Lots of areas of low cloud and fog this morning, then a mix of fine and cloudy periods for much of the country. That heavy rain Jim warned you about yesterday is now moving on to the South Island, and later in the news hour I'll take you through the heavy-rain and strong-wind warnings. Right now, it's 6 o'clock. Due to the live nature of ONE News we apologise for the lack of captions for some items. This is ONE News, with Simon Dallow and Wendy Petrie. TonigG Tonight ` parents' te Ewen Macdonald's mother and father tell the jury how their son told them that Scott Guy had been killed. Prison stand-off ` two inmates are holed up at our toughest jail, including an infamous escape artist known as Houdini. Survivors are brought ashore, but there are fears for dozens of others after a boat full of asylum-seekers capsizes. And scary spiders ` the creepy-crawly critters that have been imported to NZ, and they're here to breed. Kia ora, good evening. The parents of the man accused of killing Scott Guy have given evidence at his trial for the first time. Ewen Macdonald's mother and father say their son was upset and crying when he called to tell them Scott Guy had been killed. While Macdonald's wife was questioned about diving boots which the Crown says the killer wore. Simon Bradwell's been in court. For Ewen Macdonald, guns are a way of life. The boys ` from a very young age, Kerry put a firearm in their hands, > just for curiosity's sake and to show them the safety of firearms. > We're not allowed to show you Ewen Macdonald's parents, but both gave evidence that he grew into a keen hunter, going on deer-stalking trips to Taupo or, on this occasion, Stewart Island. And it was on these trips that Ewen Macdonald would sometimes wear diving boots. We just used them as camp shoes, so if you were hunting during the day, often your hunting boots got wet, > so you'd take them off and let them dry out. > The Crown says whoever killed Scott Guy in July 2010 was wearing a distinctive pair of diving boots, and they say Ewen Macdonald had bought just such a pair from his father's hunting shop. But Ewen Macdonald's wife said she thought she threw them out when they moved house in 2008, well before the murder. We were going to move and I said to Ewen, 'We're not keeping them. 'We're not taking that down, because we were just having a big clean-out, a big throw out.' And Marlene Macdonald said the boots weren't there when she stayed at her son's house shortly before Scott Guy's murder. So, it wasn't there in June of 2010 when you were there? No. > How sure are you about that? I am positive. I would swear on the Bible. > Police gave evidence today that despite an extensive search of the Guy property, they never found the dive boots or the Labrador puppies they say Ewen Macdonald stole to make police think the murder was a burglary gone wrong, while Ewen Macdonald's parents also recalled their son was crying when he broke the news to them of Scott Guy's death. I said to him, 'Do you know how he was killed? And he said, 'I think his throat might have been cut.' > Contradicting the Crown's claim that Ewen Macdonald told people his brother-in-law had been shot, even before police knew that's how Scott Guy died. Simon Bradwell, ONE News. And we've got plenty of coverage from the trial on our website, onenews.co.nz, where you can find a blow-by-blow account of what's happened so far. A stand-off continues tonight at the country's toughest prison, and ONE News has discovered one of the inmates involved is an infamous prison escaper, known as Houdini. Two men are holed up on a tower at Auckland Prison at Paremoremo, just north of Auckland. Kim Vinnell's across developments and joins us now live. WE'RE JOINING YOU FROM THE PRISON GATES SECURITY HAS BEEN RAMPED UP THE TWO MEN ARE STILL NI THE TOWER� WE'VE WATCHED FOR MOST OF THE AFTERNOON THEY'VE FASHIONED TOOLS PERHAPS WEAPONS CORRECTIONS HAS A TEAM ON STAND-BY WATCHING CLOSELY He's nicknamed Houdini for a reason. Aaron Forden, the man to the left of screen and waving to the camera, is infamous for his ability to give prison the slip. This time, though, he didn't make it over the wire, just to the disused observation tower. His sidekick is understood to be former Black Power member Damian Wereta, jailed for aggravated robbery, but also convicted for threatening prison staff. They have some internal exercise yards, and they're quite athletic, and they were able to just scale up the wall and just get into this very unused tower. The tower's within D Block, the maximum-security wing of the prison. But the stunt still sent the prison into lock-down. They are within the secure area in the maximum-security prison, which is why we know we have this incident absolutely contained. There is no threat to anyone else inside the prison or outside in the community, because they are inside the maximum security. Forden spent the day soaking in the sunshine and attention and gathering metal strips from the tower. Wereta appeared wrapped in a blanket. It's