After one year of fighting, countless photographs have been taken but thousands were never seen. Here is a selection of some left on the AP cutting room floor.

Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh denied killing his wife and son but admitted lying about when he last saw them alive as he took the stand in his own defence on Thursday at his double murder trial.

Murdaugh, 54, is charged with fatally shooting his wife, Maggie, 52, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, who were killed near kennels on their property on June 7, 2021.

He faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted. In his testimony, Murdaugh continued to staunchly deny any role in the killings.

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"I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them," Murdaugh said, tears running down his cheeks.

Prosecutors spent four weeks of testimony painting Murdaugh as a liar who stole money from clients and decided to kill his wife and son because he wanted sympathy to buy time to cover up his financial crimes that were about to be discovered.

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They have detailed what they called lie after lie, saying Murdaugh reacts violently when the truth is about to emerge, like trying to arrange his own death right after his law firm fired him three months after the killings.

Taking the stand on day 23 of the trial, Murdaugh admitted he lied to police about being at the kennels with his wife and son shortly before the killings. But he blamed his addiction to opioids for clouding his thinking and creating a distrust of state law enforcement agents.

"As my addiction evolved over time, I would get in these situations, these circumstances where I would get paranoid thinking," Murdaugh said.

The once-prominent attorney had told police that he was visiting his ailing mother in another town and not near his Colleton County home in the hours before the killings. But several witnesses testified that they believed they heard Murdaugh's voice along with his son and wife on mobile phone video taken at the kennels about five minutes before the shootings.

Once he started lying about being at the kennels, he said he felt he had to continue: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Once I told a lie — I told my family — I had to keep lying."

Murdaugh testified that his wife asked him to go to the kennels the evening of the killings, so he rode down in a golf cart and wrestled a chicken away from a dog before returning to the house and deciding to go visit his ailing mother.

He said that, after returning home from visiting his mother, neither his wife nor son were in the house. After several minutes, Murdaugh said, he drove his SUV to the kennels where he said he last saw them.

Murdaugh described arriving to find the grisly scene of the killings, pausing for several seconds as he cried. "It was so bad," he said.

Murdaugh said he briefly tried to roll over his son, who was lying face down, to check on him but decided he couldn't do anything to help.

"I could see his brain laying on the sidewalk. I didn't know what to do," Murdaugh said.

He testified that he also checked on his wife before calling 911 and then went back to the house to get a gun for safety.

Witnesses who saw Murdaugh in the minutes and hours after the shooting said they didn't see any blood on him, despite the gruesome crime scene.

Several witnesses, including Maggie Murdaugh's sister, have testified that Alex Murdaugh didn't appear scared for the safety of himself or his surviving son in the weeks after the killings despite the brutality of the shootings and no apparent leads from police.

Throughout his testimony, Murdaugh called his son "Paul Paul" and his wife "Mags," though he didn't use those nicknames in three interviews with police the night of the killings, three days later and months later.

Murdaugh is also charged with about 100 other crimes, ranging from stealing from clients and the family law firm to insurance fraud to tax evasion. He is being held without bail on those charges, so even if he is found not guilty, he will not walk out of court a free man.

If convicted of most or all of those financial crimes, Murdaugh would likely spend decades in prison.

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Footage reveals the moment a man and his dog wade into Far North Queensland waters when a crocodile lunges and attacks the pair, killing the pet.

Alister MacPhee, 37, waded into the water about knee height at Bloomfield boat ramp, north of Port Douglas, with his rottweiler dog about 5.30pm yesterday.

A video shows a crocodile suddenly lunging from the water and taking a large bite out of the man's leg before seizing on the dog.

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"The owner was punching the back of the crocodile in order to save his dog, but due to the size and how strong the crocodile is he wasn't able to save his dog," environmental health and animal management officer Skye Ashworth said.

MacPhee was dragged into the Bloomfield River briefly before he was able to escape to land, nursing the wound on his leg.

It is the first crocodile attack on a human since November 2021.

MacPhee was flown to Cairns for emergency treatment where he is believed to now be in a stable condition in hospital.

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Ashworth said MacPhee was lucky the crocodile didn't get a "good grip" so he was able to walk away relatively uninjured.

"But the dog unfortunately lunged at the crocodile and the crocodile turned around and grabbed a hold of his dog and was taking him into his river," Ashworth said.

Wildlife Officers from the Department of Environment and Science (DES) are now set to target the crocodile and remove it from the area, in line with the Queensland Crocodile Management Plan.

"After attacking this poor bloke the crocodile now has a taste for human blood so it will now stalk people and become a future risk to everyone," Ashworth said.

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Ashworth said the crocodile is "really really big" and has been around for a long time.

"It's very known to the Aboriginal community," Ashworth added.

"It's a bit hard to tell by the video itself how large the croc is, but it's large enough to just easily take this rottweiler into the river."

Josh Patterson from the Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation said one of his rangers found MacPhee in distress after the attack.

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"She reported to me that the man said he went to the water's edge with the dog to get the dog water and was attacked by a crocodile, quite a large crocodile," he said.

Patterson added MacPhee was lucky to escape the attack alive.

Patterson said the Bloomfield River is well known for crocodiles and people are advised to be careful in the waterways.

"It's a dangerous place, particularly at this time of year when the rivers are flooding and it's warm and the crocs are more active," he said.

https://twitter.com/QldAmbulance/status/1628321891189686272?s=20

Cooktown Mayor Peter Scott said MacPhee was fortunate to escape with his life but it is terribly sad that he lost his pet.

"This bloke was very very lucky, but at the same time he's lost what may have been his best mate so it's very very sad," Scott said.

