Hunter trains: There is a good service on the Central Coast and Newcastle line and the Hunter line.

Hunter weather: Hot and sunny day in Newcastle with light winds (28 degrees), hot and sunny day for Raymond Terrace with light winds (30 degrees), Maitland is in for a hot and sunny day with some light winds (37 degrees) and hot day in Scone with some light winds (38 degrees).

Hunter beachwatch by Dave Anderson:  Surf will start to settle down but likely onshore winds. Cleanest waves are early before wind gets up. Swell from the S/Eslowly dropping at 1 to 1.5m.Winds light to moderate S/E to N/E. Morning low to cause some close outs and best options are Nobbys,Alley,Dixon and Merewether.Stockton and One Mile to the north.Down the coast check Dudley,Caves and Catho. Few tricky edges on the run out tide so careful if in for a swim and only at patrolled beaches.Water temp 21C.

► ABOUT a year ago, iconic Australian artist John Olsen agreed to create an iconic painting that would capture the essence of his birthplace. It was a deeply personal work, a reflection on his beginnings. More here.

► A HAMILTON South resident who stabbed two former associates after they had allegedly forced their way into his unit is not expected to face criminal charges. More here.

► CANINE creatures great and small have descended on Stockton for the annual pooch parade. More here.

► KNIGHTS officials have allowed Korbin Sims to walk out on the club mid-contract as they set their sights on signing Test prop Matt Scott for next season. More here.

► MUSWELLBROOK teenager Gerry Loadsman’s HSC drama film was so outstanding it was selected to screen at the Board of Studies’ OnStage events in Sydney in February – until a 20-second version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow got in the way. More here.

► RESCUERS say a life jacket has saved a rock fisherman from drowning after a rogue wave washed him into dangerous surf between Avoca and Copacabana beaches on Sunday morning. More here.

► PELICAN residents fighting to block the construction of a boat ramp proposed for their much-loved beach say a community rally held over the weekend is only the start of their campaign. More here.

► A STATE fund established after damning evidence of NSW Government short-changing of Singleton and Muswellbrook mine areas, despite billions of dollars in mine royalties to state coffers, has continued to short-change the Upper Hunter, an analysis of government figures has shown. More here.

► The chances of Newcastle making a key signing in the transfer window appear remote after coach Mark Jones said on Friday that “no one is really available”. More here.

► Owning a pub may be the dream of many, but it has become a reality for five mates who have bought Shenanigans at the Imperial. More here.

► Morpeth Playgroup is making a conscious stance to embrace the diversity and multiculturalism in the Maitland community through a new social development project. More here.

► A family-owned milk transport company built off the back of generations on the land has reached a milestone. More here.

► In this day and age, there’s nothing like a hand-written thank you note to make you feel all warm and fuzzy. More here.

► A chance decision may have saved a Telarah woman from getting caught in the Bourke Street horror that unfolded in Melbourne on Friday. More here.

► Thrashville – Slightly Heavier - proved a huge hit with music lovers. Check out your photos from Instagram. More here.

► NINETY-NINE land owners have welcomed a Lake Macquarie City Council decision to adopt an area plan that moves them a step closer to building on their vacant blocks at Buttaba – lots that have been off limits to development for decades. More here.

► CONSTRUCTION is soon expected to start on three one-bedroom units for mature age women to flee abusive relationships around Nelson Bay. More here.

► ALDI, the discount grocery retailer known for its weekly specialty lines, from fitness apparel to home office furniture, plans to expand its Salamander Bay presence. More here.

► LAKE Liddell Recreational Area was the perfect backdrop for the Regrowth Festival. The environmentally-conscious event began on Friday evening, when guests were able to set up tents and begin workshops. More here.

► THERE is an air of positivity among the Singleton Greyhounds in 2017. And, that’s largely due to appointment of Jye Bayley as the first grade captain-coach. More here.

►  TWO Scone women have thought outside the box in their bid to build an active, healthy local community. More here.

► A TEENAGER has been flown to John Hunter Hospital for further treatment after being trampled by a bull in the Upper Hunter on Saturday afternoon. More here.

► HEIGHTS Pet Hospital is warning residents about the risk of heat stroke in dogs following a fatality in Singleton on Wednesday. More here.

Need a national news snapshot first thing – well, we have you covered. 

► PORTLAND, VIC: Adelaide driver Chris Stewart, 48, died when his purpose-built drag car crashed into a wall during a Portland race meeting on Saturday.

About 1000 people were at the track for the two-day South Coast 660, including family and friends of the driver, when the accident happened about 1pm, police said. An Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said the driver was deceased when they arrived and was unable to be resuscitated. Read more. 

► HORSHAM, VIC: A toddler who was seriously sunburned allegedly despite wearing SPF50+ sunscreen, is healing well.

Two-year-old Zayden ended up with large blisters on both shoulders, which bled and became infected, after a family trip to the beach last week.

Following a trip to the hospital and multiple doctor’s appointments, Zayden’s mum Jennifer Moore said he is doing much better. Read more. 

