Thursday's news in 5 minutes.

1. Police investigating whether a California mum was kidnapped and tortured for weeks as a result of a racist blog post.

The mysterious case of Sherri Papini, the jogger who was dumped on the side of a road by two female captors in California, keeps on getting stranger as police investigate whether she was abducted, tortured and nearly starved to death over an “anti-Latino blog post written by school pal in her name as a joke.”

Sherri Papini was kidnapped on November 2 while out for a jog in her town of Mountain Gate by what she claimed were two ‘Hispanic’ women.

It has been reported that police are looking into the possibility Papini’s kidnapping may have been racially motivated.

Detectives have been looking at a racist blog post, which is said to have been posted by someone saying they are Sherri.

It was written by someone called Sherri Graeff, which is Papini’s maiden name.

The post has been circulated online since she first disappeared. It was originally on a pro-white website called skinheadz.com.

Part of the blog reads: “Is it worth it? Is being white and standing up for myself and my beliefs worth all this pain I’m having to put up with?’

“Being white is more than just being aware of my skin, but of standing behind Skinheads — who are always around, in spirit, as well — and having pride for my country.

“Being white is my family, my roots, my way of life. It’s always there. There’s no denying it. It’s nobility. It’s strength. It will be there to lift me up when I really need my pride, when I need to ‘keep walking’.”

According to Sherri’s ex-husband, she did not ever write the post, it was a prank by someone who didn’t like her at school.

David Dreyfus, who divorced her in 2007, told The Daily Mail his former partner “wasn’t racist” and added: ‘That post isn’t true, it was a prank by someone at high school, she never found out who did it.”

2. Australian schoolie breaks leg and shatters teeth in fall at nightclub.

An Australian teenager in Bali on schoolies has fallen down a flight of stairs at a nightclub breaking his leg and shattering his teeth.

The 17-year-old was at the Sky Garden club in Kuta on Tuesday when he fell down an internal staircase from the fourth to third floor around 11pm.

Kuta Police Chief, Commissioner Wayan Sumara, said the teenager was “goofing around” before he fell, Fairfax Media reports.

“[He was] holding on to stairway rail, swinging his body and then he was thrown. He fell to the third floor face-down. His face hit the floor,” Mr Sumara said

“He was unconscious [initially] and had a wound to his left knee and his chin was bleeding.”

3. Ultrasound technician on trial after he allegedly touched women’s genitals and breasts.

A court has heard that an ultrasound technician deliberately touched women inappropriately.

Samir Fahmy Ishak, 68, is standing trial in the District Court on nine counts of aggravated indecent assault.

It is alleged that while working at clinics in North Sydney and Cronulla he groped the breasts, bottoms and genitals of five women between 2011 and 2014, and told at least two of them he was a doctor, reports the ABC.

The first woman to give evidence told the court she was allegedly assaulted in May 2011, during an examination for ovarian cysts.

She testified the internal vaginal examination took more than half an hour, she told the court Ishak’s hand “swiped over my clitoris”. In a police interview she said: “I remember looking at his pants area to see if he had a hard-on, because I realised then and there that what he did was deliberate and wrong.”

Crown Prosecutor David Scully told the jury another alleged victim was having a lump on her breast examined when Ishak allegedly used his fingers to “squeeze her nipple hard”.

A third woman was allegedly assaulted during an ultrasound on a lump in her groin, while a fourth woman allegedly had her breasts, vagina and bottom touched inappropriately in 2014 and the fifth was also indecently assaulted during an internal vaginal examination.

4. New royal baby on the way.

A new royal baby is on its way after Zara and Mike Tindall announced they are expecting a second child.

The Queen is “delighted” at the news of her sixth great-grandchild, as are the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

Zara and former England rugby player Tindall already have one daughter Mia, who is nearly three.

The new baby, due around late spring, will be a second cousin of George and Charlotte and 18th in line to the throne.

The couple’s spokeswoman said: “Mike and Zara are expecting another baby.”

Buckingham Palace said the Queen and the Royal Family were overjoyed by Zara’s pregnancy.

“The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and members of the Royal Family are delighted with the news,” a palace spokesman said.

5. Man pushing pram dies after being hit by a car.

A 66-year-old man has died after being hit by a car in Melbourne’s east yesterday.

The man was pushing a boy in a pram across Springfield Road, when he was struck by a turning car around 4.50pm.

The child in the pram was taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital in a stable condition with minor injuries but the man tragically suffered fatal injuries.

The female driver of the car has been released by police after questioning.

6. Woman who was three times over legal limit with a friend’s baby in her car has “no apologies”.

A woman who got behind the wheel while she was over the limit – with her friend’s six-month-old baby in her car has no regrets.

Jodie McCarthy, 28, blew more than three times the legal limit after almost crashing into a fence.

After a late night drinking session at her Dorrigo home, Jodie McCarthy allegedly got behind the wheel with a friend’s six-month-old baby girl in the back.

The mother of three told Seven News she regrets her decision, but says she was not to blame.

“I got no apologies, hey if I killed myself, so be it,” Ms McCarthy told Seven News.

“Isn’t that the mother’s responsibility not to put their kid at risk of somebody else’s danger.”

7. Donald Trump to “leave business” for the presidency.

President-elect Donald Trump has said he will be leaving his “great business in order to fully focus on running the country”.

In a series of tweets, the president-elect said he would be holding a conference with his children on December 15 to discuss stepping back in order to focus on the presidency.

He says he is “not mandated to do this under the law” but feels it “visually important” to not be seen to have a conflict of interest between the presidency and his business interests.

He added paperwork was being drawn up which would take him out of business operation.

8. Heatwave: Brisbane set to have hottest in day in 15 years.

The heatwave in Queensland is set to intensify with south Queensland to face temperatures about 10C above December averages from tomorrow.

On Friday temperatures of 38C and 41C are forecasted for Brisbane and Ipswich.

Brisbane is set to swelter through its hottest December day since 2001

“Brisbane had a run of 40C and 39C from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day that year,” meteorologist Jeanine Yuasa told AAP.

The hottest day in Brisbane since the turn of the century was 41.7C in February 2004.

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