Final timeline for Auckland harbour crossing decision remains up in the air.

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.

BREAKING NEWS: Coles 'illusory' discounts misled shoppers, court rules

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."

NATIONAL: Ex-premier's partner skips first rape case court date

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.

LIVE UPDATES: Iran nuclear threat 'frighteningly close', claims White House

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.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play

• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here

• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

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.

LIVE UPDATES: Iran nuclear threat 'frighteningly close', claims White House

"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.

NATIONAL: Bargain bust-up: Court to rule on Coles' alleged 'fake' discounts

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. 

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play

• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here

• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

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.

LIVE UPDATES: Trump feted on arrival in Beijing with powerful figures in tow

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."

VICTORIA: Two charged with weapons, drugs offences after police raid rural properties

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.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play

• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here

• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

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.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

Prosecutors say they plan to retry disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh on murder charges in the shooting deaths of his wife and younger son after the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction and life sentence.

State Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office respected the court's decision but no one was above the law.

In a unanimous ruling on Wednesday (early Thursday AEST), the South Carolina Supreme Court said the conduct by the court clerk "egregiously attacked Murdaugh's credibility" by suggesting to jurors his testimony could not be trusted.

READ MORE: Trump claims key topic off agenda as 'two superpowers' meet in Beijing

They also said the trial judge went too far in allowing evidence of Murdaugh's financial crimes into his murder trial.

Murdaugh will not be getting out of prison. The 57-year-old pleaded guilty to stealing about $US12 million ($16.5 million) from his clients and currently is serving a 40-year federal sentence.

Still, the ruling is a win for Murdaugh, who admits to being a thief, liar, insurance cheat and bad lawyer, but has adamantly denied killing wife Maggie and younger son Paul since he found their bodies outside their home in 2021.

The justices ruled Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, assigned to oversee the evidence and the jury during the trial, influenced jurors to find Murdaugh guilty. She hoped to improve sales of a book she was writing about the case.

The name of the book was Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders. It was pulled from publication after plagiarism allegations were made.

READ MORE: Mum to be charged after sending son to school with hidden device

"As her book's title suggests, it turns out Hill was quite busy behind the doors of justice, thwarting the integrity of the justice system she was sworn to protect and uphold," the justices wrote in an unsigned 27-page ruling.

Hill has since pleaded guilty to lying about what she said and did to a different judge.

Murdaugh's lawyers also argued before the high court that the judge at his 2023 trial made rulings that prevented a fair trial, such as allowing evidence of Murdaugh stealing from clients that had nothing to do with the killings but biased jurors against him.

They detailed the lack of physical evidence — no DNA or blood was found splattered on Murdaugh or any of his clothes, even though the killings were at close range with powerful weapons that were never found.

READ MORE: Paramedic's 'absolute shock, disbelief' as gran Tasered

Prosecutors argued that the clerk's comments were fleeting and the evidence against Murdaugh was overwhelming. His lawyer said that did not matter because the comments a juror said she made — urging jurors to watch Murdaugh's body language and listen to his testimony carefully — removed his presumption of innocence before the jury ever deliberated.

Murdaugh's legal drama continues to captivate. There have been streaming miniseries, bestselling books and dozens of true crime podcasts about how the multimillionaire Southern lawyer whose family dominated and controlled the legal system in tiny Hampton County ended up in a maximum-security South Carolina prison.

The justices in their ruling praised prosecutors, the defence team and the judge for outstanding work, heaping all the blame for having to try Murdaugh again on Hill.

Hill's attorney in her criminal case did not return a phone call or email seeking comment.

Hill "placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury", the justices wrote.

"Our justice system provides — indeed demands — that every person is entitled to a fair trial."

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

A burst of gunfire has rung out in the Philippine Senate, where authorities have tried to arrest a senator who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for a charge of crimes against humanity, an Associated Press journalist and other witnesses say.

It was not immediately clear what set off the gunfire or if there were injuries in the Senate chamber, where Senator Ronald dela Rosa has stayed under the protection of allied senators as Philippine authorities tried to arrest him and possibly turn him over later to the ICC.

The ICC had no immediate comment on the events in Manila.

READ MORE: Trump claims key topic off agenda as 'two superpowers' meet in Beijing

Senate President Alan Cayetano briefly appeared before journalists in the Senate and confirmed that he has been told by the building's security that gunshots were fired, but he did not provide other details and hastily left.

"The emotions are high here," Cayetano said.

"This is the Senate of the Philippines and we are allegedly under attack."

A huge throng of reporters and photo and video journalists, who have been covering the tense developments, were asked to stay in an area on the second floor. Some were later allowed to leave the building after Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla jnr arrived with police officers.

On Monday, the ICC unsealed an arrest warrant for dela Rosa, a former national police chief who first enforced then President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug crackdowns, in which thousands of mostly petty suspects were killed.

Originally issued in November, the warrant charges dela Rosa with the crime against humanity of murder of "no less than 32 persons" between July 2016 and the end of April 2018, when he led the national police force under Duterte.

READ MORE: Mum to be charged after sending son to school with hidden device

Dela Rosa, 64, has vowed to fight the ICC arrest order and said that he would seek all legal remedies. He also called on his followers on Wednesday night to gather in the Senate to prevent what he said was his impending arrest.

National Bureau of Investigation agents tried to arrest dela Rosa on Monday, but he managed to dash to the Senate's plenary hall and sought the help of fellow senators. Cayetano said then that he would cite the government agents involved for contempt.

Duterte was arrested in March last year and flown to the ICC's headquarters in The Hague for detention. He remains detained by the ICC in the Netherlands and is facing a trial for alleged crimes against humanity for the killings in his brutal crackdown, in which dela Rosa has been named as one of several co-perpetrators.

