7.00AM: Good morning and welcome to the Border Breakfast Wrap-Up. Over the next few hours we will be bringing you as much information as possible from across the Border region and nationally.
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Weather, road conditions, breaking news, we will have it all - and we'd love to hear from you! If there's anything happening in your part of the world, drop us a line! Email scott.hazlewood@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Wodonga's Mann Central shopping centre developers go back to drawing board
MANN Central shopping centre developers have been forced to revise plans again in response to a slow take-up of specialty shops within the $65 million centrepiece of central Wodonga.
Anchor tenants Coles and K-Mart remain committed to the venture, but under plans to be re-submitted to Wodonga Council there will be only 10 to 15 specialty shops as part of an initial stage of construction.
Star Wars fan shows love for movies with helmet display
The Star Wars reawakening has spurred a disturbance in the force at the Wodonga Library.
Replica helmets and masks of famous figures from the film series, crafted by Wodonga resident Michael Callahan, went on display this week ahead of midnight screenings tonight in Albury for the first installment in the new trilogy.
Mulwala loses a leading figure
FORMER Mulwala Citizen-of-the-Year Greg “Candles” Hore has died suddenly, aged 81.
Mr Hore lived almost his entire life in Mulwala where he had a long involvement with the Mulwala Football Club and worked at the town's explosives factory for almost 40 years.
Champs turn attention to Cross
SPECULATION is rife Daniel Cross could play for home club Albury next season.
After retiring following 248 matches with Melbourne and Western Bulldogs, it is believed the veteran midfielder has been sounded out about joining the Tigers.
State of the nation
► WOLLONGONG: After a couple of false starts including having his thesis rejected, Phillip Lavers finally received his Doctorate in Physics at the University of Wollongong on Wednesday. Read all about it.
► MUMBIL: Police are expected to reveal on Wednesday why they targeted the Bandidos motorcycle group, searching them for nearly three hours after they had given Mumbil's children a Christmas party to remember. Full story.
► KURNELL: Frank Partlic and his family were toasting on Tuesday night after selling their home for a record price.
► BENDIGO: Local women’s refuges are bracing themselves for a wave of families in distress expected to flee over the holiday period. Full story.
► BALLARAT: Community leaders have called the alleged bashing of Indian-born Ballarat man Sumeet Anand an isolated incident, saying the city has a welcoming culture overall. Full story.
► DUBBO: Grace Parker was sick of her family car breaking down - so she took matters into her own hands and enrolled in automotive studies as part of her HSC. Full story.
► NOWRA: THE grieving partner of James Hughes says it’s essential that a coronial inquest is held into his death.
Melissa Hughes is facing her first Christmas without her partner of three and a half years. The pair had bought a house together in Jerrabomberra and were planning to marry next year. Full story.
► BUNDANOON: IT’S official - Yallambee B&B is a stellar stay.
The Bundanoon bed and breakfast was placed third in New South Wales on the HotelsCombined Stellar Stays top 10 list last week, as rated by travellers. Read all about it.
► LAUNCESTON: KYLIE Wells was at St Giles getting a wheelchair fitted for her baby daughter when thieves broke into her Launceston home and left a cruel trail of destruction.
Gone were thousands of dollars worth of Christmas presents and food, as well as money raised to help support the family in taking 20-month-old Isla to Melbourne for treatment. Full story.
National news
►A woman has died after she jumped in front of a train while holding a young child at Harris Park station in Sydney's west on Wednesday afternoon, police say. Full story.
►The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has lost a bid to keep a sensitive ministerial briefing to Julia Gillard on the 2011 Commonwealth ombudsman controversy secret. Full story.
►The NSW helicopter rescue service is so understaffed that paramedics are working shifts of up to 21 hours, raising fears about patient safety. Full story.
►Southern Sydney resembled a disaster zone on Wednesday after the most destructive winds recorded in NSW history lifted roofs off houses, brought down power lines and trees and left more than 20,000 homes and businesses without power. Full story.
National weather radar
International news
► Australian man Joshua Terelinck has been sentenced to a jail term of two months and 15 days for causing the death of an Indonesian man in a motorcycle accident in Bali this year. Full story
►Hose Ramos Horta – Nobel prize winner and global face of East Timor's long struggle for independence – is backing Australia's former prime minister Kevin Rudd to become the next chief of the United Nations. Full story.
►In their last debate of the year, the Republican Party's presidential candidates gathered in a casino in Nevada and spoke of little else but fear and strength. Full story.
On this day
1959 - The film "On the Beach" premiered in New York City and in 17 other cities. It was the first motion picture to debut simultaneously in major cities around the world.
The faces of Australia: Nathan Johnston
WHEN one local digital artist was contemplating how he would share his music with the world he landed upon an ingenious idea.
“I’m doing this because I don’t want to be taken advantage of,” Brogo producer Nathan Johnston said ahead of the launch of a crowdfunding campaign for stage two of the development of his music trading site Digital Music Entertainment DME3. Read more.
