Morning everyone,

We're hearing lots of debate about women's abortion rights come out of the US at the moment.

Yesterday, I rounded up everything you need to know about America's famous Roe V Wade decision and why it may get overturned. You can read all about it here.

But first, let's get you across the top five news stories you need to know about today, Thursday May 5.

1. "We are sure that he is the murderer." New evidence in Madeleine McCann case.

Investigators have found new evidence potentially incriminating the key suspect in the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann 15 years ago, says German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters,

In an interview with Portuguese TV channel CMTV on Tuesday, Wolters, who has been investigating the case since 2020, said detectives believed they had found "some facts, some new evidence" adding, "We are sure that he (Brueckner) is the murderer of Madeleine McCann."

‘Some new evidence’ found against Madeleine McCann suspect https://t.co/pu9CeMYsOQ
— The Guardian (@guardian) May 4, 2022

Convicted child abuser and drug trader Christian Brueckner, who is behind bars in Germany for raping a woman in the same area where Madeleine went missing in 2007, was formally identified as an official suspect last month.

It was the first time a Portuguese prosecutor had identified a suspect in the case since Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents, were named suspects in 2007. They were later cleared.

Brueckner, 45, has denied involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine from her bedroom during a family holiday.

There has been speculation that evidence linked to Madeleine was found in the camper van Brueckner had used at the time of her disappearance.

The CMTV journalist asked Wolters if he denied those claims and he responded: "I don't want to deny it."

The camper van has been in the possession of German police since June 2020, when authorities started to seek information on Brueckner.

2. PM promises new jobs as Labor pushes for economic reform.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will spruik a new small business pledge, while Anthony Albanese will make his pitch to industry leaders, as the focus of the federal election campaign turns to the leaders' economic credentials.

Morrison said the coalition would look to create 400,000 new small businesses during the next five years, should the government be re-elected.

The government also announced it would spend $17.9 million on the Business Energy Advice Program to help small businesses be more efficient, in an attempt to cut back on power bills.

"We have the track record to set the conditions that help businesses, and our ambitious pledge will see 400,000 more join the economy," Morrison said.

The Coalition and Labor will focus on jobs today as economists warn cash handouts are fuelling rate rises. #9Today pic.twitter.com/q6oMq7NyXQ
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) May 4, 2022

Meanwhile, Labor leader Anthony Albanese will address the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Sydney and pitch the need for economic reform.

"A country cannot keep drawing from an old well, because the well eventually dries out," he will say."Australia needs a new playbook to seize the future."

Among the measures proposed by Albanese is universal childcare, which he said would help increase workforce participation.

3. Russia 'intensifies’ attack on Ukraine, and may formally declare war within days.

Ukraine says a Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine is intensifying, nearly 10 weeks into a war that has killed thousands of people and uprooted millions.

According to Ukraine's defence ministry, nearly 50 air strikes were carried out on Tuesday alone. Russia has also stepped up strikes on targets in western Ukraine, saying it was disrupting Western arms deliveries.

A new convoy of buses began removing more civilians from the ravaged southeastern port city of Mariupol, which has had the heaviest fighting of the war so far and where Russia said remaining Ukrainian forces remained tightly blockaded.

Western officials believe Putin could formally declare war on Ukraine within days.

The announcement is believed to come on May 9, which is known as "Victory Day" as it Russia commemorates the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

Russian President Vladimir Putin could formally declare war on Ukraine as soon as May 9, a move that would enable the full mobilization of Russia's reserve forces as invasion efforts continue to falter, US and Western officials believe https://t.co/L4vLr5TnuV
— CNN (@CNN) May 3, 2022

However, the Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed speculation.

4. Judge overseeing Derek Chauvin case accepts plea deal.

Fromer Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty of killing George Floyd, has had his plea deal accepted by a US judge.

Under the agreement, both sides agreed Chauvin should face a sentence from 20 to 25 years.

With credit for good time, he's expected to serve from 17 years to 21 years and three months.

The federal judge is yet to set a sentencing date.

The federal judge presiding over the cases of the four Minneapolis police officers implicated in the killing of George Floyd has accepted Derek Chauvin’s plea deal and will sentence him to 20 to 25 years in prison. https://t.co/fpgYRnZeNB
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) May 4, 2022

In December last year, Chauvin pleaded guilty for violating George Floyd's civil rights, at the federal level.

This sentence would be served concurrently with the 22 and a half year sentence tied to his murder conviction at the state level.

5. Couple charged with Amber Haigh’s murder 20 years after she disappeared.

A man and woman have been charged with murder over the suspicious disappearance of teenage mother, Amber Haigh, almost 20 years ago.

The pair, both aged 61, were arrested at a property in southwestern NSW about 7.30am yesterday and have been charged with one count each of murder.

The man was also charged with aggravated sexual assault of a victim with serious intellectual disability, NSW Police said in a statement.

20 years after a teenage mother vanished from a NSW country town, the homicide squad has arrested the couple she was living with at the time.

Police allege Amber Haigh was killed just five months after she had a baby with the man now accused of her murder. @em_partridge #9News pic.twitter.com/GfIlpMrllr
— 9News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) May 4, 2022

Haigh was reported missing on June 19, 2002 after failing to return to her home at Kingsvale, a town in the South West Slopes, where she and her six-month-old son had been living with a married couple.

Police were told the couple dropped the young mother at Campbelltown station on June 5 and she intended to travel by train to Mt Druitt in western Sydney to visit her sick father in hospital. Later that night, money was withdrawn from her bank account at a Campbelltown ATM.

NSW Police last week announced the reward for information about the cold case had been increased from $100,000 to $1 million.

"I know in my heart that she would never have left her son," Haigh's heartbroken mother said in a voice message released last week.

The couple were refused bail and will face court today.

You're all up to speed. We'll be back to bring you more top stories throughout the day.

- With AAP.

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