Checkpoint Podcast Options

5:51 PM.The government is tackling period poverty by rolling out access to free period products in schools.

During term three, the Ministry of Education programme will start in 15 schools in Waikato, before… Read more Audio

5:42 PM.Just a day after George Floyd died, after having his neck knelt on by a white police officer in Minneapolis, a white man confronted a group of African-American entrepreneurs while using their private… Read more Video, Audio

5:39 PM.The protests have continued in the US today, despite President Trump threatening to unleash the military if demonstrations persist over the death of African American man George Floyd in police… Read more Audio

5:36 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Video, Audio

5:28 PM.New Zealanders have been given a glimpse of Alert Level One - their efforts under lockdown finally bearing fruit - near normality on the horizon.

But for many, it hasn't come quick enough - the… Read more Audio

5:25 PM.The president of the police association says the death of a man in custody in Hawera is not the result of physical force by officers.

Three police officers - who have name suppression - have been… Read more Video, Audio

5:20 PM.The South Taranaki town of Hawera is in a state of shock today after three of its police officers were charged with manslaughter over the death of a man in custody in June last year.

The officers -… Read more Audio

5:07 PM.Air New Zealand is saying sorry, but the severity of its financial situation means it simply cannot afford to refund everyone without dipping into its $900 million government loan facility.

The… Read more Video, Audio

6:30 PM.A short phasing traffic light at road works is being blamed for causing hundreds of holidaymakers to get caught in gridlocked traffic in the Awakino Gorge in Taranaki yesterday.

But the Transport… Read more Audio

6:17 PM.Talk of returning the country to a "new normal" has been welcomed with cautious optimism, but those who are eagerly awaiting a change warn the devil is in the detail.

The Prime Minister this morning… Read more Audio

6:14 PM.An organiser of the Black Lives Matter protest in Christchurch is standing by his decision to help create the event, despite social distancing rules not being followed.

It was one of several events… Read more Audio

6:10 PM.CNN corespondent Darryl Forges is in Minneapolis - ground zero for the protests.

A few days ago his colleague Omar Jimenez and his camera crew were arrested by riot police, while reporting live on… Read more Video, Audio

6:07 PM.In the United States now where US President Donald Trump has today declared himself a "President of Law and Order", and threatened to deploy the military to cities across the country to end a week of… Read more Video, Audio

5:55 PM.There are calls for a thorough investigation into the contractors supposed to recover the bodies of pets killed on Auckland roads, after revelations a worker threw a dead cat into a ditch instead of… Read more Video, Audio

5:51 PM.Campers, trampers and Coromandel residents were all wringing out their mops today after a deluge of prolonged heavy rain over the long weekend.

More than half a metre of rain lashed the region over… Read more Audio

5:48 PM.A Māori law expert says the police minister is off the mark in saying the police is not a systemically racist organisation. Stuart Nash says while the police may have issues with unconscious bias… Read more Audio

5:40 PM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

5:25 PM.Countdown is giving staff a $10 million stake in the company. The supermarket giant announced on Tuesday more than 14,000 staff would receive Woolworths Group shares as a thank you for working through… Read more Video, Audio

5:22 PM.And New Zealand could leap to Alert Level One as early as next week - with the Prime Minister bringing forward the date at which Ministers will make that crucial call.

On Monday, Cabinet will look at… Read more Audio

5:19 PM.Nationwide protests attended by hundreds of people here over the weekend have drawn political condemnation for flouting level 2 rules, but there's little appetite for prosecutions.

Deputy Prime… Read more Audio

5:17 PM.An activist from Black Lives Matter says riots across the United States following the death of George Floyd are an "uprising" born out of 400 years of oppression - and white Americans would not stay… Read more Video, Audio

5:08 PM.President Trump has threatened to mobilise the military to silence protesters who have been demonstrating for a seventh night in cities across the United States.

George Floyd's death has sent… Read more Video, Audio

6:23 PM.Top flight netballers are finally back on court. The country's top players have just completed their first week back training after a two month layoff due to the pandemic - and are now preparing for a… Read more Video, Audio

6:19 PM.Meanwhile, the backbone of New Zealand's economy, small businesses, will need a jump start to help the country's economy get moving again - that is something both government and the opposition agree… Read more Audio

6:16 PM.Artists and musicians are welcoming a $175 million package from the government aimed as protecting the jobs of 90,000 people in the arts and music sectors.

The Prime Minister made the announcement in… Read more Video, Audio