Latest news with #RoundUp
Scoop
15-07-2025
- Scoop
Operation Round Up A Significant Blow To Hells Angels
Press Release – New Zealand Police Operation Round Up has seen nearly $2.5 million worth of assets seized as Police executed around 30 search warrants on properties and vehicles this morning. Police have arrested and charged 19 members and associates of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Whanganui chapter today, in a huge blow to their stranglehold in the area. Operation Round Up has seen nearly $2.5 million worth of assets seized as Police executed around 30 search warrants on properties and vehicles this morning. The search warrants were executed in Whanganui, Auckland, Palmerston North, and Hastings, assisted by the Armed Offenders Squad and Special Tactics Group. During the warrants across the North Island, items seized included five firearms, a brick of cocaine, $7,000 cash, and around 10 ounces of meth. Seventeen men and 2 women have been charged, including the president, vice-president, and sergeant at arms. Detective Inspector Craig Sheridan says this is a significant blow to the gang, which has had an entrenched presence in the Whanganui community for decades. As part of enforcement activity, Police's Central Asset Recovery Unit has restrained five motorcycles, seven vehicles, three properties, two jet skis, and around $108,000 cash. Detective Inspector Sheridan says the operation has been spearheaded by Central District Organised Crime Unit, in an all-of-Police approach to tackling gang harm. Staff from several workgroups and locations have worked as one to obtain these results, he says. 'The assets restrained are believed to be the proceeds of crime, and anyone profiting from the sale of illicit drugs can expect to see their assets restrained or forfeited. 'We will continue to use all available tools to disrupt criminal organisations who profit from this offending, and from the harm caused by illicit drugs in our community,' Detective Inspector Sheridan says. The operation began in March 2024 and has involved hours of planning, resources, and work by a number of Police staff. Police cannot rule out further arrests and charges. Whanganui Area Commander Inspector Neil Forlong says the arrest of so many leaders of the Hells Angels will have a huge impact on the community. 'This gang has been a part of the fabric of Whanganui for years, and the generational harm they have caused is significant.' However, it is important to remember what comes next, once gang leaders have been arrested. 'The very fact this gang has been part of so many lives means we need also to take care of those who have relied on the gang's activities for so long – partners, children, now all need support.' Local agencies will help assist whanau and loved ones impacted by these arrests, to ensure they have support moving forward. Inspector Forlong says local iwi leadership has spoken to him about introducing a meth harm reduction programme in Whanganui, which Police would be supportive of. All those arrested have appeared today or are appearing in court in coming days, in Whanganui, Palmerston North, Hastings, and courts in Tamaki Makaurau. SIGNIFICANT ARRESTS A 35 year old Whanganui man, and a 35 year old Whanganui woman are each charged with: 3x Importing cocaine 4x Importing methamphetamine 3x Possession of meth for supply Possession of cocaine for supply Conspiracy to supply methamphetamine Participating in an organised criminal group. A 30 year old Whanganui man is charged with: 3x Importing cocaine Importing methamphetamine Conspiracy to supply methamphetamine 2x Possession of meth for supply 2x Possession of cocaine for supply Supplying cocaine Participation in an organised criminal group.
Scoop
15-07-2025
- Scoop
Operation Round Up A Significant Blow To Hells Angels
Police have arrested and charged 19 members and associates of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club Whanganui chapter today, in a huge blow to their stranglehold in the area. Operation Round Up has seen nearly $2.5 million worth of assets seized as Police executed around 30 search warrants on properties and vehicles this morning. The search warrants were executed in Whanganui, Auckland, Palmerston North, and Hastings, assisted by the Armed Offenders Squad and Special Tactics Group. During the warrants across the North Island, items seized included five firearms, a brick of cocaine, $7,000 cash, and around 10 ounces of meth. Seventeen men and 2 women have been charged, including the president, vice-president, and sergeant at arms. Detective Inspector Craig Sheridan says this is a significant blow to the gang, which has had an entrenched presence in the Whanganui community for decades. As part of enforcement activity, Police's Central Asset Recovery Unit has restrained five motorcycles, seven vehicles, three properties, two jet skis, and around $108,000 cash. Detective Inspector Sheridan says the operation has been spearheaded by Central District Organised Crime Unit, in an all-of-Police approach to tackling gang harm. Staff from several workgroups and locations have worked as one to obtain these results, he says. 'The assets restrained are believed to be the proceeds of crime, and anyone profiting from the sale of illicit drugs can expect to see their assets restrained or forfeited. 'We will continue to use all available tools to disrupt criminal organisations who profit from this offending, and from the harm caused by illicit drugs in our community,' Detective Inspector Sheridan says. The operation began in March 2024 and has involved hours of planning, resources, and work by a number of Police staff. Police cannot rule out further arrests and charges. Whanganui Area Commander Inspector Neil Forlong says the arrest of so many leaders of the Hells Angels will have a huge impact on the community. 