Elon Musk's 'odd' Donald Trump move, 'relentless stormy weather' for millions: Australia news live

Well the Corpse Flower has gone global. The US's CNN gave a story on Geelong's trending plant a prominent spot on its website today, telling its readers thousands in Australia are queuing up to catch a glimpse of the "unusual" flower that one visitor said "smells like dead possum".

Yahoo editor Brianne Tolj was one of the lucky few to get a look of it today, revealing it took an hour and a half queuing.

Here's how it looks about 30 hours on from it first starting to bloom – an occasion that happens roughly every 10 years.

A 4.2 magnitude earthquake has struck 250km north of Sydney.

The depth of the quake near Denman in the Upper Hunger Region was about 3km and there were 312 residents who reported feeling its impact, according to Geoscience. It happened shortly after midday with no reports of damage so far. Thousands of homes have, however lost power.

The area has faced dozens of quakes in recent months after a 4.7 magnitude quake in August. Experts say the quakes are part of an "earthquake swarm" which can go on for years to come, the ABC reported.

A jury has been shown footage from the body cameras worn by Constable Kristian James Samuel White and his colleague when they responded to a call from a nursing home about a 95-year-old woman armed with a knife. Constable White is accused of fatally tasering the woman, Clare Nowland.

The videos show Mrs Nowland sitting in her pyjamas in a room at a desk with her four-wheel walking frame and holding a knife. The two police officers are gathered at the doorway with two paramedics, all of whom are urging Mrs Nowland to stay seated and put down the knife.

In the footage, Mrs Nowland struggles to get to her feet with the help of her walking frame and lifts the knife when someone steps towards her.

“We’re not playing that game Clare, put that down,” Constable White tells her.

“Clare, stop now. You see this? It’s a Taser.”

Constable White can be heard activating the Taser’s warning device and the light beam blares at Mrs Nowland in the video.

“You keep coming, you’re going to get tased,” he told her.

Constable White asks Mrs Nowland repeatedly to stop as the nonagenarian continues to amble slowly towards them with both hands on her walker.

“Stop. Nah, just .. bugger it,” the police officer said before deploying his Taser at her chest.

The frail woman’s body wobbled and pitched forward before lurching backwards and slamming against the floor.

The court was told during the opening statements that she sustained serious injuries that caused her death days later.

Gasps could be heard throughout the courtroom when the great-grandmother fell to the floor in the graphic footage, and a number of her family members wiped away tears.

Read more from NCA NewsWire here.

Joel Cauchi stopped taking antipsychotic medication just under five years before he fatally stabbed six people and wounded 10 others during the Westfield Bondi Junction attack, an inquest has been told.

Cheng Yixuan, 27, Pikria Darchia, 55, Dawn Singleton, 25, Jade Young, 47, Faraz Ahmed Tahir, 30, and Ashlee Good, 38, died during Cauchi’s shocking three-minute frenzied attack on the afternoon of April 13 this year.

An inquest will next year examine the tragic events and whether it could have been avoided after Cauchi, 40, pulled a hunting knife from his backpack and indiscriminately stabbed 16 people.

At the NSW Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, family members of the victims watched on as the matter came before the court for the first time for a preliminary directions hearing.

Read more here.

The family of Eleanor Bryant, the teacher killed when a truck struck her kindergarten on Monday, has shared an emotional tribute to her.

"We are devastated by the loss of our beautiful Eleanor. She was the light of our lives: a cherished mother, wife, daughter and sister, and beloved by all her family and enormous network of friends," they said in a statement.

"Her infectious smile, sense of humour and passion for life made her a joy to be around. There is an enormous hole in our hearts today.

"We thank the emergency services for their tireless work and the public for their beautiful tributes. We will miss her like crazy. We thank you for respecting our privacy at this difficult time."

Bryant has been widely hailed a hero as she desperately tried to move kids out of the way of the path of the truck at Macedon Ranges Montessori Preschool in Riddells Creek, northwest of Melbourne.

The 68-year-old driver of the truck remains in hospital, with his employer suspecting he suffered a medical episode before the crash.

Boasting impressive views of Sydney Harbour, you can see why someone wanted to drop $4.2 million on this Watsons Bay semi-detached house over the weekend. But there's just one thing missing. There's nowhere to park your car.

You'd think spending that much on a three-bed home you'd be getting at least one car spot but in this tightly-held suburb, parking space is like gold dust. Watsons Bay is notoriously bad for street parking and residents recently made headlines as council tried to defend their rights to resident only street spaces. Thankfully for this owner, their stretch of the suburb is not so bad.