thought they could also have food. They don't have any demands at this stage. To be perfectly honest, it's just a bit of a nuisance. Forden, who was convicted of assault, is a master escape artist. In 2008, he used a rope made from sheets to shimmy down the side of Mt Eden Jail. Last year he cost the new private prison company SERCO a $150,000 fine when he busted out again. He's also previously escaped from Whangarei District Court. We will probably wait them out. That's the safest option. Some point they will get cold, tired and hungry, and they will get themselves down. Corrections describes the situation as a nuisance, rather than an embarrassment, but says there'll be an investigation. And, Kim, we've heard from Aaron Forden's father. What's he had to say? HIS FATHER, STEPHEN, SAYS HE HASN'T SPOKEN TO HIS SON FOR YEARS AND HE DOESN'T KNOW WHY HE CONTINUES TO DO THIS HE HAS TRIED TO GET HIS SON HELP BUT IT'S BEEN TO NO AVAIL HE DOESN'T THINK AUCKLAND PRISON IS THE RIGHT PLACE FOR HIS SON Thanks, Kim Vinnell in Paremoremo. The search continues tonight for survivors, but it's looking grim, with up to a hundred people feared dead after a boat full of asylum-seekers capsized while on the way to Australia. Just over a hundred survivors are now on Christmas Island after the vessel, believed to be carrying refugees from Afghanistan, got in trouble off Indonesia's coast. For more, let's go live now to ONE News Australia correspondent Steve Marshall. THIS IS THE PROMISED LAND FOR THOUSANDS OF ASYLUM-SEEKERS ON BOARD LEAKY BOATS OPERATED BY PEOPLE SMUGGLERS. WHILE MANY DO REACH AUSTRALIAN SHORES, OTHERS NEVER MAKE IT, RESULTING IN DEATH AND DRAMA AT SEA. AS WE'VE SEEN, DREAMS TURN TO TRAGEDY AT SEA Battered survivors of the latest asylum-seeker boat tragedy arrive on Christmas Island. Many need medical treatment after their boat capsized with up to 200 people on board. Australian Navy boats rushed to help. We found about 40 people that were on top of the upturned hull and other people that were holding on to debris as much as 3 nautical miles away from the scene. A RAAF plane dropped life rafts before merchant ships arrived. More than a hundred people have been rescued, and around 90 remain missing. The Australian and Indonesian leaders are in Rio and held urgent talks. What we do know in relation to this very tragic matter is that we do face a considerable loss of life at sea. A number of bodies have been pulled from the water, and questions are now being asked about events leading up to the tragedy. Australian search and rescue received distress calls from the boat as early as midnight on Tuesday. Further calls early Wednesday placed the vessel off Indonesia, and Indonesian search and rescue takes responsibility. Later that day, an Australian customs plane spots a boat they think distress calls have been coming from. Customs says the boat did not appear to be in trouble. New information yesterday prompted another search, and around 5pm a plane finds the upturned boat. Shortly after, the dramatic rescue begins. I'm not going to second-guess today the action they've taken, other than to say it looks like they took proactive steps. The incident adds to the growing human toll of people smuggling. More than 270 asylum-seekers are known to have died making the dangerous journey to Australia in the past two years, a number that's guaranteed to rise significantly as this latest tragedy unfolds. THE LATEST IS THAT A SPOTTER PLANE HAS BEEN ABOVE THE SCENE IT'S SEEN MORE BODIES THE WINDOW OF FINDING SURVIVORS IS CLOSING THERE'S BOUND TO BE FALL-OUT ACCORDING TO OPPOSITION FIGURES, MORE THAN 17,000 ASYLUM-SEEKERS HAVE ARRIVED ILLEGALLY BY BOAT DURING LABOR'S TIME IN OFFICE OVER THE LAST 5 YEARS. Thanks, Steve Marshall in Sydney. The controversial Transmission Gully project near Wellington has been given the rubber stamp from the Environmental Protection Authority. It's aimed at easing congestion on a major route in and out of the capital. The 27km stretch will cost $930m. There's been strong opposition to the project over the years because of damage to the environment. The plan still needs to go through the funding process before construction can begin in 2015. The Automobile Association is predicting further cuts to petrol prices. Falling oil prices and a steady exchange rate have already resulted in pump prices dropping 20c in the last month. It's the first time since last August petrol's been under $2 a litre at most service stations. The prices are coming thick and fast at the moment, and, really, we can't fault the pace of those price reductions. But if we were to be a little bit critical, maybe we could criticise the actual size of those reductions. The AA says we could expect another cut, of around 3c per litre, in the next week. The combination of cold weather and cold homes appears to be pushing Christchurch's damaged health system to the limit. Several wards at the city's main hospital have been operating close to gridlock, with the winter illness and influenza peak yet to arrive. Health reporter Lorelei Mason has more. The cubicles are full at the emergency department. Staff are flat out. They're also tight for space outside in the ambulance bays. Christchurch's quake-battered ill are lining up for care. The effects of this earthquake are continuing because living in cold or damp environments definitely has an influence on people's health. An influence too on the Canterbury's damaged hospital system. 