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Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani has surrendered at an Atlanta jail to face state charges arising from actions he was accused of taking to overturn the former US president's 2020 election loss.

Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor and New York City mayor, was ordered to pay a $US150,000 ($A232,000) bond and not to intimidate any of his 18 co-defendants or witnesses in the case, according to court papers.

"This indictment is a travesty," Giuliani told reporters after his jail appearance on Wednesday.

"This is an assault on the Constitution."

Eight other of Trump's co-defendants in the criminal case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis accusing him and his associates of trying to reverse his election loss in Georgia also have surrendered, according to county records.

Trump was set to turn himself in on Thursday to face his fourth criminal indictment this year. The remaining 10 co-defendants named in the Georgia indictment have until Friday to surrender. Trump has called his four indictments politically motivated.

The frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, Trump continues to make false claims the election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud. Giuliani played a prominent public role in the Trump campaign's efforts to push these false claims.

In the Georgia case, Giuliani was accused of making numerous false statements about election fraud, including to officials in other states such as Arizona and Pennsylvania, in a failed bid to convince them to approve an alternative slate of electors in the formal congressional certification of the election results to keep Trump in power.

Giuliani and other Trump allies were also accused of making false statements to Georgia lawmakers about the election.

Four co-defendants also surrendered at the jail on Wednesday, according to records posted on the Fulton County sheriff's office website. They were lawyers Jenna Ellis, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and Ray Smith, all of whom were charged with playing a role in the attempt to overturn Trump's defeat.

On Tuesday, Trump's former lawyer John Eastman and Republican poll watcher Scott Hall surrendered while former Georgia Republican Party leaders Cathy Latham and David Shafer were booked overnight, according to the jail.

Shafer, Trump's former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark have filed petitions to have their cases moved to federal court.

A federal judge in Atlanta on Wednesday rejected separate bids by Clark and Meadows to avoid a Friday noon deadline to surrender to authorities in Fulton County.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to two sets of federal criminal charges brought by Jack Smith, a special counsel named by Biden-appointed US Attorney General Merrick Garland, concerning the efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and his possession of classified documents after leaving office.

Trump also pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan case involving hush money paid before the 2016 election to pornographic actress Stormy Daniels.

© RAW 2023

Australians could face longer periods of drought and flooding rains as climate change messes with a key driver of weather in the Pacific.

An international study sheds new light on how greenhouse gas emissions are changing something called the Pacific Walker Circulation.

It's an important loop of air that circulates over the Pacific Ocean and it has an impact on life in Australia.

When it's strong, the nation typically gets cooler, wetter La Nina conditions that can drive widespread flooding.

When it's weak, it's the opposite and Australia gets hotter, drier El Nino conditions that can result in long-running droughts and horror bushfire seasons.

Scientists have figured out the transition between wet and dry cycles has slowed since humans began burning fossil fuels and warming the atmosphere.

That means there's an increased chance of multi-year La Nina and El Nino events, and their respective risks of damaging rain and floods, or fire and drought.

Australian National University climate scientist Georgy Falster was on the team that used data from ice cores, trees, lakes, corals and caves to work out how the weather and climate of the Pacific has changed over the past 800 years.

"On the whole the Pacific Walker Circulation hasn't gotten weaker or stronger. But we have seen a slight change in the length of time it takes to switch from one state to the next," Dr Falster said.

"That could exacerbate the associated risks of drought, fire, rains and floods.

"It's also more likely we'll see a longer gap separating El Nino and La Nina, meaning dry El Nino years are less likely to be followed straight away by wet La Nina years."

That could mean farmers have to wait longer for drought-breaking rains.

Researchers also revealed something unexpected: large volcanic eruptions like the cataclysmic one at Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991 can herald parched conditions in Australia.

"If there was a really big eruption - and it doesn't matter where the volcano is - you'd expect El Nino conditions in Australia the following year, but just for one or two years, and then back to normal."

Study co-author Sloan Coats, from the University of Hawaii, says the vast size of the Pacific Ocean means it has an outsized influence on the global climate.

"Understanding how the Pacific Walker Circulation is affected by climate change will enable communities across the Pacific and beyond to better prepare for the challenges they may face in the coming decades."

The peer-reviewed research has been published in the journal Nature.

© AAP 2023

Woolworths says its supermarket business is normalising after years of COVID-19 disruptions, but cost-of-living pressures are impacting its Big W business.

The retail giant on Wednesday announced it had made a $1.62 billion full-year profit after tax, up 4.6 per cent from the prior year, a result basically in line with expectations.

Revenue increased 5.7 per cent to $64.3 billion for the 52 weeks ended June 25, compared to the 52 weeks prior.

Australian supermarket sales were up 4.7 per cent to $41.4 billion, with ecommerce sales returning to growth after initially falling when the COVID lockdowns ended.

Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said the financial year marked a return to "relative stability" following years of disruption during the pandemic.

Most notably Woolies experienced a normalisation of shopping habits, with customers shopping more frequently during the weekends and evenings.

"Despite the more stable environment, our overall customer experience was inconsistent, impacted by lingering supply chain challenges, and more recently by the impact of inflation on value for money perceptions," Mr Banducci said.

Food price growth began to moderate in the second half with prices even dropping for meat, fruit and vegetables.

Woolworths expects prices to keep rising in some packaged categories.

Big W total sales were up eight per cent to $4.8 billion, but its trading environment "changed dramatically" between the first and second halves, Mr Banducci said.

Sales dropped in the second half, even beyond executives' expectations, as consumers cut back on discretionary items, particularly in the fourth quarter.

"The sector became extremely competitive with higher levels of promotions and discounts," said Mr Banducci.

Those trends have continued for the first eight weeks of the new financial year with solid growth in Woolworths' food businesses, but Big W sales are down six per cent on the previous financial year.

"Customers are cautious, putting fewer items their baskets," he said.

Yet loyal customers are continuing to shop with Big W and some categories like Everyday Essentials continue to perform strongly.

Woolworths predicts the consumer environment to remain challenging in 2023/24, with customers continuing to cut back on non-essential items.

Woolworths Supermarkets Managing Director Natalie Davis said there had been a step up in "stock adjustments" - theft, in other words - of high-value personal care items such as electric toothbrushes and razors in the past six to 12 months.

"We've certainly been working towards, how do we reduce that kind of headwind in our stores," Ms Davis said.

Woolworths has implemented two specific measures in more than 500 of its supermarkets, with all 1,111 set to get them this financial year, she said.

One is so-called "scan assist" technology in its self-service checkouts, to ensure customers are scanning items accurately.

"We're very conscious that we don't want to slow down our checkouts, but 99 per cent of our customers do the right thing," Ms Davis said.

It's also adding "double welcome gates" to ensure customers don't simply run out of the entrance with a trolley full of goods, Ms Davis said.

Stores that have added the theft-prevention measures have "certainly" seen a reduction in stock losses, she said.

Woolworths declared a final dividend of 58 cents per share, up from 53 cents a year ago.

© AAP 2023