3+ hour, 10+ min ago (213+ words) A man has been charged after allegedly brandishing a firearm, threatening bystanders and firing a shot into the air at a well-known Thames swimming hole. Police said they were called to the swimming hole on Kauaeranga Valley Rd at about 5pm yesterday. Detective Sergeant Mark Leathem of the Coromandel Hauraki Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) said the man had allegedly threatened members of the public before discharging a shot into the air. Leathem said the man then allegedly discarded the weapon into nearby vegetation before fleeing with another party. "Police Eagle attended and located the vehicle a short time later and the pair were arrested," Leathem said. "The firearm was also recovered from the initial scene." A 20-year-old man is due to appear in Hamilton District Court tomorrow on charges including unlawfully possessing a firearm and discharging a firearm to intimidate. "Police…...

3+ hour, 16+ min ago (109+ words) Kiwi born Hollywood star Russell Crowe has played many intense roles in his career." But his latest might be his most intense yet." Heading back to world war 2, Russell plays Hitlers right hand man Hermann Goring in "Nuremberg, the film focusing on the duel between psychologist Douglas Kelley and Goring, in the lead up to the post war trial." Crowe told Francesca Rudkin that he had to do a lot of background reading before playing the part." 'So you have to find those moments of what I call quiet contemplation, where you get to really think through and learn about what you're doing.'...

4+ hour, 31+ min ago (120+ words) Dr. Michelle Dickinson joins Francesca Rudkin to break-down and analyse a new study which has revealed that human's don't fully reach adulthood until their ... Follow the podcast on We often think of brain development as something that happens in childhood, stabilises in adulthood, and then gradually declines. However new research published in the journal Nature Communications suggests our brains actually move through five distinct eras, each with its own strengths, vulnerabilities, and turning points. Researchers analysed MRI brain scans from nearly 4,000 people aged between newborn and 90 years old. Their goal was to understand how the brain's internal wiring, changes over a lifetime. Dr. Michelle Dickinson joins Francesca Rudkin to break-down and analyse the study....

7+ hour, 1+ min ago (580+ words) Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency and appealed for international assistance as the death toll from floods and mudslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah rose to 153, with another 191 people missing. The extreme weather system has destroyed more than 20,000 homes, sending 108,000 people to state-run temporary shelters, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) reported. A further 798,000 people required assistance after being temporarily displaced by the floods, DMC spokesman Pradeep Kodippili said. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake invoked emergency powers, granting him sweeping authority to manage the aftermath of the devastation caused by a week of torrential rain across the island. Kodippili confirmed that 153 people had been killed. Among them were 11 residents of an elder care home that was flooded in the north-central district of Kurunegala on Saturday afternoon (local time), police said. Troops from the army, navy, and air force have been deployed alongside…...

7+ hour, 2+ min ago (826+ words) In a quiet warehouse on the outskirts of Raglan, lines of tall shelving units are filled with inoculated substrate bags. They are all at different stages of sprouting delicate, pale, coral-like fronds. It is here that the mysterious Hericium novae-zealandiae, a native New Zealand fungus, is being cultivated. Also known as pekepeke-kiore, it is a close relative to lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus) - the world's most researched mushroom for brain health. It's recognised for its medicinal properties and support of focus, memory and nerve growth - a food for the brain. Seasoned mushroom grower Sean Mills already has an established mushroom business with his wife, Emily Eldin, supplying gourmet mushroom grow bags for people to grow at home. "I've always been interested in lion's mane and the extensive research demonstrating of how it can support brain function and health, but I wasn't…...

7+ hour, 12+ min ago (99+ words) Labour party leader Chris Hipkins joins Francesca Rudkin to discuss the party's focuses for the next election. Follow the podcast on Labour has shifted into campaign mode as the party meets for its annual conference in Auckland. With less than a year until the next election, Labour party leader, Chris Hipkins opened with an emphatic message "Believe We Can Win. Hipkins told Francesca Rudkin that the party has been focusing on what Kiwis didn't like about their last election campaign. 'We've spent time really focusing on what didn't go well for us and what we need to change.'...

8+ hour, 52+ min ago (943+ words) A pregnant woman was advised that she didn't need to do further testing for Down syndrome because there was an extremely rare chance her daughter would have the genetic condition. But, the baby girl was born with the disability and multiple other conditions. Six months after giving birth, the mother applied to the Accident Compensation Corporation for cover for herself, and her daughter, on the basis that her decision to continue the pregnancy could be classed as a treatment injury. She said she wouldn't have continued with the pregnancy if she had known about the risk. The corporation declined hers and her daughter's applications, and, earlier this year, she took her fight to the District Court, where a judge found that the medical advice she had been given was incorrect. According to that ruling, the woman, who has name suppression,…...

10+ hour, 37+ min ago (412+ words) Ariana Grande has again responded to the ongoing speculation about her health. The Thank U, Next singer posted a clip of a 2024 interview on Instagram yesterday, captioned "resharing this from last year " as a loving reminder to all". Grande describes herself as a "specimen in a petri dish" in the video, emotionally addressing the impact of the time she has spent in the public eye, according to Page Six. "I think that it's something that is uncomfortable no matter what scale you're experiencing it on", she said. "In today's society, there is a comfortability that we shouldn't have at all " commenting on others' looks, appearance, what they think is going on behind the scenes or health or how they present themselves." The press tour for Wicked: For Good has reignited commentary around Grande's appearance, with fans discussing what has been…...

11+ hour, 37+ min ago (813+ words) Diabetes NZ is sounding the alarm over a new and "very challenging" uptick in children with type 2 diabetes. The charity has just finished its Diabetes Action Month, in an effort to get people at risk of the chronic metabolic disease to make an intervention for the sake of their own health. But they're warning that while people are aware young people can get type 1, they can also get type 2 " and it's becoming more prevalent. "It's an intergenerational one, and this is a new condition which is very challenging because it's very aggressive," Diabetes NZ CEO Heather Verry told Newstalk ZB's Real Life with John Cowan on Sunday night. "Years ago, type 2 was something you saw in adults " [now] we're seeing children at the age of 8 get it. People have commonly called type 2 "lifestyle [diabetes]', that's certainly not the case for…...

11+ hour, 55+ min ago (196+ words) Two women have been charged with aggravated assault after security guards and a bystander were injured attempting to foil an alleged shoplifting incident at an Auckland mall. Police were called to Glenfield Mall at around 1.30pm on Friday, responding to reports that security guards had been assaulted while trying to stop the alleged shoplifters from leaving an unidentified store. Two security guards and a member of the public were violently assaulted, with two of the victims requiring hospital treatment. Acting Senior Sergeant Alex Waworis, the relieving Waitemat" East Communities Manager, said police quickly responded to the incident and arrived at the scene within minutes. But as the alleged offenders had already left Glenfield Mall, officers then had to track them down. The women were found close by and taken into custody, with the allegedly shoplifted items subsequently returned to the targeted…...