Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

There's scepticism at predictions water bills could balloon to nine thousand dollars a year, if water services aren't consolidated.The services of 67 councils could be put into just four water entities, under the Government's reforms.South Canterbury mayors say they don't know where the Government's getting its numbers from.Timaru District Mayor Nigel Bowen told Kate Hawkesby he has his doubts about the figures.“It just looks like a marketing campaign; the data is coming out in a timely fashion that suits the government.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bill Cosby has been freed from prison after Pennsylvania's highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction.In a stunning reversal of fortune for the comedian once known as "America's Dad," the state Supreme court ruled that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor's agreement not to charge Cosby.Cosby, 83, has served nearly three years of a three- to 10-year sentence after being found guilty of drugging and violating Temple University sports administrator Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era.Bill Cosby's Twitter account released this photo of the comedian inside jail earlier in his sentence. Photo / TwitterThe former "Cosby Show" star was arrested in 2015, when a district attorney armed with newly unsealed evidence — the comic's damaging deposition testimony in a lawsuit brought by Constand — brought charges against him days before the 12-year statute of limitations ran out.But the Pennsylvani

British police said Tuesday that they are investigating the circumstances around the seeming harassment and intimidation of England's chief medical officer by two men in a park in central London.The incident, which was captured in video footage and shared on social media, shows Prof. Chris Whitty struggling to get away from the pair, who appeared to be manhandling him while trying to take a selfie.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the "thugs" accosting Whitty, who has been one of the most prominent voices during the coronavirus pandemic."I'm shocked at seeing the despicable harassment of chief medical officer Chris Whitty," Johnson said. "I condemn the behaviour of these thugs. Our hard-working public servants should not have to face this kind of intimidation on our streets and we will not tolerate it."The 20-second video shows the two grinning men grabbing Whitty as they shout "Oi oi" and ask for "One photo please?" As the clearly perturbed Whitty attempts to walk away, the men try to grab him a

In the never ending battle of what we can and can’t eat, the one consistent evil these days appears to be sugar.And now a new study published by Frontiers in Neuroscience says ‘children who consume too much sugar could be at greater risk of becoming obese, hyperactive, and cognitively impaired as adults’.Cognitively impaired, that's serious.So just how much sugar are we eating?According to the study, children and adults in more than 60 countries have a diet consisting of more than four times the sugar recommended by the WHO. So the WHO recommends 25 grams a day, most of us are consuming 100 grams a day.The worse news is that over eating sugar leads to more general over eating. We tend to eat more processed food, the more sugar we eat.Long term sugar consumption ‘significantly boosts weight gain, elicits an abnormal and excessive stimulation of the nervous system and it also alters both episodic and spatial memory,’ the study says.This is similar, apparently, to what happens with attention deficit and hyperact

The Statue of Liberty is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the world.And in an exciting week in New York, a second Statue of Liberty is arriving just in time for Independence Day.Like the original, the statue has been gifted by France, it is slightly smaller though, about one sixteenth the size of the original.President and CEO of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation Jesse Brackenbury told Kate Hawkesby the logistics of moving such a piece across the Atlantic is considerable.”“It hasn’t been entirely straightforward, but it’s a lot easier than getting the 300ft version here. It did take a crane and a specialty crew and specialty company.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oranga Tamariki is being told it needs to find staff who are up to the job.A whistleblower has released footage taken at a secure residence.It shows staff tackling a boy and twisting his arms behind his back, and putting another into a headlock before throwing him to the ground.Whanau Ora chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait told Kate Hawkesby children in Oranga Tamariki care have complex needs, requiring staff who understand behaviour, trauma and the brain.“We don’t hire for the skills required and the level of skills required. What I saw there could have been de-escalated.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today is the last possible day for the government to release the next set of its three year targets for child poverty reduction.But despite some fighting words from the Labour government in tackling child poverty, there is word it will be a press release and that there will be no major changes to targets.Jacqui Southey, the Advocacy and Research Director at Save the Children told Kate Hawkesby children can’t afford to wait for the help they need.“Our children need to live good lives now, and that means not living in poverty.”LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.