1. Concerns for Taylor Almond

There has been a tragic development in the case of a teenage girl thought to be a runaway in NSW with concerns a body found in a national park minutes from her home may be the missing teenager.

Police have been searching for 16-year-old Taylor Almond for two weeks after she disappeared from her Newcastle home.

There were reported sightings as far north as Kempsey of the 16-year-old.

Police yesterday found the remains of a body – believed to be that of Taylor – in bushland near her home.

“The remains are yet to be formally identified and due to the state of decomposition this is expected to take some time,” a police spokesman said yesterday.

If you need help please phone Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 

 2. Mother accused of murdering newborn denied bail

The Brisbane Supreme Court denied bail yesterday for a Gold Coast mother accused of murdering her newborn baby.

The court heard that Jodie Tarnawskyj, 35, left the baby on a washing machine unattended for 17 hours while she went about her home life.

Prosecutors said that Tarnawskyj ,who has two other children, had told her family and friends she wasn’t pregnant.

She had allegedly made appointments to legally terminate the fetus at eight months and two months – but had delivered the baby at full term on June 8 in her home.

The mother claimed to ambulance paramedics when she called them 17 hours after the birth that she had miscarried.

Prosecutors say she had researched how to self-terminate a pregnancy.

Lawyers for Tarnawskyj argued that this was not murder – “At best it’s a case of manslaughter,’’ they said.

News Limited reports that “The court was told contradictory medical and scientific testimony would show the baby had been born at 40 weeks, was breathing normally before it died and suffered injuries about the neck and face that could be consistent with being choked.”

She will appear in court again on February 2.

 3. Navy SEAL who shot Osama Bin Laden faces backlash

The Ex-Navy SEAL who has been identified as the man who shot Osama bin Laden in 2011 has come under criticism from the military for revealing his identify.

38-year-old Robert O’Neill fired three shots to the head of bin Laden.

His father has told The Daily Mail that his son had to come forward to earn a living.

“I support him in everything he is doing. What are you supposed to do when you come out of the military after such service — become a greeter at Walmart?”  Tom O’Neil said.

However others are not pleased he came forward.

“Naval Special Warfare’s core is the SEAL ethos,” Rear Adm. Brian Losey and Force Master Chief Michael Magaraci wrote in a letter published by a US newspaper.

“A critical tenant of our ethos is ‘I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions’.”

4. Abducted US woman found alive

A woman who was abducted in Philadelphia and caught on CCTV being bundled into a car has been found alive in another state.

Carlesha Freeland-Gaither was seen in a car with a broken-out back window and was rescued soon after by police.

The man was arrested.

She was not injured.

5. Tom Meagher

The husband of Jill Meagher has spoken out about his wife’s killer, saying he will never be able to forgive him.

Tom Meagher has told a journalist that he wishes harm towards the serial rapist who attacked and killed his wife.

“He occupies my thoughts a lot less but every time he does occupy my thoughts I wish him nothing but harm. That’s not a pleasant thing to say, it’s not a pleasant thing to feel, but it’s also the truth.”

For more read this post here.

 6. OK to put a woman in a headlock

An inquiry into domestic violence has been told that in some circumstances it is ok to put a woman in a headlock.

A public hearing of the Senate inquiry into domestic violence in Australia heard evidence from Women’s House Shelta’s Barbara Crossing who told the hearing a man had a protection order taken out against his partner using evidence she bit him under the arm.

Ms Crossing said the only possible way the injury could have been caused was if the man had the woman in a headlock.

Liberal senator Cory Bernardi told the inquiry that police considered headlocks an “appropriate means of deferring an aggressor”.

Greens senator Larissa Waters responded saying Ms Crossing was the expert and a headlock was an example of domestic violence reports The Courier Mail.

7. Saints star to avoid jail

AFL Saints forward Stephen Milne is to avoid jail time after pleading guilty to the indecent assault of a woman who had claimed he raped her at a party.

The Herald Sun reports that Milne will most likely avoid a term of up to 10-years after the Office of Public Prosecution withdrew the rape charges.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charges.

The rape charges have been said to have hampered any job opportunities for the football star.

The 19-year-old victim says she consented to oral sex with the Milne but objected when he attempted to go further.

 8. Six-year-old sues mother over drinking while pregnant

A case in the UK before the courts could pave the way for pregnant women to be prosecuted for drinking alcohol.

A local government authority is seeking criminal injuries compensation after a six-year-old girl was left with growth problems caused by her mother’s alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

If the Court of Appeal agrees the woman committed a crime it could pave the way for pregnant women’s behaviour to be criminalised.

The girl was born with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome which can cause growth and facial abnormalities and intellectual impairment.

A written ruling by the Upper Tribunal of the Administrative Appeals Chamber said it was a ”direct result” of her mother’s drinking.

But it concluded: ”If (the girl) was not a person while her mother was engaging in the relevant actions then… as a matter of law, her mother could not have committed a criminal offence.”

Lawyers for the local authority have already failed once to win compensation on the child’s behalf. But a further court case has been held at the Court of Appeal overnight with a ruling expected at a later date reports the BBC.

The case has now been before the British courts for four years.

 9. Man jailed for raping woman while her partner slept inches away

A man has been jailed in a case called  “unusual and puzzling” by the judge.

South Australian man Mark Lee Duncan, 38, was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman while her partner slept beside her.

Duncan, who was on a beer and marijuana binge at the time, broke into the home and crawled into the woman’s bed. Her partner woke up while the woman was being sexually assaulted.

Duncan was jailed for six-and-a-half-years with a non-parole period of four years, reports The Advertiser.

 10. AC/DC drummer in court accused of attempting to procure a murder

Phil Rudd, the drummer in Australian band AC/DC, has appeared in a New Zealand court, accused of attempting to hire a hitman to kill two people.

The New Zealand resident was accused of attempting to hire one person to kill two others between September 25 and September 26.

The ABC reports that he was also charged with threatening to kill and possession of methamphetamine and cannabis.

 11. Men mess up housework so they don’t have to do it again

A survey has reveled that men pretend to be hopeless at housework so their partners stop nagging them to do it.

The study published in the Daily Mail showed that three in 10 regularly do a bad job of the washing up or cleaning the bathroom in the hope their partner gives up asking them for help and just do it themselves.

34% said they couldn’t be bothered to spend any time on it while 1/4 said they are only doing it to keep their partner happy.

Men admitted to simply squirting bleach into the toilet instead of cleaning it properly, and dusting around objects instead of moving them.

One in 10 claim they don’t need to put much effort in as their other half will only go over it again anyway.

12. Coles false claims of fresh apples

Supermarket giant Coles has been found to be misleading consumers after an investigation by the Advertising Standards Board.

A TV viewer lodged the complaint after watching an ad by Chef Curtis Stone who said that Coles Spring apples were fresh

“Feed your family better, fresher, with spring fruit and veg from Coles,” the ad said.

The TV viewer said “I live in Tassie and my apple tree is dormant! These apples would have been in storage for MONTHS, they are not fresh,”

“This ad is misleading and my wife would like a personal apology from Curtis (or cash).”

Coles claimed the apples were fresh even though they had been in cold storage for months, reports Fairfax Media.

“Coles’ view that produce can remain ‘fresh’ despite storage is consistent with the Macquarie Dictionary, which defines ‘fresh’ as retaining the original properties unimpaired,” their defence said.

 13. Christmas ad a delight

They certainly know how to make a Chrissy ad and the Brits have done it again with an advertisement for the department store John Lewis being called one of the best Christmas campaigns ever. What do you think of it?