30 beds at the main public hospital are still out of action. Non-clinical spaces are under repair, causing disruption for all. We've moved a number of our acute medical wards across to Princess Margaret, which is not ideal. It makes things more difficult, so we're really challenged. Here at the hospital's nerve centre, nurse managers monitor the live occupancy board, juggling bed space. Intensive care is at red, so it's full? It only has one bed at the moment, which means we can take the next patient, but we need to be identifying people to move out after that. Just hours ago the entire hospital was near gridlock with flu, respiratory and cardiac illness. We were really full. We had not one bed, and we had some concerns about where we were going to put the next patients. The emergency department's been full to capacity several times over the past week. That's meant moving patients in ambulances across town to the 24-hour clinic to help ease the load. Hi, Lewis. I'm just about to do your blood pressure. So far, that backup system's worked well. When there's really really awful gridlock occurring on any occasion, then there'll be contingency plans to actually get folk to the best care available. Right, I'll just take your temperature. Doctors say patients should call their GP for advice if they're not well. Some folk get too stoic for their own good. But they must still come to hospital if it's an emergency. Lorelei Mason, ONE News. Grandparents who raise their grandchildren are calling for the same rights as foster parents. It comes as the government launched a celebrity-studded DVD that'll be sent to more than 5000 granparents. Charlotte Whale reports. The aim is to help you understand. It's practical parenting advice, all nine hours of it. I wanted to do my small bit in trying to provide some assistance. The Social Development Minister told a room full of grandparents that the Government's giving away the DVDs, costing taxpayers $600,000 a year. The grandparents say thanks, but it's not nearly enough. When they get to college, it's, you know, really expensive for their uniforms and books and things. Our financial situation is deteriorating, but their needs is increasing. More than half of all grandparents raising children are doing it alone, and they're mostly women. They depend on the $15,000 a year that get from superannuation and, if they're lucky, around $170 a week from the Unsupported Child Benefit. That's just a total of $24,000 a year. It's not easy getting that benefit, though. Grandparents must meet a whole lot of criteria, and there's often long periods of time where they don't receive any financial assistance. Foster parents, though, don't have that problem. And grandparents are wanting the same. They get add-on extras, which might be clothing allowances. It might be school fees paid for. Grandparents don't get of that. There is always more that we could and can do, and we are constantly looking at it and trying to get our priorities right. Like foster parents, grandparents often deal with difficult kids. It's managing the emotions of these sometimes very angry children. And although the rewards out-weigh the rocky patches,... I'm on Danielle's team, and she's on mine. Yeah. (LAUGHS) ...they say it's time more's done to help make life easier. Charlotte Whale, ONE News. Just ahead on ONE News ` the scramble to get a shot of Aung San Suu Kyi as she makes political history. The snow's in the spotlight here ` how Queenstown's grappling with a challenging tourism market. And how's this for a handful? Why we're importing more than a hundred of these spooky spiders. Then at 7 ` it's the quiet killer in our own backyard. Why are we putting on so much weight, and can it be stopped? A free service that's helped you look after your family for 135 years is ending. From next month, the Public Trust will introduce some charges on people wanting to do their last will and testament. Political reporter Michael Parkin has the details. Each year 20,000 NZers make or update a will at the Public Trust, and this face-to-face service has all been for free. But no more. You pay $195 from July. What we're trying to do is improve our performance and ensure long-term financial sustainability. The desire for more revenue has driven the final nail in the coffin for the no-cost service. We need a body that is publicly funded in order to provide basic legal services to those who can't afford them. The government-backed Public Trust axed the service both quickly and quietly. Wills were still free at the start of this month. ONE News