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**** CKPT FOR THURS 19 APRIL ******************************
1700 to 1707 NEWS
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Stunning footage reveals the hate-filled rantings of the Virginia Tech gunman, which the killer himself mailed to an American TV network between attacks. In one of the numerous video-clips Choh Sung Wee declares, "YOU HAVE BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS" and says, quote " I DID IT, I HAD TO".The 23-year-old South Korean student's shootings led to America's deadliest massacre. From the US, the ABC's Kim Landers reports PKG
Accusations today of staff running amok at a Wellington mental health unit following the suspension of a worker accused of hitting a patient so hard he drew blood. An investigation into the assualt is now under way at Porirua Hospital's Haumietiketike (hau-mia-tike-tike) unit - a facility for intellectually disabled people whose behaviour poses a serious risk to themselves or others. But a regular visitor there John Greally, says patients have told him about a dozen assaults he believes adds up to a pattern of abuse by ill-trained and inexperienced staff. The statement was passed on to lawyer Micheal Bott. Hospital management have declined to be interviewed on Checkpoint - no- one will talk until the internal inquiry is over. I asked John Greally what the witness had told him. PREREC
Wellington lawyer Michael Bott also took a statement from the witness. He's with us now. LIVE
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1720 BUSINESS NEWS
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CUT The South Auckland success story Dawn Raid is no more - the string of seven companies promoting music, clothing and graphics is in liquidation.There's been talk for weeks of the company's troubles.Known as a champion of Pacific hip hop artists - the company signed artists Deceptikonz, Savage, Aradhna and Adeaze who had numerous hits.Our Pacific Issues Correspondent Richard Pamatatau is with us now LIVE
If you booked in at Mount Cook's only hotel and you didn't like spicy lentil curry at 28-dollars 50 for example, then tough because The Hermitage Hotel made it compulsory for guests to take dinner at its restaurants. But now it's admitted breaching the Commerce Act by restricting competition from the only other eatery in the Village. And the owners of Mt Cook's Old Mountaineers' Cafe, are hailing the decision as a victory for small businesses. Nadine Chalmers-Ross reports. PKG
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17.30 HEADLINES
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The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has condemned bombings in Baghdad that killed nearly 200 people - in the worst day of violence since a new US security operation began. The Prime Minister has also ordered the arrest of the army commander responsible for security in Sadriya district where more than 100 people died in a car bombing in a food market. The BBC's Andrew North reports on the day's events PKG
The tap is set to be turned off to thousands of farmers and growers in Australia's most important agricultural region, the Murray-Darling basin.The Prime Minister John Howard has announced today that no water will be allocated for irrigation in the basin for the coming year unless there is significant rainfall in the next six weeks. CUT
Mr Howard has described the situation as "unprecedented". CUT
And the Australian National Farmers Federation chief executive Ben Fargher [FARG-ER] says the announcement could lead to significant pain. PREREC
The police have completed their examination of the stagecoach bus involved in yesterday's fatal hit and run accident on a busy Auckland street.They say 53-year-old Rongfa Jiang was clipped by a Stagecoach bus's wing mirror during yesterday morning's rush hour on Dominion Road.As Joy McArthur reports, police were out riding the buses this morning looking for eyewitnesses PKG
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17.45 TRAILS
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WAATEA
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A forensic scientist doubts the effectiveness of an Auckland firm's hair testing technique, which aims to reveal a person's history of alcohol use or abuse. The New Zealand Drug Detection Agency says the technology could be used to vet employees, identify alcoholics and determine if someone's fit to be a parent.As Hannah Ockelford reports, it's not only a scientist who is sceptical.
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