Legendary singer Aretha Franklin has died at home in Detroit, aged 76.The music icon, who influenced generations of singers with unforgettable hits such as Respect (1967), Natural Woman (1968) and I Say a Little Prayer (1968), was surrounded by family and friends when she died at 9.50am on Thursday local time.Her death from advanced pancreatic ...…

Every Friday morning, Mike Hosking takes you through the big ticket items of the week and lets you know what he makes of it all.Here's a taste of what he reckons.Simon Bridges.7/10."Comes out of the week unscathed, despite the best attempts of some loser in Parliament and TV3 "And good on Mallard for calling it and presumably flushing the low-l ...…

Every Friday morning, Mike Hosking takes you through the big ticket items of the week and lets you know what he makes of it all.Here's a taste of what he reckons.Simon Bridges.7/10."Comes out of the week unscathed, despite the best attempts of some loser in Parliament and TV3 "And good on Mallard for calling it and presumably flushing the low-l ...…

Winston Peters claims Simon Bridges is trying to lure some of his New Zealand First MPs over to the National Party.National claims New Zealand First MPs are completely beholden to Winston Peters, because of his party's so called good behaviour clause.That clause could see them fined $300,000 if they're expelled or resign from the party's caucus ...…

A group of researchers have discovered proteins in sheep wool could be used as a dietary supplement to improve our health.Matthew Barnett from AgResearch told Mike Hosking essentially they are proteins which hold the wool together and could be used to promote gut health."You break down the proteins to a certain extent which gives out the certai ...…

The Wallabies have named a near full-strength side to take on the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup opener on Saturday night.The only other victory enjoyed by the Wallabies in the Michael Cheika era came the last time the two sides met in Brisbane last year.Newstalk ZB rugby editor and commentator Nigel Yalden told Mike Hosking the city was faili ...…

An assisted dying advocate believes a slight tweak to the End of Life Choice Bill is needed.The Bill would currently allow people suffering a grievous and untreatable medical condition to choose assisted death.Matt Vickers' stood by his late wife Lecretia Seales as she sought legal means to end her life when she was suffering from terminal brai ...…

NZ First leader Winston Peters has defended a clause in the party's constitution which hold MPs liable for a $300,000 penalty if they resign.The clause states that every member who is elected as a New Zealand First list MP or constituency MP, must sign a "resignation obligation contract"Winston Peters told Mike Hosking the clause will not silen ...…

KidsCan says it's now feeding almost 30,000 school kids a week and a lot are accessing help up to five days a week.The organisation now supports 732 primary, intermediate and high schools in all 16 regions of New Zealand, offering food, shoes, socks, raincoats and health and hygiene items.Founder Julie Chapman says at the beginning of term thre ...…

A New Zealand company is using drone to help catch poachers in South Africa.Aeronavics is a Raglan based drone company which has designed a drone to help protect the last of the rhinos left.Recent studies estimate roughly 18,000 southern white rhino and 5500 black rhino are left in Africa but the numbers are dropping.Rhino horn is trafficked by ...…

A big boost for West Coast councils to help with freedom camping.The government's handing out $8.5 million to councils around the country for infrastructure like toilets.Two districts on the West Coast received the most money, with $850,000 for Grey District and $780,000 for Westland.Grey District Mayor Bruce Smith told Mike Hosking they will b ...…

Nigel Farage says he is used to facing protests, everywhere he goes.The controversial Brexit campaigner and former UKIP leader is due to speak in Auckland early next month.His visit comes weeks after two white nationalist Canadian speakers had an Auckland appearance cancelled due to protests.Farage told Mike Hosking right-wing speakers are incr ...…

Figures released under the Official Information Act show police are investigating almost 50,000 more family violence incidents, compared to 10 years ago.The number of offences is also up, with almost 40,000 last year.But the number of apprehensions and prosecutions is trending down with 16,764 prosecutions last year, down more than 2500 from 20 ...…

The construction industry is being blamed for a lack of passive fire protection in many commercial buildings.The Insurance Council says surveyors are constantly reporting non-compliance for things that are meant to slow down or eliminate a fire spreading in a multi-storey building.They include unprotected punctures through fire-rated walls and ...…

A New Zealand bridge expert who has close ties to the bridge which fatally collapsed in northern Italy says it was an accident waiting to happen.So far, 38 people have been killed after Genoa's Morandi bridge came down during a storm earlier this week.Canterbury University Structural Engineering Professor Alessandro Palermo says he knows the pe ...…

Both major political parties say an inquiry into the leak of Simon Bridges' expenses would be fine, but they want to get on with the bigger issues.Questions remain over the leak's origin.National's Mark Mitchell says the party is 100 percent confident it's not someone within the caucus ... and asks why would the leader be calling for an inquiry ...…

