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Open to VFL name change
A change in name for the North Ballarat Roosters is not out of the question according to the club’s general manager of football Gary Buckenara. Read more.
Police search for missing 14-year-old boy
Police are appealing for public assistance to locate a missing 14-year-old boy. Read more.
Crowds come out for carols
Thousands of enthusiastic Ballarat families sang their way into the final week before Christmas on Sunday night as the annual Ballarat Carols again took over the North Gardens. Read more.
Smythesdale prepares for extreme fire season
The Smythesdale CFA members are bracing for the worst this summer. Read more.
Problem street ‘revamp overdue’
Residents remain hopeful the yet-to-be tendered Little Bridge Street pocket park will revitalise the troubled precinct by discouraging anti-social behaviour. Read more.
Weather
It's forecast to reach 27 degrees today before a late thunderstorm. Looking ahead, Christmas Day looks like it's going to be a hot one.
National news
WANGARATTA | Murderers to face possible life in prison
Life sentences could potentially be handed down to two violent men who will face court separately on Monday over two of the most horrific crimes in Wangaratta in recent years. More here.
TAFE | Costly computer system bungle results in TAFE revenue being underestimated by $138 million
TAFE NSW spent more than $10 million to discover it had understated its revenue from skills training by $138 million, the auditor general has reported. More here.
NSW | Drug lord's wife Kristen Moukhallaletti refused bail over 'unacceptable risk' of interfering with witness
A woman who was caught allegedly threatening her drug lord husband's co-accused as well as laundering the proceeds of his crimes has claimed she will lose her job with the Department of Family and Community Services if she does not get bail. More here.
SYDNEY | Mullet defamation case gets a haircut as Sydney teen Ali Ziggi Mosslmani suffers setback
A western Sydney teenager suing three media outlets for allegedly mocking him for sporting a "hair-larious" mullet has suffered a setback in his defamation case, after a judge took the scissors to major parts of his claim. More here.
National weather radar
International news
NEW YORK | New York's 'wailing wall' providing subway therapy in Trump's America
"This is our new western wailing wall."
Miriam Blaustein regards a patchwork quilt of sticky notes that's turning an expanding stretch of Manhattan's Union Square subway station fluorescent. More here.
BEIJING | China will give back seized drone after Trump slams Beijing over issue
China's defence ministry said it has engaged in talks with the United States about returning an underwater drone it had seized in the South China Sea, but said Washington had not helped matters by "hyping up" the issue. More here.
LONDON | Rolf Harris to 'attend' his sexual assault trial by video link from prison
Rolf Harris will be a 'virtual defendant' at his sex assault trial next year, in what a judge said may be a British legal first. In a pre-trial hearing on Thursday at Southwark Crown court, judge Alistair McCreath ruled that given the age and health of Harris, who is 86, exceptional circumstances justified his attendance by video link. More here.
On this day | December 19
1843 - Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" was first published in England.
1972 - Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, ending the Apollo program of manned lunar landings.
1973 - Johnny Carson started a fake toilet-paper scare on the "Tonight Show."
1997 - The first "Star Wars" web comic was released on StarWars.com. It was Crimson Empire #0.
1998 - U.S. President Bill Clinton was impeached on two charges of perjury and obstruction of justice by the U.S. House of Representatives.
