AM briefing: Weather extremes in US and Australia

A fan makes his way to Lambeau Field in the snow before an NFL football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks yesterday in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Photo / AP

Snow and freezing rain made for messy commutes and closed hundreds of schools as a snowstorm pushed into the US Northeast. The storm left nearly 30cm of snow on the ground in some spots in the Great Lakes and upper Midwest before dumping up to about 15cm across New York and northern New England. Boston, New York City and Philadelphia were spared.

Much of of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales are expected to sweat it out today as temperatures soar. Sydney is expecting 35C in the city and 38C in the west today and tomorrow, while Melbourne is forecast to hit 34C and Adelaide 36C. Fire bans are in place across many districts in the three Australian states.

A man hit by a car in South Africa last week was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, and his body then placed in a refrigerator at a local mortuary. However, when the victim's family arrived at the mortuary to identify his body, staff quickly realised he had a pulse. The victim, 28-year-old Msizi Mkhize, had been walking with a friend in the township of KwaMashu, close to Durban, when the crash took place. After he was found in the refrigerator he was rushed to hospital, but died a few hours later. An inquiry has been launched.

Six pedestrians have been injured after a Ferrari 458 hit them and sent some flying in south London. The condition of those injured in the crash, at about 10.30am local time in Battersea, is unclear. Zoe Saxby, from Flanagans pub just metres from the scene, said someone was knocked off a bridge and landed on a car below. "They actually went flying in the air and could have landed on the railway tracks. [The car] also hit a few other people walking on the bridge." Police said six people were injured.

Terrified passengers fled as an attacker "screamed" at other travellers asking them if they were Muslim before knifing his victim. He then reportedly chased onlookers around Forest Hill station, south east London, before fleeing the scene, but was caught by police soon afterwards. Miguel Oliveira, 36, said he came "face-to-face" with the attacker. "He was walking towards me and he was shouting stuff like 'Death to Muslims' and 'Go back to Syria'." The injured man was taken to hospital. Police said the incident is not being treated as terror-related.

Hillary Clinton's campaign said that the Obama Administration "owes it to the American people" to tell what it knows about Russian hacking of Clinton campaign emails and those of the Democratic National Committee as it attempted to sway last month's election. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, whose emails were stolen and posted on the internet, said "never before in the history of our Republic have we seen such an effort to undermine the bedrock of our democracy". Podesta said the campaign supports an effort by a handful of members of the Electoral College to be briefed on US intelligence on potential links between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia.

- agencies