The human remains of two, possibly three, people have been found by police in Pike River Mine.

There have now been 10 boreholes drilled, imaged and resealed. The remains were found in the crib room area during the finale stages of the second borehole drilling programme, police said. However, it’s not yet possible to say who the men might be.

“Previously, police have been able to narrow down the possibilities based on information about where the miners were working prior to the first explosion. Unfortunately, in this case, we’re not able to do that,” detective superintendent Darryl Sweeney said.

“We also located one of two missing drift runners — vehicles used to transport miners and materials underground — in the same area.”

The families of all 29 miners were notified of the discovery on Wednesday. “We recognise this process is extremely difficult for the families and we are committed to keeping them up to date on our investigation into the first explosion at the mine in November 2010,” said Sweeney.

“The completion of the borehole programme means we are now focusing on other aspects of the investigation. This includes working through witness statements and re-interviewing some of those involved.”

* This is an excerpt from The Spinoff’s Friday pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up for regular Friday instalments here.

You wait for one blockbuster to show up, then three arrive all at once. Multiple big-screen adventures hit theatres this weekend, so take your pick. If you’re out on date night, the raunchy, Cameron Diaz-style rom-com No Hard Feelings seems like your best bet. Lawrence’s messy Maddie is hired to date nerdy kid Percy by his parents and mayhem ensues. Does it work? Most of the early reviews praise Lawrence and her “fearless” performance, with the New York Times calling her a “consistently incandescent screen presence”.

Elsewhere, Transformers finds its animal within in Rise of the Beasts, another noisy instalment of the toy bots film that pits Optimus Prime and co against a team of dinosaur-y villains. “Delivers on needless destruction and world-class stupidity,” quips the Observer. If that’s too much for your inner 13-year-old to cope with, Pixar’s quieter Elementalmight be more up your alley, even if reviews are mixed and box office predictions are dire. “Feels like a Pixar first draft,” says reviewer Josh Larsen.

On streaming, Class of 09 (Disney+) is a time-bending, AI-driven thriller based around an FBI crime fighting division and starring Bryan Tyree Henry. “Cerebral, ambitious but frustratingly paced,” says Time. Also on Disney+, Marvel’s Secret Invasion sees the return of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. If you’re still interested in the antics of the Sex and the City squad, season two of And Just Like That… returns on Neon tonight, and this time they’re promising the (very brief) return of Samantha.

Elsewhere, Walking Dead: Dead City (TVNZ+) is yet another zombie spinoff but this one sounds surprisingly good. “May just be some life to be found in this dead world,” says Collider. Boots Riley’s I’m a Virgo (Prime Video) is the week’s wild card as it follows a 13-foot teen. “Wonderfully weird,” says The AV Club. And yes, they made an entire series out of James Corden’s late night skit: Carpool Karaoke: The Series debuts on Apple TV+ from June 23.

Finally, for all you Netflix diehards, Glamorous is what Kim Cattrall really did next after Sex and the City, and animated series Skull Island makes its debut. If you’re after a movie and No Hard Feelings is too R-rated for you, rom-com The Perfect Find could be your own perfect find, a “fashion-forward Netflix swooner,” says Variety.

For more, check out our weekly New to Streaming guide.

The Spinoff is raring to go in what has become the election of the minor parties. For what is The Spinoff if not a minor party in the beehive of New Zealand media? We want to cover this year’s election with rigour, range and humour but to do so, we need your help.

The financial support of our members is essential, particularly during an election. It will help us cover increased editorial and travel costs, up our presence in the press gallery and do more on-the-ground reporting on the campaign trail. Every donation allows our writers to chase the big stories, no matter where in the country they are.

If you aren’t already, become a Spinoff Member by making a donation today.

– Madeleine Chapman, editor

An audit of RNZ’s website has now found 38 international wire stories subtly adjusted by a former employee.

It was confirmed this week that the staff member believed to be responsible for tampering with stories, generally to insert a pro-Russian perspective, had resigned. 

The ongoing audit is happening simultaneously with a full external review of editorial processes. RNZ’s CEO and editor-in-chief Paul Thompson said the review had been sparked by what he called “a serious breach of standards” and the insertion of “pro-Kremlin garbage” into stories.

The audit’s found that stories on a range of topics, not just about the invasion of Ukraine, have been altered.

Update 1.20pm: I just checked again and it’s now 39 stories…

For decades, the wealthiest New Zealanders have been reaping enormous private gains from public infrastructure investments. While those who benefit consider the game fair, the less fortunate bear the overwhelming burden of infrastructure costs.

In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, host Bernard Hickey and head of strategy at the Infrastructure Commission, Geoff Cooper, delve into groundbreaking policy ideas aimed at transforming the existing landscape. Together, they explore strategies to achieve better distribution of infrastructure costs and envision a society where all individuals contribute their fair share towards a brighter future.

Half price public transport fares for all expire at the end of this month – except in Wellington, where Metlink is extending the universal discount until August. The new national rules announced in this year’s budget include free transport for children under 13 but Metlink doesn’t have a registration system in place and won’t be able to meet the planned July 1 launch date.

Offering extended half price fares for all is the “fairest, simplest and smoothest way” to tide Wellington public transport users over in the meantime, says Transport Committee chair Thomas Nash. Extending half-price fares will cost the regional council around $2 million per month and Nash says the government has been asked to contribute to the cost.

Want to read The Bulletin in full? Click here to subscribe and join over 38,000 New Zealanders who start each weekday with the biggest stories in politics, business, media and culture.  

Former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern has confirmed she’s writing a book, though said it won’t be released anytime soon.

There’s been speculation Ardern had been convinced to write about her time in politics, with reports she was being paid a million dollar advance.

Taking to her favourite platform – Instagram – Ardern said her first response when being asked to put pen to paper was simply no. “I didn’t want to write a book that hauled over the internal politics of the last five years, and then someone convinced me that I didn’t have to. That maybe it might be worth expanding on some of things I talked about in my valedictory instead—like the idea you can be your own kind of leader and still make a difference. And so that’s what I’m planning to do,” said Ardern.

“I’ve seen a bit of speculation about me writing, but there’s not too much more to say other than I’m planning on doing it and will be working with a lovely team of publishers (including Penguin in NZ and Australia, Macmillan in the UK and Crown in the United States.)”

Ardern said she’s being kept “pretty busy” with her work on the Christchurch Call.

Avatar director James Cameron has donated $50,000 to the Green Party, helping push their election year war chest above Labour’s.

The Herald’s reported that the Greens have amassed close to $500,000 in large donations, ahead of Labour’s $458,000. The Greens also received a $50,000 donation from long-time supporter Lucy Lawless, perhaps best known for her role as Xena.

However, National and Act have surged well ahead in large donations. Just four months out from polling day, Act has already pulled in over $1.1 million.

We haven’t covered this story over the past few days, but it’s leading pretty much every local news site this morning. Debris believed to be the missing submersible lost during a voyage to the wreckage of the Titanic was found overnight. All five people onboard are believed to have died due to a “catastrophic loss of the pressure chamber”.

“These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans,” OceanGate Expeditions said in a statement.

“Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time.”

The debris was found by an unmanned deep-sea robot about 488m from the site of the Titanic.

It’s been five days since the submersible lost contact with its support ship about an hour and 45 minutes into what should have been a two-hour descent.