The former operators of three sushi outlets in regional New South Wales are fined more than $380,000 for ripping off workers including junior employees and vulnerable visa holders.

After two serious assaults in the past two days, one in which an officer was punched eight times by an offender, staff from most NSW juvenile justice centres stop work to demand action for their safety.

The dismantling of Big Kev, Darwin's resident brachiosaurus, has become the latest example of the lengths communities will go to to protect a local icon.

The Raiders outclass the Dragons in Wollongong, as the Eels beat the Tigers to spoil Benji Marshall's 300th NRL match, and the Cowboys enjoy a narrow triumph over the Roosters.

Teenagers were seen atop the roof of the Kariong detention centre after reports of an escape attempt.

Teenagers were seen atop the roof of the Kariong detention centre after reports of an escape attempt.

Police storm Kariong's Frank Baxter Centre, bringing all offenders off the rooftop to end a riot at the facility that lasted for almost 24 hours.

MORNING BRIEFING: A pair of boys are "met by their parents and spoken to by police" after climbing a 111-metre communications tower, and 21 people are charged after a violent riot and police siege at a youth detention centre.

Felicity Urquhart was meant to be celebrating her first solo album Frozen Rabbit with her husband Glen Hannah, but a month after its release, he took his own life.

MORNING BRIEFING: A bushfire that threatened homes near Newcastle last night is brought under control, and nine detainees at a juvenile detention centre are charged over a June riot.

The father of murder victim Danielle Easey says he is waiting to come face-to-face with the man accused of the violent death of his daughter whose body was found wrapped in plastic and dumped in a Newcastle creek.

A man and a woman are arrested in connection with the murder of Danielle Easey, whose body was found last month, wrapped in plastic and dumped in a creek near Newcastle.

MORNING BRIEFING: The serial sex offender who raped and killed Sydney woman Janine Balding will not be released for another two years, while the North Ryde RSL club cancels a conservative event on abortion over security fears.

A Gosford judge describes Troy Johnson, a father of three who stalked and sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl as she walked to school, as "hideous" and "depraved" before jailing him for almost 30 years.

As a place to glimpse the next generation of stars and one of the biggest events on the Indigenous calendar, the Koori Knockout features some of the fastest, most exciting rugby league in the country.

The Melbourne derby ends in a scoreless draw as the Victory host City at Docklands in the opening round of the A-League, while the Wanderers celebrate a 2-1 triumph over the Mariners at their new home ground.

A-League newcomers Western United draws its first home game, 1-1 against Perth, as the The F3 Derby between the Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets ends in the same scoreline.

NSW Police says officers were called to a house in Erina last night in response to a domestic dispute between neighbours and found flames coming from the window.

A ride-share driver is charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm after he allegedly ran down a group of teenagers while under the influence of alcohol on the central coast in the early hours of the morning.

A judge denies bail to an 18-year-old ride-share driver accused of getting into an argument with a group of passengers before ramming his car into two of them.

Taxis and the rideshare industry warn of the dangers of underground "lifts for cash" advertised on social media.

Private collectors snap up dozens of artefacts from the Third Reich at an auction, showing the popularity and value of Nazi military memorabilia is on the rise.

An 18-year-old Parkes man is charged with murder and firearms offences police allege he shot his neighbour after a dispute over barking dogs and said the two men "were not great friends".

Extensive DNA testing has confirmed a body found in a burnt-out car in NSW's south-west is that of missing Illawarra man, Gary Pearce.

Sydney's iconic Sirius building is sold for $150 million to developers who plan to refurbish the existing building and deliver 89 apartments, along with retail and commercial spaces.

Norm Henderson knows what it's like to be in the darkness of drug addiction, but even he has been surprised by the grip ice has on smaller towns and communities.

AFL great Neale Daniher is named the 2019 Victorian of the Year in recognition of his advocacy to find a cure for the fatal motor neurone disease he was diagnosed with six years ago.

It's not just stockbrokers who are watching the China and US trade war Australia's wool market has fallen to its lowest level in a year-and-a-half due to uncertainty surrounding tariffs.

Fifteen-year-old American qualifier Cori Gauff caused a stunning Wimbledon upset by defeating five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round.

Fifteen-year-old American qualifier Cori Gauff caused a stunning Wimbledon upset by defeating five-time champion Venus Williams in the first round.

Alexei Popyrin took a set off 11th seed Daniil Medvedev but lost in four sets.

Brody Finlay hadn't auditioned for Baz Luhrmann's next project, and was surprised when the director's office contacted him.

The largest study of country newspapers ever undertaken in Australia is hoping to develop sustainable models that can help the declining regional media landscape survive into the future.

John Burrows died at his mother's garage in Portland near Lithgow in 2015, with a bomb expert telling his murder trial he had never seen a device like the one used to kill the 58-year-old.

Parkes was made famous by the Australian film The Dish, but without a small tracking station just outside of Canberra, we would never have seen Neil Armstrong's first few steps on the Moon.

When Kevin Gallegos carpooled to work one cold Canberra morning the day ahead wouldn't be typical he and the rest of the team at the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station would be instrumental in bringing live footage of Neil Armstrong's first steps on the Moon back to Earth.

Pig producers in New South Wales battle a combination of factors that have seen up to 80 per cent of them selling all their pigs and leaving the industry.

Towns in regional NSW experience snowfall for the first time in 20 years as a deep polar vortex, which battered south-east Australia yesterday, moves north.

The Tristar Medical Group's chain of 50 clinics across regional Australia has been under "significant financial stress for 18 months" resulting in doctors often not being paid for weeks or months.

Lambs have died of hypothermia and orchards are ready for a fruitful spring following a snow event in regional New South Wales.

The death of one of the fiercest advocates for changing the name of the Mid Western Highway to Wiradjuri Way prompts renewed calls for change.

As the drought continues, water is being carted by train for the first time in decades to keep production on track at a NSW coal mine and secure 140 full-time jobs.

The wool market has plummeted a massive 163 cents a kilogram this week, or more than 10 per cent, prompting an industry leader to call for a halt to trading.