Friday, 14 March - Jeepers creepers

March 14, 2025

Good morning, it’s Friday, 14 March. In your Squiz Today…

  • Settling in for a food fight with America

  • Moving towards a ceasefire in Russia’s war on Ukraine

  • And the best sneakers for your tootsies 👟

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“I’m certainly not going to spend all my money buying cars, but I’m in a pretty fortunate position where I can have a few nice things.”

Said Aussie-grown F1 driver Oscar Piastri, who’s just signed a new contract with McLaren said to be worth $41 million a year. Maybe he should invest in a trophy cabinet, and (fingers crossed…) he can put some silverware from this weekend’s Aussie Grand Prix trophy in it…

A glimpse behind the tariffs curtain

The Squiz

Days after the news broke that Australia would be slapped with 25% tariffs on our steel and aluminium exports, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has lifted the lid on why… Yesterday, he said that Australian manufacturers (and those from other countries also hit with tariffs…) are guilty of sending under-priced materials to the US - and President Donald Trump had taken action to "protect America".

What does that mean?

You can read up here, but "dumping" is an international trade practice where countries export a product at a lower price than what it can be sold for in their own local markets. It's generally used as a strategy to gain the majority of a foreign market's share - or, as Lutnick says, countries "make it, they overproduce, and they sell it dirt cheap to try to drive our guys out of business". Australian trade experts have pushed back against that, saying that our steel and aluminium exports make up a tiny fraction of the US market and account for 0.2% of our total exports - long story short, we don't send enough to the US to derail local manufacturing.

So what now?

Our Ambassador to the US is former PM Kevin Rudd - he says he’ll continue pushing for exemptions but says it will be “tough” because we’re far from the only country on its growing tariffs list. And given Trump shows no sign of backing down, there are concerns other exports - particularly beef, which is our biggest export to the US - could be next in line, with Trump promising new tariffs on agricultural products. Yesterday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said beef is covered under the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement - and that “​​as a friend and ally” she wants to see the agreement honoured. Overnight, Trump called free trade “stupid trade” and posted to social media that “The Entire World is RIPPING US OFF!!!" - so experts say settle in for a food fight…

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:

❤️ Raspberries - Juicy, sweet and perfect on top of your brekky.

🥦 Broccolini - Hot tip: look for firm, bright green stalks and keep in the crisper until ready to eat.

🥔 Washed Spuds - The warm weather means they might have a few marks, but they still taste fab.

Squiz the Rest

Russia responds to a ceasefire deal

After Ukraine agreed to the deal for a 30-day ceasefire earlier in the week, Russia has presented the US with its demands for ending the war. Reports say they're similar to those made previously, including stopping Ukraine from being part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and not allowing foreign troops into the country. President Vladimir Putin appeared in Russia's Kursk region overnight, telling his troops to keep working to retake control. He says he's ceasefire-positive but has "reservations" because it's unclear what would happen in the region where Ukraine has managed to take some territory. As for President Trump, he’s meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House. That’s happening as we speak…

Brace for more bill shock

Acronyms incoming… The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) released its draft default market offer (DMO) yesterday, showing Aussies in NSW, South East Queensland, and South Oz are set to pay more for their electricity from July. The DMO acts as a benchmark for retailers, and the AER has recommended rises of 5.1-8.9% - that will add about $200 to an average household’s bill a year. That means power costs for millions of Aussies would be up $800 a year from 3 years ago - cue political rumbling after Team Albanese promised to lower power bills by $275 a year. AER boss Claire Savage said it’s necessary because of costs, but Energy Minister Chris Bowen says prices are “too high” and encourages shopping around for deals. Here’s a list of sites to help…

An influencer cops a wom-battering

Sam Jones is Montana-based and has over 90,000 Insta followers who are there for her hunting/outdoorsy content. But her account is now set to private after a post of her grabbing the wombat joey at night as it was walking with its mother went viral for all the wrong reasons. The RSPCA called it “callous”, and it wasn’t long before Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was asked if she should be deported. Her visa is now under review, and Burke says Jones probably won’t be allowed back in the country. PM Albanese was also asked about it yesterday - "Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there," he said. Umm someone has done just that… A young crocodile has gone missing at Darwin's Crocodylus Park after a man allegedly broke in on Wednesday night.