'This gang has been a part of the fabric of Whanganui for years, and the generational harm they have caused is significant.' However, it is important to remember what comes next, once gang leaders have been arrested. 'The very fact this gang has been part of so many lives means we need also to take care of those who have relied on the gang's activities for so long – partners, children, now all need support.' Local agencies will help assist whanau and loved ones impacted by these arrests, to ensure they have support moving forward. Inspector Forlong says local iwi leadership has spoken to him about introducing a meth harm reduction programme in Whanganui, which Police would be supportive of. All those arrested have appeared today or are appearing in court in coming days, in Whanganui, Palmerston North, Hastings, and courts in Tamaki Makaurau. SIGNIFICANT ARRESTS A 35 year old Whanganui man, and a 35 year old Whanganui woman are each charged with: 3x Importing cocaine 4x Importing methamphetamine 3x Possession of meth for supply Possession of cocaine for supply Conspiracy to supply methamphetamine Participating in an organised criminal group. A 30 year old Whanganui man is charged with: 3x Importing cocaine Importing methamphetamine Conspiracy to supply methamphetamine 2x Possession of meth for supply 2x Possession of cocaine for supply Supplying cocaine Participation in an organised criminal group.
RNZ News
15-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Glyphosate to be debated in High Court
The ELI is challenging the EPA's 2024 refusal to reassess glyphosate and glyphosate-based substances. Photo: AFP The judicial review hearing - which is expected to last two days - will see ELI challenge the EPA's 2024 refusal to reassess glyphosate and glyphosate-based substances. There had been significant scientific research on the herbicide since it was first introduced to New Zealand about 50 years ago, Environmental Law Initiative senior legal advisor Tess Upperton said. That was the grounds ELI used in their formal request for a risk reassessment, but the EPA refused last year, prompting the judicial review set to be heard today and tomorrow. Upperton said while the EPA had reviewed some aspects over the years, such as looking at carcinogenicity of glyphosate in 2015, there had never been a full risk assessment, which is the usual protocol when a new product is first approved for use. "That's largely because it was first approved in the 1970s. We have asked the EPA for a record of that original risk assessment. They don't have a copy of that. They don't know what it is." Since then, RoundUp and the more than 90 other glyphosate based formulas sold in New Zealand had been "grandfathered through successive regimes," she said, even though some of the glyphosate-based formulas have been found to have additional ingredients that amplify glyphosates toxicity. In 2021, the EPA issued a "call for information" to assess whether there were grounds to reassess the use of glyphosate. "It went out to the public and asked industry, NGOs, lay people, how do you use glyphosate? What do you see as the risks? And they got a lot of useful information back, but that isn't providing scientific evidence of what the risks are, which there's a lot of information about overseas." She said there was a dearth of domestic studies, particularly on the impact on indigenous species in Aotearoa. "Certainly when we submitted our request to them providing significant new information and asking them to take the good hard look that hadn't been taken domestically before, we were surprised they said no. "There's a wealth of new published peer-reviewed, well conducted research on glyphosate and there are new studies coming out all the time." The bid for a risk assessment did not directly relate to a proposal being considered by the Ministry for Primary Industries , which could see the amount of glyphosate allowed on some crops increased exponentially , but Upperton says one assessment feeds into another, and ELI believed any reassessment of the MRL should wait until after the EPA had conducted a full risk assessment. The government was proposing increasing the MRL from 0.1 milligrams per kilogram for wheat, barley and oat grains to 10 milligrams per kilogram, and 6 milligrams per kilogram for peas. The MRL is partially based on a permitted daily exposure for food (PDE), which was set by the EPA's predecessor, the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA), more than 20 years ago. A public submission period which closed in mid-May saw the ministry receive more than 3100 submissions on the proposal. A spokesperson said it was too soon to have analysed the large of submissions, or to give a timeframe for that to happen. ELI was not calling for an immediate ban on glyphosate, and any possible controls coming out of a reassessment would be up to the EPA and based on scientific conclusions, Upperton said. New Zealand is one of the most permissive regulators of glyphosate globally, including allowing glyphosate use in settings where it's banned elsewhere - such as a pre-harvest desiccant on crops, a practice prohibited in the European Union, she said. Several European countries have banned the domestic sale of glyphosate, restricting its use to regulated agricultural and commercial settings, while in the United States, the manufacturer of the leading glyphosate-based herbicide, Bayer, pulled RoundUp from the residential market itself in an effort to pre-empt further litigation, which