We look back at the life of Aretha Franklin, truckies deliver two thousand bales of hay to NSW farmers, the winners of this year's best Aussie kids' books, and a postman terrified of chickens.

Firefighters in NSW battle big blazes, the weird places our E-waste ends up, a collection of the world's wackiest robots on display, and how much would you cough up for a pack of Pokemon cards twice as old as you?

A massive rescue mission in Italy, The BOM predicts an El Nino, Australia's no.1 tennis player forgets to pack his shoes for a match, and a cat rescue centre searches for a new kitty carer.

The WA Government announces its latest in shark prevention, The CSIRO has a new Chief Scientist, Good news for Eastern black rhinos, and a neighbourhood in Slovakia who have been listening to the same song for 16 years.

Some schools in WA decide to ban homework, a clever little robot headed somewhere deep, dark and cold, some of Australia's best Indigenous artists pick up music awards, a skater's dad brings his wildest dreams to life in their backyard, and a guy is driven nuts by a tiny menacing woodland creature.

NASA's next mission is set to be pretty warm, we give you the latest about what's going on in Lombok, why our Christmas trees might be looking slightly odd this Christmas, and it's the king of the jungle's day to proudly prowl.

A reminder not to take our safe places for granted in National Homelessness Week, cars that run on a gas created with water and wind power, one Aussie dentist's epic tooth-fixing effort, and why the staff at one particular fast food shop in London are probs having a reeeeaally bad day.

Things are heating up! And not in a good way... The three-month wait for NAPLAN results is extended, a man's wedding is interrupted by a very rude drowning person, and international cat day marks four thousand years or so worshipping our feline friends.

Australia's population reaches a massive milestone ahead of schedule, the era of snow days comes to an end, Aussie bees set scientists abuzz with promises of fantastic eco-plastic, and a different little insect ruins weeks of prep for a world record attempt.

A couple of big earthquakes under Lombok topple buildings and cause chaos, a bus company tells kids they can't ride alone anymore, a girl in the US finds a new home for a mountain of stuff bound for landfill, and two crafty old friends embark on a mission to the mosh pit.