Body discovered after house fire in Cranbourne

TIMNA JACKS 4:58pm A body was discovered after a house fire in Melbourne's south-east on Wednesday afternoon.

Inquest told of chloroform clue in tragic murder-suicide

ADAM COOPER 3:27pm A family's computer was used to visit a website selling chloroform before a murder-suicide in which a husband and wife and their two young children died, an inquest has heard.

Community clubs' pokie election campaign condemned as 'blackmail'

Richard Willingham, State Political Correspondent 4:18pm Doctors, the Napthine government and the anti-gambling campaigners have a condemned a political attack from community clubs with poker machines rejecting a tax hike on venues pokies revenue, with one critic accusing the industry of blackmail. 

Cafe owner jailed for dishonesty after cashing in on insurance payout

MARK RUSSELL 2:35pm Unable to sell his struggling Richmond cafe, Bill Katsabis had a windfall when he received a $580,000 insurance payout after a fire destroyed the property, a court has heard.

Victoria faces coldest week of the year as snow falls in the west

CAROLINE ZIELINSKI 4:10pm Victorians are facing the coldest week of the year, with snow coating Victoria's west as the mercury plunges below 10 degrees across most of the state.

Designs revealed for new railway stations at Carnegie, Murrumbeena, and Clayton

ADAM CAREY 1:56pm Three ageing suburban railway stations in Melbourne’s south-east will be demolished and replaced with new station buildings under concept plans released by the Napthine government on Wednesday.

Bikie clubhouse to be repossessed over bad debt

CHRIS VEDELAGO 4:59pm Outlaw motorcycle gang the Immortals are set to have their clubhouse closed down but it won’t be because of the state government’s crackdown on bikies.

Pokies lobby campaign over tax a 'political stunt,' says Treasurer Michael O'Brien

RICHARD WILLINGHAM 11:21am An anti-Napthine government campaign from community clubs with poker machines is nothing more than a “political stunt”, Treasurer Michael O’Brien has declared.

Guard stole from ATMs to become high roller

MARK RUSSELL 12:14pm An armed security guard who stole more than $67,000 from Westpac automatic teller machines to gamble at Crown Casino’s high rollers’ Mahogany Room has been jailed for 15 months.

PSOs cop spray as vandals graffiti 20 booths per month

Jade Gailberger 11:37am The Protective Service Officer Booths on railway stations are being targeted by vandals, who are expressing their contempt with explicit graffiti.

Child rapist Andrew Darling remains on the run

TAMMY MILLS 4:24pm Child rapist Andrew Darling went off his medication four days before he disappeared and it is the third time the police tasked to hunt him down have had to chase him.

House targeted in drive-by shooting in Truganina

TImna Jacks and Caroline Zielinski 4:02pm Update: The residence of members of the notorious Haddara family that was fired on during a drive-by shooting in Melbourne's west on Wednesday has been raided by police.

Releasing cows on Hume Freeway 'a deliberate act'

Blair Thomson 8:37am Police say someone has been deliberately releasing cattle onto the Hume Freeway in Victoria's north-east, endangering motorists and killing the livestock involved in night-time collisions.

Melbourne Express: July 9, 2014

LIAM MANNIX 6:01am Melbourne Express is a live daily blog bringing you what you need to hit the day running - news, weather and transport updates, and compelling content from The Age and beyond.

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Analysis

The hurdle on the way to a conviction in the vampire trial was who would believe the evidence of a criminal of low character?

Cameron Houston The prosecution case against three men accused of murdering Shane Chartres-Abbott always faced one giant hurdle.

Boozing L-plate driver nabbed with children in car

Beau Donelly 10:58pm A learner driver caught speeding and driving dangerously while under the influence of alcohol had four young children in the car, police say.

Canberra to keep East West Link business case secret

CLAY LUCAS 6:16pm The Abbott government has pushed back an attempt by federal Labor to obtain the secret business case for Victoria’s East West Link tollway.

Remaining member of Plan Melbourne committee appointed to government board

Aisha Dow and Clay Lucas 9:06am The only member of a high-profile committee who did not resign in anger at the direction of the Napthine government’s Plan Melbourne strategy has been appointed to the board of the state’s Metropolitan Planning Authority.

Hastings port expansion to over-burden Melbourne's roads and rail lines, report finds

Adam Carey and Josh Gordon 5:01pm A plan to develop a huge container port at Hastings south-east of Melbourne could put an impossible strain on the city’s roads and busiest rail lines and potentially drive up the cost of imports and exports, an independent report says.