7.00AM: Good morning and welcome to the Border Breakfast Wrap-Up. Over the next few hours we will be bringing you as much information as possible from across the Border region and nationally.
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Weather, road conditions, breaking news, we will have it all - and we'd love to hear from you! If there's anything happening in your part of the world, drop us a line! Email scott.hazlewood@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Bombshell hits Border Pathology
BORDER Pathology staff face an uncertain future with the pre-Christmas shock of a takeover by rival provider Dorevitch.
The company, which was founded by 35 Border-based medical practitioners in 2009, could close as early as Wednesday.
It has a staff of more than 40, but Dorevitch has confirmed 31 employees will transfer from Border Pathology.
Driving nap leads to fire, car gutted
A SYDNEY couple have had a lucky escape after flames gutted their car on the side of the Hume Highway on Thursday.
They had been visiting their son in Albury and had been driving back to his home when the woman, aged in her late 70s, fell asleep at Thurgoona.
War veteran shattered
A FORMER soldier who served three tours of Afghanistan and is battling post traumatic stress disorder has had his recovery significantly set back by a taxi driver.
Mt Beauty man Josh New has been working to rebuild his life after fighting in the country on three deployments from 2009 to 2012.
Back to the future
YARRAWONGA has taken measures to strengthen its back line by signing a talented tall defender.
Northcote Park backman Tom Walliss is likely to fill a key defensive role for the Pigeons next year after recently committing to the Ovens and Murray league club.
Weather
Live radar
Forecast
State of the nation
Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered.
► NYNGAN: Brian Field was a statewide sensation on Saturday when he graced the front of the Sydney Morning Herald with his Christmas decorations. Read on.
► QUEANBEYAN: A truck has been freed from Queen's Bridge in Queanbeyan after it became wedged on Thursday afternoon, December 17. Read all about it.
► BATEMANS BAY: A Deua Valley resident who has seen the effects of river mining disaster first-hand is urging the Eurobodalla community to use its last chance to have a say about the Dargues Reef Gold Project. Full story.
► BENDIGO: Both Crusoe and No. 7 reservoirs have lost a quarter of their water over the last year and are now at 50 per cent of their holding capacity. Full story.
► BALLARAT: AUSTRALIA’S first indoor motorised rowing tank will be built at Ballarat Clarendon College.
The facility, designed to accommodate 16 rowers, will be motorised to generate water currents which simulate outdoor water conditions, and regulated by a remote-control system. Read all about it.
► LAUNCESTON: YOU could tell a lot about how much Max Hilton enjoyed the latest Stars Wars film by the way he hugged the Launceston Village Cinemas’ resident Storm Trooper upon leaving the theatre. Full story.
► THIRROUL: Stephen Finn this month became the first person to be operated on using Chris O’Brien Lifehouse cancer hospital’s new surgical robot.
The $4 million robotic-assisted surgical system is the first of its type in the southern hemisphere, and allows procedures to be done through tiny punctures in the skin, rather than large surgical incisions. Full story.
National news
►The decision to erect a security fence around the MCG stems from an "ugly" reality, according to Victoria Police assistant commissioner Stephen Leane. Full story
►Q&A host Tony Jones should be careful not to "overreach" his moderator role by making opinionated interjections in debates among the program's panellists, a far-reaching review of the program has found. Read on.
► Thousands of Centrelink clients around Australia remain nervous of the prospect of Christmas without their welfare payments as the agency's website remains in meltdown. Full story.
National weather radar
International news
► INDONESIA: Three people are dead after a riot broke out inside Bali's Kerobokan jail between two rival gangs. Full story.
► BEIJING: President Xi Jinping has defended his government's broad censorship of the internet, in a high-profile speech underscoring China's increasingly emphatic attempts to justify its strict online control. Full story.
► LONDON: A Saudi millionaire has been cleared of raping a teenager after claiming he might have accidentally penetrated the 18-year-old when he tripped and fell on her. Full story.
On this day
► 1979: The sound barrier was broken on land for the first time by Stanley Barrett when he drove at 739.6 mph.
The faces of Australia: Ray Barber
Ray Barber celebrated his 100th birthday on on Tuesday, December 15.
Until earlier this year, he was still living and working on his farm where he had been for 99 years.
He was born in 1915, more than 10 weeks premature. He was rubbed in olive oil and placed in a shoe box. Read more about Ray.