So would you drop $4.2 million on a house without anywhere to park your car?

Have your say below.

A shocking act of apparent vandalism has besmirched one of Australia’s Remembrance Day sites.

A photo from the Dandenong Remembrance Day shrine shows flowers and wreaths ripped up.

3AW’s “Rumour File” reported on the alleged act of desecration on Tuesday.

“Rumour has it, as one southeastern suburb’s Remembrance Day site, the mood was soured by the destruction of wreaths and the ripping up of flowers by the afternoon,” a caller tells 3AW Breakfast With Ross and Russel.

“Mindless vandalism as far as I can tell.”

The alleged vandalism took place on Monday. November 11 marks the signing of the armistice agreement that ended World War 1 on November 11, 1918.

Victoria Police has been contacted for comment.

Struggling airline Rex has been given an $80 million hand out by the Albanese government in an important lifeline after it went into administration in July.

The airline removed more than 600 jobs as its mounting debt continues to cast serious doubt on its ability to keep regional Australia connected to the nation’s capital.

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt said on Tuesday the financing would “support the business to continue offering critical services for regional communities”.

Read more here.

With more and more Aussies impacted by the cost of living, do we really need to give and receive Christmas presents?

For Sydney woman Laura Koefoed, she's giving them up completely.

"I don't have the funds to buy every friend and family member a present this year. And I just don't really feel bad about it," she told Yahoo Finance.

But she says regardless of finances, the whole process is a bit off for her. "If you're just getting something for the sake of it, and it's something that they never use, it's just gonna go into landfill," she said.

So where do you stand? Should Christmas presents be on the way out? Have your say below.

And do you have a similar story about saving cash at Christmas? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com

GoFundMe has surpassed a huge milestone, with Australians donating $1 billion to local causes since the platform launched in this country in 2016.

“Australians have embraced GoFundMe as a safe and easy way to give and get help since launching Down Under almost a decade ago. In this period we have faced critical shifts in the way we live, work and socialise," Nicola Britton, Regional Director for GoFundMe Australia, said.

“GoFundMe has evolved alongside these shifts, to help Australians leverage the power and immediacy of crowdfunding to deliver support to local communities in times of urgent need."

Australia's most successful fundraiser is for the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital following devastating bushfires in 2019. It has since raised over $8 million.

Anthony Albanese will embark on an overseas trip this month to South America for two leaders summits and was pressed this morning if he intended to use it as a chance to meet with president elect Donald Trump.

"Have you considered flying past Florida on your way home?" one reporter asked him on Tuesday.

"If you have a look at the map, it's actually not on the way," the PM responded, offering a basic geography lesson in return.

The question came after Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham urged Albanese to meet with Trump to discuss suggestions he will slap tariffs on foreign imports.

“The Albanese government should be doing all it can to try to get Anthony Albanese in the door for an early meeting with Donald Trump," he told Sky News.

Millions of Australians are about to be “locked in by relentless stormy weather” as thunderstorms are expected every day over large parts of the nation.

Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said thunderstorms would likely continue next week due to an abundance of moisture in the atmosphere that was unstable and a lifting mechanism that caused air to rise away from the surface.

He said these factors would lead to lots of lightening and thunder.

“Abnormally warm seas surrounding Australia will help to pump warm and humid air into the atmosphere, while numerous low pressure troughs, cold fronts and mountain ranges will act as triggers for storms,” he said.

According to weatherzone, showers and thunderstorms would hit central, eastern, southern and southeastern Australia with severe thunderstorms expected in parts of NSW and Queensland on Monday and Tuesday.

Storms would stretch across Australia’s eastern and northern states and down into WA’s interior through the middle of the week.

Severe thunderstorms were expected to hit Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra on Wednesday.

Showers and thunderstorm should continue over Australia’s east and north, while extending towards WA’s south due to a cold front on Thursday and Friday.

Read more here.

He was an influential voice for the Trump campaign, but is Elon Musk now outstaying his welcome?

The tech billionaire has been seen at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club following his election win and is being seen by some as the "guest who won't leave" the party.

“He definitely inserts himself all the time, that’s his style,” tech journalist Kara Swisher told CNN. “I’ve heard from Trump people, calling me saying, ‘Oh, wow. This is odd’. And it is.”

So what are his intentions? Well reports have emerged Musk is weighing in on staffing decisions for the future Trump government. Multiple sources have told the ABC he is offering input into how Trump's administration should turn out. Sources also say Musk has been present when other world leaders have called.