LISTEN TO NICK BRYANT TALK WITH MIKE HOSKING ABOVEPresident Donald Trump on Tuesday referred to Omarosa Manigault Newman as "that dog" as the former senior White House adviser continued a publicity tour to promote her new book depicting Trump as a racist.In a morning tweet, Trump praised his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, for firing Manigault N ...…

Questions around what supermarkets can and can't do when it comes to security.Countdown's apologised to customers and ordered its Ferrymead store to stop the practice after a patron complained security staff were using airport-style handheld scanner to detect potential shopliftersSimpson Grierson partner John Rooney told Mike Hosking it's quite ...…

An Auckland University physicist has made a major international breakthrough which could help explain some of life's greatest mysteries.Dr Maarten Hoogerland's been involved in discovering the energy difference between two quantum states in the helium atom with extreme accuracy, also known as the quantum leap.He hopes the discovery will lead to ...…

A new beginning for the silver ferns today.The first squad is set to be announced since the shambolic Commonwealth Games campaign, and it looks like some key veterans will make their return.Casey Kopua and Laura Langman are set to be named, providing Langman puts herself on a Kiwi domestic side for next year’s season.It's also believed Noeline ...…

A Wellington teacher believes parents will continue to support them as they fight for better work conditions.Thousands of primary school teachers and principals will be striking today.Many will be rallying across the country with some marching to Parliament in the capital.Worser Bay School teacher Carl Pynenburg told Mike Hosking many parents h ...…

Simon Bridges wants a full, independent investigation into who leaked his travel costs.Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard is deciding whether that's warranted.Bridges says he's very confident it's not a National MP.Only National's caucus, Parliamentary Services and the Speaker had access to the file.Bridges told Mike Hosking it's not so much a ...…

Another's economist's suggesting the Government should be a bit more flexible when it comes to debt and investment.It committed to reducing the country's debt to 20 percent of GDP by 2021.BNZ's Head of Research Stephen Toplis says the Government will most likely miss the target anyway, which is low by international standards.He's joining others ...…

One of America’s great minds is coming to New Zealand.Dr Cornel West has been fighting for what he calls justice in America for decades.He’s been fighting for race equality, and is renowned philosopher and intellectual.He’s also a professor of the practice of public philosophy at Harvard University.Now he’s bringing his thought-provoking views ...…

The Forestry Minister is defending the multi-million boost toward trees.The Government's One Billion Dollar Tree programme is getting a $240 million boost from the Provincial Growth Fund.That's on top of the previous $245 million kick-start already given to the programme.Forestry Minister Shane Jones says he knows it's a lot of money."The gover ...…

A level of understanding from the Prime Minister for Simon Bridges' big domestic travel bill.The opposition leader's racked up a six figure bill over the last three months, which included his nationwide roadshow.Jacinda Ardern told Mike Hosking she knows how quickly those costs can add up - admitting she was surprised at how high her own travel ...…

More high earning families are struggling to pay the bills.A study by the Commission for Financial Capability has found families who have incomes between $100,000 and $150,000 debts were up.Director of the Massey University Financial Education Centre Doctor Pushpa Wood told Mike Hosking it could be down to a number of reasons."They have inherit ...…

There are calls for Pharmac to increase access to Multiple Sclerosis drugs.Many health professionals say sufferers should be able to access drugs earlier, and stay on them for longer.Neurologist Dr Debbie Mason told Mike Hosking the funding criteria is outdated."Patients have to jump through quite a lot of hurdles to get onto these medications ...…

The Transport Agency's urging owners of heavy vehicles checked by a dodgy certifier, to have them looked at again.The safety of towing connections of almost 500 trucks, trailers, buses and motorhomes could have been falsely certified by Richard "Dick" Joyce, who operated around Wellington and Wairarapa.He's been suspended indefinitely following ...…

Confusion in the ACT Party's direction has lead to ideas over a rebranding.Leader David Seymour this weekend announced a new private members bill, one which he acknowledges is one adopted from New Zealand First.The bill around reducing the number of MPs is hoped to provide a better direction for where the party wants to go in the future.The ann ...…

The head of NASA's mission to the sun says it's hard to overstate the challenges ahead.The American space agency has successfully launched a probe, that will go closer to the sun than any spacecraft has gone before.READ MORE: NASA's Parker probe set for launch in its historic mission to the SunThe craft will endure extreme heat, while zooming t ...…

Is rugby too violent?That’s the question being asked after a 21-year-old French player died hours after he was stunned in a legal tackle.Former All Blacks Coach John Hart told Mike Hosking rugby is a contact sport and there will always be injuries.“Unfortunately, that’s the nature of the game and most contact sports have this issue.”He said cha ...…

The weed killer Roundup is in the spotlight after a US court awarded a janitor US$440 million after they ruled roundup contributed to his terminal cancer.It is currently the number one used weed killer in New Zealand.There are now questions over whether it is safe or not to use.Northland Provincial President at Federated Farmers John Blackwell ...…

