Even by crypto standards, it's been a rough few weeks.

Investors in digital assets are accustomed to extreme volatility, but a US$1 trillion ($1.55 trillion) wipeout over the past six weeks has tested even crypto's diehard believers and alienated many of its newest converts.

Bitcoin, the industry bellwether, has fallen dramatically since early October, when it hit a record high of US$126,000 ($194,895).

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The world's most popular cryptocurrency dipped below US$81,000 ($125,290) on Friday before recovering slightly over the weekend.

On Monday, as the broader stock market rallied, bitcoin topped US$88,000 ($136,117), rising nearly 2 per cent over a 24-hour period. (Crypto markets are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.)

It is shaping up to be one of crypto's worst months on record, and it's not clear the market has bottomed out.

"Whether Bitcoin stabilises after this correction remains uncertain," Deutsche Bank analysts wrote.

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"Unlike prior crashes, driven primarily by retail speculation, this year's downturn has occurred amid substantial institutional participation, policy developments, and global macro trends."

While crypto's fate has broadly mirrored the stock market's in recent years, its current angst runs deeper. That's largely thanks to an influx of mainstream money that behaves very differently from the funds controlled by a typical crypto investor.

Bitcoin is in a bear market, having dropped 30 per cent from its most recent high, while the S&P 500 is down just 3 per cent from its most recent peak. It is on track for its worst month since the 2022 crypto "winter" that culminated in the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX.

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Anxiety is coursing through stocks and crypto for two key reasons: Investors are fretting over the Federal Reserve's next rate cut, and they're worrying about whether AI is a bubble that'll blow up in their faces.

All of that weighs on crypto traders because digital assets, like tech stocks, are especially sensitive to changes in the Fed's benchmark rate, which affects the cost of borrowing money and can quickly sap investor appetite for risk.

But crypto investors have an additional hangover to deal with following an October 10 flash crash.

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When US President Donald Trump reignited his trade war with China that day, it prompted a wave of panic-selling that triggered automatic liquidations across the highly leveraged crypto market.

In a single day, the flash crash wiped out US$19 billion ($29.4 billion) worth of crypto. For a lot of folks, the stomach-churning crash was all the motivation they needed to exit crypto completely, and that's left bitcoin and other tokens more susceptible to volatility.

The flash crash forced many investors sell their holdings to meet margin calls. That tends to have a snowball effect: The more bitcoin falls, the more calls investors face from their brokerages, the more they have to sell their bitcoin (and other holdings) to cover their positions.

What makes this crypto crash different is the presence of billions of dollars that have entered the crypto market through spot bitcoin funds that US regulators approved last year.

Mainstream investors got into crypto to enjoy the ride up, but they don't have the same level of devotion to the ideology as early adopters who are bolstered by intense online communities encouraging one another to buy the dip and keep the faith.

"The bottom line is, bitcoin is for normies now," Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, said.

"As a result, the normies are going to view it as another speculative holding in their portfolio … it's going to be treated like a volatile mainstream investment."

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The Justice Department (DOJ) renewed its request to federal judges in New York to unseal grand jury transcripts related to the investigations of Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell following the law requiring the release of Epstein-related files that passed last week.

Judges overseeing both cases previously denied the government's request this past last summer to unseal the records in the public interest.

Last week, DOJ renewed its request before a judge in Florida to unseal grand jury records related to an investigation by the US Attorney's office in the Southern District of Florida.

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The Epstein Files Transparency Act requires DOJ to release materials within 30 days with few exceptions, such as revealing personally identifiable information about victims or if the release would jeopardise an ongoing investigation.

"The Act expressly references this specific investigation, and there can be no question that Congress was aware that this investigation included a grand jury investigation," lawyers for the Justice Department wrote in Monday's filings.

"Thus, the Act's reference to 'all … investigative materials in the possession of the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Attorney's Offices'," is best understood as encompassing grand jury materials."

DOJ previously said there was one witness – an FBI agent – who testified before the Epstein grand jury and two witnesses – the FBI agent and a NYPD detective – who testified before the Maxwell grand jury.

In an earlier court filing, prosecutors said some information heard by the Maxwell grand jury ultimately became public during Maxwell's trial.

