

Emergency services launched a multi-agency search after reports that a woman in her 30s was missing after swimming at Silverstrand. A man in his 70s was also reported missing at the same beach at the same time, in a separate incident.

4. Elon Musk

Billionaire Elon Musk has been appointed as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new position in US President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet.

Musk, who has a number of state contracts with the US through his private space agency SpaceX, will be tasked with managing and mitigating government wastage – wherever he sees fit.

5. New Defense Secretary

Meanwhile, Trump has stunned the Pentagon and the broader defence world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defence secretary.

Hegseth is largely inexperienced and untested on the global stage to take over the world’s largest and most powerful military.

6. Fog warning

A fog warning remains in place this morning for much of Ireland, with poor visibility and hazardous driving conditions in many areas.

According to Met Éireann, the fog warning is in place for all of Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Munster, Galway, Leitrim and Roscommon.

7. Campaign trail

Here’s the latest from the campaign trail, as parties make their pitches to the electorate ahead of the General election later this month.

8. Wendy’s 

US fast food chain Wendy’s is set to open in Ireland in the coming years, with the creation of 300 jobs.

Fuel company Corrib Oil – which also manages petrol stations and forecourts – announced a partnership with the American fast food giant. A total of 10 Wendy’s restaurants are set to open across the country between 2025 and 2027.

9. JoJo Dullard

A man who was arrested Monday in connection with the murder of Jo Jo Dullard, who went missing in November 1995, has been released without charge.

The man is believed to be one of the last people to see her alive. 

Investigating gardaí are continuing to carry out a search operation on open ground at a location in Co Wicklow near the Wicklow/Kildare border.