SES receives 180 requests for assistance after thunderstorm | Canberra cultivators growing 'mild and modest' cannabis

Welcome to the first ABC Canberra newsletter for 2025. Ross Solly here, back on breakfast after forever and loving every minute of catching up with you all! I had a ball doing Drive last year, and met a lot of new listeners. But I’m thrilled to be back in the brekky chair and enjoying chatting to you bright and early every morning from 5.30am about all the latest happenings around Canberra.

We’ve got some really exciting things lined up for this year, but mostly every show is a moving feast. Some might even say totally disorganised. Tune in to find out something new every day, and discover what's going on in your neighbourhood, across Canberra and around the world.

Stay tuned post 9am as our new Mornings presenter Saskia Mabin pulls apart the issues that interest the Canberra community. Alice Mathews will join you for Afternoons from 12.30pm, to share your stories and look beyond the headlines. Georgia Stynes will be with you for the Drive home, offering lively debates and the stories that shape Canberra. Renee Krosch returns to quiz you in the Evenings from 6.45pm.

See you bright and early Canberra.

Cheers,
Ross Solly

Canberra residents are recovering this morning after a severe thunderstorm made its way across much of the ACT and surrounding regions yesterday afternoon, knocking out power to around 1,100 households with golf ball sized hailstones and downfalls of 30 millimetres recorded in some suburbs.

The American company behind a Canberra water lantern festival apologises for using the Commonwealth Coat of Arms without approval, and promises to issue refunds to hundreds of ticketholders if it can't secure a new venue.

A recent study suggests the ACT's cannabis legislation is for the most part working as intended, but shows the majority of cannabis cultivators are engaging in illegal activity in order to grow it.

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith has apologised for the failures at the Canberra Hospital that contributed to the death of five-year-old Rozalia Spadafora in 2022, and accepted all four recommendations from the coroner after last year's inquest.

After being evacuated from Afghanistan to Australia in 2021, these women have just played their first cricket match as a team — ever.

There are so many shortcuts in this delicious recipe, from a simple flavour-packed marinade to a fast cook time thanks to an air fryer.