DRUNKEN mums and dads are turning primary school fetes into all-day booze sessions, with Margaritas, Bacardi Breezers, scotch and cokes, and barrels of beer, police say.

THE Anzac spirit was alive and well today when an old army Jeep with veterans on board broke down on the approach to Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance in the Anzac Day parade.

AUSTRALIA'S last surviving World War I soldier Jack Ross watched an Anzac Day march today from his bed in a Ballarat nursing home while enjoying a cup of tea and an Anzac biscuit.

AN 11-year-old autistic boy reported missing earlier today from a country Victorian town has been found.

A FATHER of nine saved his "little princess" moments before his truck exploded, killing him.

A man was killed and four others injured in a head-on collision in Victoria this evening.

RESIDENTS close to a bushfire east of Melbourne are ready to evacuate, with the fire 1.5km from homes.

Perth mining company Frontier Resources will contest a Papua New Guinea government decision not to renew its mining licence for a site near the Kokoda Track.

ABC Learning Centres' chairwoman Sallyanne Atkinson has likened the woes besetting the global childcare operation to the 1974 floods that swamped Brisbane.

NATIONAL Australia Bank chief executive John Stewart is on a mission to secure Australia's future role in global banking.

THE Reserve Bank should tolerate inflation running above its 2-3 per cent comfort zone for the time being to support economic growth and jobs, according to former RBA governor Bernie Fraser.

THE Chinese steel industry indicates it will bow to BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto's demands for a premium on Australian iron ore.

06:44 : On the DC metro to the Smithsonian. The DC metro was the first US metro system I used, and I still think its one of the best.

A BUSHFIRE that broke out southeast of Melbourne yesterday has spread to private property and turned into a 420ha blaze.

A BUSHFIRE burning east of Melbourne is only 1.5km away from homes.

Another video link? What is WRONG with me? In my defense, that little movie is highly amusing. I especially enjoyed the section on "cat-yodeling," which I'm going to have to try out with Dr. Amy Jones today. (Link courtesy of

machine? It's odd; despite our bedroom being farther from the street in the new house, I get woken up by noise a LOT more than I used to. (I think it's because we have a window now, and the sound

Indie FTWMy sister just had her first day alone with the new baby... and Indie broke her within one hour. Yikes. I feel really bad that I can't do anything to help. At the same time, though, I'm really grateful