►WAUCHOPE: Joe Manganiello, Sofia Vergara, Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Tatum walk into a bar …It sounds like the start of a joke, but for former Wauchope local and now USA restaurant owner Anthony Debreceny it was no joke.

►BELLINGEN: It was a disturbing sight for many – a dog carcass hung from a tree along Darkwood Rd, near Bellingen. “It’s not the middle ages,” stated one resident...full story here. 

►WINGHAM: The first stage in the future replacement of Cedar Party Creek Bridge has been given the green light, with $350,000 funding awarded...full story here.

►TUNCURRY: The Great Lakes Learning Community recently held its seventh annual Academic Assembly at Tuncurry Bowling Club.  More than 200 students were awarded at this prestigious event...photos and report here.

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

► ILLAWARRA: A gusty grandmother who stood up to a knife-wielding robber when he demanded her handbag in a Dapto car park later told police she tried to clock him with her portable stool and told him “you’re not having my f—king bag”. More here.

► BUNBURY: For those of us who use them regularly, Perth's roads can be many things - infuriating, frustrating and tedious, especially when there's merging. But for someone who's never driven on the city's tarmac, the roads can be confusing, even intimidating. More here.

► NEWCASTLE: A primary school victim of notorious paedophile Vince Ryan has told the Royal Commission in shocking detail about the depredations the priest inflicted on him and his friends as altar boys. More here.

► RIVERINA: Victims of domestic assault are being turned away from support services as waiting lists stretch beyond two months due to skyrocketing rates of abuse. More here.

► MURRAY BRIDGE: International animal rights group PETA has joined a campaign against a proposed greyhound racing track in Murray Bridge. More here.

► KATHERINE: Personnel based at Katherine’s RAAF Tindal are playing a crucial role in Operation Northern Shield which is currently underway in northern Australia. More here.

► BATHURST: Ten years after the death of Peter Brock the motor racing world still mourns the man known to many as 'Peter Perfect'. More here.

► WARRNAMBOOL: A Terang man is facing serious trafficking charges after allegedly importing illicit drugs into Australia through the international air mail system. More here.

► WAGGA WAGGA: The pilot on a Regional Express (Rex) flight from Wagga to Melbourne on Friday had a very important announcement to make – and it had nothing to do with the weather conditions. More here.

► FINLEY: A publican who failed to stop a sex romp has been banned from holding a liquor licence for five years after initially being banned for a decade. More here.

► Embattled Labor Party senator Sam Dastyari appears to have broken federal and state Labor Party rules on political donations by allowing Chinese donors to make payments on his behalf for travel and legal bills. More here.

► Australians who travel overseas should heed the advice of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to practice safe sex or abstain from sex for six months after returning from areas affected by the Zika virus, an expert in infectious diseases says. More here.

► A professional gambler embroiled in a police investigation into possible NRL match-fixing has goaded detectives to investigate him and said the NRL players he knows "love their clubs" too much to fix games. More here.

► A former Victorian police officer who admitted trafficking the drug ice is expected to give evidence against other members of an alleged crime syndicate. More here.

► JAKARTA: An Australian expert who testified that Indonesian woman Wayan Mirna Salihin was unlikely to have died from cyanide poisoning after drinking a Vietnamese iced coffee will be deported and banned from entering Indonesia for six months. More here.

► CHINA: It is a masterful lesson in how to put your circles of influence to work. Invite a prominent politician you're on friendly terms with, who may even owe you a favour or two. Put him in front of journalists, too, from a media outlet you are particularly close with. More here.

► BANGKOK: An Australian DJ caught with 61 ecstasy pills in the Thai beach city of Pattaya has been sentenced to two life terms in jail after losing an appeal to have the sentence reduced. More here.

Sophie Hodgson is juggling textbooks and highlighters with swimming caps and mouth guards in the lead up to the Higher School Certificate. 

The Hunter Valley Grammar student, 17, is one of thousands across the region marking less than six weeks to the start of written exams, which will begin with English Paper 1 on October 13.

But as well as preparing for one of the biggest academic challenges of her life to date, Sophie is also counting down to the next milestone on her journey towards the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Read more here.