While serving the community, a senior officer with more than two decades of policing experience thought she might avoid becoming a victim herself. But, as Tim Piccione reports, those hopes were smashed in an instant when another driver, "high as a kite", ran a red light.

The spike in pressure on Canberra's hospital system will not be a one-off shock, Treasurer Chris Steel says. Jasper Lindell reports on the huge pressure health spending will put on the budget to be handed down on Tuesday - and looks at the very few economic levers Mr Steel has to pull.

You've probably seen the billboards of the striking dancer in the red dress. Sally Pryor spends time with the lead of the Australian Ballet's Carmen and gets a sense of the hard graft that makes the beautiful possible.

Anthony Albanese is falling back into the sort of bad habits that could bring him down as Labor leader, Jack Waterford writes.

And in sport, it was the stuff of fairy tales for Raiders debutant Jed Stuart and his dad and coach Ricky. The Green Machine defeated the Tigers 16-12, aided by a try from Jed in the 18^th minute. It was the first Stuart NRL try since Ricky Stuart scored for Canterbury on July 4, 1999, David Polkinghorne reports.

It's going to be a winter weekend for the true Canberran. After an overnight low of minus 7 degrees, we're set for a sunny day and a forecast top of 14. Tomorrow will be much the same with a predicted low of minus 4 and a top of 13.

Enjoy your weekend.

John-Paul Moloney, managing editor