"To the extent that any of the desired material was disclosed to Maxwell as a result of the Government's disclosure obligations, it was disclosed pursuant to a protective order.

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"Many of the victims whose accounts relating to Epstein and Maxwell that were the subject of grand jury testimony testified at trial consistent with the accounts described by an FBI agent and the detective from the New York City Police Department ('NYPD') in the grand jury and some have also made public those factual accounts in the course of civil litigation."

Four woman testified they were abused by Epstein when they were minors.

In August, Judge Richard Berman rejected DOJ's initial request in part because DOJ didn't overcome the precedent of grand jury secrecy.

At the time, he noted the grand jury transcripts and exhibits were a small part of the investigations.

"The information contained in the Epstein grand jury transcripts pales in comparison to the Epstein investigation information and materials in the hand of the Department of Justice," Berman wrote in August.

DOJ is asking for an expedited ruling given the 30-day deadline.

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More than 150,000 homes and businesses are without power after thunderstorms walloped south-east Queensland, ripping roofs off homes, tipping cars and dumping cricket-ball-sized hail.

The parade of destructive storms formed in the Gold Coast hinterland early this afternoon and rolled north, causing the worst damage on Bribie Island, north of Brisbane.

Helicopter footage showed the roof peeled off one home, leaving the kitchen exposed to the elements and the resident on the destroyed back patio, shocked by the damage.

Trees were uprooted across the island, east of Caboolture, damaging buildings and cars and taking down powerlines, leaving almost 70,000 without power in the Moreton Bay region alone.

Locals were seen hauling fallen trees off roads to clear a path.

The storm only lasted a few minutes but there was widespread damage in other parts of the region too.

A roof peeled off a service station and flew into powerlines in Beaudesert and hail, some as big as cricket balls, belted backyards from Cornubia, south of Brisbane, to Maleny, on the Sunshine Coast hinterland. 

Manly, Ferny Hills and Alexandra Hills all copped 11-centimetre hail, with 14-centimetre hailstones recorded in Chandler.

In Loganlea, a carport crashed down, taking power lines with it and forcing two people inside to evacuate through a neighbouring fence.

A big clean-up job was already under way this afternoon after the State Emergency Services received more than 1000 callouts by 6pm, mostly in Brisbane, Redlands and Logan.

Severe thunderstorm warnings remained for Noosa and the Wide Bay and Burnett region early tonight.

The severe weather came the day after the area south of Brisbane was thrashed by hail as big as golf balls last night, caused by a supercell that roared across the Scenic Rim and Logan, Weatherzone said.

Locals were warned earlier today there was a chance of more dangerous supercell storms in south-east Queensland and across the border in Murwillumbah.

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"Monday has all the ingredients for further severe thunderstorm development over northeast NSW and southeast Qld," Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said earlier today.

"Monday's severe thunderstorms are likely to cause heavy rain, damaging wind gusts in excess of 90 km/h and large hail measuring larger than 2cm in diameter in some areas.

The Bureau of Meteorology also issued warnings.

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"A warm and humid airmass is combining with a southerly wind change and a low-pressure trough to trigger severe thunderstorms across the Northern Rivers this afternoon." it said.

"Severe thunderstorms are generally moving to the north and northeast and are expected to contract towards the Queensland border. Severe thunderstorms also moving into the southwest of the State."

Storms are forecast for the rest of the week.

Last week thousands were left without power after a storm smashed the Brisbane region.

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Panicking relatives and explosion risks confronted police after two joy flight helicopters collided mid-air outside a theme park, a coroner has heard.

Four people died when the two Sea World choppers collided above the Gold Coast Broadwater and crashed on a sandbar in January 2023 during the busy summer holiday season.

Almost three years later, coroner Carol Lee today opened an inquest in Brisbane into 11 critical issues surrounding one of Australia's worst air disasters.

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Gold Coast Water Police supervisor Justin Dunn arrived on scene within minutes.

"It was absolute chaos, it really was," acting Senior Sergeant Dunn said.

Members of the public performed CPR on a woman and gave first aid to an injured young boy, Lee heard.

