Checkpoint Podcast Options

5:47 PM.The police have stopped bringing sniffer dogs into schools for random drug searches, because they may be illegal. Audio

5:42 PM.The National-led Government is defending itself against accusations that it's responsible for New Zealand's credit downgrade just eight weeks before the general election. Audio

5:38 PM.The interest rates on Government debt have shot up and the dollar has fallen after New Zealand was downgraded by two of the three major intenational credit agencies today. Audio

5:34 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

5:29 PM.A repeat sexual offender, who had sex with a young teenager he met through an internet chatroom, is tonight beginning an indefinite sentence, which will keep him behind bars for at least five years. Audio

5:26 PM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

5:23 PM.The Prime Minister is maintaining that the Afghanistan operation in which an SAS soldier was killed this week was targeting Taleban insurgents. Audio

5:19 PM.The family of a Wellington man brutally killed by three teenagers in Hamilton last year have offered their forgiveness at sentencing today. Audio

5:15 PM.The first report into the damage done to three large buildings in the Christchurch earthquake is recommending urgent steps be taken around the country to strengthen buildings with stairwells. Audio

5:07 PM.Two downgrades in the space of a few hours have hit New Zealand's credit rating, pushing the dollar down and forcing up the cost of servicing the country's debts. Audio

5:00 PM.New Zealand's credit rating is downgraded by two major international agencies. Why key Christchurch buildings like Pyne Gould Guinness collapsed in the quake and the Prime Minister maintains this… Read more Audio

6:54 PM.It seems a million monkeys randomly hitting keys on a million typewriters can eventually recreate the works of Shakespeare. Audio

6:52 PM.Groups representing aged care workers and nurses gathered at Parliament today to urge the Government to ensure quality care for older people. Audio

6:46 PM.Some Northland hapu says the Government would be unwise to rely on the results of a vote which gives the Runanga led board Tuhoronuku, 76 per cent support to enter intoTreaty negotiations with the… Read more Audio

6:36 PM.The latest survey of how New Zealanders' view their environment shows increasing numbers worried about how much damage farming is doing. Audio

6:35 PM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:21 PM.Red light running has almost halved at Auckland intersections where cameras have been trialled. Audio

6:21 PM.The civil contracting firm, Fulton Hogan, says the full purchase of an Australian road services firm, and participating in the clean up of natural disasters on both sides of the Tasman, has boosted… Read more Audio

6:16 PM.A lawyer caught up in an illegal covert SIS operation 15-years ago says rushing through the Video Camera Surveillance Bill is an appalling way to make legislation. Audio

6:08 PM.The SAS soldier shot in Afghanistan yesterday, at a compound suspected of housing terrorist bomb makers, killed one of the people inside before he was hit. Audio

5:53 PM.A new report says the number of compex suicide attacks is up by half and civilian casualties, which are already at record levels for the first half of the year, rose a further five per cent between… Read more Audio

5:49 PM.Hundreds of churches have been told their insurer is no longer going to provide them with earthquake cover. Audio

5:46 PM.Hapu who are objecting to early settlement of the Ngapuhi treaty claims, say the Crown would be unwise to rely on today's results of a mandate vote; The Maori Students' Association says legislation… Read more Audio

5:43 PM.A 21 gun salute was fired by the HMNZS Te Mana as it entered Wellington Harbour to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Audio

5:40 PM.There were more attacks on the School Trustees Association today with trustees themselves criticising its stance on the national standards and its attitude to principals and teachers. Audio