The Middle East conflict rages on, with the US launching strikes on Iran for the 11th consecutive night.

Meanwhile Tehran has warned Washington against targeting its nuclear facilities.

A ceasefire agreed in April collapsed last week, with both sides battling over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

US Correspondent Mitch McCann told Ryan Bridge Washington's biggest frustration is Iran continuing to try and control the Strait.

He says Donald Trump has gone to Truth Social saying every time Iran targets a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the US will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant - including those in the capital city.

The Middle East conflict rages on, with the US launching strikes on Iran for the 11th consecutive night.
Meanwhile Tehran has warned Washington against targeting its nuclear facilities.
A ceasefire agreed in April collapsed last week, with both sides battling over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
US Correspondent Mitch McCann told Ryan Bridge Washington's biggest frustration is Iran continuing to try and control the Strait.
He says Donald Trump has gone to Truth Social saying every time Iran targets a ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the US will bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant - including those in the capital city.

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

Mitch McCann: US Correspondent on the latest with the Middle East conflict

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/7404c6e7-45d8-454b-a89a-b48f012ebae1/transcript

The more you read about these AI hacks, the less you want to know about them.So, basically, the short story is that there was an AI bot out there that went full Terminator. It hacked into another system, another AI system, without being told to do so, acting entirely of its own volition.It was reportedly an OpenAI model that did this. It escaped the environment where it was supposed to be, went online, and stole the login details for Hugging Face, which is the other platform, right?The interesting thing is what Hugging Face, the victim in this case, did about it. They said that, normally, you would get another AI bot to attack the attacking AI bot, and they would have some kind of war. But they turned to a Chinese bot to do it.Why?Because the American bot had so many guardrails on it that it had essentially rendered itself useless. It wasn't good enough to defend their system, so they went with a Chinese one.Fascinating.So, you basically have robots at war with other robots, with no real control over what they might do next. And we've seen that before. This is a clear-cut example of it, and it's not the first one.OpenAI has said they've had issues before. Apparently, they've previously admitted that their models autonomously took unwanted actions for extended periods to achieve their goals, including looking for ways to act outside their sandbox.Well, that doesn't sound very good for us, does it?My question is this: if you have robots attacking robots, Chinese robots attacking American robots, and robots doing whatever they want, how safe is any of our information every time we log into a platform?How safe is that information? And, therefore, what information are we actually willing to give to those platforms?

Ryan Bridge: Is our data safe with AI?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/cbeec4ed-0390-4344-aadd-b48f01356b16/transcript

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Thursday 23rd of July 2026, there's more speculation over the future of the ANZ Premiership, NZ Herald Netball Correspondent Nathan Limm explains. 

Barely half of students passed the NCEA numeracy exam this year, Darfield High School Principal Andy England shares his thoughts. 

The Climate Change Commission says our rate of emissions reduction needs to more than double over the next few years, AUT Professor and Plant Ecologist Sebastian Leuzinger tells Ryan what the government needs to do. 

Plus, US Correspondent Mitch McCann has the latest on new threats from Trump to Tehran and Trump wanting FIFA president Gianni Infantino to be the next UN secretary-general. 

Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.          

LISTEN ABOVE  

On the Early Edition with Ryan Bridge Full Show Podcast Thursday 23rd of July 2026, there's more speculation over the future of the ANZ Premiership, NZ Herald Netball Correspondent Nathan Limm explains.&nbsp;
Barely half of students passed the NCEA numeracy exam this year, Darfield High School Principal Andy England shares his thoughts.&nbsp;
The Climate Change Commission says our rate of emissions reduction needs to more than double over the next few years, AUT Professor and Plant Ecologist Sebastian Leuzinger tells Ryan what the government needs to do.&nbsp;
Plus, US Correspondent Mitch McCann has the latest on new threats from Trump to Tehran and Trump wanting FIFA president Gianni Infantino to be the next UN secretary-general.&nbsp;
Get the Early Edition Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE &nbsp;

Full Show Podcast: 23 July 2026 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/11e71cf9-91e2-4585-8114-b48f012abeba/transcript

Fixed mortgage rates could be heading up “pretty soon”, says a New Zealand bank boss as wholesale interest rates rise on the back of volatility in the Middle East.

Speaking on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, Co-operative Bank chief executive Mark Wilkshire said wholesale rates were up about 30 basis points (bps) in the past couple of weeks.

“I think banks will have to start passing that on.

“Even though the Official Cash Rate [OCR] was priced in, those wholesale markets have lifted. I expect this to be upward pressure on retail mortgage rates.”

Wilkshire said fixed home loan rates could rise “in that region of 30 basis points”.

“It’s going to have to happen pretty soon.

“Wholesale markets have been very volatile on the back of these conflicts.”

On the Co-operative Bank lifting its own fixed rates, Wilkshire said, “I think we’re going to have to go pretty soon”.

“They’re not big changes but I think we’re going to have to see that pass through.”

Lower wholesale interest rates had led to banks cutting some of their longer-term fixed rates last month, while shorter-term rates continued to rise on expectations of an OCR hike in July.

That hike came, with the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) lifting the OCR earlier this month from 2.25% to 2.5%.

Floating rates, which move in lock-step with the OCR, were quick to rise.

However, fixed mortgage rates are heavily influenced by wholesale interest rates.

Following the OCR hike, economists told the Herald the move was unlikely to trigger immediate fixed mortgage rate rises.

ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said OCR changes take about 18 months to take effect.

Instead, the OCR hike would “put a bit of a floor under short-end rates”.

Fixed mortgage rates could be heading up “pretty soon”, says a New Zealand bank boss as wholesale interest rates rise on the back of volatility in the Middle East.
Speaking on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, Co-operative Bank chief executive Mark Wilkshire said wholesale rates were up about 30 basis points (bps) in the past couple of weeks.
“I think banks will have to start passing that on.
“Even though the Official Cash Rate [OCR] was priced in, those wholesale markets have lifted. I expect this to be upward pressure on retail mortgage rates.”
Wilkshire said fixed home loan rates could rise “in that region of 30 basis points”.
“It’s going to have to happen pretty soon.
“Wholesale markets have been very volatile on the back of these conflicts.”
On the Co-operative Bank lifting its own fixed rates, Wilkshire said, “I think we’re going to have to go pretty soon”.
“They’re not big changes but I think we’re going to have to see that pass through.”
Lower wholesale interest rates had led to banks cutting some of their longer-term fixed rates last month, while shorter-term rates continued to rise on expectations of an OCR hike in July.
That hike came, with the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) lifting the OCR earlier this month from 2.25% to 2.5%.
Floating rates, which move in lock-step with the OCR, were quick to rise.
However, fixed mortgage rates are heavily influenced by wholesale interest rates.
Following the OCR hike, economists told the Herald the move was unlikely to trigger immediate fixed mortgage rate rises.
ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said OCR changes take about 18 months to take effect.
Instead, the OCR hike would “put a bit of a floor under short-end rates”.

Mark Wilkshire: Co-Operative Bank CEO on inflation, signals fixed mortgage rate hikes coming ‘pretty soon’

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/536f3cba-079b-4e7a-be15-b48e01825a11/transcript

Mitch McCann: US Correspondent on the latest with the Middle East conflict

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