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US police have identified a serial killer who murdered five women more than 40 years ago: Joe Michael Ervin.

Four murders were unsolved and the families of those victims have lived with uncertainty for decades.

Denver Police Department revealed in a news conference on Friday morning that DNA evidence and genealogy helped investigators link the cold cases together.

READ MORE: NSW records 13,026 new COVID-19 cases

Police say Ervin killed four women between 1978 and 1981. Those four female victims are as follows:

Madeleine Furey-Livaudais, 33.

Madeleine was stabbed to death at her home on Poplar Street in Denver on December 7, 1978.

Delores Barajas, 53.

On August 10, 1980, Delores' body was found lying in the street on the 500 block of East 17th Avenue after being stabbed to death.

Gwendolyn Harris, 27.

On December 21, 1980, Gwendolyn's body was found lying in the street near East 47th Avenue and Andrews Drive in Denver's Montbello neighbourhood after being stabbed to death.

Antoinette Parks, 17.

On January 24, 1981, Adams County deputies found Antoinette's body in a field near 64th Avenue and Broadway.

She had been stabbed multiple times.

The killings stopped when Debra Sue Corr, an Aurora police officer, pulled Ervin over in June 1981.

Ervin used her own to gun to kill her in what was the first line-of-duty death for the Aurora Police Department.

Soon after that Ervin took his own life while in custody on murder charges.

Initially, investigators were working on each cold case separately. But eventually DNA evidence helped them link the four victims to the same killer. Next, they used DNA to find a living family member of the suspect.

Next, they exhumed the body of the suspect and used DNA to confirm he had killed the four women.

In a news release, Denver police described that sequence of events as follows:

– Between 2013 and 2018, these four cases were linked together by DNA evidence, and three separate searches for familial links in Colorado occurred during this time.

– The Denver Police Crime Laboratory began in-house Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) work in 2019, which led to a positive ancestry link to Texas.

– A familial search was conducted in Texas in the summer of 2021, which resulted in the identification of a close biological relative of the yet unidentified suspect.

– Investigators identified Joe Ervin as a potential suspect, and an exhumation of his remains was conducted in Texas in late 2021 to obtain DNA samples for direct comparison to the crime scene evidence.

– The identity of Joe Ervin as the suspect in these four related murders was confirmed through DNA analysis in January of 2022.

The daughters of Ms Furey-Livaudais and the brothers of Ms Parks were present for the announcement on Friday and spoke to reporters.

They said they were experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions after finding out who killed their family member.

Australians rushing to invest in cryptocurrency may find themselves paying larger than expected surcharges as new data estimates more than $50 million has been spent on fees alone.

Financial comparison site Finder estimates that based o the average Australian crypto investment of $2078, a "conservative" transaction fee of 0.6 per cent would equal a collective $50.9 million in fees.

As many as one in four Australians own some form of cryptocurrency, the vast majority of whom have entered the space in the last two years.

READ MORE: Parents to receive $500 vouchers for kids returning to school in NSW

Head of consumer research at Finder Graham Cooke said despite the headlines figures most people who buy cryptocurrency are aware of the fees and will shop around for the lowest rate.

"Bitcoin is seen by many as the new 'digital gold' and investors of all ages want a piece of the action," Mr Cooke said.

"Crypto enthusiasts are typically very savvy and see fees as a waste of money."

READ MORE: Scott Morrison facing election defeat, latest Newspoll shows

Theoretically, if you paid $60 in transaction fees for buying Bitcoin in January 2016 – when each coin was worth just $523 – if invested the fee alone would be worth $5857.

According to investment platform eToro, 30 per cent of Australians invested with them believe the primary reason they invest in cryptocurrency is because it is a speculative asset they believe can make strong returns in a short period of time.

Late last year Australia's biggest bank the Commonwealth Bank announced it would soon allow customers to buy, sell and hold up to 10 different cryptocurrencies through the CommBank app.

READ MORE: UK epidemiologist warns 'it's very hard to contain transmission in schools'

The bank did not specify what fees it would charge per transaction, but the mass-market adoption of cryptocurrency proved to many that it is now a legitimate asset class.

"We think it is important to actively support and work constructively with regulators, make sure we are offering a very good proposition to our customers. Of course, investing in cryptocurrencies come with risks," CBA CEO Matt Comyn said.

"We make it very clear to customers as part of that process that you should only be investing what you are prepared to lose."