asked if charges were coming. We were only told a review was underway. But a few days later and with absolutely no notice, the fee appeared on its website. It was inappropriate to talk with you about something we hadn't yet introduced. They're sort of recognised as having a social responsibility, so, yeah, we would have thought that if they're going to change the basic business like that, that they would have publicised that quite widely. The Justice Minister says Community Services card holders will still be eligible for a free will. The need is not there to the extent it was, and I think that the whole name of free wills has been a misnomer. It's being funded out of the taxpayer purse. In this fast-moving world, we do have an online solution that we're making available to all customers at no charge. But from next month, walking through these doors and drawing up a will will also draw on funds from your wallet. Michael Parkin, ONE News. The only person in the country to have been convicted of organising overseas child sex tours will spend another month behind bars. Paedophile David Wales was sentenced again after a police sting found hundreds of images of young boys on his computer. The 48-year-old was convicted 16 years ago in Australia for sexually abusing underage boys and is right now serving three years in jail. He says he has grave fears for his safety. A siege on a hotel popular with tourists and wealthy Afghans is still happening, with 18 people freed so far. This is as close as cameras have got to the lakeside resort on the outskirts of Kabul. Police say it's been stormed by Taliban militants. They've killed two of the attackers, but say there could be more holding hostages. Rescuers say the co-pilot's survived an Air Force plane crash into a residential area in Indonesia's capital. Six others on board were killed, as well as at least three civilians on the ground. The crash also set fire to eight houses. The Air Force says it was a training flight, but the cause isn't yet known. A fighter pilot's escaped from Syria, A fighter pilot's escaped from Syria, the first defection using a military aircraft since the start of the 15-month uprising. He landed in Jordan, where he's been granted political asylum. The Syrian government says the pilot's a traitor and is demanding Jordan returns the MiG-21 jet. Thousands of soldiers have deserted during the revolt and now form the backbone of the rebel army. A war of words is erupting in Egypt, with the result of its presidential election still not known five days after polling ended. Stoking the tension even more is a prediction from a top military man that their favoured candidate, Ahmed Shafiq, will win. I have a crystal ball. I look at it in the evening and see the results. My crystal ball telling me that Shafiq will win. Former prime minister Shafiq and his Muslim Brotherhood rival, Mohammed Morsi, are both claiming victory. Officials say they still need time to look at complaints about voting conduct. A leader described as a 'heroine for humanity' is appealing for help to bring democracy to Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi has become just the second woman after Queen Elizabeth to address both Houses of Britain's Parliament. And she's been treated like a rock star, as the BBC's John Simpson reveals. For 900 years Westminster Hall has watched over the slow growth of British democracy. Today the guest of honour was a woman who's waged an extraordinary battle for democracy in her own country. For Aung San Suu Kyi, the honour was all the greater because she's not an elected leader ` not yet, anyway. But like Nelson Mandela, who spoke here in 1996, she's suffered greatly over the years. Now she seems to be triumphing, but she still has a warning to give. If we do not use this opportunity, if we do not get things right this time around, it may be several decades more before a similar opportunity arises again. For all her long years under house arrest, not able to see her British husband before he died, Aung San Suu Kyi has never lost her lightness of touch. By contrast with Westminster, she remarked Burma's Parliament was stiff and formal. There's certainly no heckling. I would wish that over time perhaps we will reflect the liveliness and relative informality of Westminster. Afterwards, lords and MPs jostled to get a picture like any celeb-watchers. Britain's power structure has taken her thoroughly to its heart. Aung San Suu Kyi also joked about a very British experience, being photographed outside Downing Street in the rain. Cue Karen. Yeah, rain is going to be a very Kiwi experience too this weekend. We do have some warnings out. Heavy rain for these areas through the night and for much of tomorrow. Up to 250mm possible on parts of Westland. Also expecting gale north-west winds with severe gale gusts for these areas tomorrow. There's also a watch in place for possible severe gale gusts in inland Southland and Otago overnight tonight For weather, see onenews.co.nz I'll be back after sport