Checkpoint

Basketball star Charlisse Leger-Walker has etched her name into history, becoming the first New Zealand woman selected in the WNBA Draft. The 24 year old guard was selected 18th overall pick by the Connecticut Sun in a competition that is expanding by the year. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

Te Punanga Manu has been managed by the Department of Conservation and runs a breeding programmes for rare and endangered birds. Last year, DOC said it was stepping back from the park, relocating some species and making changes to guided tours. It cited substantial investment needed to infrastructure, including $100,000 for the takahe enclosure. An alternative management and funding arrangment was sought, with a public consultation drawing 90 submissions. Peter Egerton and Steve Lockwood, operators of Fiordland's Cruise Milford have now entered into an arrangement with DOC and mana whenua Oraka Aparima Runaka to develop the park. Councillor Sarah Greany spoke to Lisa Owen.

A seasoned Melbourne homicide detective said New Zealand urgently needs to stamp out the black market for tobacco or else face fire-bombed shops and violent organised crime like it's causing in Australia. An RNZ investigation last month found black market cigarettes were being openly sold in Auckland shops at huge discounts. Now, Retail NZ has released a report calling for the establishment of a taskforce to stop the illegal sale of tobacco, which it said is putting communities at risk. Finn Blackwell has more.

The government is opening 14 new infusion centres around the country, where patients can get chemotherapy and other therapies. It's also expanding 14 existing infusion centres. The Health Minister said a boost in Pharmac funding that same year is delivering 66 new medicines including 33 cancer treatments, increasing the need for infusions. Triple negative breast cancer survivor, Catherine Cooke, slammed the anouncement saying without medications like Keytruda, funded for early stage cancers, more infusion centres are not the solution and patients are being driven into debt to survive. Cooke spoke to Lisa Owen.

Trains are at last running through Auckland's long awaited City Rail Link, but passengers won't be allowed on-board for several months. Auckland Transport and its partners are running timetable tests before the stations open later this year, but it still can't put a date on when that will happen. Felix Walton went underground at the new Te Waihorotiu Station in heart of Auckland's CBD.

President Donald Trump called Pope Leo weak on crime, terrible for foreign policy and suggested he stop catering to the radical left and claimed if he wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican. The comments have drawn wide criticism from religious and other leaders. But President Trump's doubling down and said he won't be apologising. Cardinal John Dew took part in the conclave that elected Pope Leo. He spoke to Lisa Owen.

The harrowing stories of people who narrowly survived Cyclone Gabrielle and lost their loved ones are being heard in the Hastings District Court this week. Coroner Erin Woolley is investigating the deaths of 19 people who died in 2023 as a result of the cyclone and the Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods. Hawke's Bay Tairawhiti Reporter Alexa Cook has the story.

Residents have been urged to shelter in place while all flights in and out have been cancelled, leaving hundreds of tourists stranded in the self-governing United States territory. Correspondent Mark Rabago was hunkering down in the capital of Saipan. He spoke to Lisa Owen.

The countdown is on to the Commonwealth Games. Tuesday marks just 100 days until Glasgow and also saw the first crop of Kiwi athletes selected. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

It's Wellington's Willy Wonka; a local restaurant is offering the daily chance to win a golden ticket to a free lunch to supercharge enthusiasm for eating out. Diners who book lunch at Mr Go's, an Asian inspired restaurant, get to draw an envelope from a pile at the end of the meal. Score the Golden Ticket and the meal's free. Wellington's hospitality industry has taken a hit in the past year with the closure of the Leuven Belgian Beer Cafe after 25 years in business, Chocolate Fish cafe and brewery Fortune Favours. Co-owner of Wellington's Mr Go's, Tom Parsonson spoke to Lisa Owen.