Sarah Jenkins
BBC Local Live

The nominees for BBC Sports Personality of the Year have been announced, with two contenders from Hertfordshire making the shortlist.

There are 16 nominees this year instead of the usual 10, which reflects just how much there has been to celebrate in British sport in 2016.

This year's event will take place in front of 12,000 people at the Genting Arena in Birmingham and you can vote for your favourite by phone and online during the live show in December.

Have you guessed what local stars have been nominated yet? Let's see who has made the list...

Simon Oxley
BBC Three Counties Radio

The chief executive of Milton Keynes Hospital says being rated as "good" by inspectors puts them in a strong position, as the ongoing Health Review continues into services in Milton Keynes and Bedfordshire.

The review is analysing the services carried out at Bedford, Milton Keynes and the Luton and Dunstable hospitals to see what could be cut or bolstered at different sites.

Image source, Google

Two years ago, Milton Keynes was told by the Care Quality Commission it required improvement. 

Chief executive Joe Harrison says the new rating is "a fantastic start to having a very strong hospital in Milton Keynes".

Temperatures in the East of England plummeted last night with the mercury falling below zero for many of us across the region. 

BBC Look East weather man Dan Holley has been crunching the numbers. Santon Downham in Suffolk was the coldest at -6.4C (20F) while Cromer was a positively balmy 2.2C (36F).

Nicola Haseler
BBC Three Counties

Council-run nursery schools in Beds, Herts and Bucks say they are facing closure because of changes to government funding. 

Thirty one nurseries rated as either "good" or "outstanding" in the three counties will each lose £130,000-a-year in funding, according to the National Association of Headteachers, external. 

Image source, Reuters

Currently the nurseries get extra funding for the specialist care they provide, but from April next year that money will be equally divided between all childcare providers, including childminders and private nurseries. 

Staff and parents are signing a petition to get the government to recognise the value of state nursery schools and fund them accordingly.

In a statement, the government said: "We will provide £55m a year of supplementary funding for maintained nurseries for at least two years and consult on their future in due course." 

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Brackley-based Mercedes says there is "no rush" to decide whether to take further action against Lewis Hamilton following the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Stevenage's Hamilton drove deliberately slowly in an attempt to back team-mate Nico Rosberg into rivals. The German finished second to win his first title.

Image source, AFP

"There's no time pressure," a spokesman said. "We'll let the whole thing settle and then figure out the way forward.

"For now, the focus is on savouring and celebrating the world championships."

Simon Oxley
BBC Three Counties Radio

Milton Keynes Hospital has been rated "good" in the latest inspection by the Care Quality Commission, external (CQC).

Two years ago the hospital was told it required improvement.

Inspectors were at the hospital in July and said staff were passionate about providing high quality care.

Among the things highlighted in the report are the establishment of a maternity improvement board to review incidents and risks. It has led to a lower rate than the national average of neonatal deaths. 

But the hospital has been instructed to review security at the adult and paediatric emergency departments after some failings were found.

Simon Oxley
BBC Three Counties Radio

It's been more than a month since Karl Robinson left MK Dons "by mutual consent" and the club's chairman Pete Winkelman said he was taking his time, and hinted at an eye-catching appointment. 

Hearts head coach Robbie Neilson would certainly fit that category, as it would represent quite a coup to attract the manager of a side at the top end of the Scottish Premiership to a side at the wrong end of League One in England. 

I saw the Dons players produce an encouraging performance to win at Coventry on Saturday, and they face former manager Karl Robinson in the FA Cup at Charlton this weekend. 

After that the new manager's first home game would be against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, 10 December. But if Neilson made a good start, and given his record at Hearts, wouldn't he attract attention from Championship sides? Could the Dons keep him?

Kate Kinsella
BBC Look East weather

After a very frosty start it will be a dry and sunny day, but it will feel cold throughout with a high of 6C (43F).

Here's my full forecast...

There are more details on the BBC Weather website.

Sarah Jenkins
BBC Local Live

Good morning and welcome back to regular live updates of news, weather, travel and sport.

It's a rather frosty morning as this picture from our Weather Watcher, Stymied in Dunstable shows.

We'll have the full weather forecast for you shortly.

As always if you want to get in touch you can tweet, external, email or send us a message on Facebook, external.

A woman accused of murdering her half-sister with a casserole dish threatened to ram a mop down her throat, a court is told.

Barry Bennell, the football coach at the centre of an abuse scandal, is in hospital after being found unconscious.

Nikki Jenkins
BBC Local Live

I almost forgot to tell you about the ancient tradition of Bedfordshire Day which dates all the way back to...

...2015!

So not much of a tradition (yet), but the Friends of Bedfordshire Society , externalwould like it to be.

It's held today to mark the birthday of the county's most famous son - John Bunyan, external.

So Bedfordshire-ians: Fly the flag, grab a clanger and be a pilgrim!

And we'll be back to see what progress you've all made tomorrow. 

Dan Holley
BBC Look East weather

Don't forget to allow a bit of extra time if you're driving anywhere early tomorrow morning and your vehicle's not under cover - we're in for the coldest night of the autumn so far, with a widespread, locally hard frost and a few mist patches.