with your weekend forecast. There's bad news for banks next on ONE News. But this could help Queenstown's coffers ` we go live to the winter festival. And get a load of this ` the students craving a world record. Tonight on Close Up ` it's the quiet killer in our own backyard. You know, they're bombarded with all this food, and so what else do you do? Why are we putting on so much weight, and can it be stopped? Plus ` they're the stars of tomorrow at the top of their game. Yeah, I'm so excited. Meet the key players in the music competition that's taking on the world. Close Up at 7, TV ONE. 1 So lots of red arrows there with markets falling after the credit ratings of 15 of the world's biggest banks were downgraded. Barclays, Citigroup and HSBC were among the global banks who had their ratings slashed by the agency Moody's. It's a move that could could make it more difficult for small business and sole traders to borrow money. The banks downplayed the downgrades, saying the markets were braced for it. One of our top tourist towns is bracing itself for a big boost tonight. The 38th Winter Festival is about to kick off in Queenstown, with thousands gathering on the waterfront. Among them is our own Max Bania. YOU GET ALL THE TOUGH JOBS? ABSOLUTELY. PEOPLE ARE STREAMING DOWN HERE. THE BAND IS IN FULL SWING. FIREWORKS ARE 20 MINUTES AWAY. IT'S IT'S BEEN A QUIET BUILDUP. # There's a fire... # The stage is set. The entertainment's in place. There's a time fuse, and then that bursts in the sky. That's what people think are rockets. And 50,000 visitors are on the way. We've got 69 events in 10 days, and, um, there's a little bit of something for everybody. Winterfest is billed as the 10 coolest days of winter, but this year it comes as the tourism sector feels the heat. It has been challenging. We've all been facing the effects of the Christchurch earthquake and other events, um, so we're having to be smarter and more targeted with our marketing activity. Sluggish economies around the world also meant fewer visitors last year. Today's business luncheon was a chance to build up the changing face of tourism. Asia is the new global growth engine. The long-haul, um, long-stay visitor markets have been the most challenging, and I think as an industry collectively, that's where our biggest challenge is gonna remain over the next few years. It's also the first time John Key hasn't attended in four years as Tourism Minister. I think the Prime Minister's probably been trying to split himself in half or three ways for quite some time, and he's obviously got a lot of places to be, so, um, we understand. A good place to be, though, is on those slopes. This time last year they sat empty. Today, Coronet Peak has a healthy base of 40cm of snow. Enough to ensure the festival is as popular as ever. So, Max, plenty of snow in the mountains. What about down on the ground there in Queenstown? IT'S ABOUT 8 DEGREES, SOME RAIN ABOUT. BUT METSERVICE PREDICTS A COLD FRONT BRINGING SNOW FROM TOMORROW EVENING, SO GOOD NEWS FOR SKIERS AND SNOWBOARDERS. AT THE MOMENT, ALL THE FOCUS IS ON THE UPCOMING FIREWORKS SHOW BEHIND ME. WE'LL BRING YOU THE HIGHLIGHTS ON THE LATE NEWS. Max Bania at the Queenstown Winter Festival. There's been a shock for beach-goers in Auckland ` the sight of a killer whale just 100m offshore. A ONE News cameraman captured the orca in action off Milford Beach on the North Shore. The whale and four of his friends were spotted near Rangitoto Island. It's believed the pod's now heading towards the Harbour Bridge. The Conservation Department says the whales aren't a threat to humans. Now for some creatures just shipped in that'll make your skin crawl. And there's set to be a whole lot more tarantulas on our shores. Arrun Soma faced his fears to check them out. (YELLS) SCREAMING It's just like Christmas. A present for Wellington Zoo ` six species of tarantulas. 106 poisonous spiders in all. They're amazing animals. They are such cool, amazing creatures. You can see things on a tarantula that you can't see on the little house spiders you get at home. Their journey began as 'spiders on a plane', imported from Wales and costing $15,000. Being potential cannibals, they've been individually packed. Tarantulas don't tend to get on well with each other. They'll be shared between six NZ zoos and museums. Over time they'll be bred to create a sustainable tarantula population. Zoo staff here reassure me these spiders aren't dangerous to humans. The most you'll feel is something like a bee sting. But you'll probably faint before you're bitten. I must look so nervous, cos I am. LAUGHTER The shipment's being checked over. Make sure they're safe and also make sure the species that were approved to come in are actually those that are being brought in. Another 30 tarantulas which are endangered are due to arrive here in the next two months. Arrun Soma, ONE News. Now, if you need to chill out after that story, check this out. STUDENTS CHEER These Wellington High School students reckon they've got