Checkpoint for Wednesday 7 August 2019

6:22 PM.Aucklanders are being asked again to conserve water, after a record dry start to the year, and no good outlook for the rest of it. Video, Audio

6:16 PM.Ten people have been arrested and more than $1 million in cash and assets seized in a major nationwide drug bust today. Reporter Katie Scotcher spoke to Detective Inspector Greg Cramer. Video, Audio

6:12 PM.A man has died after being hit by a fleeing driver in the Christchurch suburb of New Brighton, with a police search now underway for a suspect linked to the incident. Video, Audio

5:53 PM.National's launched a three-pronged attack against Green MP and government minister Julie Anne Genter, as she continues to come under pressure over a letter she wrote to the Transport Minister. Audio

5:46 PM.The lawyer for Donald Neely, who was tied to a rope and led by police on horseback through a Texas town, says his family want the officers fired. Melissa Morris spoke to Checkpoint host Alex… Read more Video, Audio

5:41 PM.Pharmac has struck a deal with pharmaceutical company Roche and now proposes to fund two cancer drugs and a multiple sclerosis drug from December this year. Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition chair… Read more Video, Audio

5:36 PM.Pharmac has late this afternoon announced a proposal to fund drugs for breast cancer, lung cancer and multiple sclerosis from December 1. The announcement comes as campaigners fronted politicians… Read more Video, Audio

5:34 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Video, Audio

5:27 PM.Evidence of what's called a "truly gigantic parrot" has been found by scientists from Australia and New Zealand among 19-million-year-old fossils. The world's largest parrot - dubbed Squawkzilla -… Read more Video, Audio

5:21 PM.Pillars President Liz Gordon says she pleaded with Lorraine Smith to change her guilty plea to manslaughter, but she wanted to honour the granddaughter she killed by pleading guilty to murder. Video, Audio

5:17 PM.Whanganui woman Lorraine Smith, who strangled her 13-year-old granddaughter with a necktie, has been sentenced to 12 years in jail and will be eligible for parole after six years. Video, Audio

5:14 PM.A man is dead after being hit by a stolen vehicle in central New Brighton, Christchurch, this afternoon. Two people have been arrested but the driver is still on the run. Logan Church is at the scene… Read more Video, Audio

5:08 PM.The Reserve Bank has cut the Official Cash Rate to a new record low of 1 percent - the biggest single move by the central bank in eight years. Video, Audio

5:00 PM.Watch Wednesday's full programme here. Video