"We should not allow another Filipino to be brought to The Hague, the second one after President Duterte," dela Rosa said, addressing his followers in a Facebook message and blaming politics for his predicament.

"This is unacceptable," dela Rosa said.

READ MORE: Paramedic's 'absolute shock, disbelief' as gran Tasered

He said that he was ready to face any allegations before Philippine courts, but he denied condoning extrajudicial killings when he led the police force. Duterte has also made the same denials, although he openly threatened suspected drug dealers with death while he was in office.

Hundreds of police officers have been deployed outside the Senate to maintain order, sparking complaints from dela Rosa and allied senators.

"If I have something to answer for, I will face those in our local courts and not before foreigners," dela Rosa told reporters in the Senate, which took him into "protective custody" on Monday when he reappeared after months of absence.

Five senators called on dela Rosa to surrender to authorities in a proposed resolution, but his allies opposed the move in a heated exchange on Wednesday in the Senate, where 13 of 24 senators friendly to dela Rosa wrested control of its leadership on Monday.

Dela Rosa has been critical of President Ferdinand Marcos jnr but pleaded emotionally before television cameras on Monday for the president not to bring him to The Hague.

Duterte and his daughter, the current vice president, and political allies like dela Rosa have been the harshest critics of Marcos. Vice President Sara Duterte, once a political ally of Marcos, has blamed the president for allowing what she said was "the kidnapping" of her father and his handover to a foreign court.

After winning the presidency in 2016, Duterte designated dela Rosa, a loyal ally, as head of the national police force, which enforced the brutal campaign against illegal drugs.

Dela Rosa also once headed the police force in the southern city of Davao, where Duterte was a long-time mayor and built a political name for his extra tough approach to crimes.

"My role was to lead the war on drugs, and that war on drugs was not meant to annihilate people," dela Rosa said when he was asked about the huge death toll.

"When the lives of police officers came under threat, of course they needed to defend themselves," dela Rosa said.

Duterte withdrew the Philippines in 2019 from the ICC, in a move human rights activists say was aimed at escaping accountability.

The ICC, however, said that it retained jurisdiction over crimes committed when the Philippines was still a member and successfully moved to have him arrested, the first former Asian leader to fall into such disgrace.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

A police officer who fatally Tasered a 95-year-old great-grandmother with dementia could have been ordered to stand down, an inquest has been told.

Then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White fired his weapon at Clare Nowland after being called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home at Cooma in southern NSW on May 17, 2023.

Then-acting sergeant Jessica Pank said "oh shit" when her 36-year-old partner deployed the stun gun, telling the inquest on Wednesday she did not expect him to pull the trigger.

READ MORE: 'Very decomposed' body confirmed to be triple killer

Pank, now a senior constable, testified she did not have the authority to tell White to re-holster his weapon, because it was his call to make.

But NSW Police operational safety instructor Senior Sergeant William Watt disputed this, saying if he was in that position, he would have steered White away from using the Taser the second he pulled it out.

"Effectively, as soon as I realised somebody had drawn a Taser in that environment, as the senior person there, that's not happening," he said.

Pank said she was not surprised when her partner took out the weapon, saying she thought he was using it to cover her as she tried to take the knife out of Nowland's hand.

Under questioning by Judge Teresa O'Sullivan, she admitted there was no urgency in resolving the situation at the time her partner pulled the trigger.

Pank testified if she had been told White was going to use the Taser, she would have discussed other options.

READ MORE: Bizarre conspiracy theories in Trump's late night Truth Social spree

Elsewhere in her evidence, the officer acknowledged there were alternatives available, including letting Nowland come into the corridor so police could approach her from different angles.

Intensive care paramedic Anna Hofner told the inquest she felt "absolute shock and disbelief" as she witnessed White deploy the stun gun.

"I didn't think the use of a Taser was proportionate to the magnitude of the incident … it seemed excessive," she said.

Emergency services were called to the facility in the early hours of the morning after Nowland grabbed two serrated steak knives from the kitchen and refused to give them up.

During the two-minute and 40-second encounter, White drew his stun gun and pointed it at the great-grandmother for a minute before saying "nah, bugger it" and discharging the weapon at her chest.

AS IT HAPPENED: Chalmers' subtle attack on Hanson in parting shot

The 48-kilogram great-grandmother, who had symptoms of dementia, fell and hit her head.

She did not regain consciousness and died in hospital a week later after a brain bleed.

Watt found the situation confronting White as Nowland stepped towards him was not exceptional enough to warrant shooting her with a Taser.

The woman's death rocked her family, the local community and the broader NSW community to its core, counsel assisting Sophie Callan SC said in opening the inquest.

The 95-year-old was described as an extremely generous woman who did charitable work and pursued a range of interests including golfing and travel until her late 80s.

O'Sullivan will examine systemic issues before the incident and will focus on dementia care and training for aged care staff, police and ambulance officers.

It was an opportune time to make recommendations that would save lives given Australia's ageing population, Callan said.

At the time of the incident, neither NSW Police nor NSW Ambulance officers were put through training that dealt with responding to incidents involving people with dementia.

A NSW Supreme Court jury found White guilty of manslaughter in November 2024.

He was sentenced to a two-year good behaviour bond in March 2025, a decision that was later upheld by the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal

The 36-year-old was removed from the force in December 2024.

NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.

• Download the 9NEWS App here via Apple and Google Play
• Make 9News your preferred source on Google by ticking this box here
• Sign up to our breaking newsletter here

The lucky Lotto numbers have been revealed.

Diversions are in place on Te Puke Highway, motorists were warned to expect delays.