has seen the company pay billions of dollars to settle cases over potential links to cancer , with another 67,000 cases pending. Last year, the European Union approved glyphosate use for another decade after member states deadlocked for a second time on the issue, but a number of European countries, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Germany have partial bans in place. Multiple challenges to the decision are before the European Court of Justice. "There's a whole spectrum of regulation out there. Some countries have banned it, some have restricted its use. New Zealand is at the really permissive end of the spectrum in terms of those with developed regulatory systems, we use a lot of it and everyone can use it, which is quite unusual." The human health impacts of glyphosate are disputed. In 2015, the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer found glyphosate was a probable carcinogen and found strong evidence for genotoxicity, or the ability to damage DNA. One of the grounds to trigger a reassessment is the existence of significant new information about the effects of the chemical, which was the route ELI took in it's request. "There's a whole wealth of new, published, peer reviewed, well conducted research out there about glyphosate, and there's new studies coming out all the time, it's a really developing area." Upperton felt there were two reasons for burgeoning body of evidence on the possible health impacts of glyphosate. "Firstly, long term or chronic effects take a while to show up and into evidence. So if we've had glyphosate now for about 50 years in our populations, those effects are going to be more and more widely felt, but the other primary reason is that when these chemicals are introduced, the assessment of them is reliant on studies of their toxicity, for example, that are conducted by industry itself. "Which makes sense - they should be looking into the safety of their own products - but they also have a very clear direct financial interest in these things being approved. It does mean - and it has been borne out in relation to several different substances, including glyphosate - their studies might focus on less real world effects and more in the laboratory where it doesn't really represent how it would be used In the real world. "It's not to discount industry studies in their entirety, but in ELI's view, independent science is also important because it's a check on that kind of inherent conflict of interest that industry has." The inability to sue companies in the same way as some other jursidictions - Bayer has spent more than US$11 billion settling close to 100,000 lawsuits in the United States, and is attempting to have legislation passed in some states to shield it from future litigation, while reportedly considering dropping the product altogether - meant New Zealanders had to rely even more on the EPA, she said. "You can't sue someone for using glyphosate, or getting sick from glyphosate in New Zealand because of the bar on personal injury claims - that actually makes us more dependent on our regulator to step in and do these things because we can't take these actions in private capacities. We have to use the EPA and ask the EPA to do its job, which is really what this case is about." The situation also highlighted a "wider issue for the EPA and for environmental regulation in Aoteaora generally" which was the under resourcing of the EPA, Upperton said. "ELI is not saying the EPA needs to ban glyphosate tomorrow - we recognise that there's a lot of competing interest and resources at play here. What we want to do is is put it on the radar, put it on the list of things to be thought about, because there is a really big backlog of chemicals that need to be looked at by the EPA. I recognise they aren't resourced to be adequately doing their job at the moment." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
15-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Glyphosate health issues to be debated in High Court
The ELI is challenging the EPA's 2024 refusal to reassess glyphosate and glyphosate-based substances. Photo: AFP The judicial review hearing - which is expected to last two days - will see ELI challenge the EPA's 2024 refusal to reassess glyphosate and glyphosate-based substances. There had been significant scientific research on the herbicide since it was first introduced to New Zealand about 50 years ago, Environmental Law Initiative senior legal advisor Tess Upperton said. That was the grounds ELI used in their formal request for a risk reassessment, but the EPA refused last year, prompting the judicial review set to be heard today and tomorrow. Upperton said while the EPA had reviewed some aspects over the years, such as looking at carcinogenicity of glyphosate in 2015, there had never been a full risk assessment, which is the usual protocol when a new product is first approved for use. "That's largely because it was first approved in the 1970s. We have asked the EPA for a record of that original risk assessment. They don't have a copy of that. They don't know what it is." Since then, RoundUp and the more than 90 other glyphosate based formulas sold in New Zealand had been "grandfathered through successive regimes," she said, even though some of the glyphosate-based formulas have been found to have additional ingredients that amplify glyphosates toxicity. In 2021, the EPA issued a "call for information" to assess whether there were grounds to reassess the use of glyphosate. "It went out to the public and asked industry, NGOs, lay people, how do you use glyphosate? What do you see as the risks? And they got a lot of useful information back, but