NZ@Noon: Tiny toy tester gives final verdict

The Warehouse toy tester Chaz Stensness, 6, casts a discerning eye over Christmas toys. Photo / John Borren

Stories making headlines around the regions today include a killer disease, a grenade turns up at a police station and list of must have toys for Christmas.

Letters to Santa are starting to be written and the festive season is beginning in earnest as shops stock up their Christmas displays. Tauranga's top toy tester gives you his verdict on what's hot and what's not.

A live hand grenade a man took to Hastings Police Station yesterday has been disarmed, police say, and it will now be examined by the military.

Predatory drug dealers selling psychoactive substances laced with household chemicals are turning Hawke's Bay children into "emaciated zombies", police say.

A killer disease that rots the stomachs of dogs has reared its ugly head again in Northland, prompting vets to warn owners to keep their pets' vaccinations up-to-date.

Wanganui poet Airini Beautrais was a few weeks away from entering the world when anarchist Neil Roberts attempted to bomb the Wanganui Computer Centre, killing himself.

A Greytown mother of three is asking for help in her fight against a crippling disease.

And finally, Kelly Albrecht knew she was on to something special when more than 100 Rotorua women agreed to pose in lingerie for a fundraising calendar.