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NZ Cops: Fugitive Dad Had Help
NZ Cops Say
Fugitive Dad Had Help
Sep 10, 2025 7:01 AM CDT

NZ Cops Say Fugitive Dad Had Help

Police say those involved with helping Tom Phillips will be held to account

(Newser) - Four years on the run . Four years of camping, wet feet, scavenging for food, struggling to survive. And now, the added trauma of losing their father in a police shootout . In the aftermath of fugitive Tom Phillips' death in rural New Zealand, focus is now on his three children, who'...

3 Kids Who Vanished With Dad for 4 Years Found Safe

The New Zealand father, Tom Phillips, was killed in shootout with police

(Newser) - The child who was with New Zealand fugitive Tom Phillips when he was confronted and then killed in a shootout by police Sunday was able to lead authorities to their two siblings at a remote campsite in the bush nearby, the BBC reports. All are reportedly unharmed, though details are...

This Snail's Failed Love Life Is Getting Global Attention

Ned's shell coils to the left, not the right

(Newser) - Ned is a perfectly nice snail. If he had a dating profile, it might read: good listener, stable home, likes broccoli, seeks love. But he's already exhausted his local options and it's not because he's picky or unappealing. Instead, he's a common garden snail with an...

Woman Arrested After Bus Driver Finds Toddler in Suitcase

Police say New Zealand woman put 2-year-old girl in luggage compartment

(Newser) - A New Zealand woman was arrested on a child neglect charge Sunday after a bus driver found a 2-year-old girl alive in a suitcase that was stowed in the vehicle's luggage compartment, authorities said. The bus driver noticed movement inside the bag during a planned stop at the settlement...

Kash Patel Causes Unease in New Zealand

Officials dismiss his claim that new FBI office is there to counter China

(Newser) - FBI Director Kash Patel provoked diplomatic discomfort in New Zealand by suggesting the opening of a new office in the capital aims to counter China's influence, drawing polite dismissals from Wellington and ire from Beijing. Patel was in Wellington on Thursday to open the FBI's first standalone office...

FBI Chief Hails 'Historic Moment' in New Zealand

US agency's new office in Wellington will target cybercrime, regional security threats

(Newser) - The FBI has established its first permanent office in New Zealand, aiming to strengthen cooperation on cybersecurity and counter China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region. FBI chief Kash Patel, who inaugurated the Wellington office at the US Embassy on July 24, described the move as a "historic...

Meet Leonardo da Pinchy, the Thieving Cat

Feline with sticky paws swipes laundry from all over his New Zealand neighborhood

(Newser) - Most cat owners dread their pets bringing home mice or birds. But for the owners of one felonious feline in New Zealand, there's a worse shame—being the unwitting accomplice to an unstoppable one-cat crime wave. His prolific laundry-pinching from clotheslines and bedrooms in the beachside neighborhood of Mairangi...

Peter Jackson Funds Plan to 'De-Extinct' Giant Bird

Company is aiming to bring back the moa bird, with director's help

(Newser) - Filmmaker Peter Jackson owns one of the largest private collections of bones of an extinct New Zealand bird called the moa. His fascination with the flightless ostrich-like bird has led to an unusual partnership with a biotech company known for its grand and controversial plans to "de-extinct" lost species...

Almost 40% of Island Nation's Residents Want Off

Australia sees flood of visa applications from Tuvalu, vulnerable to climate change

(Newser) - Nearly 40% of people living on Tuvalu, the Pacific island nation predicted to be swallowed by rising seas, have applied to move to Australia. The latter country is offering 280 visas for Tuvalu residents. Winners, to be chosen at random between July and January, will get permanent residency in the...

Americans Lead Rush for New Zealand's 'Golden Visa'

Relaxed rules spark surge in US applications and investment interest

(Newser) - As global uncertainty rises, New Zealand's stability and new investor-friendly policies are drawing fresh waves of affluent newcomers. Wealthy Americans are now the leading applicants for New Zealand's "golden visa," after the country relaxed its Active Investor Plus visa rules in April. The changes lowered...