Airline bosses around the world are expected to be reviewing security measures in the wake of the Seattle plane heist, according to an aviation expert.29-year-old Richard Russell stole a plane from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Saturday, but crashed and died after an hour long joyride.It is not yet known how the airline employee was a ...…

Oyster farmers are still waiting for compensation, one year after the destruction of millions of Stewart Island farmed oysters.The Ministry for Primary Industries ordered the destruction of oysters after a parasite was found in two farms in Big Glory Bay.Only two out of 40 claims have been settled.Bluff Oyster Company founder Rodney Clark hasn' ...…

Every Friday Tim Wilson and Kate Hawkesby join Mike Hosking to discuss the week's best bits.This week's highlights were, the horrors of dirty offices along with the backlash over the Joseph Parker speech and the question was asked, should taxpayers be paying for tourists' rescues?LISTEN ABOVE AS TIM WILSON AND KATE HAWKESBY SPEAK WITH MIKE HOSKING…

Every Friday morning, Mike Hosking takes you through the big ticket items of the week and lets you know what he makes of it all.Here's a taste of what he reckons.Jan Thomas, Vice Chancellor of Massey University.0/10."For the abject failure and quite obvious personal bias she brought to the Don Brash cancellation." Steven Joyce9/10."Come on in S ...…

Every Friday morning, Mike Hosking takes you through the big ticket items of the week and lets you know what he makes of it all.Here's a taste of what he reckons.Jan Thomas, Vice Chancellor of Massey University.0/10."For the abject failure and quite obvious personal bias she brought to the Don Brash cancellation." Steven Joyce9/10."Come on in S ...…

Fonterra could be about to sneeze, and the rest of the country could catch the cold.Shares in the dairy giant have been placed on a trading halt both here and in Australia, as it reviews its financial statements for the year to July.The company has found its financial earnings may be different from the earnings guidance given to the market.JMI ...…

The dairy sector is unsure what to make of Fonterra's upcoming announcement.Shares in the dairy giant have been placed on a trading halt, here and across the Tasman, as the company goes over its annual financial statements for the financial year just passed.It says it's found there may be a difference between the final figure and the earnings g ...…

Grant Robertson is once again rejecting claims of a fiscal hole in the Government's books.The fiscal hole saga erupted last year when then-Finance Minister Steven Joyce claimed Labour would need to borrow an additional $11.7 billion to cover increased spending.READ MORE: Steven Joyce: 'I was right on Labour's fiscal hole'Independent economist C ...…

Former Finance Minister Steven Joyce says his claims of a fiscal hole in Labour's books have been proven right.His claims of an $11.7 billion fiscal hole were widely rejected last year, however, independent economist Cameron Bagrie believes Mr Joyce will eventually be vindicated.READ MORE: Comment - Joyce was right about Labour's $11b fiscal ho ...…

There are calls for a contingency plan to shut our borders if the world is hit by a severe pandemic.One of the study's authors Professor Michael Baker told Mike Hosking a law and decision-making process for when a shut-down is activated needs to be implemented.We need a contingency plan to shut the border immediately in the case of a severe pan ...…

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, announced Tuesday that he is considering taking the electric car maker private, causing the company's stock to spike.In keeping with his unorthodox style, Musk made the out-of-the-blue announcement in a terse tweet. He said he may take the company private at US$420 a share and already has secured funding."Am considering ta ...…

The threat responsible for cancelling former National Party leader, Don Brash's speech has been revealed as a single social media comment which said: "take a gun".Brash was due to speak at Massey University's Manawatu campus as part of a series of political talks.However, his event was cancelled after the university's Vice Chancellor said they ...…

International student numbers are likely to drop as tweaks to post-study work rights come into force.Under the new changes, students who study high-level courses will be offered three-year work visas, while students studying less sought after qualifications won't be able to work in New Zealand.Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway told Mike H ...…

A field officer is calling this year's census a farce after it had the lowest response rate in five surveys.The release of the 2018 Census data has been delayed until next year because of the low turnout. The response rate of 90 per cent.Coromandel Pennisula Census Field Officer Hillary Falconer told Mike Hosking unlike in previous years she wa ...…

Television superstar William Shatner, who is best known for playing James T. Kirk, in Star Trek, is returning to New Zealand.Shatner's World, The Return Down Under is a theatrical journey through the star's life and career, from Shakespearean stage actor to internationally acclaimed icon and raconteur.In addition to returning to Auckland, Shatn ...…

The Government is expected to announce a 'dole for apprenticeship' scheme today.Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation Chief Executive Warwick Quinn told Mike Hosking this would be a great thing for businesses."The early days and first few months certainly cost employers, so it would make taking on apprentices a more economica ...…

Should a prospective tenant have to show their bank account to a landlord when trying to rent?It has been revealed some landlords and property managers will ask for bank statements and analyse what the prospect is spending their money on.Consumer NZ call it a very concerning and unethical practice while NZFirst MP Darroch Ball says it is a gros ...…