8.45am: When Bishops Bridge resident John Slater heard a heavy diesel engine revving and saw a big truck bogged down in his paddock, he suspected the worst.

8.25am SCONE: Distinguished gentlemen will gather together in vintage style next weekend for a unique fundraiser for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. 

8.16am: Weston has sensationally sacked senior coach Steve Piggott after just one season in charge of the club.

8.10am CESSNOCK: Even alligators need health checks. It's that time of year again when the team at Hunter Valley Zoo, Nulkaba get down and dirty to weigh and measure their group of American alligators. Check out the photo gallery.

Watch the video

8am: A zombie apocalypse will wind its way through Maitland’s mall these school holidays, all in the name of fun. 

7.50am SINGLETON: The notorious New England-Golden Highway intersection near Whittingham has this week received $1.5million in state government funding to continue the planning for an upgrade.

7.40am: Aussie Care national co-ordinator Peter West called on all political parties to tackle the jobs crisis.

7.31am: Today will be partly cloudy. There's a chance of isolated light showers this morning, mainly about the Lower Hunter. Light winds. Daytime maximum temperatures between 19 and 22.

7.30am: State Labor MPs and candidates have called on Premier Mike Baird to convene a jobs summit in response to the latest unemployment figures.

7.15am: Fourteen wisteria trees in the Heritage Mall have been cut down in a blitz-like operation that shocked residents and business owners.

Good morning. Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered.

Three people on the Mid-North Coast of NSW are facing murder-related charges after fatal weekend stabbings at two centres; people across regional Australia hit the streets demanding action and climate change and footy seasons across our wide brown land were wrapped up - and that's just for starters ...

Check out some of the front pages across our regional network

6.55am Launceston: Taxpayers have been dumped with a $1.2 million blow-out associated with a Risdon Prison toilet breakout. Read more

6.52am: Not exactly Australian but happening now ...

6.50am Dubbo: A Dubbo-owned company has plans to spend more than $150 million on new housing projects in the city in the next 20 years. Read more

6.46am Newcastle: First home buyers across much of the Lower Hunter have pocketed more than $12 million in government grants and concessions in a year, with the take-up highest in suburbs including Gillieston Heights and Edgeworth, figures show. Read more

6.40am: Congrats Australia. Anyone from your town on the Australian team?

6.35am Wagga Wagga: Concerned residents joined the global People's Climate March in Wagga on Sunday as 55 people marched through the CBD calling for action on climate change. Read more and watch the video

6.30am Port Macquarie: Two teenagers have been charged over the death of a man in Port Macquarie's CBD in the early hours of Sunday. Read more

6.25am: Something just a little spooky about this - and we mean more than the photo ...

6.20am Tamworth: Anglers put their skills to the test at the weekend in a bid to help rid local waterways of an insidious and destructive pest. Read more

6.16am Newcastle: A chilling encounter with an ‘‘aggressive’’ two-and-a-half metre long bull shark has left a 21-year-old Lake Macquarie man shaken, and concerned for the safety of swimmers as the weather heats up. Read more

6.13am Wollongong: Massive crowds - of people and pooches - have taken to the beach to rally against controversial changes to Wollongong City Council’s dogs on beaches policy. Read more

6.10am Warnnambool: Let's hear it for AFL star Brad Ottens! He gave Warrnambool’s Food Share charity an unexpected $5000 free kick when he lobbed a 50-metre punt into the tub of a utility on Reid Oval. And he scored a high five from Premier  Premier Denis Napthine! Read more

6.07am Bendigo: A councillor has questioned the value of City of Greater Bendigo Mayor Barry Lyons' trip to China, particularly, she said, given the timing. Read more

6.04am Burnie: Tasmanian Palmer United Party senator Jacqui Lambie has hit back at claims she desecrated the memory of a murdered Afghan police woman, saying the criticism was a ''gross overreaction''.

6am: Let's start with something deep and philosophical ... or not

CANBERRA: The sentencing of former federal parliamentary speaker Peter Slipper for fraudulently using Cabcharge vouchers on a tour of Canberra region wineries is expected to begin on today.

NEWCASTLE: It’s enough to make a surfer cringe – a massive shark swimming nearby and you’re completely unaware. This  picture was taken on the Central Coast on September 17 at Killcare by drone pilot Tom Caska.  Read more

NATIONAL: How have the terror arrests resonated across the country? We took to the streets to find out. Read more

BURNIE: A Facebook post by Senator Jacqui Lambie associating Afganistan's first policewoman and women activist Malalai with terrorism, has caused a huge lash back. Read more

BALLARAT: A man put his car in drive on Saturday night and found himself back in time, crashing through the wall of a military history store. Read more

NATIONAL: The 5 per cent drop in the dollar in a fortnight will boost property prices and improve job prospects. Read more

NEW YORK: Addressing the United Nations Security Council, US Secretary of State John Kerry has singled out Australia for thanks for its commitment of forces to combat Islamic State militants in Iraq. Read more

SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa's Archbishop Desmond Tutu has supported calls for a truth and justice commission to expose "the horrors of the past" suffered by Aboriginal Australians. Read more

NEW YORK: Before it became dominated by the United States' effort to build a coalition for war with Islamic State, this week's General Assembly of the United Nations was to have focused on climate change. Read more

After 28 years working at Peards Nursery Albury, Andrew Bowen will start a new career in real estate before the month is out.For the man who described himself as "aprt of the furniture", it's a big leap. Read more