The sons of an American woman sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of her husband claim they are scared of her and claim they would feel unsafe if she were ever released from prison.

Kouri Richins was found guilty in March of murdering her husband Eric Richins in 2022, after spiking his cocktail with fentanyl. Later tests showed Richins had five times the lethal dose of fentanyl in his system.

A jury also found her guilty of four other felonies, including insurance fraud, forgery and attempted murder for trying to poison her husband weeks earlier on Valentine's Day with a fentanyl-laced sandwich.

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A judge in Utah sentenced her to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and two of her children gave statements via social workers that claimed they were scared of her.

Her sons, two of whom are aged 11 and 13, said they would feel unsafe if their mother were ever released from prison. The children said Richins threatened to kill their animals and showed them videos of famished children in war zones when they refused to eat undercooked food.

"You took away my dad for no reason other than greed, and you only cared about yourself and your stupid boyfriends," said the middle son, now 11. He described having to "be a parent" to his younger brother because his mother did not watch over them. Richins made the boy paranoid about sitting on his dad's side of the bed, saying he might die, too, he alleged.

The oldest son, now 13, said he also felt like he had to take care of his siblings and noted that his mother often would lock him inside his room while she drank.

Richins stood at the podium in a lime green jail uniform as she asked her sons, who were not present in court, "Please just don't give up on me." She encouraged them to always "be like your dad."

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Richins' case is notorious because of the book she wrote about grief after the death of her husband.

Called Are You With Me?, it follows the story of a child who has lost their father, but who is reminded that his presence still exists all around them, according to a description on Goodreads.

During the trial, prosecutors showed the jury text messages between Richins and her lover in which she fantasised about leaving her husband and gaining millions in a divorce. Prosecutors also displayed the internet search history from Richins' phone, which included queries about the lethal dose of fentanyl, luxury prisons and how poisoning is marked on a death certificate.

Prosecutors said Richins, a 35-year-old real estate agent with a house-flipping business, was millions in debt and planning a future with another man. She had opened numerous life insurance policies on her husband without his knowledge and falsely believed she would inherit his estate worth more than US$4 million after he died.

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The defence argued that Eric Richins was addicted to painkillers. Prosecutors countered by showing police body camera footage from the night of his death in which Kouri Richins tells an officer that her husband had no history of illicit drug use.

Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.

Judge Richard Mrazik said Richins is "simply too dangerous to ever be free" when handing down the sentence on the day that her husband would have turned 44.

Her attorneys said they will appeal the conviction and sentence. Richins has been adamant in maintaining she is innocent, saying that the verdict was "an absolute lie."

Reported with Associated Press.

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Abnormally warm temperatures in the Tasman Sea have given Sydney its warmest start to May in eight years.

Pools of water in the sea are between two and four degrees warmer than average from this time of year, and are leading to changed weather in Sydney just a week after a cold snap hit.

"Daytime maximum temperatures in Sydney have been running around two to four degrees above average since late last week," Weatherzone's Ben Domensino said.

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"The running average temperature during the first 13 days of this month have been more than three degrees above average."

The warmer waters are being caused by the East Australian Current, which is bringing warmer waters from the Coral Sea southwards towards New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

"Water temperatures in much of the western Tasman Sea are currently in the top 10 per cent of historical records for this time of year," Domensino added.

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He said it was not the only change to face Sydney, with onshore winds carrying rain from the Tasman Sea along the coast and mountain ranges.

Sydney is facing rain for the next week, with the peak being seen on Tuesday where up to 10mm could fall.

Despite this, temperatures will remain fairly warm, with a top of 24 degrees on Sunday.

"Sydney will continue to see daytime maximum temperatures around 22 to 24 degrees, hovering a few degrees above the May average of 19.6 degrees," Domensino said. 

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Two people, including an elderly woman, were injured after they were hit by a car as they sat at the side of a cafe in Melbourne's north-east.

The pair were sitting outside the Bakers Choice cafe on Watsonia Road, Watsonia, at around 2pm yesterday, when a white sedan drove straight into them.

One of the women was hit by the car head-on and was caught underneath it, while the older woman was knocked off her chair and hit the pavement.

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Cafe owner Tony Rabie saw the crash from a nearby barbershop, where he had gone to find some tools.

"It was terrifying… the way events panned out," he told Today. "We just heard loud screaming and a loud smashing noise."

He and other bystanders rushed to help the two women, before hearing the first words from the lady stuck under the car.

"She straight away said, 'I'm okay; I've hit my head, I'm in a lot of pain,'" Rabie said.

"Her first thought was, she's a carer, so how was the other lady. That was the sweet thing."

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Rabie said they also rushed to help the older lady, helping her find a seat from one of the chairs that was strewn across the footpath after the crash.

