EVERY DAY, TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of all the day’s main news as well as the bits and pieces you may have missed.

Race for the Áras…

• A good day in the polls for Michael D Higgins and Seán Gallagher with the former maintaining his lead whilst the latter makes big gains in two polls by Ipsos/MRBI and Red C that were released last night and this afternoon.
• There’s been photo-ops aplenty on the campaign trail today and in recent days. Here’s some of what the candidates have been getting upto.
• Self-description of the day: Martin McGuinness described himself as a “change-maker” at a breakfast meeting organised by The Wheel, an umbrella group of more than 800 charities, the Irish Times reported today.

In today’s other news…

• The campaigner who fought to keep ESB and Eirgrid off her land has been released from prison today. Teresa Treacy was jailed three weeks ago after she denied the utility companies access to her land in order to erect electricity pylons.
• The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbittee has ordered a review of the controversial drilling technique known as fracking after concerns were raised about just how environmentally friendly it may or may not be. And here’s all you need to know about fracking.
• As Jean-Claude Trichet held his last meeting as the head of the European Central Bank he had some good news today with interest rates held steady at 1.5 per cent whilst it was also announced that new loans would be made available to help the continent’s unstable banks. Trichet said there had been some “unexpected hurricanes” in the last half of his eight year tenure.
• Dublin City Council has advised that 40,000 homes across the north of the city could be affected by disruptions to water supply over the weekend because essential works need to be carried out.
• There has been another arrest in the investigation into the murder of publican John Kenny last month. A woman in her early 60s was arrested this afternoon, gardaí say.

RIP Steve Jobs

• Apple fans worldwide have been mourning the loss of the company’s co-founder and visionary former CEO Steve Jobs who died yesterday after a lengthy battle with cancer.
• There have been tributes aplenty on Twitter and from president Barack Obama.
• Jobs was famous not only the products he helped invent but for the words of wisdom he often offered in rare public appearances. Here’s a collection of great quotes and if  you haven’t already seen his address to Stanford students in 2005, you really should.
• In total Jobs is part credited with 317 Apple patents. The New York Times has an excellent interactive feature of just what he has patented – everything from the glass staircase in Apple stores to something called a ‘lanyard’.
• Here’s a trip down memory lane, a video of Jobs introducing the revolutionary Macintosh computer in 1984:

More of today’s other news…

• Unused vaccines worth €6 million have been destroyed by the HSE between 2005 and 2010. The organisation said the figure is within the international standards.
• Independent TD Shane Ross and the chief of the National Treasury Management Agency went head-to-head in the Oireachtas today over the State’s new investment fund. There were fireworks, here’s what happened.
• Gardaí have issued an appeal for a 15-year-old girl missing since Monday. Naomi Whittington was last seen on Monday afternoon in Blackpool, Cork City.
• The Irish Examiner is investigating allegations that one of its columnists, Steven King, has been plagiarising the work of others. Substantial evidence of this has been uncovered by journalist Brian Whelan, who previously helped expose The Independent’s disgraced columnist Johann Hari.
• Women control 58 per cent of all spending and influence nearly 90 per cent of all household purchases but how can companies market products and services to them? We’ve been finding out.
• Finally, fancy a trip to the movies this weekend? Then check out what’s good to see with our Three Trailer Thursday.

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