8.50am: Corrupt former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid faces a potential jail sentence after the Independent Commission Against Corruption announced he will be prosecuted for the offence of misconduct in public office.

8.40am:

CHAFFEY’S Black Belt academy had the privilege of a visit from renowned martial artist Nugget McNaught this week.

McNaught is a name that has become synonymous with Australian Muay Thai.

8.20am: 

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8.30am:  

SMILING locals, a buzzing restaurant culture, natural wonders and, of course, country music, have helped Tamworth be named the nation’s most “perfect country town”.

Leading travel website traveller.com.au bestowed the title on Tamworth this week, praising it as the ideal spot for a family holiday.

8.20am: BARRY Harley, a titan of the local country music scene whose career has paralleled the history of the famous festival, has been recruited to a plum council role.

8.10am: TAMWORTH’S fight to legalise medical marijuana will take a historic step forward today at the opening of the Inaugural Australian Medical Cannabis Symposium at TRECC.

8AM: THE stunning sights of Armidale may have been the backdrop for the McClymont sisters' new video clip, but it was Bridget Labrosse and fiancé Damien Linnane who stole the show.

7.50am: Armidale Councillor Jim Maher fears the construction of a new library could be abandoned if a motion to establish a new committee to review the project succeeds. 

Councillors will vote on Monday night’s meeting whether to create a working party to examine whether the library should be relocated or a new facility built. 

7.40am: 

A BIG-HEARTED local barmaid has flown the flag for Tamworth in a statewide competition.

Tiffany Smith from the Tudor Hotel has finished fourth in the UGLY (understanding, generous, likeable, you) Bartender of the Year competition.

7.30am: And a warning to students.

7.20am: 

Work has begun on the construction of a memorial wall dedicated to the memory of the historic Cohen’s Warehouse at Gunnedah.

The 140-year-old, heritage-listed building was destroyed by fire in 2011, prompting calls for council to preserve its memory. 

7.10am:

MINING companies have pumped $213 million directly into the local economy last financial year as the New England and North West’s resources boom continues to gather pace.

YOUR WEATHER:

NORTH WEST SLOPES AND PLAINS: Hot. Mostly sunny morning. Medium (60%) chance of showers this afternoon and thunderstorms during this afternoon and early evening. Winds north to northwesterly 25 to 35 km/h tending west to northwesterly in the early afternoon then tending northwest to northeasterly 15 to 25 km/h in the evening. Daytime maximum temperatures 34 to 41.

NORTHERN TABLELANDS: Hot. Partly cloudy. High (80%) chance of showers and thunderstorms, most likely during this afternoon and early evening. Winds northwesterly 25 to 40 km/h tending northerly 15 to 20 km/h in the evening. Daytime maximum temperatures 29 to 36.

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

► To check out the front pages of Fairfax publications for today, click here

►The NSW Rural Fire Service has declared a total fire ban today in the following areas: Greater Hunter, Greater Sydney Region, Central Ranges, North Western and Upper Central West Plains. This includes Newcastle, Cessnock, Blue Mountains, Penrith, Sydney, Bathurst, Moree and Bogan. 

► Matthew James McAlister says he can’t recall brutally attacking a bus driver who was simply doing his job, but judging by the screams of the passengers on board it will live with them forever.

► Dozens of people gathered at Hargreaves Mall outside the office of Senator Bridget McKenzie to protest cuts to the ABC. Community and Public Sector Union deputy secretary Rupert Evans told the crowd they had a responsibility to stand up and defend cuts to the organisation.

► Intruders deliberately lit insulation batts on fire at a building site in the Nowra CBD on Thursday night.

►Where's the most expensive unleaded petrol in NSW? Tumut, the Daily Advertiser, says.  Anomolies between standard grocery costs and disparate petrol prices across the state put forward by supermarket monopolies have left the Tumut community frustrated and wanting answers.

►A former St Patrick’s College teacher says she and her partner are living a nightmare eight months after they were accused of planning to blow up a Middle Eastern consulate where they worked.

► Two  farmers are calling for community support to help build an on-farm butchery. Mount Beckworth Free Range farm owners Chris Peel and Diane Snell are hoping to raise more than $36,000 through a crowdfunding website to buy a mobile van and establish a store and cool-room on their property.

► Police respond to an ­average of 285 domestic ­violence ­incidents each month across the Central Hunter local area command. Officers at Maitland police ­station have crunched the ­numbers for the area, which includes Cessnock and Kurri Kurri, to highlight the need for action on White Ribbon Day.

►Eyre Peninsula barley growers are among those set to benefit from the newly announced free trade agreement between Australia and China.

► Two women in their late 30s escaped with minor injuries after a fiery car crash on the Mitchell Highway around 10 kilometres west of Bathurst on Thursday.

NATIONAL: Clive Palmer has walked out of an interview. Again. The Palmer United Party leader removed his microphone and terminated the interview with Emma Alberici on Thursday after the Lateline host's persistent questioning over his Chinese business deals.

KANGAROO ISLAND: Scientists said a rare pygmy right whale found stranded on a Kangaroo Island beach is likely to have been weaning. Locals made a number of attempts to guide the whale back out to sea, but it continued to return to shore.

KATHERINE: The issue of problem drinking in Katherine is never far from the public discourse and one community member is fed up with inaction.  Toni Tapp-Coutts said it was time for the Katherine Town Council, the Northern Territory government and the community to be as proactive about alcohol management as they were about the cost of petrol.

BALLARAT: A new cheerleading team out-danced every club in its division to claim victory at a national championship at the weekend.

MARGARET RIVER: Superstar chef Heston Blumenthal had such a blast at Margaret River Gourmet Escape last year, he will be back for the three-day event which starts today.

BURNIE: Live on television, Somerset's Kim Eade chased her husband down the road barefoot with phone in hand. The panel of the nation's most popular breakfast show, Sunrise, cackled as Mrs Eade screamed for her husband frantically as he drove off.

MOUNT ISA: North-west Queensland  residents are twice as likely to die from an avoidable death compared with the Queensland average.

WOLLONGONG: The annual Stockland KidzWish Christmas Party put smiles on the faces of 4300 special needs children and carers who packed WIN Entertainment Centre on Thursday.

LONDON: Australian bedrooms, backyards and even babies' cots are among the images on a Russian site showing live feeds from thousands of homes and businesses around the world.

US: Celebrated movie director Mike Nichols has died. He emerged in the late 1950s as half of a groundbreaking satirical comedy team and found his true calling in the next decade as director of the landmark films Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Graduate. He was 83.

BANGKOK: Screenings of the latest Hunger Games film have been cancelled in the Thai capital after opponents of the country's military rule adopted a three-finger salute from the movie as a sign of defiance.

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have detained respected Korean-American Christian aid worker Peter Hahn on suspicion of embezzlement, amid a wider crackdown on aid groups along the North Korean border.

INTERNATIONAL: Blistering heat across Australia but frigid conditions across much of the continental US – what's going on?

A Xavier High School student’s planned adventure could be a forerunner for a new schoolies program. Mason Collins, 18, is substituting the beach for the outback for his end-of-year celebrations after being inspired by a trip to Yuendumu through the school’s immersion program last year. Read more