MORNING BRIEFING: A guest is taken to hospital after fire guts a backpacker hostel in Coogee, while Mert Ney is due back in court over the alleged murder of Michaela Dunn and stabbing of Linda Bo.

A sergeant at a rural Victorian police station has been committed to stand trial over an alleged assault in an interview room.

More than 70 eastern barred bandicoots have travelled some 400 kilometres from Hamilton, on Victoria's mainland, to the safe haven of French Island in Western Port Bay.

A chalk sketch of the 18th-century Polynesian princess Tynai-mai is on display in the National Library's Cook and the Pacific exhibition.

Gavin Cooper of the Cowboys is tackled by Bulldogs defence during the Round 24 NRL match between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Canterbury Bulldogs at Townsville Stadium, Thursday, August 29, 2019.

An Australian fast food giant launches a '0 per cent beef' burger that aims to imitate the real thing and appeal to meat lovers' tastes.

The ACT Government unashamedly asks the community to do more to help it reach the ambitious target of net zero carbon emissions by 2045, with transport and natural gas top of the list of targets.

Cooper Cronk has achieved everything in the game, but as he prepares to play his final NRL match in Sunday's grand final against the Canberra Raiders, he has one more accolade in his sights.

An early tackle by Cooper Cronk is deemed a professional foul, resulting in a penalty for the Raiders and a controversial sin bin for Cronk.

A fossil sabre-toothed bandicoot skull from Riversleigh

Matthew Ross White pleads not guilty to the murder of Donna Steele, as the Supreme Court in Cairns hears her killing occurred when she fought back during a botched extortion bid.

A court releases the video of a police interview that shows the murder confession of Matthew White, who strangled Cooktown woman Donna Steele in a botched extortion bid and has been sentenced to life in jail.

Grant 'Scooter' Patterson may be half as tall as most people but he does not do things by halves. He works hard, plays hard and pushes himself in the pool, chasing his dream of winning a Paralympic medal.

A woman is recovering in hospital after a wild dog, believed to be a dingo, burst into her Cape York house and attacked her while she was cooking dinner.

A marine physicist, who was awarded more than $1.2 million for his wrongful sacking earlier this month, has now raised more than half a million dollars to fight an appeal by James Cook University.

The swimming pool is more than just a place to take a quick dip, as these seven watering holes around the country celebrate.

A fast-moving bushfire is contained after burning down a property and threatening several more in a rural area west of Cooktown in Cape York.

The proposed state-controlled corridor between Loganholme and Nerang would run parallel to the Pacific Motorway.

It's described as Big Day Out on the beach, with promoters of Australia's latest music festival promising it will deliver the ultimate party on Coolangatta Beach, but community opposition is growing over the event.

When speculation grew that a reigning British monarch would step down from the throne, it jeopardised the publication of a cookbook organised by one of Australia's largest community associations.

Only a year into the job, with the drought still gripping NSW, the drought coordinator has been sacked, and farmers are demanding answers.

Murnong is an edible Australian native plant that was prolific in south-eastern Australia. Which part of the murnong is eaten? Why was it so abundant in certain parts of Victoria? Watch Aunty Julie to learn how murnong is harvested and cooked.

Shirley (June 5, VOD) Elisabeth Moss plays celebrated novelist Shirley Jackson in Josephine Decker’s Sundance-award winning drama. The film premiered to strong reviews and word of mouth at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

(United States First Circuit) - In an infringement action to determine whether a Puerto Rico credit union infringed a bank's word mark and trade name ORIENTAL with its competing marks COOP ORIENTAL, COOPERATIVA ORIENTAL, ORIENTAL POP, and CLUB DE ORIENTALITO, the District Court's finding of non-infringement and refusal to enjoin their use is: 1) reversed as to COOP ORIENTAL, COOPERATIVA ORIENTAL, and ORIENTAL POP, where the district court's determination of non-infringement was clearly erroneous; and 2) affirmed where the district court's determination is supportable as to CLUB DE ORIENTALITO.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Affirmed. The state court determination that the long questioning and reference to access to her children were not coercion was affirmed, where a woman convicted of first degree homicide of an infant argued that statements made during an interrogation were involuntary and should have been suppressed.

(UT Court of Appeals) - No. 20180488-CA

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Held that a policyholder who successfully sued a life insurance company was not entitled to an award of attorney fees. Reversed the fee award, in this diversity jurisdiction case.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Affirmed. The dismissal of a suit alleging that protracted employment termination proceedings violated the substantive due process rights of a Sheriff's Office employee following their DUI arrest was proper because it did not meet the high standard for making out substantive due process claims.

(United States Second Circuit) - Denied petitions for review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's final rule related to cooling water intake structures. The petitioners in this case, a number of environmental conservation groups and industry associations, sought judicial review of an EPA rule promulgated under the Clean Water Act establishing requirements for cooling water intake structures, which are used by power plants and manufacturing facilities to extract water and dissipate waste heat. Denying the petitions, the Second Circuit concluded that the final rule was sufficiently supported by the factual record and that the EPA gave adequate notice of its rulemaking.

(United States Federal Circuit) - Affirming a district court order denying a motion for attorney fees following the dismissal of a patent infringement suit with prejudice because attorney fees are only available in exceptional circumstances and the court decision was not an abuse of discretion.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Affirmed. The district court properly dismissed complaint by Cook County residents raising Second Amendment claims challenging a ban on assault rifles because the issue had already been addressed by the court.

(United States Fourth Circuit) - Reversed the district court's ruling which had denied immunity to North Carolina state agencies and officials which were sued by a videographer alleging that they violated his copyrights by publishing his video footage of an 18th-century shipwreck off the North Carolina coast. Plaintiff had obtained the rights to create the footage through a permit issued by North Carolina to the ship's salvors. Disagreeing with the district court's rulings on a motion to dismiss, the Fourth Circuit concluded that the defendant agencies and officials were protected from the lawsuit by sovereign immunity, qualified immunity, and/or legislative immunity.

(United States Seventh Circuit) - Affirmed. The district court properly dismissed complaint by Cook County residents raising Second Amendment claims challenging a ban on assault rifles because the issue had already been addressed by the court.

(Supreme Court of California) - Clarified the procedure that must be followed by a prison inmate who wishes to preserve evidence for a youth offender parole hearing, which is a special proceeding held during the 25th year of incarceration for certain juveniles sentenced as adults. The preserved evidence can concern their characteristics and circumstances at the time of the offense.