Rising Tide protests: All the latest

Two protesters have been granted bail after paddling into the path of a Newcastle shipping channel banned to protesters. Another 150 people are also facing criminal charges.

James Blake Blee has been sentenced to at least seven years and six months in prison for his role in the importation of cocaine into the Port of Newcastle.

Two siblings have given evidence against their father in a long-running child sexual abuse trial in Newcastle, revealing their mother allegedly knew of their father's alleged abuse.

Legendary race mare Winx gave birth to a "healthy and happy" foal on Monday morning. The mare's first foal, a Pierro filly, sold for $10 million but experts say it is hard to put a value on her half-brother.

A District Court judge has criticised a lack of government funding for the state's courts and the long waiting times for trials while hearing an accused man's bail application.

The missing man was last seen in the water on Lake Macquarie on Monday afternoon, trying to swim towards a tinny before a witness lost sight of him.

Peter William Smith removed the silky bantam chicken from an enclosure at a wildlife park earlier this year before tossing it into the alligator enclosure where it was eaten.

Wiradjuri woman Carly Stanley previously worked in corrective services. Now she and her community are breaking the cycle of justice involvement in the lives of Aboriginal people.

A team of University of Newcastle researchers has uncovered the potentially devastating impacts noise from human activities is having on marine life.

For Phil Bates, the degenerative condition of muscular dystrophy was not going to block him from pursuing his love of gardening. He's reshaped his Cardiff South garden to accommodate a wheelchair and has planned the beds so he can tend to plants.

Garrett plays at protest: The multi-day Rising Tide protest on Newcastle harbour resulted in musical stars lending their voices to the cause, including John Butler, Angie McMahon and Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett (pictured above). Garrett played some of his biggest hits in between words of encouragement to the movement.

Image credit: ABC Newcastle/Bridget Murphy

Alleged train stabbing: A man was refused bail in a Sydney court on Sunday after allegedly stabbing a woman on a train in the Upper Hunter last week. Emergency services were called to a train station near Ravensworth on Saturday afternoon. Darryl Luke Smith, 35, has been charged with 10 offences.

Hunter kids in poverty: New research shows almost 11,000 children are living in poverty in the Hunter Valley. The research, commissioned by the NSW Council of Social Service, found that about 15.6 per cent of children in the Hunter live in poverty. Hear how child poverty is costing the state government $60 billion a year.

Bungled road upgrade investigated: An investigation into a bungled multi-million dollar road upgrade by the Upper Hunter Shire Council has found it failed to adequately resource and manage the project. Upgrades to the Coulsons Creek Road between Merriwa and Willow Tree took place in December 2019 but by January 2021 the road was deemed unsafe and closed to all traffic. An investigation into the road's failure by the NSW Office of Local Government found that while significant adverse weather was a factor in the failure, deficiencies in overall project management and budgeting meant it wasn't built to required standards.

Upper Hunter water concerns: A motion to lobby for a state government-funded water treatment system for Merriwa and Cassilis has been voted down by the Upper Hunter Shire Council. The motion, raised by Cr Troy Stolz, argued that the bore water supply is too high in calcium and children have developed rashes after bathing in it. Another motion to investigate the water quality and possible installation of filtration systems at residential properties was passed.

Jets' Unite Round results: The A-League's Unite Round wasn't too fruitful for the Jets, their men's side losing 2-1 against bitter rivals the Central Coast Mariners. The Jets' women's team split the points with Western United with a 1-all draw.

Knights release superstar: The Newcastle Knights have confirmed champion fullback Tamika Upton has been released from her contract for personal reasons. Upton was player of the match in both of Newcastle's NRLW grand final victories in 2022 and 2023 and represented Queensland and Australia during her time at the Knights. Newcastle football manager Peter Parr says the club agreed to her request for an immediate release on compassionate grounds.

Knights back to training: The full men's Knights squad — except for a few players who played international representative football — have returned to pre-season training ahead of the 2025 NRL season. Captain Kalyn Ponga says the team needs to get off to a strong start in 2025. The past two seasons the Knights have needed to chase wins in the latter part of the season to scrape into the finals.

Red berries look beautiful on pavlovas and this recipe has a simple trick to make your next pav look spectacular.

Get ready for the action of a huge summer of cricket, with expert ODI, T20 and Test cricket coverage, plus the explosive men's and women's BBL live and ad-free! Join our expert commentary team including Jim Maxwell, Harsha Bhogle, Sunil Gavaskar, Darren Lehmann and more.

Tune in on your radio, DAB+ or via the ABC listen app. View the schedule of all sport programming on ABC Radio here.

ABC Local Radio is proud to partner with Foodbank for our ABC Gives end-of-year appeal. For every $1 donated by you, Foodbank provides two meals to Australians doing it tough. Thanks to everyone who has supported the ABC Gives campaign so far. If you haven't had a chance to donate, it's not too late.