As he approached an overturned aircraft, Dunn was given a chilling warning by a concerned bystander.

"I felt a hand on my shoulder. He said be careful of pressurised fuel lines. As they could explode," Dunn said.

"It was a mangled wreck."

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Dunn found people dead in an upside down helicopter before discovering passenger Winnie De Silva trapped under the rear of the aircraft.

"I introduced myself and said help was on the way. I asked for a towel to wipe the fuel from her face," he said.

Shocking footage of the moment the two choppers collided and began to freefall was shown to the inquest as part of counsel assisting Ian Harvey's opening address.

Multiple passengers used their phones to film one of the helicopters taking off, followed five minutes later by their own chopper's flight on a bright sunny day above turquoise water.

Just 25 seconds after the second helicopter took off, it collided with a fellow Sea World-branded chopper at an altitude just under 40 metres.

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At least one passenger in the second helicopter is shown on video trying to get a pilot's attention and point out the other aircraft is closing in on them.

"It's inescapable that neither pilot saw the other pilot's helicopter," Harvey said.

"How could that happen? They were two experienced pilots in modern, relatively sophisticated helicopters."

Security camera footage showed the helicopter piloted by Ashley Jenkinson crash onto a sandbar near Sea World and roll onto its roof.

Jenkinson, 40, died as well as British newlyweds Ronald and Diane Hughes – aged 65 and 67 – and Sydney mother Vanessa Tadros, 36.

Tadros' husband Simon was at the inquest today.

CCTV on a nearby helipad also captured the helicopter piloted by Michael James coming to a controlled landing near the first chopper's crash site.

James and nine passengers across both aircraft were injured, most of them seriously.

Last year James died from an unrelated medical condition, Harvey said.

Senior Sergeant Duane Killic was off duty and attending Sea World for leisure when he saw the crash.

"I observed them for five to 10 seconds. It was getting closer and I thought it must be an optical illusion as they can't be that close," he told the inquest.

Killic rushed to grab the manifest from the helipad to aid in the rescue effort.

He ran into Tadros who was in a state of "panic" over his family members being on one of the helicopters.

The response to the crash from emergency services, Sea World staff and civilians was "extraordinary", lead police investigator Detective Sergeant Dane Sheraton testified.

"I think more lives would have been lost without the response of those people," he said.

The inquest comes months after a damning safety bureau report on the crash.

A litany of factors led to the crash including limited visibility, failed radio transmissions and a lack of safety protocols, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's final report revealed in April.

Harvey said at the time of the crash the volume of flights had been doubled for the peak holiday season.

"It was one of the busiest air corridors in the country," he said.

The inquest is due to run for three weeks.

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The parents of the 15-year-old boy killed in a jet ski accident in Sydney's south have broken their silence to call for a substantial change to water safety laws.

Mitchell Irvine and his 14-year-old friend were thrown from a jet ski on the Georges River on the evening of July 22.

Mitchell died, while his friend lost his arm but was saved by first responders. 

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The friends were both experienced riders and had lifejackets on at the time of the accident. 

Mitchell's parents, Andrea and Neil Irvine, were left heartbroken and are grappling with their thoughts.

"I dropped him off at like 4pm, and then I said, 'Pick you up at 7pm'. And then he was, that was it," Ms Irvine said.

"I just keep thinking about, we just weren't there in his last moments to help him when he needed us, we just weren't there."

Mr Irvine added: "Most of us are like cats. We do get more than one chance in life. How could the kid like that only get like one chance, but multiple things go wrong on that one night?"

Every day, the pair make the 20-minute drive to Sylvania, where Mitchell spent his last moments. 

"He loved to travel. He'd recently started working at Macca's. He loved anything from nippers to boxing to footy," Ms Irvine said.

"But he still took his teddy bears to bed, you know, he was still our baby."

They believe his death could have been prevented if stricter water safety laws were in place.

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"I think if they fix the age that people can actually drive a jet ski, which is currently 12, that will fix a number of problems," Mr Irvine said.

The Irvines want to see the age for personal watercraft licences lifted to 16 and high buoyancy lifejackets become mandatory.

