8.19am Jennifer Lawrence's new home is beautiful - and surprisingly (relatively) modest.

8.16am "Has it occurred to you that universities are fundamentally about the pursuit of status?" writes Ross Gittens in this think piece on higher education.http://bit.ly/1vmUQzQ 

8.12am She's ba-ack. 

8.09am A stand-up routine by Bill Cosby - who has been accused of being a serial rapist - about drugging women's drinks with an aphrodisiac called Spanish Fly has been unearthed. http://bit.ly/1xAMiq7

8am Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud has revealed he made an episode of his long-running architecture show “deliberately designed to get people as drunk as possible” after discovering fans had invented a drinking game based on the series.http://ind.pn/1u6gkxS

7.54am Changes to Sydney's rail timetable have resulted in more than 1000 complaints, writes Jacob Saulwick for the SMH. http://bit.ly/1u7jldX

7.49am A temporary turf-based volleyball court will be set up at the intersection of Church and Crown Streets on Saturday for the city's Summer Party. You can enter a team and win prizes. Details here: http://bit.ly/11hMYCf

7.45am Ellen has looked to Kim Kardashian for inspiration for this year's cheeky Chistmas card, with partner Portia de Rossi.

7.40am Female police recruits in Indonesia have spoken out about having to undergo humiliating "virginity tests".

7.35am A US photographer has spent six months Photoshopping herself into her mother's old photos, then gave them to her as a gift, which made her cry. "She thinks we really would have been friends had we grown up together.”

7.30am They call him Peter. Peter Pumkineter.

7.24am Why I left United Airlines. An interesting, relatable read for anyone who has noticed a decline in air travel.

7.20am  China-based sites Taobao and Alipay - equivalents of Ebay and PayPal respectively - launched in Australia on Tuesday. They are part of Alibaba, which is expected to become one of the easiest conduits for businesses wanting to reach the Chinese market following the signing of Australia's free trade agreement with China - SMH

7.16am "Vape" - as in vaping, as in smoking for e-cigarettes - is the Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year. And I did not see that one coming. 

7.12am Charming stuff from Bega District Hospital Emergency Department last night.

7.08am Here's UOW acting graduate Stef Dawson, of Canberra, greeting fans at a premiere event for The Hunger Games Mockingjay. Stef plays Annie in the much-anticipated sequel.

7.04am A 38-year-old woman has died after falling 25 metres from a cliff near Mermaid Pools, a popular swimming hole in Tahmoor, Tuesday night

7am Good morning Ilawarra, if you're just joining us. A quick update:  There is good service on the South Coast line and area roads are clear, except for ongoing works on the Princes Hwy at Gerringong. Weather-wise, we’re in for a partly cloudy day, maximum 23. The fire danger is high and right now it’s about 19 degrees.

6.59am "When they go on about the babies being taken and the stolen generation, yeah that's sad but it happened," Sandy said. "But they've probably whinged a bit too much." It seems Newcastle mum Sandy won no fans with her comments on SBS's First Contact last night.

6.53am The adventure of a lifetime beckons 10 UOW students, who are bussing their way around India. http://bit.ly/1oZJpMi

6.48am Have a say in the Illawarra's future in the NSW Government's planning survey. One of the questions asks you to rank things like student housing, better roads and tourist activities in terms of their importance to the region.

6.44am First it leaks then it's flapping in the breeze - what is the Shellharbour City Stadium roof's problem? http://bit.ly/1u77nkt

6.38am SBS's First Contact is the talk of Twitter this morning. The Ray Martin-hosted social experiment takes six white Australians into Aboriginal homes and communities to examine attitudes towards our first people.

6.34am i98fm's Bianca Dye is answering her critics online after penning an opinion piece in which she encouraged Ricki-Lee Coulter to consider freezing her eggs.

6.30am LOST: one old videotape containing big wad of cash. Josh Butler has the story from Dapto. http://bit.ly/1wTL83v

6.26am "I have so many problems with the latest Band Aid single that I don’t really know where to begin, but begin we must so let’s get going with the fact that two-thirds of the line-up are unrecognisable to anyone over the age of 30," writes The Telegraph's Bryony Gordon in this take down of the controversial new recording.

6.22am Check out the leafy highrise One Central Park, Sydney - the "best tall building in the world" and winner of 12 awards for its architecture and sustainability focused design. 

6.18am Woah, Bessie - Friday's Wollongong forecast is for 38 degrees!

6.14am "We're not sure how they got in there, but we think the mother cat gave birth inside the drain and couldn't get the babies out." Unanderra firies have rescued a litter of kittens from a Figtree storm drain. All together now: awww. Story: http://bit.ly/1wTIrit

6.10am What do you say - could Berlin be the world’s ‘‘most fun’’ city? Surveyed travellers gave the German capital the gong based on its bars, clubs, shopping, adult entertainment, activities and factors such as the average price of a beer and whether or not public drinking is permitted. Prost! 

6.06am ‘‘I hate that this case is a punchline in the United States,’’ writes a visitor to the Facebook page of the New York Times, which has revisted the Lindy Chamberlain story in a compelling new read and video. ‘‘This woman suffered so much, quite apart from the horrendous loss of her child. People should show some respect to her.’’

6.03am Here's what's making headlines in the Illawarra today: 

* An Illawarra mother of four who slashed another woman's face in a violent glassing incident at a Port Kembla pub last year has been jailed for at least 3½ years. http://bit.ly/1HgoGKa

* Illawarra woman Jacqueline Sparks has joined forces with Zoe's law bill founder Broodie Donegan in a bid to advance the bill.

* The West Dapto suburb of Penrose will be swallowed up by neighbouring Avondale under a Wollongong City Council proposal.

* Keira High School student Tori Dyson has been named Australian Youth Blood Ambassador for 2014 for initiating a student versus teacher rivalry and recruiting other schools in the region for the challenge.

6am Good morning Illawarra, welcome to this Wednesday, November 19. 

TRAINS There is good service on the South Coast line.

WEATHER We’re in for a partly cloudy day, maximum 23. The fire danger is high and right now it’s about 18 degrees.

ROADS Roadwork on the Princes Hwy at Gerringong are continuing. Otherwise Illawarra roads are all clear.