Temperatures will fall to -6C (21F) in prone rural spots, in light, variable winds.

Tuesday will start cold and frosty, but it'll stay dry with long spells of sunshine.

Top temperature: 7C (46F).

Get a more detailed forecast where you live, from BBC Weather.

Geoff Doyle
BBC Three Counties Radio sport

MK Dons have made an official approach to Hearts for the Scottish Premiership club's head coach, Robbie Neilson.

In a statement on its website, the club says: "The club respects that Hearts has an important fixture with Rangers in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday evening and, therefore, no further comment will be made until after that match."

Image source, Getty Images

Gail Sanderson
BBC Three Counties Radio

The jury at Luton Crown Court has heard evidence from Nicki Collingbourne she gave to police when her half sister, the woman on trial for her murder, accused her of assault.

The attack is alleged to have happened six months before her death when Ms Collingbourne evicted the accused Yvonne Caylor from her Letchworth flat.

In the video, a police officer read Yvonne Caylor's statement saying Ms Collingbourne became aggressive if she did not get her own way, accused her of "banging and crashing around" because she could not find her medicine, claimed she grabbed her hair and pushed her against a wall and twisted her wrist.

Ms Collingbourne denied that, saying: "I am telling nothing but the truth."

Image source, South Beds News Agency

The jury was told that when Ms Collingbourne was released from custody she returned home with an officer and found she had been burgled. In a statement, she said: "I have helped Yvonne and she has done this to me."

Yvonne Caylor, of Grove Road, Hitchin, denies murder. The trial continues.

Gail Sanderson
BBC Three Counties Radio

It's the prosecution case that the motive for the alleged murder dates back to October 2015 when Nicki Collingbourne evicted her half sister Yvonne Caylor from her flat.  

The jury has seen a video of Ms Collingbourne being interviewed by police. In it she says there was a confrontation.

"I was trying to keep calm. It became worse and worse. She was just lashing out with her fists. She was pinning me against a wall, saying: 'I am going to kill you'," she told police.

"I took her stuff to the front door. She got a mop. She said 'I am going to ram this down your throat'. It fell on the floor.

"She picked up my iPad and threw it on floor. She grabbed her laptop and walked out.

"I got her out and slammed door. She was beating on the door trying to get back in."

Ms Collingbourne denied striking out at Yvonne Caylor or grabbing her by the neck.

She said: "I had no intention to hurt her. I have never intended to."

Six months later, Ms Caylor is said to have disguised herself as a man by wearing a goatee beard, a wig, heavy-framed glasses and a hi-vis jacket before going to Ms Collingbourne's flat in Letchworth and killing her.

More follows...

Image source, South Beds News Agency

Gail Sanderson
BBC Three Counties Radio

Image source, Family Photo

The jury in the case of a woman allegedly murdered by her half-sister with a chicken-shaped casserole dish today watched a police interview with Nicki Collingbourne (above).

The interview took place six months before she was killed when she had been accused by the defendant, Yvonne Caylor, of assault. 

The prosecution at Luton Crown Court alleges the motive for the killing goes back to this time when Ms Collingbourne evicted Ms Caylor from a flat in Ivel Court, Letchworth.

Yvonne Caylor claimed Ms Collingbourne had assaulted her and while she was in police custody it is alleged Ms Caylor burgled the flat.

No action was taken against Ms Collingbourne, but Ms Caylor was charged and was due to stand trial accused of burglary and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The case was in a "warned list" at Cambridge Crown Court starting on Monday, 23 May, the day of the alleged murder.

More follows...

Image source, South Beds News Agency

England's Elliot Daly is banned for three weeks for the dangerous tackle which led to him being sent off in Saturday's victory over Argentina.

Dani Bailey
BBC Local Live

We hate to harp on about it, but Declan McKenna from Cheshunt wrote his biggest hit, Brazil, when he was 15 and it's since been featured on Radio 1 as Track of the Week. 

He's now the grand old age of 17 and garnering the sort of buzz that musicians twice his age would envy.

With support from BBC Music Introducing, 2016 saw him perform at Maida Vale, Radio 1's Big Weekend and Later… with Jools Holland.     

Meanwhile, he continued to aim at big targets – with recent single Isombard tackling the subject of xenophobia in the media.

All the attention is certainly justified. Declan's brand of socially-conscious indie pop is fresh and intelligent and it has established him as a youthful voice with something to say.

Dani Bailey
BBC Local Live

Born in Bedford, singer-songwriter Tom Grennan first found fame as the guest vocalist on Chase & Status's track When It All Goes Wrong.

A Hottest Record on Annie Mac's Radio 1 Show, the track gave Grennan the chance to cut his teeth in the Radio 1 Live Lounge and on BBC Two's Later... with Jools Holland.

But it might not have turned out that way. As a teenager he had a promising football career, playing for Luton Town, Northampton Town, Stevenage and Aston Villa.

"I was close to playing over in the States but something was telling me not to and obviously it was the music," he told Music Week earlier this year.

"My head was turned by music and people saying I had a voice."

Tom's been supported by BBC Introducing Beds, Herts and Bucks, external ever since he was the singer in a band called The Jebs.

Check out his performance on top of our BBC bus at Bedford River Festival in the summer...