a world record licked with their 100m-long ice-cream sundae. The mark they must beat is 47m, but they also follow strict guidelines. There's going to be ice cream followed by bananas, followed by whipped cream, followed by chocolate sauce, followed by chocolate sprinkles and then topped off with a cherry. They'll find out next month if they're officially Guinness World Record holders. Looking at tonight's leading stories ` the parents of the man accused of killing Scott Guy have given evidence in the High Court trial. They say Ewen Macdonald was upset and crying when he broke the news to them of the Feilding farmer's death. Macdonald's wife was also questioned about a pair of diving boots which the Crown says the killer wore. Anna Macdonald says she thought she threw them out well before her brother's killing. Fire crews are now at NZ's toughest prison as Corrections staff try to figure out how to end a stand-off. Two prisoners are holed up on a tower at Paremoremo, north of Auckland. ONE News understands one of them is Aaron Forden. He's also known as Houdini for various escapes, including one from Mt Eden Prison where he used a knotted sheet. And hope's fading for finding any more survivors after a boat full of asylum-seekers capsized on its way to Australia. In the past few hours, more bodies and debris have been located by spotter planes. Up to a hundred people are feared dead. Here's Jenny-May with sport, and a warning from one of our All Black greats? INDEED. BUCK SHELFORD HAS CONCERNS ABOUT RICHIE MCCAW AT NO 8. More from the captain's run in Hamilton after the break. Also on the way ` we head to New York to catch up with our latest athlete to qualify for the London Olympics. LeBron James finally assumes his place among the NBA greats. James gets a running start and attacks the rim with ferocity and strength And Hayden Paddon keeps his top-10 hopes alive in the Rally of NZ. Kia ora, welcome back. Days after injured Commonwealth Games champion Nikki Hamblin was ruled out of the Olympic 1500m, NZ has another hope in the women's event. Lucy Van Dalen (23) surprised even herself with a lightning quick time at a meet in San Diego last night to squeeze inside Olympic qualification time. Arriving back to her base in New York, she spoke to our US correspondent Jack Tame. For someone who'd stepped off a six-hour flight, Lucy Van Dalen looked remarkably happy. I'm overwhelmed and excited and can't believe this is happening to me. (LAUGHS) Remarkably perky too, considering the amount of sleep she's had since qualifying for the Olympics last night. Zero. (LAUGHS) I haven't slept a wink. It was at a low-key meet in San Diego where three runners ran faster than the Olympic qualifying time of 4.06. That's Lucy finishing in 4.05, remarkable considering until a week ago, her personal best was a full six seconds slower. Lucy Van Dalen had been planning to come back here and fly to Paris to try and qualify in the 5000m. San Diego was her last crack at the shorter distance. I'm just going to do the 15. And, yeah, I won't be running the 5 K, I don't think. (LAUGHS) I'll just train for the Olympics now, so it's exciting. If you find her unabated excitement refreshing, double it. She's amazing and such an inspiration. Back home in Wanganui, recovering from injury is Lucy's twin sister, Holly. So, we're best friends. Like, you know, it's really awesome. Our relationship's great, and running's just, you know, another thing that we do. Holly's also a top middle-distance runner. The two girls have spent the last five years studying and competing together in the US. Van Dalen wins it. They tried tennis, and they couldn't hit the ball. And they tried cricket, and they couldn't hit the ball. And when they went to Wanganui Collegiate School, they had to do a sport. Well, there was nothing left but athletics. Hopefully in the next few years, we'll be on the line at world championship meets and Commonwealths and the Olympics in 2016 together. For now, though, once the congratulations stem, London's the focus and a European training programme awaits. Jack Tame, ONE News, New York. The All Blacks go into tomorrow night's Test against Ireland with plenty to prove after last weekend's scratchy win. Injuries this week have only made the challenge tougher. Now one of the legends of the game has concerns that a rock solid performer could be on shaky ground. Here's Stephen Stuart. As if leading a team with six changes wasn't challenging enough, Richie McCaw will start his 100th Test, but his first as a number eight. At the end of the day, apart from a little bit of stuff at setpiece time, you don't change your game a whole lot. But one of the great Test eights, who happened to be at a coaching camp in a car park next door to Waikato Stadium, where the All Blacks were training, warns it's not that easy. Well, a lot of coaches think it's really straight-forward, but it's not. It's a different position. You're a guy who's got to control the ball. You've got to deliver the ball to the