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The bodies of a married couple have been retrieved from the water in a tragic double drowning south of Catherine Hill Bay. 

Dozens of sinkholes have appeared in the rural Hunter Valley community of Broke in the aftermath of flooding rains. Residents have told the ABC there are at least 30 and many are filled with contaminated water from overflowing septic tanks.

Almost 30 plaques have recently been removed from the cemetery at St Alban's Anglican Church in Muswellbrook over several days. Hunter Valley police received reports of a man entering the church grounds and damaging several headstones.

Varroa mite has caused widespread devastation in the Hunter. So far 1,800 hives have been destroyed across NSW. Now there's work underway to develop a world-first hormone-based pesticide which is safe for honeybees, but fatal to varroa mite.

Five hundred purple electric bikes have been placed around parts of the Hunter to get you moving faster. It's part of a trial, which will soon include e-scooters.

Researchers from the University of Newcastle and the Hunter Medical Research Institute are studying alcohol-free beer, wine and spirits. The market is booming, and researchers are doing tastings to see what people think.

Jacob "Snowy" Snowden is just an Aussie bloke, with a mullet, who loves pies. So he decided to start Snowy's Sensational Pie Reviews on Facebook to document his search for the Hunter's best pie.

Some may say Novacastrian Tony Purkiss is lucky, some would say unlucky. Tony was blinded in a terrorist attack in Bali in 2005, has survived a plane crash and broken his leg during the Sydney to Hobart. 

Stop everything — The Rocket Man, Sir Elton John is coming to Newcastle! But is this the start of the big names coming to Newy?

This is a winning chicken nugget recipe and it all comes down to one big secret. 

Hunter New England Health District to split in two? Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall will join with mayors, representatives from the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association and Vision New England to push the cause after a petition was launched.

MP's first week: The federal Labor Hunter MP, Dan Repacholi, will use his first sitting week in parliament to push for more help with the Hunter's flood recovery. The Olympic shooter-turned-politician is in Canberra for the first sitting week of the 47th parliament with Anthony Albanese as Prime Minister.

Life-saving tech: A small piece of tech about the size of a tablet is being hailed as a game-changer for firefighters if they ever face another Black Summer of bushfires. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service's fleet of 5,000 trucks is being fitted with mobile data terminals to allow crews to instantly send and receive life-saving information. 

Foot-and-mouth disease: Devastating foot-and-mouth disease, which threatens to decimate Australia's livestock industry, has been detected in goods coming into Australia from Indonesia and China. Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said dead viral fragments had been detected in a beef product at an Australian airport, brought in by a passenger from Indonesia.

Pothole central: Dungog Shire Council is urging drivers to slow down around potholes as it works to patch roads, after wet weather in recent months has taken its toll. Crews are working six days a week, with the issue affecting the entire 459 kilometre sealed road network.

Housing demand: The Property Council of Australia says some areas in the Hunter will need to increase their housing output to meet growing population demands. The Hunter has had an average annual population growth rate of 1.02 per cent during the past decade, but that's accelerated to about 1.2 per cent.

Local aged care a priority: Labor's Federal Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon says the new government will prioritise restoring trust in the "broken" aged care sector. The industry has been smashed by COVID and is still reeling from damning royal commission findings.

Has the Newcastle skipper played his last game of 2022? Suffering a fifth head injury assessment this season at the weekend and his third concussion in the past six weeks, it's likely we won't see Kalyn Ponga take to the field again in 2022 as he sees his specialist this week.

It's a daring outback crime saga worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster. A tale of dodgy characters, dirty deals and millions of dollars in rare pink diamonds plundered from a high-security mine in WA's wild north-west. Who are the culprits, how did they get away with it and why are some of the stolen gems turning up now?

It's incredible to believe, but this desert shot is in our region! The Stockton sand dunes are something to behold. A big thanks to Patrick Tangye for sharing with us this magical photo.

You can show everyone what the world looks like where you live by using the hashtag #ABCmyphoto on Instagram or by uploading your photos online here. 

A gusty cold front is sweeping across eastern New South Wales bringing cool and windy conditions, as well as a few showers. Then it's going to be clear weather for most of the Hunter with a few showers scattered here and there. Overnight temperatures will sit between 2 and 7 degrees Celsius. A nice weekend is on its way, with temperatures reaching 18 degrees.

And a big thanks to Dave Anderson for supplying this week's weather photo! 

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ABC Newcastle acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.