Roads and Regional Transport Minister Jenny Aitchison said the Minns government will be reviewing both in the wake of the tragedy.

She will meet with the Irvines next week.

"We want to make sure, as a government, that we're pulling every single lever at our disposal in order to save lives," she said.

With an increase in both the size and number of these watercraft on our waters, the Irvines say there is no time to wait.

"You've got an opportunity to do something, do it. Look after our children, protect our future and make some change," Mr Irvine said.

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Police said there were no suspicious circumstances in the rider’s death.

Melbourne's new metro station has been declared completely safe ahead of Sunday's opening, but the firefighters union wants it held off, claiming there's a dangerous radio fault.

Premier Jacinta Allan says that claim is a scare campaign about a pay battle rather than any actual risk.

She was at Parkville Station today to declare "the countdown is absolutely on".

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The $13.5 billion project is days away from taking passengers, and it's looking doubtful the full retail fitout will be ready in time.

There's a much bigger worry according to the union for firefighters, which is sounding a dire warning about comms in the tunnel.

Peter Marshall from the United Firefighters Union said: "These radios don't work. The Fire Rescue Victoria radios do not work. They need to be reprogrammed."

That's something he says would take months.

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"If there is an incident down in the tunnel, you will not be rescued," he said.

That's nonsense according to the premier.

"The claims that have been made by the union today are wrong and they've also been clearly rejected by the rail safety regulator, who is the expert on this matter," Allan said.

Metro Trains chief executive Raymond O'Flaherty said they have "state of the art" fire systems.

"Fire Rescue Victoria have carried out a lot of tests of the systems," he said.

"Everything is safe and we're absolutely ready to go."

It's not enough to silence the union.

"What we're seeing here is political expediency over public safety," Marshall said.

The premier hit back, suggesting a pay fight is being put ahead of public confidence.

"These claims are being made perhaps more for industrial purposes than anything else," Allen said.

Passengers can try out the new trains from Sunday.

A 17-year-old school boy has been stabbed to death near a school in Sydney's north-west.

9news.com.au understands the boy was attacked by two others just after 5pm outside Ironbark Ridge Public School at Rouse Hill.

It is believed he was stabbed in the leg, and despite paramedics and a rescue helicopter rushing to the scene, the boy could not be saved.

It's understood the victim and the attackers were not students at the school, and two teenage boys were seen running from the scene after the incident.

The attackers, one of which is believed to have been wearing a school uniform, have not been found.

Police have shut down the area and are doorknocking on nearby houses to see if anyone witnessed the incident.

Member for Greenway Michelle Rowland said she was "deeply saddened" by the killing, and expressed her condolences for the boy's family.

"Deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of a young life in Rouse Hill this afternoon," she said in a statement on social media.

"My thoughts and deepest condolences are with the young boy's family during this extremely difficult time.

"There is no place in our community for these acts of senseless violence, and I know this news will be particularly distressing for local families."

More to come.

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A staggering nine out of 10 retail employers in Victoria fear for the safety of their staff.

A new survey from the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has revealed one-in-two businesses have experienced crime every week with theft, customer abuse and vandalism on the rise. 

The crimes come at a cost for businesses, with 38 per cent saying they are out of pocket $10,000 a year to cover security expenses and the cost of stolen goods.

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The survey of about 1400 businesses found an increasing number of staff were taking mental health leave as a result of stress and anxiety.

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Sally Curtain said retail crime was a widespread issue across the state.

"Right across every sector and every region, from regional Victoria, metropolitan Melbourne and of course the CBD," Curtain said.

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Master Grocers Association director Lincoln Wymer said retail staff faced abuse on a daily basis.

"Our team members are being abused on a daily basis and it's not just my 20 odd stores," Wymer said.

"Everyday we hear a story of somebody being assaulted."

In a bid to combat retail crime Victoria Police has reportedly signed a landmark deal which will see detectives given instant access to a retailer's CCTV footage.

Big businesses such as Woolworths, Coles and Bunnings already upload CCTV and other crime information to the platform Auror.

Under the new deal, Victoria Police will have direct access to that on request, which will save them hours of work.

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Her whānau say the public announcement came before they could inform relatives.