Checkpoint

Vaccination efforts are ramping up as part of a nationwide Measles Immunisation Week campaign amid an outbreak that's got experts concerned. There are now 17 known cases of the highly-infectious disease and thousands of close contacts. Auckland and Wellington have the highest case numbers with thousands of students exposed across three high schools. Jessica Hopkins visited a pop-up vaccination clinic in Manukau in south Auckland to see what's being done to stop the spread.

Unemployment has hit a near nine year high, at 5.3% in the three months ended September. That's 160,000 people out of work, the highest since early 1994. The percentage of unemployed young people between 15 and 24 years old hit 15.2%, with the total not in education or training rising to 13.8%. Chief executive at Whangarei-based tertiary education provider People Potential, Bronwyn Ronayne spoke to Lisa Owen.

The opening of a new dialysis unit in Blenheim will save patients with kidney failure a four-hour return trip to Nelson for treatment. The four-chair unit, called Tātari Toto, will initially open for three days a week, and could expand as demand grows. Health sector workers say it's life changing and life saving. Samantha Gee reports from Blenheim.

Watercare and negotiators for oyster farmers north of Auckland have spent a second day in compensation talks after their farms were contaminated after a sewage leak, but they have yet to reach an agreement. A fault at Watercare's Warkworth plant sent sewage overflowing into the Mahurangi River last week, meaning farmers can't collect oyster for 28 days. Jim Aitken from Mahurangi Oysters spoke to Lisa Owen.

There's heartbreak among former staff of a Whangarei lion park at news that the seven surviving big cats are due to be put down this week. Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary operator Janette Vallance says the park owners, Bolton Equities, made the difficult decision to euthanise the seven lions, saying there was no options left for them. The park is now closed to the public and the property listed for sale. Northland reporter Peter de Graaf has more.

More than $60 million of funding has been announced for mental health services across the country, to bolster what's been called a fragmented and inconsistent system. Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey made the announcement in Auckland today alongside experts from Australia and New Zealand at the Hauora hine-ngaro conference. He hopes it will provide additional support for those reaching out for help, but there are those with question about its roll out. Finn Blackwell has more.

US tennis legend Venus Williams will continue her comeback in Auckland. Williams returned to compete in the US Open this year, at the age of 45, after a 16-month hiatus from the game. The seven-time Grand Slam champion has signed up for the ASB Classic, for the seventh time, as part of her preparation for a potential place in the Australian Open. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

New York City has elected its youngest mayor in over a century. Democratic-socialist Zohran Mamdani overcame former governor Andrew Cuomo in an election that saw the city's biggest turnout since 2001. The 34-year-old's social media-heavy campaign centred around taxing millionaires, freezing rents and making bus trips free. US President Donald Trump has called Mamdani a "Communist Lunatic" and threatened to cut funding to the city if he won. US correspondent Todd Zwillich spoke to Lisa Owen.

Asia correspondent Katie Silver spoke to Lisa Owen about a typhoon sweeping through the Philippines, causing devastating flooding and killing dozens, as well as a father and son's trip to Laos that has ended tragically after the pair were killed by a swarm of hornets.

The minister for concert regulations has stage dived right into the mosh pit floating major changes to rules around events at Auckland's Eden Park. A new report estimates restrictions on Eden Park could cost the region more than $430 million in lost revenue over a decade. It recommends upping the number of gigs allowed there to 12 large and 20 medium concerts a year. Jose Fowler lives next to Eden Park and spoke to Lisa Owen.