Hunter Breakfast | Monday, February 13, 2017

Traffic: Thunderbolts Way is shut in both directions between Scone Road, Barrington and Nowendoc due to bushfire. The closure began on Sunday and remained in place at 6.40am Monday. Traffic is diverted via the Oxley Highway. The Golden Highway is also shut between Leadville and Merriwa, adding about 2.5 hours to journeys. 

Trains: Good service on the Newcastle and Hunter lines.

Beachwatch: After what could only be described as a pretty wacky weekend of coastal weather we should get back to a bit of the norm for today. It’ll be warm and partly cloudy with mainly onshore winds from the south to east. The swell will be from the south around 1 to 1.5 metres and although most breaks will be choppy they’ll still be surfable. Try Nobbys, The Cowrie Hole on high tide, Dixon Park, Merewether and Dudley in the city. To the south try Caves and Catho and at Port Stephens try One Mile. There will be a few tricky edges for the swimmer with Nobbys and Merewether being slightly affected by kelp. The water temperature is 22 degrees.

HUNTER clients of the privatised Home Care service say the quality of care has dropped dramatically since it was taken over by a “financial services, healthcare and retirement living company”, Australian Unity. Read more.

It’s official – Saturday was the hottest day in recorded history at a string of locations across the Hunter. Read more.

James Taylor stuck to playing his hits and barely provided a taste of his new material at Hope Estate on Sunday night. Read more.

THE Hunter sizzled through sweltering and sticky conditions on Saturday and Sunday, but the region was spared the worst as a “catastrophic” and unprecedented fire danger failed to fulfill it’s frightening prophecy. Read more.

A LAKE Macquarie man’s entry in an international short film contest hosted by Owl City frontman Adam Young has had more than 8 million views. Read more.

One crew member was bleeding and another was pinned to the deck under his own lifeline, still Laurie Nolan spared no thought for himself, during the daring rescue of the stricken race yacht M3 in January 2016. Read more.

New home building approvals remained buoyant in Newcastle in 2016, despite some patchy results for other local government areas across the Hunter. Read more.

Coach Kevin Muscat has warned Melbourne Victory must overcome McDonald Jones Stadium's perceived lack of atmosphere to topple former A-League bogey team Newcastle and keep the Premiers' Plate in sight. Read more.

Newcastle District Cricket Association’s decision to cancel all matches on the eve of the weekend has been met by mixed reactions from first grade captains. Read more.

A Blues jersey is next on the agenda for Knights second-rower Sione Mata’utia after returning to the representative scene on home turf. Read more.

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

►Cassilis, NSW: The NSW Rural Fire Service said in the days leading up to the weekend that we were staring at unprecedented weather and catastrophic fire conditions. They were strong words, and ones that weren’t used lightly.  In hindsight, they were 100 per cent correct. More here.

►Echuca, Victoria:  A father of two has been killed and four others injured in the Southern 80 water-ski race on the Murray River. The annual river race in Echuca-Moama was suspended on Sunday after multiple injuries. More here.

► Orange, NSW: Car yard owner John Grum has told how he ran for safety after spotting flames at the back fence of his William Street business on Saturday. More here.

► Ballarat, Vic: Two people from Wendouree have been charged on summons with 40 counts of alleged animal cruelty by RSPCA Victoria. The charges follow an investigation by the RSPCA’s Special Investigations Unit and the City of Ballarat into an alleged dog breeding establishment. More here.

► Wagga Wagga, NSW: Residents in a quiet cul-de-sac in Ashmont were shocked to see their street the target of vandalism at the weekend. More here.

► Queensland: Gun owners lobby group, the Shooters Union, is anticipating the issue of firearm classifications will be a key debate when state parliament resumes this week. More here.

► Esperance, Western Australia: Police have located the body of one of the 68-year-old Gibson man and believe another man has lost his life in Esperance after flood waters swept their vehicles off roads in the region. More here.

► Port Lincoln, South Australia: A woman suffered burns to her arms and legs when the car she was in was set on fire in Port Lincoln on Saturday night. More here.

► An unlikely coalition of electricity suppliers, business groups and environmentalists is calling on politicians on all sides to ditch their "partisan antics" and work together to create a reliable, affordable and clean energy system. More here.

► The NSW government has agreed to erect a permanent plaque dedicated to the memory of TJ Hickey, whose 2004 death sparked the Redfern riots, with the family now prepared to compromise on a form of words. More here.

► A new push for a full-scale probe into the Australian banking sector is set to test the resolve of key Nationals agitators and the Labor opposition – both have campaigned hard against poor bank behaviour, and promised to back a royal commission if given a chance. More here.

► FRANCE: Last weekend Emmanuel Macron strolled through a crowd, shaking hands, patting shoulders and kissing cheeks, on his way to a stage at the centre of a Lyon stadium. The 39-year-old looked more like a Hollywood president than a potential French one. The whole event felt like an Aaron Sorkin fantasy. Read more here.

► BANGKOK: Cambodia's opposition leader has resigned to save his party from forced dissolution after threats from the country's strongman Hun Sen. Sam Rainsy, who has been living in Paris, said the surprise decision was "for the sake" of his Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP), which faces crucial commune elections in June. More here.

► WASHINGTON: Funny thing, reality. Donald Trump promised to be a hairy-chested president, who would shirt front all who stood in his way – but just as the courts have brought to heel on the legality of his migration crackdown, foreign policy experts have him turning somersaults on China, Iran and Israel. More here.

► JAKARTA: Australia and Indonesia will conduct a joint dive of the World War II shipwreck HMAS Perth off the coast of Java next month amid fears the vessel, which is believed to hold the remains of 40 to 60 men, is being destroyed by illegal salvagers. More here.

1880 – Thomas Edison observes the Edison effect.

1914 – Copyright: In New York City the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.

1978 – Hilton bombing: a bomb explodes in a refuse truck outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two refuse collectors and a policeman.

1990 – German reunification: An agreement is reached on a two-stage plan to reunite Germany.

1991 – Gulf War: Two laser-guided "smart bombs" destroy the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad. Allied forces said the bunker was being used as a military communications outpost, but over 400 Iraqi civilians inside were killed.

2001 – An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter magnitude scale hits El Salvador, killing at least 400.

2008 – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes a historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.

Often the course one’s life takes is not what we imagined for ourselves. 

Yet more often than not it is those who endure the most who are the ones that inspire the rest of us.  

And sometimes it is a second chance that makes us believe. 

The woman behind 'Herd of Hope', Megan McLoughlin, knows first-hand what it means to be given a second chance at life, for she herself is an double transplant recipient. 

Read more here.