A NSW court hears a man accused of killing his girlfriend, Carly McBride, sought sex with another woman the day after the alleged murder.

Police found the baby's body in Newcastle early on Tuesday morning. Police hold "serious and grave concerns" for the safety of the baby's mother, who they say may need to seek urgent medical treatment.

Neighbours say they were woken by "screaming" in their quiet cul-de-sac as an intense fire took hold of a house in Singleton on the NSW Hunter Valley, leaving the local community "distraught".

Residents of a quiet suburban street in NSW's Hunter Valley say they watched on helplessly with a young mother whose house burnt down in front of her with three of her children inside.

A small town team harnesses sewing power to create more than 4,000 reusable alternatives to single-use plastic bags in a bid to save the planet.

Findings from a probe into alleged cover-ups of child abuse within the Catholic Church in NSW have identified credibility issues among members of its upper echelons.

What would you do if you were told you had 16 months to live? That was the harsh reality for Jill Emberson when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. With the survival rate of the disease half that of the breast cancer survival rate, she's using her last moments to make a change.

Oliver Scales-Copeland, who is accused of stabbing two police officers at a service station north of Sydney yesterday, represents himself in court and becomes emotional when his bail application is refused.

Brenda Marney, 73, is charged with animal cruelty offences after a mutilated magpie is found at her home on the NSW mid-north coast police believe she lures animals with food before capturing and torturing them.

Three women, inspired by the revelations in The Teacher's Pet podcast, have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse by teachers at a NSW high school.

An innovative plan to flood a fireground is being employed on the NSW mid-north coast to extinguish a fire that has been burning for more than six weeks.

750-year-old Indigenous bones, discovered under a house on the New South Wales mid-north coast, are returned to the place where they were found.

Months after being given new powers, corporate watchdog ASIC is taking action against Gold Coast payday lender Cigno Loans, which is accused of exploiting vulnerable Australians.

James Gino Salerno, who was once based in the Adelaide Hills, is jailed for at least eight years for repeatedly sexually abusing a teenage member of the group. His victim says other girls still in the cult "can sleep easy now".

Damage to a fibre optic cable causes a 20-hour communications blackout across Western Australia's Kimberley region, proving bad for business, but reigniting old-fashioned conversation.

Dozens of children with disabilities are being pulled out of West Australian schools by parents who say they are not getting enough support in the classroom.

Brewing biofuel at a unique international school in Indonesia was just one of the projects taken on by students Britt and Marein Koens in the pursuit of sustainability.

The Landcare movement has the ability to unite farmers and environmentalists, but it hasn't received much attention in an election campaign infatuated with climate change.

Micheal McRae is accused of bashing his baby son Nathaniel, leaving him with severe brain injuries, but the charge is upgraded after the boy spent a year fighting for life in hospital.

It is now decades since Todd Jefferis first raised the alarm about the sexual abuse atrocities carried out at Katanning's St Andrew's Hostel in Western Australia, but his fight for justice might finally be nearing an end.

A West Australian man has captured on camera what may be one of the first documented cases of a redback spider capturing a mouse.

A sharp rise in water use has prompted warnings from a former WA state water minister that the Government may need to bring forward construction of a desalination plant, putting significant upward pressure on household water bills.

DAILY BRIEFING: A woman is in police custody after a house is in Lauderdale on Hobart's eastern shore is destroyed by fire and concerns raised over planned cuts to distance education teacher levels.

A man accused of deliberately running over and killing a stranger had post-traumatic stress disorder after an assault nine years earlier, a court has heard.

In an six-hour police interview played to the jury, Ms Otto told detectives she and friend Bradley Purkiss had fantasised about living together and had often said things would be easier if her husband were dead.

When there's a smell of smoke in the air, bushfire survivor Michael King still feels jittery. He describes it as similar to "how a Vietnam veteran might feel if he hears the sound of a chopper overhead".

The 24-year-old believes a move to change laws in Tasmania allowing survivors of sexual crimes to share their stories will give greater insights into how perpetrators operate.

A bushfire burning north of Hobart could pose a threat to the city's suburbs and critical infrastructure if uncontrolled, a fire officer warns, as Tasmania prepares for hot weather and strong winds over the next few days.

DAILY BRIEFING: A fire that started north of Bothwell two days ago has been upgraded to emergency level, with firefighters pulling out because it is too dangerous.

A Tasmanian great-grandmother-to-be was shocked to discover she was forking out for private health services she didn't ask for and didn't need. But her insurer said it was simply a case of 'buyer beware'.

The man accused of murdering a 29-year-old man on the Nullarbor Plain is remanded in custody after appearing briefly in court in Ceduna, in South Australia's far west.

The South Australian Government is looking at banning single-use plastic products such as straws and cutlery in a bid to lead the nation in another anti-littering cause.

Regional Australians are feeling 'pill shamed' and are avoiding treatment due to the stigma around mental health medication and a lack of confidentiality in small-town pharmacies.

South Australia's oyster growers are given the all-clear over a potentially devastating disease.