Friday, 1 November - I’m only happy when it rains

Good morning, it’s Friday, 1 November. In your Squiz Today…

• The US election race enters the home stretch

• Hopes of a breakthrough in the Middle East

• And a fancy lemon cake that’s a snap to make…🍋

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Singapore Uni Professor Alfred Wu of Chinese officials’ crackdown on Halloween high jinx. Observers say the state is increasingly frowning on Western-inspired occasions, and that saw ‘Donald Trump’ and ‘Batman’ escorted away from festivities in Shanghai last weekend…

Sorting through the garbage

The Squiz

It’s T-minus 4 days until Americans head to the polls, and Democratic presidential hopeful/Vice President Kamala Harris is trying to separate herself from a gaffe made by her current boss, President Joe Biden. He described Republican candidate Donald Trump’s supporters as “garbage” during an event with Hispanic voters on Tuesday in an attempt to hit back at a controversial joke made by a comedian about Puerto Rico at one of Trump’s recent rallies. But that hasn’t stopped Republicans from going after Biden - and, by extension, Harris (including Trump in an actual garbage truck…). Yesterday, she said she “strongly” disagrees with criticising anyone for their voting choices and says if she’s elected, she’ll “represent all Americans”.

Why is this getting such a big run?

Because the dynamic between Biden and Harris has been totes awks for a while… She has long been one of Biden’s biggest supporters - during the 2020 election, throughout his presidency, and into his run at this year’s vote. She continued to back him even after he withdrew from the 2024 race, making way for her to have a go. So political analysts say shaping her own campaign while maintaining her support for him has been a tough needle to thread. And with the polls between Harris and Trump showing this year’s race is likely to come down to the wire - along with millions making up their minds early - there’s not a lot of time for either campaign to deal with last-minute PR blunders…

So what are their final pitches looking like? 

As she tries to put the Biden presidency in her rearview, Harris’s last official pre-election speech was about looking ahead, reiterating one of her campaign catchphrases: "We're not going back". She told 75,000 supporters at an event in Washington DC that it was "time to turn the page on the drama and conflict, the fear and division". But she also spent a lot of time framing Trump as "unstable", "out for unchecked power", and a threat to democracy. Trump's strategy seems to be the opposite… His campaign's been focused on asking voters whether they’re better off now compared to 4 years ago when he was at the helm. He’s also done a bit of name-calling himself - something likely to continue in both directions over the campaigns’ final days.

Your fresh market update…

At the Squiz, we’re all about giving you the useful stuff. So, we’ve teamed up with Woolies to share their top weekly fruit and veg picks. Here’s what to grab this week:

🫐 Blueberries - The good weather is shining on blueberry crops right now, making them extra sweet and juicy

🥬 Cos lettuce - Aka our go-to salad leaf, and right now cos is crisp and delicious …

🥕 Carrots - This crunchy veg is a staple for a reason, and they’re great quality ATM

🍄 Mushrooms - Pro tip: keep ‘em in the fridge in their original packaging or a paper bag for max freshness

Squiz the Rest

Hopes of a breakthrough 

Lebanon’s PM Najib Mikati says he’s hopeful a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah could be announced within days… He said he originally didn’t think there could be a deal before the US election - but “we should remain optimistic” there will be a breakthrough any day now… Drafts of the agreement circulating in Israel’s media suggest there would be an initial 60-day truce where Lebanon’s army would clear out Hezbollah fighters from its southern border with Israel, while Israel would withdraw all troops from Lebanon. There are still airstrikes pounding the country, and also targets in Syria, as the Israeli military continues to attack what it says are command centres of the terrorist group. 

Optus cops a whack, staff get the sack

Optus has swung the axe after consumer watchdog the ACCC claimed staff were hassling people into buying phones they couldn’t afford. Around 429 customers copped the treatment, including some Indigenous customers from remote areas, buying phones in Darwin that had no coverage when they got home. Others include customers living with a disability or with learning difficulties - they got a visit from a debt collector if they couldn’t pay. The telco has apologised, sacked staff, and offered refunds to the victims. It’s another public drama for Team ‘Yes’, which is still dealing with the fallout from the 2022 data breach and 2023 outage… 

Crikey, that's warm… 

Most of Oz is in for a hot start to November with plenty of temps in the 30Cs - and a few in the 40Cs coming our way over the next week. Our capital cities (except for Hobart and Perth…) are expected to nudge 30C over the weekend and then hold onto those high temps for at least a few days. And spare a thought for folks in the Western Australian town of Marble Bar - it was already 42C at 10am yesterday, and they’re expecting a whole week of 44Cs… The state of the climate is top of mind for the Bureau of Meteorology right now… In its 2-yearly report with the CSIRO, it says Australia has already warmed by 1.5C since 1910 and “heatwaves are becoming longer and the intensity is increasing”... 

