– With AAP

1. Teen killed in avalanche’s final moments revealed as three more people are killed.

While his mum wriggled to freedom, a 16-year-old Australian boy lay buried under two metres of snow after an avalanche hit his family in Austria.

Local authorities have described how the boy, who has now been named as Max Meyer from Sydney, was killed in the avalanche that struck at the ski village in St. Anton am Arlberg on Wednesday, News.com.au reports.

Max was skiing with his mum, 55, dad, 58 and 14-year-old brother when they became stuck on a steep part of the mountain and called for help.

Tragically, as they waited for rescuers to arrive, an avalanche hit that buried Max and his mother but left his brother and dad unharmed.

A statement for rescuers read: “The woman was able to free herself from the snow and remained unhurt.”

Max, however, had been completely buried, and his family had no equipment with them to dig him out.

When rescuers arrived, it took them about 20 minutes to retrieve him from the snow. Sadly, he could not be revived.

Meanwhile, another avalanche in the Austrian Alps has claimed the lives of at least three people.

Police say the bodies of three German skiers were recovered on Saturday night near Lech, a few hours after the wife of one of the skiers reported them missing. The men were aged 57, 36 and 32.

Police in Vorarlberg, Austria’s western-most province, said on Sunday they had to call off the search for another German, aged 28, because of heavy snow and the risk of avalanches.

The avalanche deaths bring to at least 24 the number of weather-related fatalities reported in parts of Europe this month.

2.  Woman who gave birth in vegetative state showed no signs of pregnancy at annual checkup.

A doctor noted the “firm belly” of an Arizona woman in a vegetative state 37 weeks before she gave birth last month, but didn’t find out if she was pregnant.

The doctor had been giving the 29-year-old woman an annual check-up for years, but on April 16 didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, CNN reports.

The woman – who had no capacity to consent to sex and is, therefore, a victim of sexual assault – gave birth on 29 December at Hacienda HealthCare facility, where she had been cared for since 1992.

It’s not known whether she carried to full term.

But if she was pregnant on April 16, the doctor had no idea, despite noting she had a “firm belly” in medical records that have been sent to an Arizona court.

CNN reports there were no notes about a pelvic exam, or urine or blood tests.

The doctor concluded there were no major changes to the woman’s health.

It’s been reported caregivers were surprised when the woman went into labour late last month as no one knew she was pregnant.

Meanwhile, a court investigator wrote in a 2009 assessment of her that she was “not alert/oriented” and “is unable to make any decisions or give consents due to her disability”.

Police are investigating this as a sexual assault case, and are in the process of taking DNA samples from staff.

3. Trump’s not giving up on Mexican wall, despite some public servants not being paid for three weeks now.

A leading Senate Republican close to Donald Trump says the president isn't giving in on his demands for a wall along the US-Mexico border, as the partial government shutdown enters its fourth week.

Senator Lindsey Graham says he encouraged Trump during a telephone conversation on Sunday to reopen government for a period of weeks to try to negotiate a deal with Democrats that would break the impasse.

But the Republican said Trump wants a deal first.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also has insisted that Trump end the shutdown first before any negotiating takes place.

"I tried to see if we could open up the government for a limited period of time to negotiate a deal," Graham said on Fox News Sunday.

"The president says 'Let's make a deal, then open up the government.' Nancy Pelosi says even if you opened up the government 'I wouldn't fund a wall'.

"What is he supposed to do? Just give in. He's not going to give in," Graham said.

The assessment from Graham suggested the shutdown could last for weeks longer, if not months, inflicting additional financial pain on the 800,000 federal workers who have been idled or required to work without pay for the duration.

Democrat Senator Chris Coons called Graham's idea for a brief reopening of the government a "great place to start".

"Stop harming our country and our economy and let's make our best efforts because we all agree we need to invest more in border security," Coons said on Fox News Sunday.

Graham said he thinks Trump is willing to accept the level of wall funding he is seeking, along with some immigration measures Democrats might find acceptable, such as helping immigrants who were illegally brought to the US as children.

But Trump has said that while he is interested in pursuing a broader overhaul of the immigration system, he first wants to hear what the Supreme Court has to say about the group of immigrants known as "Dreamers".

Pelosi also has shown no interest in accepting a wall in exchange for the suggested immigration fixes.

And Trump appeared to shoot down Graham's suggestion of a "wall plus" deal, saying on Sunday on Twitter that even Democrats don't want to make the Dreamers part of the shutdown talks.

