NEWS: Nine stories to talk about today.

1. Victorian firefighters are bracing for another day of high fire danger. The forecast for most of Victoria is for high winds and temperatures above the 30s. The heat is likely to intensify fires already burning in the state.

2. Hillary Clinton just got more awesome. Video footage has emerged of her angrily responding to Republican allegations that the Obama administration had deliberately withheld the truth about a deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Following a series of quite hostile questions, the Secretary of State said: “With all due respect, the fact is, we had four dead Americans… Was it because of a protest, or because of guys out for a walk one night who decided to go kill some Americans?”

3. Lance Armstrong’s fromer fiance Sheryl Crow has spoken briefly about the disgraced cyclist’s doping habits during an interview with Entertainment Tonight. The 50-year-old singer said that she only saw “bits and pieces” of Armstrong’s candid interview with Oprah last week.  “To carry around a weight like that would be devastating in the long run,” she said.

4. Two Australians are being held by police in Thailand, following the shooting of two German tourists in Phuket. Newspapers are reporting that the men were involved in an altercation at a bar. They’re also reporting the Australians could have connections with bikie gangs.

5. In a surprise Australian Open upset, Serena Williams lost her quarter final match to her 19-year-old USA team mate, Sloane Stephens. The 29-seed player beat Williams in three sets. Meanwhile, Roger Federer advanced to the semi-finals last night in a five-set win over Jo Wilfried Tsonga last night.

6. The Indian Government has set up a commission to look into tougher penalties for rapists. The move follows the widely-publicised gang-rape of a 23-year-old New Delhi student in December last year, that ultimately resulted in the victim’s death.

7. Australian swimmer Stephanie Rice has signed a deal with Channel 9 to join the Today Show team. The 24-year-old Olympic medalist has a two-year contract to be the morning show’s health and fitness reporter.

8. A New Zealand man wants to the Government to ban cats in a bid to protect the country’s native flightless birds. Gareth Morgan – who describes himself as an “animal advocate” – has suggested cats be held indoors at all times and not replaced when they die.

9. Chick lit may be bad for your health. That’s the finding from a US Virginia Tech survey, which looked at the link between the depiction of female characters in “chick lit” and the body image of readers. The researchers found that women who read those books were more likely to express concerns about their weight.