Reining in the salt

We might need a better saline solution... A new study says forcing Oz food companies to use less salt could reduce diet-related heart attacks, strokes and related deaths. Right now, the rules around sodium in packaged food are opt-in, so there’s not much stopping the food companies from breaking them - but the research says adopting the World Health Organization’s much tougher rules could save 3,000 lives in a decade. At the moment, Aussies eat double the amount of salt the WHO recommends - but the study found it was often hidden in packaged and processed foods like meat, bread, cereal and dairy. The experts say it’s a good reminder to keep a close eye on those nutritional guidelines…

Giving Wellington a hand down

A sculpture named Quasi has dominated the roof of an art gallery in Wellington, Kiwiland, for 5 years - but not for much longer. It's a giant sculpture of a hand with an unsmiling human face - and it’s fair to say it divided locals. “I won’t say the city unanimously hated him, but I reckon 80% were like ‘what is this monster?’” said local city councillor Ben McNulty. Wellington’s Mayor Tory Whanau was firmer: “I’ll personally be pleased to see it head somewhere else for a change.” That ‘somewhere else’ is somewhere here in Oz, although the exact location hasn’t been confirmed. It’s been a statutes-rich news week, which isn’t something we say often… US basketballer Dwyane Wade’s likeness received a roasting, and the art form also popped up in the US presidential election…

Wanna be in the Saturday Squiz?

We noticed a pattern in the news this week. So we want to know…

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

If you like Yellowstone but wish there were more crocs and dingoes, you might like Territory - the 6-ep drama that dropped on Netflix recently. It’s got lots of people in big hats fighting over power, land, and legacy. It’s something to get your teeth into…

Not all life hacks are equal, but we reckon there are a few in this Reddit thread you might find handy - like rolling an orange first to make peeling easier, brushing up on your keyboard shortcuts or taking a photo of where you parked your car. That last one is a life-saver….

And if you're not over sugar after Halloween, this Weekday Lemon Cake from Tilly Pamment’s excellently named book The Plain Cake Appreciation Society is a good one to trot out with minimum effort. It's a melt-and-mix situation and lasts for days - but it won't hang around that long…

Squiz the Day

Friday
8.00am (AEDT) - NSW Drug Summit begins in Griffith (held over multiple days in Griffith, Lismore and finishing in Sydney on 5 December)

9.30am (AEDT) - A judgement will be handed down in the defamation case brought by Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi against One Nation leader Pauline Hanson over an alleged “hateful tweet” - Sydney

10.00am (AEDT) - A parliamentary inquiry into the digital transformation of workforces is continuing public hearings - Canberra 

10.00am (AEST) - Cricket: Australia A v India A (until 3 November) - Mackay, and watch on Kayo 

3.00pm (AWST) - Launch of Eco Fashion Week, Australia’s first-ever sustainable fashion festival - Perth

AFR Chanticleer Brunch 2024

ABS data release - Monthly household spending indicator, Sep; Producer Price Indexes, Sep 

🥸 Let your lip-hair run free… It’s the start of Movember

Start of Aus Music Month

All Saints’ Day

National Days for Algeria, and Antigua and Barbuda

World Vegan Day 

Birthdays for Apple CEO Tim Cook (1960), Anthony Kiedis (1962), Tina Arena (1967), and Toni Collette (1972)

Anniversary of:

• the premiere of William Shakespeare's play Othello (1604) and the blockbuster film Titanic (1997)

• John Adams becoming the first US President to live in the White House (1800)

• the first use of the Motion Picture Association film rating system G, M, R, X (1968)

Saturday
🏇 Melbourne Cup Carnival begins (on until 9 November) - Melbourne

Derby Day - Melbourne

Day of the Dead - Mexico

International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists 

A birthday for David Schwimmer (1966) 

Anniversary of:

• the birthday of Marie Antionette (1755)

• the first publication of women's fashion magazine Harper's Bazaar (1867)

• the start of cheerleading in the United States as Johnny Campbell leads the crowd cheering on the football team at the University of Minnesota (1898)

• Democrat Jimmy Carter elected President of the United States (1976)

• the start of 'The Great Emu War' when Aussie soldiers were engaged to cull crop-destroying emus in WA (1932)

• 50 years since the release of epic film The Godfather (1972)

Sunday
10.00am (AEDT) - Walk4BrainCancer - Centennial Park, Sydney

11.00am (AEDT) - Sculpture by the Sea prize recipients to be announced - Sydney

National Days for Dominica, Micronesia and Panama

🥪 National Sandwich Day - US

Birthdays for Anna Wintour (1949), Ellyse Perry (1990), and Kendall Jenner (1995)

Anniversary of:

• the English parliament passing the Act of Supremacy, which saw Henry VIII and subsequent monarchs become Head of the Church of England (1534)

• the Soviet Union launching Sputnik 2 with space dog Laika aboard, the first animal in space (1957)

• the release of Whitney Houston's cover of Dolly Parton's single I Will Always Love You (1992)

• LA Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant becoming the then youngest player to make his NBA debut at 18yo (1996)

• Michelle Payne becoming the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup (2015)

Monday
2.30am (AEDT) - Motorsport: F1, Brazilian Grand Prix - Sao Paulo and watch on Kayo