Firefighters continue to battle a fire in Christchurch's Port Hills, a date is set for the beginning of Trump's first criminal trial, and a man swims out to sea - allegedly to evade police.
1 Port Hills fire: Firefighters push on despite 'draining' work, blaze 70% contained
Ewan Pete told 1News he's been fighting the fire since it broke out on Wednesday afternoon.
Firefighters have been working 12-hour shifts, which he describesd as "physically and mentally draining". Overall, he says he's feeling "pretty good".
Follow 1News' live updates for the latest developments.
Officials said this morning the fire is 70% contained and covers around 650 hectares. One home has been destroyed. Ninety-five firefighters are on the hills, supported by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
2 Health NZ notifies around 12,000 people impacted by Covid data breach
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora has begun notifying those impacted by an unauthorised data breach today - expected to affect around 12,000.
Chief executive Margie Apa says the first group being contacted is a large number of Covid-19 vaccinators who had their personal information leaked to a downloadable file on a US-based blog.
A small number of vaccinated people might also be potentially identified within information earlier made publicly available through considerable effort and technical expertise, she adds.
3 Man allegedly drives onto beach, takes a dip to get away from police
Police in Auckland's Ōrewa observed a 36-year-old man, allegedly driving dangerously along Marine Parade around 6.50pm.
"Units quickly abandoned the pursuit while another nearby patrol unit observed the vehicle as it drove onto Ōrewa Beach," Senior Sergeant Roger Small says.
"The driver has then got out of the car and run into the water, swimming quite a distance offshore.
"Staff managed to take the male into custody after a 30-minute impasse."
4 NZ regulations are ineffective around vapes, says smoke-free advocate
A smoke-free advocate claims vape makers are finding ways around the new rules imposed last year to discourage young people taking up the habit.
Action for Smokefree 2025 director Ben Youdan told Breakfast he doesn't understand the "arbitrary rules"
In June 2023, the Labour government set out new regulations such as limiting vape flavours that attract young people, as well as restricting the sale of cheap disposable vapes. New vape stores were also unable to open within 300m of schools or marae.
5 Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial to start late next month
Jury selection will start on March 25, a New York judge ruled, turning aside demands for a delay from the former President’s defence team.
Donald Trump's lawyers unsuccessfully argued it would interfere with his campaign to retake the White House.
It is the first of four criminal prosecutions against Trump to go to trial, making him the first ex-President to be tried for a criminal charge.
Other cases charge him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and illegally hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate.
The trial is expected to last six weeks.
ONE RECORD-BREAKING TOUR
Thousands of Kiwis are flocking across the ditch to catch a glimpse of pop superstar Taylor Swift in action.
Beginning tonight, Swift will play three sold-out shows in Melbourne. With a staggering 86,000 fans expected each night at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Little wonder tickets have been flying off the shelves faster than you can say "Shake It Off”.
Australian correspondent Aziz Al Saafin has more on the economic impact of Taylor Swift's tour.
ONE AI ADVANCEMENT
The maker of ChatGPT has unveiled its next leap into generative artificial intelligence with a tool that instantly makes short videos in response to written commands.
The high quality videos displayed by OpenAI's new text-to-video generator Sora astounded observers - while also raising fears about ethical and societal implications.
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