"It's awfully tragic that he's lost a dog who I think was there with him and may have been trying to protect him too."

The Queensland Government has said the incident "is a timely reminder for people to be Crocwise in croc country and not to be complacent with their own safety or the safety of their family or pets when they are in or near the water".

People are encouraged to report all crocodile sightings as soon as possible by using the QWildlife App for smart phones or by calling 1300 130 372.

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Queensland is one step closer to criminalising coercive control after passing new legislation to strengthen the state's domestic violence laws.

While the amendments do not list coercive control as a standalone offence, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman said the legislation lays the groundwork for that to happen later this year.

"This is a significant step toward achieving our commitment to legislate against coercive control," Fentiman, who also holds the justice, women, and domestic violence prevention portfolios, said.

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"We know how dangerous these behaviours can be. As we pass the terrible anniversary of the murder of Hannah Clarke and her three children, I want her family and friends to know that this will be their legacy.

"This is about identifying and responding to the red flags of coercive control earlier before blue police tape surrounds another family home."

Coercive control is a form of domestic violence that includes patterns of abuse from one person to dominate and control the other person in the relationship.

The legislation takes a number of steps to strengthen the state's laws, including broadening the definition of domestic and family violence, and strengthening the consideration of previous criminal behaviour in DV cases.

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The amendments come eight months after an inquest handed down its report on the domestic violence murder of Hannah Clarke and her three young children, Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey.

The inquiry found there were numerous opportunities to help Clarke before she was burned to death in her car while taking her children to school by estranged partner Rowan Baxter in 2020. However, it also found police officers had overall acted appropriately in handling the matter.

Clarke's parents welcomed the passage of the new legislation.

"It's important that these behaviours are captured in modern legislation," Sue and Lloyd Clarke said in a statement.

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"We've fought for this because we know it will make a difference and it will prevent other families from having to go through an experience like ours.

"We know from experience that the behaviour of perpetrators escalates over time. The Small Steps 4 Hannah Foundation strongly urges people to recognise the red flags in their family members, their friends and even themselves and to seek help."

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National Domestic Violence Service: 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732). If you are in immediate danger call triple zero (000).

‘People in these areas are advised to prepare as best they can in case of a downpour’.

A parliamentary committee trying to track down the NSW premier's brother and two other Liberals has hit another roadblock after the extraordinary move to shut parliament early.

Dominic Perrottet's younger brother Jean-Claude, Liberal powerbroker Christian Ellis and his mum, Hills Shire Councillor Virginia Ellis, have again failed to front an inquiry investigating claims of impropriety.

The trio were initially called to give evidence nearly a month ago, and did not show up at a third committee hearing today.

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Former Deputy Mayor of the Hills Shire Council Alan Haselden did give evidence today, telling the inquiry how he was swept aside during the 2021 pre-selection in favour of other canditates including Virginia Ellis. 

Ellis never showed up to a Hills Shire council meeting on Tuesday night, making it two weeks since any of her fellow councillors have heard from her. 

Some are now concerned the scandal could impact the council's reputation.

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"It's clearly inappropriate behaviour… Transparency, integrity… it's really important," Councillor Dr Mila Kasby said.

Despite the saga overshadowing the election campaign, the premier has labelled the inquiry a "smear job" by the opposition.

"I'm not focused on the games being played by Labor in the upper house," Perrottet said today.

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A man who was admitted to a South Australian hospital with a bacterial ear infection has claimed he spent the night in a storage room.

His comments emerged as Premier Peter Malinauskas and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the fast-tracking of a $400 million upgrade to the Flinders Medical Centre, where he was treated.

In a Facebook post earlier this month, a 61-year-old complained about his treatment and called out the premier.

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"After a horrible few hours I get to sleep in the storage room. All I can do is cry," the post said.

The man said there was a sharps bucket next to his head.

"I have mentioned Peter Malinauskas in my post but I am sure I will not hear from him or his office," he wrote.

"Maybe if I was a racing car driver he would respond."

The premier addressed the controversy on Thursday.

"I'm with him. That's why we are building a lot more beds here at Flinders," he said.

"We're not just doing it, we're doing it really quickly." 

A government spokesperson said all beds at the centre were "safe and appropriately staffed".

"This bed is a treatment area, which is only used for overnight patients when there are surges in demand because of the current lack of bed infrastructure," the said, in a statement.

"There is no doubt there is significant need for more bed capacity at Flinders Medical Centre, and that is exactly what our Government is delivering."

But opposition health spokesperson Ashton Hurn said there should be "no excuses" for patients staying in storage cupboards.

"(There's) no reason from Peter Malinauskas when it comes to putting these South Australians in storage spaces," Hurn said.

Albanese jetted into Adelaide today to help announce 26 more beds would be added to a $400 million upgrade to the medical centre.

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"It's a great hospital that looks after people in the southern suburbs of Adelaide but one that is in need of an upgrade," Albanese said.

The administration area inside the hospital will be cleared in order for 16 new beds to come online four years ahead of schedule.

They will be ready within weeks by shifting a less acute ward to a hospital at Daw Park.

With today's changes, the medical centre will have 162 more beds by the time the project is completed, in 2028 at the earliest.

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The South Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Association has concerns the hospital doesn't have enough staff to accommodate the changes.

"Certainly at this stage, we haven't got any nitty gritty or the detail that's going to be used to help support the beds, including staffing and all those wrap arounds that are absolutely necessary for the patient care," chief industrial officer Bernadette Mulholland said.

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‘Everyone suddenly turned on their own little patch.’

It comes at a time when many state highways across the country are in dire need of repair.

Multiple fire appliances were called to Ranginui St in Rotorua.