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

The rate of child COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom could serve as a sign of things come in Australia, a clinical epidemiologist has warned.

The comments come as four million Australian school students prepare to return to classrooms over the next two weeks.

Students across Victoria, Northern Territory and Western Australia are today rolling up to the school gates, with the majority of NSW schools back tomorrow.

All remaining states and territories will see students back in classrooms by February 9.

READ MORE: Cold front to slam into nation

However, students in Britain returned to school on January 6 and in a fortnight the number of coronavirus-positive children more than doubled to 321,000.

The rate of infection has prompted many schools to reintroduce measures such as mask wearing in the classroom.

Clinical epidemiologist and senior lecturer at the Queen Mary University of London, Dr Deepti Gurdasan, warned a similar pattern could be seen in Australia if adequate measure are not taken early.

"In Australia right now, particularly the east coast, transmission is very high. With such high infection rates, it is very hard to contain transmission in schools," she said.

"If you don't have things like masks, adequate ventilation or even contact tracing in schools, then what you see is huge outbreaks which is what we're seeing in the UK right now."

In addition to maintaining high vaccination rates, Dr Gurdasan said state governments should be supplying high-grade masks to schools, improving air purification methods and have adequate contract tracing in place to prevent the spread.

"No one measure is going to be adequate to keep this under control," she said.

"All those things together are needed along with rapid testing regularly for children."

Federal Government insists school return is 'safe'

Acting Minister for Education and Youth Stuart Roberts said a nationally consistent approach to managing COVID-19 in schools will help to introduce students back into the classroom.

"We want to ensure kids can return and stay safely at school from day one, term one this year and parents can rely on early childhood education centres staying open," Mr Robert said.

"Importantly, the health advice tells us that it is safe for children, students and workers to be back and to stay back, and like all parents, I'm looking forward to my children getting back into their school's classroom."

State and Territory governments are releasing separate COVID-Safe plans for schools in their respective jurisdictions.

In New South Wales rapid antigen testing has been flagged as a key measure for students' safe return.

Both students and teachers will be tested twice weekly; a measure also being recommended in Victoria.

In NSW all primary and secondary school staff are required to wear surgical masks indoors.

In Victoria face masks are highly recommended for those up to grade 2s. They must be worn indoors by year 3s and up.

Child hospitalisations surge in UK

In the UK children hospitalisations are increasing, with a number of children developing long-COVID; a condition where symptoms linger post-infection.

"The hospitalisations are the highest they've ever been in children,"Dr Gurdasan said, explaining heath authorities are seeing about 900 hospitalisations per week.

"(It's) very, very high, particularly in the under-5s, which we've seen in many countries are being affected more with the Omicron variant.

The clinical epidemiologist went on to say Britain has a lower vaccination rate than Australia.

She explained only 10 per cent of 12 to 15-year-olds there have received two doses and they're not offering vaccines to 5 to 11-year-olds yet.

"The number of children vaccinated is so low (in the UK), we can't make those comparisons," she said.

"If we look at the US, the vast majority of children who get admitted are unvaccinated."

A powerful cold front will slam into the nation today, bringing a temporary end to hot and humid conditions much of Australia is currently sweating through.

Weatherzone said Western Australia will be the first state in line for a mercury drop, with the front expected to "clip" the south from early Monday morning.

However things will get "unusual" when the cold front reaches Queensland at the end of the week.

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"It is quite rare for a cold front to reach into the Sunshine state during summer, let alone send a southeasterly surge that moves all the way up the coast to reach Townsville and Cairns by next Saturday," Weatherzone said.

"Most of the cold fronts in autumn and spring can't manage to do this, and still not all accomplish this in the heart of winter."

Current humidity and warmth is forecast to be "pushed away" in South Australia from Tuesday morning.

"Adelaide is forecast to reach 34C on Monday, but only 25C on Tuesday and 23C on Wednesday," Weatherzone said.

"Victoria and Tasmania will soon follow on Tuesday afternoon, where the change will be pretty gusty and abrupt."

New South Wales will see temperatures plummet on Wednesday "as the front will start to push up the NSW coast".

As it does it's likely becoming a "southerly buster".

Weatherzone said the front will bring a sharp drop in temperature and humidity as it rolls through the state.

Temperatures will remain low before for several days before the humidity and mercury begin to rise again next week.

Monsoon trough continues to wreak havoc

It comes after a weekend of wet and wild weather in South Australia and Western Australia.

