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Welcome rain and a cooler day in Albury-Wodonga with a top of 28. Max temps: Corowa 34, Culcairn 30, Wangaratta 28, Corryong 28, Bright 26, Falls Creek 13.
Catch up on news here:
Mike Baird resigned: politics can be hard on families, even political ones
In his 10 years as a parliamentarian, the outgoing Premier has tried both to acknowledge the influence of his family on his politics and work, yet also to preserve the privacy of his home life. More here
Fashionistas enjoy strong festive sales
Consumer confidence was up in Victoria and NSW for December 2016, reinforced by Border retailers. Westpac-Melbourne Institute’s consumer sentiment index jumped 5.7 per cent to 103.7 points in Victoria and rose 2.7 per cent to 103.8 points in NSW. More here
Trainers share special bond at Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup
With more than 700 players at this year’s Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup, injuries can’t be overlooked. Long time border partner, Bendigo Sports Trainers Association has it covered sending four trainers to the event. More here
Corowa swimming pool decision delayed
After originally hoping to make a final call by Christmas on another 50-metre outdoor pool or his preferred 25-metre indoor pool to open year-round, Mr Eden said the process was taking longer than anticipated. More here
Day 4 Gallery: Australian Junior Country Basketball Cup
The Kookaburras were laughing and the Tigers were roaring as NSW and Tasmania scored big wins in the under-16 boys division of the Australian Junior Country Basketball Cup at Lauren Jackson Sports Centre on Thursday. More here
State of the nation
Need a national news snapshot first thing – well, we have you covered.
Regional news
►MANDURAH, WA: Tim Mills works as a firefighter at the station in Success, but on Thursday morning he had to put his skills to use off-duty. A woman arrived at his front door to tell him a car had crashed into a power pole out the front of his bush block, with both the car and the pole alight.
►BEGA, NSW: Bega Cheese Limited has become the new owner of the iconic Australian food spread Vegemite. The sale includes brands such as Vegemite, ZoOsh and Bonox...read the full story.
►BALLARAT, VIC: The 23-year-old woman who allegedly hit cyclist Christian Ashby and left him fighting for his life in the middle of the street has pleaded guilty...read more.
►KURRI KURRI, NSW: The arson squad is involved in the hunt for the firebugs responsible for a massive blaze. An arsonist is believed to have sparked two blazes which quickly raged out of control as it damaged property, prompted frightened residents to take shelter and shut the Hunter Expressway for hours.
National news
►The things you didn't know about Gladys Berejiklian – friends describe her as an intensely private woman who is perhaps even closer to her family than Mike Baird is to his. Ms Berejiklian has declared herself a candidate for the Liberal leadership after Mike Baird stepped aside...full story here.
►The multibillion-dollar Melbourne Metro rail project will boost the Australian economy, the nation's top infrastructure advisers have declared, placing pressure on the Turnbull government to increase funding to Victorian major projects.
►A vice-president of the NSW RSL has become the first member of the scandal-plagued institution to bow to pressure and stand aside. Peter Stephenson, a Vietnam veteran, called on the rest of the 11-member state council to also step down and make way for a caretaker amid an expense rorts affair that has plunged the RSL into crisis.
National weather radar
International news
► ITALY: Rescue officials say "many" people have died after an avalanche hit a hotel in central Italy, all but burying the three-storey building in snow. The Rigopiano hotel, in a mountainous area of the Abruzzo region north-east of Rome, was rocked by a series of strong earthquakes...full story here.
►INDONESIA: An Australian man and a British former war correspondent arrested for possessing hashish in Bali last October are drug abusers who should be treated at a narcotics prison, the Denpasar District Court has been told.
Faces of Australia: Terry Tweedie
It took decades for Don Tweedie to share the horror of what he had endured as a prisoner of war in World War II.
Now his son has published a book that shares Don’s memories of those atrocities, his life before and after the war.
“Don Tweedie Fighting Bandsman’s Last Stand” is Terry Tweedie’s tribute to his dad and other POWS along with the families, friends, mothers, wives and girlfriends who suffered with them.