Checkpoint for Monday 9 November 2020

5:07 PM.The Cook Islands could be on the cards for Christmas, with health officials flying there this weekend to scope out the prospects of a travel bubble.

The Cook Islands, along with Niue and Tokelau, is… Read more Audio

5:09 PM.As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris start planning their term in office, the US president - for now - Donald Trump continues to contest the election result.

US media is reporting his advisors, and even… Read more Audio

5:13 PM."You've always had my back, and I'll have yours," President-elect Joe Biden said, as he thanked African American voters who helped deliver him the White House.  

2020 has been a year blighted by… Read more Video, Audio

5:23 PM.Wild weather is hammering Napier tonight. Firefighters have been called to assist with flooded buildings in the centre of town.

RNZ Hawkes Bay reporter Tom Kitchin is stuck in RNZ's Napier office… Read more Video, Audio

5:26 PM.Some of the nurses at the front line of the battle against Covid-19 have gone on strike today.

Thousands of nurses and workers across 500 primary health care facilities downed tools, demanding pay… Read more Video, Audio

5:30 PM.Hundreds of Paramedics have voted to walk off the job later this month following a breakdown in pay talks with St John.

Trevor Hill is a paramedic in Hamilton and told reporter Nita Blake-Persen he… Read more Audio

5:38 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Video, Audio

5:42 PM.Online meeting attendance only is likely to be the new advice from the DG of health when it comes quarantine workers catching up with their colleagues after a Defence Force employee infected someone… Read more Video, Audio

5:53 PM.Warning: The descriptions and details in this story may distress some people.

A prison inmate thought he was going to die after allegedly being forced to perform sex acts on his bunk mate.

Benjamin… Read more Audio

5:55 PM.Some Lake Ōhau residents are returning to undamaged homes surrounded by flowering lupins and green grass in the wake of last month's devastating fire.

The fire tore through the village damaging or… Read more Video, Audio

6:07 PM.Hundreds of people have been tested as officials scramble to find out how far Covid-19 has spread in the community.

It's after two Defence Force staff tested postive for the virus - and one of them… Read more Audio

6:13 PM.US President Donald Trump is remaining defiant, refusing to concede defeat while continuing to lob grenades on Twitter at what he calls the "lamestream" media, for calling the US election against him.

6:20 PM.Joe Biden's win makes history in more than one way.

His running mate, Kamala Harris, stands poised to be the first woman, and the first woman of colour to become vice president.

And as RNZ… Read more Audio

6:25 PM.A marathon hearing into the proposed development of a controversial dump in Auckland began today.

The mooted Dome Valley Dump, five kilometres from Warkworth, has attracted objections from Auckland… Read more Audio