Athletes compete in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley SM10 category at the 2012 Paralympics Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

HERE ARE THE things you need to know as we round off the day in three easy steps.

THINGS WE LEARNED

#HEALTH CUTS: The HSE has announced €130 million in cost-saving measures “in order to deal with the existing [budget] deficit and to remain within the budget” targets set by the government and the Troika.

#DUNDALK: A man in his 30s has been arrested by gardaí investigating the murder of a 34-year-old woman in Dundalk, Co Louth. Her body was found at her home early yesterday morning.

#BACKPACKERS: Two Irish men remain in serious condition in an Australian hospital after they were attacked at a boarding house in Melbourne last weekend.

#HEATING UP: Republican Party vice-presidential election candidate Paul Ryan launched a scathing attack on President Obama’s healthcare plan during the Republican Convention in Florida last night.

#PARALYMPICS: Ireland’s cycling duo James Brown and David Shaw narrowly missed out on the team’s first medal of the 2012 Paralympics in London, finishing fourth. Swimmer Ellen Keane qualified for the Women’s 100m Butterfly S9 final this evening, where she finished seventh. Meanwhile, if you missed last night’s opening ceremony, here’s some footage of the incredible fireworks display over the stadium:

YouTube: Ole Alsaker

THINGS WE LOVED

• This morning marked the first day of school for young children around Ireland – and if these photos are anything to go by, it was quite an emotional start for some.
• Notre Dame have been put through their paces in some fancy footwear ahead of their college football game against the US Naval Academy in Dublin on Saturday (Photo: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland):

THINGS WE SHARED

• Using back-lit devices such as tablets for more than two hours a day could be behind your bad night’s sleep, according to this report by Mashable.
• Visual.ly users Designbysoap have compiled some handy helpful hints on saving money at home, work and in your car in this infographic.
• This powerful footage of New Zealand troops commemorating  ancestral war dance to commemorate the deaths of their fellow soldiers has gone viral since being posted by the NZ Defence Forces just four days ago:

YouTube: NZDefenceForce

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