Five Big Things That Happened Today: Wednesday, April 30

Wed, Apr 30
Dark clouds (file photo).

Severe weather to lash both islands, Crown won't pursue Stephen Stone retrial, and the women who waived suppression for Olivia Podmore.

1 Severe weather to lash both islands, 'unusually strong' winds for Wellington

Further severe weather is forecast to impact both islands, bringing heavy rain, unusually strong winds for the capital and cancelled Cook Strait ferry services.

A low-pressure system deepening and moving across the country today and tomorrow has sparked multiple weather warnings and watches.

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2 Crown won't pursue Stephen Stone retrial: 'No longer sufficient evidence'

The Crown says Stephen Stone won't face re-trial over two 1989 murders.

Crown Solicitor Alysha McClintock said at the High Court at Auckland that there "is no longer sufficient evidence to support Mr Stone being tried".

Stone and co-defendant Gail Maney were convicted for the murder of 21-year-old Auckland man Deane Fuller-Sandys in 1999 and during a retrial in 2000. Stone was also convicted of raping and murdering Leah Stephens, who the Crown said witnessed the Fuller-Sandys killing.

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3 Money skills to be core element of curriculum, Government announces

Students as young as five will soon learn about money management at school as the Government pushes to introduce compulsory financial education from Years 1 to 10, the Education Minister has announced.

"This is extraordinarily important in a very complex world when it comes to finances, getting loans, not being scammed, working out discounts, how to go flatting, how to work out a budget," Erica Stanford said.

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4 'Pretty amazing': Kiwi-built amateur rocket reaches space with unique payload

A Kiwi-built amateur rocket is believed to have set a record as not just the country's first but one of the fastest launched into space — all with homemade beer and gin onboard.

Meraki II, a 4-metre rocket, launched near Arthur's Pass on April 19, reaching a peak altitude of 121.6km.

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5 Parker's team will be wary about heavyweight unification bout claim

Promoter Frank Warren’s assertion that Joseph Parker will fight the winner of Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight unification bout at Wembley Stadium in July will likely be greeted with skepticism by the Kiwi and his team.

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ONE UNIFIED STAND FOR OLIVIA PODMORE

Once adversaries, Nicholle Bailey and Jess Massey found themselves united in a shared goal following the suspected suicide of Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore: To tell the truth for their friend.

RNZ sports correspondent Dana Johannsen reports.

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