New Zealand to Let One Doctor Prescribe Magic Mushrooms

Psilocybin is approved for limited use

(Newser) - Magic mushrooms are shedding their outlaw reputation in New Zealand, where the government on Wednesday approved psilocybin for limited medical use. The policy allows a single approved psychiatrist—Cameron Lacey, a professor at the University of Otago—to prescribe psilocybin to patients with treatment-resistant depression, according to Associate Health...

New Zealand Hands Haka Protesters Record Suspensions

'Are our voices too loud for this house?' responds one lawmaker

(Newser) - New Zealand legislators voted Thursday to enact record suspensions from Parliament for three lawmakers who performed a Maori haka to protest a proposed law. Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke received a seven-day ban and the leaders of her political party, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, were barred for 21 days, reports the AP...

NZ Lawmakers Who Danced the Haka to Be Suspended

Maori party calls it 'the worst punishment handed down EVER in our history'

(Newser) - A year after taking part in a viral performance of the haka on the floor of New Zealand's House of Representatives, three Maori MPs now face lengthy suspensions. Parliament's privileges committee has recommended suspending the three members of the Te Pati Maori party for acting "in a...

Humans Are Catching Up to Sheep in New Zealand

The two populations aren't as unbalanced as they used to be

(Newser) - The vast number of sheep in New Zealand relative to the country's scant human population has long been the subject of jokes. It's true: The country is one of a handful in the world that's still home to more sheep than people. But humans are catching up,...

Rare Carnivorous Snail Lays an Egg From Its Neck

This is the first time the moment has been captured on video

(Newser) - The strange reproductive habits of a large, carnivorous New Zealand snail were once shrouded in mystery. Now footage of the snail laying an egg from its neck has been captured for the first time, the country's conservation agency says. What looks like a tiny hen's egg is seen...

NZ Airport Is Taking Down Giant Hobbit Eagles

'After 12 years it's the right time for them to fly the nest'

(Newser) - Wellington Airport is saying an emotional farewell to two giant eagles. The two sculptures, each with a 49-foot wingspan, were installed in 2013 as a tie-in with the Hobbit movies, which were made in New Zealand, the BBC reports. Gandalf is riding one of them. The 1.2-ton eagles were...

New Zealand Eases Rules for Americans' Residency

Goal is to bring in 'ideas and financial capital'

(Newser) - New Zealand has broadened its welcome to certain Americans interested in establishing residency. Especially welcome are wealthy Americans looking for investments, USA Today reports. The idea is to attract "global citizens who can bring ideas and financial capital into the country," said Dominic Jones, an executive of a...

Behold, the 'Sharktopus'
Shark's Orange
'Hat' Leaves
Researchers
Stunned
in case you missed it
Mar 29, 2025 4:15 PM CDT

Shark's Orange 'Hat' Leaves Researchers Stunned

It was actually an octopus, making this a 'sharktopus' sighting

(Newser) - "One of the best things about being a marine scientist is that you never know what you might see next in the sea," writes Rochelle Constantine of the University of Auckland, who did not expect to come across an octopus riding a shark. That's exactly what researchers...

World's Ugliest Animal Gets Its Most 'Glorious Moment'

Blobfish, aka 'Mr. Blobby,' has been named New Zealand's fish of the year

(Newser) - Psychrolutes marcidus—you've come a long way, baby. The blobfish, a slow-moving, slimy-looking sea creature once deemed the ugliest animal in the world, has just experienced the ultimate redemption arc, ascending the species ladder to be voted New Zealand's favorite fish, reports NBC News . "Mr. Blobby,"...

New Search Launched for Dad on the Run With 3 Kids

Tom Phillips of New Zealand's North Island wanted for bank robbery, other crimes

(Newser) - New Zealand police have launched a new search for a fugitive father believed to be hiding in the wilderness with his three children, of whom he doesn't have custody. Tom Phillips disappeared with Jayda, 11, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9, more than three years ago. Last October, witnesses spotted...

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