Essential supplies will be flown to the South Australian town of Coober Pedy this morning after it was cut off by floodwaters.

The flight will carry fresh produce, meat, chilled goods and toilet paper to the isolated town.

READ MORE: Family of five hospitalised after boat capsizes on Penrith river

More heavy rain is forecast for South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland this week.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said the rain is being caused by a monsoon trough, impacting "large parts of northern and central Australia".

https://twitter.com/BOM_au/status/1487596904888389635

Parts of Western Australia have already felt the force of a tropical low with Broome recording 180 mm of rain.

Roads, shops and homes were flooded in the downpour.

A severe weather warning remains in place for the Kimberly with the BoM warning rain could exceed 180 mm "with isolated heavier falls to 200 to 250 mm".

"Locally destructive wind gusts in excess of 125 km/hr are likely about the southwest Kimberley," it said.

"Over the remainder of the western coastal areas of the Kimberley, damaging winds with gusts to 100 kilometres per hour are possible and could cause damage to homes and property in or near thunderstorms."

Read on to learn what the weather is doing across the nation's capitals today.

Brisbane

The mercury will reach 32C today with the city in store for a partly cloudy day.

A medium chance of showers, most likely late morning and during the afternoon, and the chance of a thunderstorm is also forecast by BoM.

Sydney

Sydney will reach a high of 29C with a medium chance of showers forecast.

There's also the chance of a thunderstorm in the outer west during this afternoon and evening.

Canberra

Similar conditions will be felt in the nation's capital, with temperatures reaching 29C.

There's a medium chance of showers, most likely during this afternoon and evening.

The BoM has warned a thunderstorm during this afternoon and evening is also likely.

It could possibly be severe with heavy rain which may lead to flash flooding. Light winds.

Melbourne

The mercury will hit 30C in Melbourne today.

The humidity will be high with a Medium chance of showers on the cards.

There's a chance of a thunderstorm during this afternoon and early evening.

Hobart

Hobart is in for a chilly 14C start today before temperatures climb to 25C.

The day will be humid, and sunny.

Adelaide

Adelaide also has a sunny and hot day in store, with temperatures expected to reach 35C.

Darwin

The mercury will hit 31C in Darwin, which has a high chance of showers today.

The BoM said there's also the chance of a thunderstorm, which could "possibly be severe with damaging winds."

Winds will tend northwesterly at 20 to 30 km/h.

Perth

It will be "very hot" and sunny" in Perth, which will reach a maximum temperature of 34C.

Winds will tend southwesterly at 20 to 30 km/h before turning southeasterly in the late evening.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has backed Prime Minister Scott Morrison despite a sobering result for the Federal Coalition in the latest Newspoll today.

The survey of Australian voters showed support for the Liberals-National Coalition has slumped to the lowest levels since the 2018 Liberal leadership spill.

In the first Newspoll of the year released by News Corp, the primary vote for the Liberal-Nationals has fallen three points to 34 per cent while Labor's has risen by three points to 41 per cent.

READ MORE: NSW business to reap $1 billion support package

The Coalition is also trailing Labor by 56 per cent to 44 per cent on the two-party preferred vote, the worst result since September 18, shortly after Mr Morrison became prime minister.

But Mr Frydenberg told Today this morning that Mr Morrison was the right person to lead the Coalition into this year's election.

"Scott Morrison has done a really really good job, in very, very difficult times and he will be the first Prime Minister to go to an election after serving a full term since John Howard," Mr Frydenberg said.

"He will campaign very strongly."

The Treasurer said the poll results showed many Australians continued to suffer from the effects of the pandemic but the economy was recovering.

"Many Australians continue to do it tough in the middle of a pandemic … The economy is recovering, the unemployment rate has been coming down and of course more and more people every day are getting both the vaccinations and the booster shots," Mr Frydenberg said.

If the poll results were replicated at this year's election – which must be held before May – the Coalition would lose up to 25 seats, giving Labor a big majority in the lower house.

In other results of the survey, Mr Morrison still leads Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese as the preferred prime minister, but only just with the result sitting at 43 per cent to 41 per cent.

READ MORE: Murder charge after injured Victorian man dies in hospital

After weeks of campaigning by Mr Albanese across Queensland and Victoria over the weekend, the Labor leader has gained ground.

For the first time, the Coalition is also trailing Labor on the question of which party is deemed better at leading Australia's recovery out of the pandemic.