► NEWCASTLE, NSW: Rescuers say a life jacket has saved a rock fisherman from drowning after a rogue wave washed him into dangerous surf between Avoca and Copacabana beaches on Sunday morning. 

The 58-year-old fisherman was swept into the sea about 8am, spending about half-an-hour bobbing around off a spot known as Winnie Bay before two volunteers from Avoca Surf Life Saving Club pulled him into an inflatable rescue boat.

Club president Garry Clarke said the man was about 500 metres out to sea when they got to him. Read more. 

► DUBBO, NSW: Athletes at the start of their career through to those who have plenty of experience were at the Athletics NSW Country Championships at Barden Park.

The youngest athlete that lined up was just nine years old, according to officials, while one competitor in their 90s also took part.

“That’s the interesting thing about athletics,” Athletics NSW board member and meeting manager for the Dubbo tournament Peter Higgins said. Read more. 

► BALLARAT, VIC: If the Ballarat Vegan Festival is anything to go by, more locals are willing to give up meat and animal products than ever before.

“It’s easy being Vegan,” festival attendee Anna Hills said.

Ms Hills and her sister grew up vegetarian but decided to follow in their father’s footsteps and adopted a vegan lifestyle two years ago.

Ms Hills hasn’t looked back. Read more. 

The best of the best photos from the Tamworth Country Music Festival Day three. Click HERE to see more from the Northern Daily Leader’s coverage of the festival. 

► HEALTH: Andrew Mullard reckons diabetics have enough to contend with without the Federal Governmant imposing more costs on them.

Regular visits to GPs, the cost of medication including insulin, trips to dieticians, podiatrists and optometrists and now the extra burden of blood test strips is pushing their medical expenses to the limit.

Mr Mullard, of Windella, was diagnosed about seven years ago with type 1 diabetes. He will still received subsidised strips, but his type 2 counterparts will now have to fork out $60 for one pack of 100 test strips. Read more. 

► EMPLOYMENT: There's an "exciting new world of work" out there, and not only is Sarah Moran embracing it, she's encouraging others to do the same.

Ms Moran, 32, is chief executive of Girl Geek Academy, which builds technical and entrepreneurial skills among women. She said the lines between traditional jobs and entrepreneurship were "blurring further and further".

When a school careers counsellor recently asked her about the future of work, Ms Moran told her: "You get a job or you make a job, and it's totally OK to bounce in between." Read more. 

► SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: The Turnbull government's proposed version of marriage equality would further entrench discrimination by allowing civil celebrants and service providers to refuse to undertake gay weddings, the peak law body says.

The Law Council of Australia will on Monday tell a parliamentary inquiry the proposed laws would allow discrimination against same-sex couples on "no proper basis" and undermine fundamental principles of the law.

"The current bill that they're looking at doesn't strike the right balance," council president Fiona McLeod, SC, said. It went "too far" in appeasing religious groups and was "inconsistent with the current federal law", she said. Read more. 

► USA: Now that's a counterpunch. Forever telling Americans that if he's punched, he'll counterpunch, Donald Trump woke from his first sleep at the White House to find the streets of the capital flooded with probably as many people protesting against him as were there on Friday to welcome his inauguration.

As his slap-in-the-face inauguration speech sank in, Trump took himself off to see a bunch of guys he's punched relentlessly – the CIA. And around the world, leaders tended to be mute or, like Malcolm Turnbull, tweeted platitudes that seemed to pretend Trump's threatened war on the world is just bluff and bluster. Read more. 

► USA: Donald Trump's ascent to the White House has been met with a tidal wave of peaceful protest across the country, with hundreds of thousands flooding Washington, DC, and huge crowds in other cities across the United States and the world expressing anger, disgust and defiance at the new President and demanding equal rights for all.

The Women's March on Washington, DC, the largest march to take place on Saturday, inundated the national capital, with huge crowds spilling from the designated rally area to the south of the Capitol, sprawling across the National Mall and into surrounding streets, and jamming the underground Metro service. News network MSNBC estimated half a million people were at the Washington march by 1pm, though organisers later put the figure around 1 million people. No official city figures for the march were made available. Read more. 

► ANTARCTICA: More used to marching penguins, it was a different kind of movement that swept across one of the most remote places on the planet in recent hours.

The protests against Donald Trump's rise to the US presidency have reached faraway shores, with a Women's March held in Paradise Bay in Antarctica.

A group on an expedition ship to the frozen continent have joined millions around the world to stage their own protest march - with gentoo penguins out in force to support them. Read more

One of Inverell’s young Aboriginal dancers will represent her culture and her country when she takes part in two of Sydney’s major Australia Day events.

Wiradjuri teenager Alex Jeffery will take part in the official Sydney launch event for the day’ celebrations at Barangaroo Reserve on Thursday morning and perform for the massive, sold-out Sydney Opera House Australia Day concert that evening. Read more of Alex’s story here.