Morning Buzz: Sydney news, traffic and weather for Tuesday, July 18

If you couldn't wait to watch the first episode of the seventh season of Game of Thrones on Foxtel, but can't seem to access it, you're not alone.

Australian 'Thronies' have been made to wait a little longer after Foxtel online and On Demand services crashed. In a Facebook post, Foxtel informed their followers they were "experiencing problems" due to the demand. Read more.

School classrooms should be fitted with video cameras that can provide a live broadcast to parents, a NSW parliamentary inquiry has been told.

"This would both ensure that children of all abilities are being treated appropriately but also prevent videos being edited or doctored by school staff," according to the submission to the inquiry into students with a disability or special needs in NSW schools.

The CCTV footage could also be used to improve classroom teaching and management, but the measure is principally designed to ensure the safety of children. Read more.

An intensive care doctor from Glenbrook is preparing to swim through one of the world’s busiest waterways this month to raise funds for a new Australian-first clinic for Nepean Hospital.

Associate Professor Stuart Lane, who works in Nepean’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), will attempt the gruelling 32km, 12-hour swim across the English Channel to support what he has dubbed ‘Critical Splash’.

Dr Lane is hoping to open the country’s first intensive care post-discharge outpatient clinic, supporting former ICU patients as they return to daily life in the community and reducing the requirement for re-admission to health care facilities. Read more.

Woolworths announced a nationwide ban of single-use plastic bags in their stores on Friday, phasing them out by mid-2018 and encouraging customers to pick up reusable bags instead. 

The decision prompted competitor Coles to do the same just two hours later, announcing it would also phase out the bags over the next 12 months.  Read more

Australia has 200,000 more homes sitting empty than it had a decade ago, new figures show, despite the country grappling with a housing supply shortage that is pushing the cost of a first home beyond many of its residents.

The figures from the 2016 census have been described as "cruel and immoral" by leading UNSW urban policy expert Hal Pawson, who has warned the government must act to stem the growth in unoccupied housing. Read more.

Blacktown police station was the scene for an alleged domestic assault on Sunday morning.

A woman, 18, from Bass Hill has been charged with common assault for allegedly dragging her boyfriend into a sliding door about 1.15am on July 16. Read more.

An Australian woman has been shot dead by police in the US city of Minneapolis in an incident in which the officers did not have their body cameras turned on.

She was killed when two police officers responded to a 911 call about a possible assault in an alley behind a home about 11.30pm on Saturday, local time. Read more

Police have taken out an interim apprehended domestic violence order against former Olympic champion Michael Diamond to protect his wife, Cathy.

Diamond, 45, a trap gold medallist at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics, was ruled ineligible for the Australian team for last year's Rio Olympics after he was charged with firearms and drink-driving offences. Read more

Miranda police are searching for a man who escaped from Miranda police station on Sunday night.

At about 8.30pm police were called to Kitchener Place, Caringbah, after reports of a break and enter.

Police arrested a 31-year-old Bathurst man after a short struggle and he was taken to Miranda police station for questioning.

While at the station he escaped and a search failed to find him. Read more.

The earth moved for Avalon residents on Monday morning when a minor quake was felt in the enclave on Sydney's northern beaches.

With a magnitude of 3.2, the earthquake was barely strong enough to disturb the froth on a soy chai latte but this did not stop locals from contacting Geoscience Australia to report feeling movement. Read more

State governments will still decide whether they want help from the military to handle terrorist incidents and police will remain the first responders under flagged changes, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said.

Announcing planned changes to the law at Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney on Monday morning, Mr Turnbull said the current process for calling in the military to help police during a terrorist attack was "very cumbersome" and needed to be streamlined. Read more.

The NSWRL will use its post-series review to investigate claims that Blues backs Josh Dugan and Blake Ferguson left the team camp on the Friday before the deciding State of Origin clash and spent as many as eight hours at a pub an hour south of their Kingscliff base.

Laurie Daley's side were ambushed 22-6 by Queensland to concede yet another series to the Maroons in a result that has left scrutiny on the coach's future and on under-performing players. 

Now, Dugan and Ferguson, who infamously took photos of themselves drinking on a roof of their house in Canberra when they were at the Raiders in 2013, have come under further scrutiny. Read more.

Corey Norman is predicting halves partner Mitchell Moses to have his best game yet in blue and gold against former side Wests Tigers on Sunday as Parramatta begin to believe they can mount a serious run in September. 

Seventh-placed Parramatta have their eye on a first semi-finals campaign since 2009 but, according to Norman, they also have the capacity to challenge for a long-awaited premiership.

If they are to secure a finals spot and go on with it, it is very likely they will need halves pairing Norman and Moses to be prominent. Read more.

Sam Thaiday won't rule out anything come the end of his NRL contract next year - not even a star turn as an actor in season eight of Game of Thrones.

But the long-serving Brisbane forward says he'll have a long talk with his family before deciding if he will continue his rugby league career at another club in 2019.

The 32-year-old one-club player has been told by coach Wayne Bennett he will not be offered a contract extension when his current Broncos deal expires at the end of next season. Read more.

Australia will meet India in the second World cup semi-final in Derby on Thursday, five days after flexing their muscle to down South Africa by 59 runs in Taunton.

England cruised to victory over the West Indies to wrap up top place and will host the Proteas at Bristol on Tuesday while New Zealand have missed the finals entirely after being crushed by India, who had to win to secure their place in the knockout phase. Read more.