Daily News Roundup

‘Drunk’ driver’s excuse after fatal hit

As Madison Lyden’s heartbroken family spoke out about the “horrific way” their loving sibling and daughter died in New York City, the truck driver who knocked her down has explained why he got behind the wheel after drinking.

The 23-year-old Tasmanian woman was killed in Manhattan on Friday when she swerved out of the way of an Uber near New York’s Central Park.

She was with a close mate near the iconic tourist landmark about 4.45pm (local time) on Friday when the twin sister swerved to avoid an Uber driver blocking a bike lane and was hit.

Truck driver Felipe Chairez, 44, was arrested after police saw empty cans of beer in the cab of his truck, and charged him with driving under the influence.

He admitted drinking two beers with lunch before leaving work at a downtown construction site to dump garbage in the Bronx and his blood alcohol level was between 0.04 and 0.06, according to court documents.

However, according to the New York Post, his lawyer says his client wasn’t impaired by the alcohol he drank that day — because of the chicken-salad sandwich he’d eaten before getting behind the wheel.

Chairez was released on bail after being arraigned on the misdemeanour charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It’s not clear if he will face more charges.

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Man charged for bringing own shopping bag

A man has slammed Woolworths after his receipt showed the supermarket giant charged him for bringing his own reusable shopping bags.

Jason Taylor posted a photo on social media after finding a “BYO Bag” charge was added to his total, at 1 cent for every bag he brought.

“Go Woolworths. Charging us to use our own bags.,” he wrote on Facebook.

“Sneaky little …”

But a Woolworths spokesperson claimed the added charge was a result of a technical glitch and assured customers it doesn’t cost more to use their own bags, according to the Cairns Post.

“At Woolworths, you will receive 30 Woolworths Rewards points when you use your own reusable bags when shopping with us,” the spokesperson said.

“This customer appears to have been impacted by a technical error during the switchover from the old rewards offer on Wednesday.

“We sincerely apologise for this error and ask them to keep their receipt and next time they’re in store they should speak with the store manager or service desk manager and they will rectify this for them.”

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Former Trump adviser taped her own sacking

Former presidential adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman says she secretly recorded conversations she had in the White House, including her sacking by chief of staff John Kelly in the high-security Situation Room.

The highly unusual admission on US television network NBC has drawn immediate fire from allies of the president and national security experts.

Parts of her conversation with Kelly were aired on Sunday when she appeared on Meet the Press to promote her new book, Unhinged, which will be released this week.

The Associated Press independently listened to the recording of the conversation between Manigault Newman and Kelly, which she said was one of many she’d surreptitiously recorded for her own protection.

In her book, Manigault Newman paints a damning picture of US President Donald Trump, including claiming without evidence that tapes exist of him using the N-word as he filmed his “The Apprentice” reality series, on which she co-starred.

Manigault Newman said in the book that she had not personally heard the recording. But she told Chuck Todd on Sunday that, after the book had closed, she was able to hear a recording of Trump during a trip to Los Angeles.

“I heard his voice as clear as you and I are sitting here,” she said on the show.

But the other recording she discussed Sunday could prove equally explosive.

“Who in their right mind thinks it’s appropriate to secretly record the White House chief of staff in the Situation Room?” tweeted Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee.

In the recording, which Manigault Newman quotes extensively in the book, Kelly can be heard saying that he wants to talk with Manigault Newman about leaving the White House.

“It’s come to my attention over the last few months that there’s been some pretty, in my opinion, significant integrity issues related to you,” Kelly is heard saying, citing her use of government vehicles and “money issues and other things” that he compares to offences that could lead to a court martial in the military.

“If we make this a friendly departure … you can look at your time here in the White House as a year of service to the nation and then you can go on without any type of difficulty in the future relative to your reputation,” he goes on to tell Manigault Newman, adding that: “There are some serious legal issues that have been violated and you’re open to some legal action that we hope, we think we can control.”

Manigault Newman said she viewed the conversation as a “threat” and defended her decision to covertly record it and other White House conversations.

“If I didn’t have these recordings, no one in America would believe me,” she said.

The response from the White House was stinging.

This news roundup is curated with stories from news.com.au.