The poll result is likely to deter Mr Morrison from caling an election in March, with May now firming as the likely date.

By RNZ Staff from Environment Canterbury are at the Cam River / Ruataniwha in Kaiapoi, after a factory fire sent toxic oil into the water.The blaze that destroyed the Sutton Tools manufacturing plant early this morning caused…

Western Australia has recorded 20 new local cases of COVID-19 with some of those being infectious in the community.

Of the 20 new cases on Sunday, 19 were linked to known outbreaks and one case remains under investigation, with a link to any known clusters yet to be established.

The Department of Health said the cases were now all in quarantine.

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"Some of today's cases have been infectious while in the community," a statement read.

"Contact tracers are working with these cases to determine potential public exposure sites."

The state's total number of active COVID-19 cases sits at 147.

Of these, eight infections are in hotel quarantine, 138 are in self-quarantine and one is in hospital.

A Perth nightclub has been marked as an exposure site of concern, with WA Health urging anyone who attended the 'Club Bootylicious' event at the Library Nightclub between 9:30pm on 22 January and 5am on 23 January to be tested immediately and isolate until they return a negative test result.

While anyone with symptoms in the South West and Wheatbelt regions has been urged to get tested immediately.

NSW records 52 deaths, 13,524 new cases of COVID-19

New South Wales has reported 52 deaths and 13,524 cases of COVID-19.

The reported cases include 6032 positive RAT tests and 7492 positive PCR tests in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

There are 2663 people with COVID-19 in hospital today, including 182 patients in ICU.

READ MORE: NSW government to announce billion-dollar business package

More than 95 per cent of people over 16 have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 94 per cent of people over 16 have had two doses.

Meanwhile, 38.8 per cent of people have had three doses.

NSW Health said this includes both immunocompromised people who have received a third dose and all people over aged 18 who have received a booster.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed health authorities have detected a new sub-variant of Omicron known as BA.2.

"We have had four sequences identified as BA.2," Dr Chant said.

"For clarity, this is a sub-lineage, a breakaway subvariant from the Omicron variant.

"We know that it is circulating in countries and we have seen it grow significantly, so for instance in Denmark it is now the dominant over BA.1.

"We are seeing its prevalence, the proportion of BA.1 grow in some other countries so we think it may have some growth advantage over the BA.1, the original Omicron, but at the moment we don't see that it is presenting anything different clinically in terms of the severity or its response to vaccine.

"We'll obviously be watchful (and) monitor the situation closely."

Queensland records 8580 new cases, 13 new deaths as back to school plan announced

Queensland has record 13 additional deaths and more than 8500 new cases as the state announced its back to school plan.

In the last 24 hours the state recorded 8,580 cases from almost 23,000 tests.

There is currently 745 people being treated in Queensland's hospitals for the virus.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said as part of the state's back to school plan, all teaching staff will be required to wear a mask.

"Masks will continue to be required for all staff and students at high schools – and highly encouraged for primary school students in Year 3 and above – when classes resume," the Premier said.

"Rapid antigen tests will also be available to students and staff who develop symptoms at school, while those who develop symptoms at home will have priority access to rapid antigen tests at Queensland Health clinics."

Unlike NSW and Victoria, Ms Palaszczuk said she has not received health advice that called for rapid surveillance testing of students.

https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1487598139762610177

Victoria records 10,589 new cases and 20 additional deaths

Victoria has recorded 10,589 new cases of COVID-19 overnight and 20 more people have died with the virus.

Of the positive cases, 6,110 were the result of rapid antigen tests while 4,479 came from traditional PCR testing.

There are now just over 78,000 active cases of the virus in Victoria.

A total of 38 per cent of Victorians aged over 18 have received their booster shot while 93 per cent of residents aged over 12 have had at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1487545853011058688

Australian Capital Territory records 584 new cases

The Australian Capital Territory has recorded 584 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths.

This includes 377 positive PCR test results and 207 positive rapid antigen test results.

There are 62 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including three people in ICU.

https://twitter.com/ACTHealth/status/1487579021437112322

South Australia records two deaths, 1,633 new cases of COVID-19

South Australia has recorded an additional two new deaths as a result of COVID-19 and 1,633 new cases overnight.

There are now 289 SA residents being treated in hospital with the virus.

The two deaths were both men aged in their 80s.

https://twitter.com/KellyCHughes_/status/1487585523137126400