halfback. Your body position is different to a flanker. It's not as if you're trying to get up and just get away from a scrum. McCaw and his Irish counterpart, Brian O'Driscoll, are the only survivors from the starting sides that played at this stadium six years ago. And similar to last week, the All Blacks rallied late to win. McCaw acknowledges they can't allow the Irish to get into the game again tomorrow. Certainly, uh, how tight it got in the weekend certainly put everyone's feet firmly on the ground and, um, you know, it's not just Steve, it's all the guys that have been here before, realising what it's gonna take and, uh, you know, there's been a wee bit of edge everywhere, really. Refreshed after five days in Queenstown, the Irish hope to cause trouble again at scrum time and take advantage of the new-look pack. With short preparations times, you've just got to make sure you get your basics right, and the other night we were just better on our basics, to tell you the truth. And with the chance of rough weather again, getting the basics right will be essential. Stephen Stuart, ONE News. Kiwi driver Hayden Paddon's hopes of a top-10 finish in the Rally of NZ are looking good following an outstanding opening day. Martin Tasker's been out on the special stages near Raglan. The calm before a storming drive. CAR ENGINE REVS Hayden Paddon out of the blocks with the pace and determination characterising his approach to his home rally. The target of a top-10 placing was realised by lunch time. The 25-year-old powered through the first four special stages. Top 10 already. How does that feel? Yeah, it feels good. I haven't actually looked at the results myself, but there's a lot of room for improvement. We can make some changes in the car, and we can certainly be going a lot quicker yet, so we will just have to focus on that. Any particularly hairy moments? Yes, we had a couple of times where the back of the car has got away on you, so we need to reduce those and try make the car easier to drive. As fastest qualifier, Jari Matti Latvala had first choice for a starting position. The Ford driver opted to be the last car in the top division heading out, hoping those in front would sweep a clearer path for him. You chose to go 13th. Has that plan worked? In the morning, not necessarily, but we have to also look in the afternoon. Always you have to look at the whole day, and then you will know. Front-runner Mikko Hirvonen in his Citroen certainly thought he'd made the right choice to go out first. Yeah, I think so. Um, OK, it's not been a big difference on Jari Matti Latvala and, OK, we are leading at the moment and we will see what the conditions are going to be now in the afternoon, then we will know after the first day if it was the right choice or not. Teammate and championship leader Sebastien Loeb also enjoyed a quick run. I'm happy. We are second overall, so everything is OK. Loeb moved past Hirvonen late this afternoon to take the overall lead. Latvala is now ninth and rueing his late start, with Paddon slipped to 12th, but little over a minute off that top-10 spot. Martin Tasker, ONE News. Love him or hate him, you cannot deny NBA MVP LeBron James is a gifted player. Last year the 27-year-old was embarrassed in the NBA finals. Nine years in the making, finally 'the chosen one' has a title to validate his talent. Blair Norton has more on the man who's been labelled the greatest. The prayer was understandable. LeBron James' Miami Heat played their last home game with a chance to land the championship knock-out blow and cement James' position as one of the game's greats. Oklahoma City were up against it. No team had ever come back from 3-1 down to win the NBA finals. And they struggled from the outset. James got the Heat away to a quick start. His journeyman teammate Mike Miller stretched the lead. Back-to-back threes. Oklahoma barely hung on, shooting a pitiful 36% from the field in the first half. Durant. The drive and throws it down! James at times proved unstoppable on his way to 15 points at the break. Drives right at Perkins and banks it in. He wasn't alone ` the Heat with six players scoring in double figures. Largest lead of the night. Down by 10, starting the third quarter, Kevin Durant threatened to strike for the Thunder. And puts it in. But it was the Heat who fired from deep. Miller, barely able to run with a back injury, produced one of the great finals' shooting performances with an unlikely 23 points. Mike Miller on fire! Seven three-pointers. The championship was sewn up with five minutes to play. James finished it off in style. He gets his triple double and a chance for a three-point play. I just looked at myself in the mirror and said, 'You need to be better, both on and off the floor,' and I'm happy I was able to put myself and our team in a position to win this. James started the celebrations early, and why not? His 26 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds secured the finals' MVP award, but more importantly helped him fulfil his destiny ` leading the Heat to an NBA championship ` Miami's second. Blair Norton, ONE News. Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo's international resurgence is continuing at the European Championships. He was just a hair's breadth from scoring a stunner in the first half of Portugal's quarter-final against the Czech Republic. After hitting the post again early in the second half from a free kick, third time lucky came 11 minutes from the end. It's a terrific ball in. It's a fantastic goal as well. It's Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal, zero against the Netherlands, has made the breakthrough now against the Czech Republic. Portugal's 1-0 win has them playing Spain or France in the semis. That quarter-final's being played Sunday morning our time. A schoolgirl from Hokitika is living the athlete's dream as she prepares for the Paralympics in London this year. But as Megan Martin found out, there may be a small hurdle in the way for the talented javelin thrower. Holly Robinson's (17) working hard for her final year of high school. It's definitely not easy. I guess it's just maximising your opportunities that you've got to get that study done. But take her out of the classroom and on to the sportsfield,... Good. Keep it up, keep it up. ...she works even harder. We train three times a week in the gym in the morning, so it's a high-performance sport, and we throw on a Sunday, and drills on a Thursday and court on a Tuesday. She's putting in the hours, because this teenager from Hokitika is tipped as a selection for this year's Paralympics. OK, that was good. Just keep holding that right arm up and sitting on that hip. Make sure you're on that 2 o'clock. Born with a short left arm, Holly only started javelin four years ago. I was, like, I could be pretty good at this, so really, just` It's been a dream of mine since then to do the javelin at the Paralympics. Last year she moved to Dunedin to be near coach Raylene Bates. That quickly paid off when she came fifth in the world champs. She's very determined. I think she's focussed on the goal because it's achievable, and, you know, she's committed. That's a big thing. I mean, I think the commitment shows from, you know, shifting from Hokitika to Mosgiel. Holly Robinson heads to London next week. There's just one small potential problem. Selection hasn't actually come out for the London Paralympics yet, so just waiting till next week to get selected, but hopefully I'll go. The team's announced on Wednesday. Ever the optimist, she flies out Thursday. Megan Martin, ONE News. Thanks, Jenny-May. After the break ` Karen warns of heavy rain and gales, and she'll reveal where you can expect them. Tonight on Close Up ` it's the quiet killer in our own backyard. You know, they're bombarded with all this food, and so what else do you do? Why are we putting on so much weight and can it be stopped? Plus, they're the stars of tomorrow at the top of their games. Yeah, I'm so excited. (CHUCKLES) Meet the key players in the music competition that's taking on the world. Close Up's here next, TV ONE. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEPING INCREASES Could I have a price check on TENA bladder weakness liners, register 7? Well, it's just a slight weakening of the pelvic muscles. It's no big deal. One in three women have it, so one of them probably has it. I'm fine with it. Do you have a loyalty card? It's no big deal with TENA. Hello again. Jim gave you a heads-up last night that there was some heavy rain on the way. It's now moving on to south-western parts of the South Island. There's a warning in place for these areas through the night and for much of tomorrow ` up to 250mm possible in parts Westland. Gale north-west winds with severe gales gusts for these areas starting in the early hours of tomorrow morning in inland Canterbury and from around 3pm in Wellington and Wairarapa. Also a watch in place for possible severe gale gusts in inland Southland and Otago overnight tonight. Here's the view from the satellite. Lots of ominous-looking cloud marching across the Tasman and on to the lower South Island. A mix of frontal cloud and jet-stream cloud. Also a good north-west arch spreading east of the main divide. There's several lows and fronts mixed up in there. It's looking a lot clearer over the North Island under the ridge, but some areas of fog and low cloud this morning. That ridge is on its way out tomorrow as this active trough moves in. Big north-west winds coming in ahead of the fronts strengthening over the South Island tonight and spreading onto the lower North Island tomorrow. Lots of moisture coming in with this north-westerly airmass. Rain setting in tonight in western parts of the South Island. And there's a much colder south to south-west change following this second front moving onto the lower South Island tomorrow afternoon. For weather, see onenews.co.nz That's all from me. Have a good evening. Simon and Wendy. And that's ONE News this Friday. Now here's Close Up.