"The damage done to our Country from a badly broken Border - Drugs, Crime and so much that is bad - is far greater than a Shutdown, which the Dems can easily fix as soon as they come back to Washington!" Trump said in a separate tweet.

Graham has been among the Republicans pushing Trump to use his authority to declare a national emergency to circumvent congress and build the wall by tapping unspent money sitting in various government accounts, including for military construction and disaster relief.

Democrats oppose such a declaration but may be powerless to stop it. Many Republicans are wary, too, fearing its use by a future Democratic president.

Trump has said he prefers giving congress more time to work out a deal before pulling the trigger on such a declaration.

But Graham said on Sunday that time is running out.

"It's the last option, not the first option, but we're pretty close to that being the only option," Graham said of an emergency declaration.

4. Family of 19-year-old who died at music festival call for pill-testing.

Alex Ross-King had graduated from Narara Valley High and was saving money to go travelling when, tragically, she became the fifth person in four months to die after a NSW dance rave.???????????? https://t.co/14fP3LpdmL

— CC Express Advocate (@CCexpressadvoc) January 13, 2019

Relatives of a NSW teenager who died of a suspected overdose after taking drugs at a music festival has pleaded with the premier to introduce pill testing to save lives.

Central Coast teenager Alex Ross-King, 19, on Saturday evening was rushed from the FOMO festival at Parramatta Park to Westmead Hospital where she subsequently died.

Police and NSW Health believe the teenager ingested substances before her death although a post-mortem and toxicology examination will confirm details.

Grandmother Denise Doig on Sunday said Alex was an adorable and loving teenager.

She wants Premier Gladys Berejiklian to introduce pill testing immediately so other families won't suffer like hers.

"Premier please can we have this pill testing done," Ms Doig told Network Ten.

"It's such a small thing to do. It's not hard (and) if it saves one life - one life is a life."

Five people have now died in four months after taking drugs at NSW festivals.

Uncle Phil Clark told Network Ten his niece was an only child and the entire extended family was "grieving heavily".

"Strong leadership isn't always about sticking to an ideological decision or a position," he said.

But Ms Berejiklian, speaking earlier on Sunday, insisted she remained opposed to pill testing.

"I worry that something like pill testing could actually have the opposite effect," she told reporters in Sydney.

"In the absence of evidence, we need to keep setting out the strongest message that taking these illicit drugs kills. We ask young people not to do it."

Pill testing allows people to anonymously submit samples for on-the-spot analysis to determine their composition.

A trial at a major Australian music festival in 2016 found two in three people wouldn't consume a pill if a test showed it contained methamphetamine.

Friend Evan James paid tribute to Alex on Facebook on Sunday.

"Alex Ross-King to me was the definition of a kindred spirit, she had a deeper understanding of this earth and sadly this world didn't deserve her," he posted alongside a photo of him with Alex.

FOMO organisers said they were "deeply saddened" and stressed they proactively discouraged drug use.

"Our most heartfelt and sincerest condolences go out to her family and friends," a spokeswoman said in a statement.

"Our anti-drug messaging began weeks ahead of the event and continued at the event itself."

Ten people were hospitalised after the festival which almost 12,000 attended.

Police officers searched 146 people and of those 54 had drugs.

There were 36 arrests and two people were charged with drug supply - a 23-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Jones on Sunday said it was a "very tragic event".

He said law enforcement didn't want to be "the fun police" but hoped "to make festivals safe".

Police said the drug seizures they made during FOMO were not linked to Alex's death at this stage.

NSW Health warned MDMA and other party drugs carried risks.

"MDMA affects everyone differently but its lethal toxicity is well known," the agency said in a statement.

"People should be aware of poisoning symptoms - a fast heartbeat, high body temperature, confusion and vomiting and get to medical help fast."

5. It's bloody hot outside no matter where you are today.

A cyclone is brewing off Western Australia's Kimberley coast while much of the country is set to swelter in heatwave conditions.

Every state and territory will cop the heat on Monday when temperatures soar with some regions to experience severe and extreme hot weather.

The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts low intensity heatwave conditions in parts of central WA to southern parts of the Northern Territory, southwestern Queensland and across NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.

It will be worst in South Australia where multiple days of temperatures above 40C, an unusual event even for summer, meteorologist Dean Narramore said on Sunday.

"Particularly northern South Australia, they're looking at maybe five days in a row above 45 and normally they might only get five or 10 a year," he said.

Melbourne can expect to see a few days in the mid to high 30s, while temperatures in Sydney's west will peak above 40C for four or five days.