"Initially she was responsive, but then the shock took over, and she wasn't very responsive after that for a little bit," Rabie said.

"She looked like she was in a little bit of pain, her forearm was smashed up, [she had] scratches."

An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson confirmed both women were taken to hospital.

"A woman in her 50s with upper body injuries was transported by road ambulance to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but stable condition," they said.

"A woman in her 80s with minor injuries was transported by road ambulance to the Austin Hospital in a stable condition."

Victoria Police confirmed in a statement to nine.com.au that the crash was accidental.

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The irony wasn't lost on anyone.

On a day when the British government's legislative plans were presented by no less than King Charles III himself, Prime Minister Keir Starmer was fighting to remain in power following rising discontent within his Labour Party.

The traditional pomp and pageantry associated with the state opening of Parliament was overshadowed by the political intrigue, specifically the mounting speculation that Health Secretary Wes Streeting was planning to quit Starmer's government and launch a leadership bid as soon as Thursday.

The embattled prime minister has been urged to set a timetable for his departure by more than a fifth of the Labour Party's lawmakers in the House of Commons. Some junior ministers have quit the government in protest, but no one has yet challenged Starmer directly.

"It is absolutely preposterous that the government is here laying out a program as its ministers are resigning and a large proportion of the party is saying that the prime minister needs to go," Kemi Badenoch, leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, told lawmakers as they began a debate over the government's agenda.

On the ropes

Starmer's premiership has been imperilled by the huge losses Labour suffered in local and regional elections last week. If those results were repeated in a national election that has to be held by 2029, the party would be overwhelmingly ejected from power.

Labour was squeezed from the right and the left, losing votes to both anti-immigrant Reform UK and the Green Party, as well as nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales.

Labour secured a landslide election victory in 2024, driving the Conservatives from power after 14 years, but since then the party's popularity has plunged and Starmer is getting much of the blame.

The reasons include a series of policy missteps, a struggling British economy, a perceived lack of vision on the prime minister's part and questions over his judgment. Starmer's choice of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington despite ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has continued to haunt him.

Streeting is expected to launch a leadership bid as early as Thursday, according to some media reports. Streeting, who has long been known to harbour ambitions to become prime minister, met with Starmer on Wednesday for less than 20 minutes. Neither have discussed what was said, but Starmer's office insisted that the health secretary retains the prime minister's full support.

Starmer, who says he has no intention to stand down, has his supporters within the party. More than 100 lawmakers have signed a letter saying it's "no time" for a leadership contest.

"We should let him get on with doing his job, because he is a serious politician and these are very, very serious times," Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn told Sky News.

King offers Starmer some respite

In a speech to lawmakers outlining the government's legislative program for the coming year or so that was written by the government itself, the king said that the UK's economic, energy and national security would be tested as it deals with the fallout from the wars in Iran and Ukraine.

Planned measures include controlling the cost of living, strengthening ties with the European Union and making it easier to build new energy infrastructure.

And pledging action on antisemitism following a run of attacks on the Jewish community in recent months, Charles said that the government would "defend the British values" of decency and tolerance.

The monarch, who made the short journey from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament in a horse-drawn carriage, also said the government will "defend the British values of decency, tolerance and respect for difference under our common flag", and said that urgent action would be taken to tackle antisemitism.

The real question is whether Starmer will be around to implement the measures in the speech and, even if he remains in office, whether he will have the authority to push his proposals through.

In his speech advocating his policy agenda, Starmer gave no indication that he wouldn't be around to push the planned bills through.

"This King's Speech sets a different course, a more hopeful course, a course that sees the conflict in Iran, a war on two fronts, not as something to wring our hands about, but as an opportunity we must take to shape our country's future, to end the status quo that has failed working people, to build a stronger, fairer Britain," he said.

Historic power collides with modern reality

The King's Speech merges the historic power and grandeur of Britain with the reality of the modern United Kingdom, a mid-sized country with an underfunded military, rising debt and waning international influence.

The speech is the focal point of a day of ceremony and tradition that has been followed since 1852, with elements of the program dating to the 16th century.

The state opening of Parliament uses carefully choreographed pageantry to showcase Britain's evolution from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy where real power is vested in the elected House of Commons.

The royal paraphernalia

During his speech, which he delivered seated next to Queen Camilla, the king donned the Imperial State Crown and robe of state.

Once they were seated, a Lords official called Black Rod, named for the ebony rod he or she carries, went to the House of Commons to summon the chamber's members.

The doors to the Commons chamber were slammed in Black Rod's face to symbolise the chamber's independence from the monarchy, and they aren't opened until Black Rod strikes the doors three times.

Once members of the Commons crowded into the Lords chamber, the king delivered the speech.

After the speech was read, the royal couple left and the two houses of Parliament began several days of debate on its contents.

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