that isn't providing scientific evidence of what the risks are, which there's a lot of information about overseas." She said there was a dearth of domestic studies, particularly on the impact on indigenous species in Aotearoa. "Certainly when we submitted our request to them providing significant new information and asking them to take the good hard look that hadn't been taken domestically before, we were surprised they said no. "There's a wealth of new published peer-reviewed, well conducted research on glyphosate and there are new studies coming out all the time." The bid for a risk assessment did not directly relate to a proposal being considered by the Ministry for Primary Industries , which could see the amount of glyphosate allowed on some crops increased exponentially , but Upperton says one assessment feeds into another, and ELI believed any reassessment of the MRL should wait until after the EPA had conducted a full risk assessment. The government was proposing increasing the MRL from 0.1 milligrams per kilogram for wheat, barley and oat grains to 10 milligrams per kilogram, and 6 milligrams per kilogram for peas. The MRL is partially based on a permitted daily exposure for food (PDE), which was set by the EPA's predecessor, the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA), more than 20 years ago. A public submission period which closed in mid-May saw the ministry receive more than 3100 submissions on the proposal. A spokesperson said it was too soon to have analysed the large of submissions, or to give a timeframe for that to happen. ELI was not calling for an immediate ban on glyphosate, and any possible controls coming out of a reassessment would be up to the EPA and based on scientific conclusions, Upperton said. New Zealand is one of the most permissive regulators of glyphosate globally, including allowing glyphosate use in settings where it's banned elsewhere - such as a pre-harvest desiccant on crops, a practice prohibited in the European Union, she said. Several European countries have banned the domestic sale of glyphosate, restricting its use to regulated agricultural and commercial settings, while in the United States, the manufacturer of the leading glyphosate-based herbicide, Bayer, pulled RoundUp from the residential market itself in an effort to pre-empt further litigation, which has seen the company pay billions of dollars to settle cases over potential links to cancer , with another 67,000 cases pending. Last year, the European Union approved glyphosate use for another decade after member states deadlocked for a second time on the issue, but a number of European countries, including France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Germany have partial bans in place. Multiple challenges to the decision are before the European Court of Justice. "There's a whole spectrum of regulation out there. Some countries have banned it, some have restricted its use. New Zealand is at the really permissive end of the spectrum in terms of those with developed regulatory systems, we use a lot of it and everyone can use it, which is quite unusual." The human health impacts of glyphosate are disputed. In 2015, the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer found glyphosate was a probable carcinogen and found strong evidence for genotoxicity, or the ability to damage DNA. One of the grounds to trigger a reassessment is the existence of significant new information about the effects of the chemical, which was the route ELI took in it's request. "There's a whole wealth of new, published, peer reviewed, well conducted research out there about glyphosate, and there's new studies coming out all the time, it's a really developing area." Upperton felt there were two reasons for burgeoning body of evidence on the possible health impacts of glyphosate. "Firstly, long term or chronic effects take a while to show up and into evidence. So if we've had glyphosate now for about 50 years in our populations, those effects are going to be more and more widely felt, but the other primary reason is that when these chemicals are introduced, the assessment of them is reliant on studies of their toxicity, for example, that are conducted by industry itself. "Which makes sense - they should be looking into the safety of their own products - but they also have a very clear direct financial interest in these things being approved. It does mean - and it has been borne out in relation to several different substances, including glyphosate - their studies might focus on less real world effects and more in the laboratory where it doesn't really represent how it would be used In the real world. "It's not to discount industry studies in their entirety, but in ELI's view, independent science is also important because it's a check on that kind of inherent conflict of interest that industry has." The inability to sue companies in the same way as some other jursidictions - Bayer has spent more than US$11 billion settling close to 100,000 lawsuits in the United States, and is attempting to have legislation passed in some states to shield it from future litigation, while reportedly considering dropping the product altogether - meant New Zealanders had to rely even more on the EPA, she said. "You can't sue someone for using glyphosate, or getting sick from glyphosate in New Zealand because of the bar on personal injury claims - that actually makes us more dependent on our regulator to step in and do these things because we can't take these actions in private capacities. We have to use the EPA and ask the EPA to do its job, which is really what this case is about." The situation also highlighted a "wider issue for the EPA and for environmental regulation in Aoteaora generally" which was the under resourcing of the EPA, Upperton said. "ELI is not saying the EPA needs to ban glyphosate tomorrow - we recognise that there's a lot of competing interest and resources at play here. What we want to do is is put it on the radar, put it on the list of things to be thought about, because there is a really big backlog of chemicals that need to be looked at by the EPA. I recognise they aren't resourced to be adequately doing their job at the moment." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Associated Press
