Checkpoint

It's been a wet and wild 24 hours for the top of the country, with some areas seeing more than 200 millimetres of rain. Whangārei District Council and the Far North District Council have each declared states of emergency. The deluge has closed roads, including the two routes that connect the tip of the Far North to the rest of the motu. Locals are now bracing for another night of rough weather, with Civil Defence warning the worst could be yet to come. Teuila Fuatai reports.

This year marks a quarter century since The Lord of the Rings first hit screens - and fans are still journeying to Middle Earth. Tour operators say they've had a bumper summer and interest in Lord of the Rings experiences - and seeing film locations - is actually growing. Katie Todd reports.

The NZ College of Midwives have won its class action against the crown over fair and reasonable pay. A court decision has found the way the Crown paid its lead maternity carers unlawfully discriminated on the basis of sex and the crown failed to ensure self-employed midwives got fair and reasonable pay. The case was heard in the High Court in 2024. College of midwives CEO Alison Eddy spoke to Lisa Owen.

A literal life saver for those admitted there, but a North Canterbury eating disorder residential facility can't attract government funding, leading to concerns about who can access care. Recovered Living NZ offers a different experience from the public system - catering for only nine people at a time - patients live in and stay for months at a time. But it comes at a cost of just over $1000 a night. The not-for-profit facility has a contract with ACC for sensitive claims patients but has been passed over for Health NZ funding to open the service to more people. Jimmy Ellingham reports.

There's a growing divide is emerging in junior sport. As some clubs experiment with ways to reduce barriers for young players, others say rising costs are forcing difficult decisions about fees just to keep the lights on. Sports reporter Jonty Dine spoke to Lisa Owen.

A Waikato maths whizz is waiting on some final calculations to see if he's taken out his fifth world title in a row. The marathon 48-hour global online maths contest kicked off yesterday. The games see rangatahi compete in live 60 second rounds going head-to-head against other students around the world. Hamilton year nine student Woojin Kim had a lot to play for, after winning four consecutive titles. He spoke to Lisa Owen.

United State correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen about tech giants dealing with a major legal blow in a landmark social media addiction trial. A Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google liable for designing their social media platforms in a way that can be intentionally addictive and harmful to young people. Each company has been ordered to pay millions in damages, and the finding could affect thousands of other cases.

States of Emergency have been declared in Whangarei and the Far North with storm conditions expected get worse overnight. Northland east of Kaikohe from Doubtless Bay to Whangarei is under a red weather warning until 4am tomorrow. 25 schools closed throughout the region, affecting nearly 4000 students. State Highway 1 is also closed at four different locations around Northland. Civil Defence Co-ordinator in Whangaruru, Noeline Whitehead spoke to Lisa Owen.

UK correspondent Lucy Thomson spoke to Lisa Owen about the UK taking matters into its own hands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as well as transgender women and girls involved in UK Girl-guiding groups have been told they have until September to leave.

A Dunedin city councillor has resorted to reading a novel to defend himself at what he's likened to a public show trial. First-term representative Benedict Ong was censured by his colleagues at a meeting today for criticising a council staff member, in an email sent last month to the chief executive and local journalists. Tess Brunton reports.