29-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
A DECADE OF IMPACT: TACO BELL FOUNDATION'S LIVE MÁS SCHOLARSHIP CELEBRATES 10 YEARS BY AWARDING $14 MILLION TO FANS AND TEAM MEMBERS
The Live Más Scholarship continues to champion the next generation with record-breaking financial support for passion-driven students. IRVINE, Calif., April 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Taco Bell Foundation's Live Más Scholarship program is celebrating its 10th anniversary with its largest scholarship distribution yet: $14 million awarded to passionate young people across the country. Of that total, a record-breaking $4.5 million is going directly to Taco Bell Team Members—underscoring the Taco Bell Foundation's commitment to the people who bring the brand to life every day. Scholarship award amounts range from $5,000 to $25,000 per recipient, with the possibility to renew up to four times. 'What's inspired me most at the Taco Bell Foundation is the incredible ambition of our scholars, especially our Team Member recipients,' said Lisa Lane Cardin, Executive Director of the Taco Bell Foundation. 'They are true go-getters—thriving at work, pushing themselves in school, and still finding time to chase their passions with unmatched drive and heart. All of our scholars truly know what it means to Live Más.' BIG NUMBERS. BIGGER DREAMS. To date, the Taco Bell Foundation has awarded more than $64 million in Live Más Scholarships to over 3,000 recipients, including more than 1,000 Taco Bell Team Members, with many recipients having received renewals. Thanks to fan-powered donations through the Round Up program at checkout, the impact keeps growing. Just 44 cents—the average donation—goes a long way: scholarships for Taco Bell fans are funded entirely through Round Up, while Team Member scholarships are made possible by contributions from Taco Bell Corp. and Taco Bell franchisees. The scholarship has come far since its first year: annual funding has increased from $1 million to $14 million; applications have soared from 6,000 to over 15,000 submissions this application period, and the number of Team Member applications has increased by nearly 450%. The inaugural class included 270 scholarships, a sharp contrast to the 1,000 scholarships this year. 'The scholarship wasn't just a one-time opportunity—it became a part of my life's mission, a constant reminder that I'm part of something bigger than myself,' said Ricarda Urso, a member of the inaugural Live Más Scholarship class. 'The Foundation's impact doesn't stop with the scholarship—it's a lasting movement, one that motivates me to keep pushing forward and to pay it forward in whatever way I can.' A DECADE OF IMPACT, A FUTURE FULL OF PROMISE In this application cycle, passions spanned every field, from food science and business to emergency medicine and engineering. Check out how two inspiring 2025 Live Más Scholars are making an impact: THE LIVE MÁS SCHOLARSHIP DIFFERENCE From surprise celebrations at Taco Bell restaurants to a Sacramento Kings game and even Davante Adams' football camp, the Taco Bell Foundation has made this scholarship season unforgettable. For the first time, it hosted a reveal inside the iconic Taco Bell Test Kitchen, bringing passion for food and innovation to life in a whole new way. Four students passionate about food innovation and culinary arts arrived ready to take on a menu development challenge. What they didn't expect was the unforgettable twist that came after the competition—a surprise scholarship celebration right inside the Test Kitchen. Taco Bell Chief Marketing Officer Taylor Montgomery and Global Chief Food Innovation Officer Liz Matthews were in on the surprise, making the moment even more memorable. The Live Más Scholarship isn't based on GPAs or test scores—it's built around passion. Designed for creative thinkers, cultural rebels and bold dreamers, the program invites applicants to share their story through a two-minute video, spotlighting how they plan to make an impact. In return, if selected, they join a supportive, purpose-driven community and gain access to mentorship, career workshops, internships, and networking opportunities, making the scholarship more than just financial support, but a launchpad for what's next. About Taco Bell Foundation Taco Bell Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity that helps break down barriers to educate and inspire the next generation of America's young leaders. Since 1992, the Taco Bell Foundation has reached more than 9 million young people across the country and has awarded more than $189 million in grants and scholarships, focused on education and career readiness. This impact is made possible through a range of programs, including Community Grants, which support more than 450 nonprofit organizations nationwide and the passion-based Live Más Scholarship. For more information about the Taco Bell Foundation, visit Delani Myers – Edelman [email protected] Kathryn Kelly – Taco Bell Corp. [email protected] View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Taco Bell Corp.