Pokemon GO, going, gone

The makers of mobile game Pokemon GO have sold their entire video game business to Saudi Arabia-owned company Scopely for $5.5 billion. If your memories of people wandering around your local park in 2016 muttering about Pikachus and Charizards are a bit hazy, here's a refresher… Pokemon GO is an augmented reality game where the action is superimposed over the real world, and players have to go outside if they have designs on catching 'em all. It was a gigantic success for makers Niantic, but they were never able to replicate that magic - not even with a Harry Potter version. Despite the sale, the new owners have promised nothing will change for those who still enjoy the odd Poke-stroll… 

Top of the pups

We love our cavoodles in Oz… The poodle/King Charles Cavalier cross is number one on Pet Insurance Australia’s new list of the most popular dogs in the country. The breed also topped the last list in 2019 - experts say they're so popular because they're good with kids and other pets and, well, really cute... Speaking of cute, the French bulldog was runner-up, and the evergreen golden retriever came in third. Some of our dog-buying habits have changed over time - staffies and kelpie crosses have dropped in popularity, and Labradoodles and mini dachshunds are on the rise. We'll have to wait for the next list to see if any dog can stop the cavoodle's reign of adorable terror…

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

If you ever run into a bit of choice anxiety while shopping for a new pair of runners, we found this handy (US-based) guide from The Cut to the best women’s sneakers on the market. Whether you’re looking for something that will last or something that will make you a style icon, there’s lots of good advice here…

And we’ve got another cracking list for you - the sports & pop culture site The Ringer has ranked the 100 best sports moments of the century so far. It’s another US list, so there’s no Cathy Freeman or Matildas on there, but it’s still a great journey through an amazing 25 years of sport.

If you love a bit of the Greek treat spanakopita but you’re trying to cut down on your pastry intake, this ingenious little recipe for spanakorizo will give you all of that spinachy, feta-y goodness but with rice rather than filo. Go on, treat yourself…

Squiz the Day

Friday
9.30am (AEDT) - Pre-trial rulings for Erin Patterson, charged with 3 counts of murder and 5 of attempted murder in relation to serving a fatal mushroom lunch. She'll appear via audio-visual link - Melbourne

2.00pm (AEDT) - F1 Australian Grand Prix practice rounds… Here’s the full track schedule (until 16 March) - Melbourne

4.30pm (ACDT) - Start of Super Netball’s pre-season comp, the Team Girls Cup (until 16 March) - Adelaide, and watch on Kayo

8.00pm (AEDT) - Former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom will be sentenced by a French court for embezzling money while he was president and part-owner of RC Narbonne. He was convicted in absentia in October, and reports say his whereabouts are unknown - Narbonne, France

It’s Holi - a popular and significant Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and spring

Birthdays for actors Michael Caine (1933), Billy Crystal (1948), Jamie Bell (1986), and Ansel Elgort (1994), and gymnast Simone Biles (1997)

Anniversary of:

  • Albert Einstein's birthday (1879)

  • Xi Jinping becoming President of the People's Republic of China (2013)

  • US high school students staging a mass walkout to commemorate the Florida high school shooting (2018)

  • the deaths of Karl Marx (1883) and Stephen Hawking (2018)

Saturday
6.00am (AEST) - Canberra Balloon Spectacular (until 23 March) - Canberra

11.30am (AEST) - Athletics: Teenager sprint sensation Gout Gout will race at the Queensland Athletics Championships (until 16 March). Here’s his schedule… - Brisbane

6.00pm (AEDT) - Athletics: Sydney Track Classic - Olympic Park, Sydney

World Consumer Rights Day

International Day Against Police Brutality

Birthdays for actor Eva Longoria (1975) and musician will.i.am (1975)

Anniversary of:

  • the death of Julius Caesar (44BC)

  • the wedding of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (1964)

  • the Christchurch mosque shootings that saw 51 killed (2019)

Sunday
9.00am (AEDT) - Black Dog Ride One Dayer 2025 for mental health - in all capital cities

12.00pm (ACDT) - Netball: Final of Super Netball’s pre-season comp, the Team Girls Cup - Adelaide, and watch on Kayo

3.00pm (AEDT) - Motorsport: F1 Australian Grand Prix race (58 laps) - Melbourne, and watch on Kayo

5.30pm (AEDT) - NBL: Grand final series game 3, Illawarra Hawks v Melbourne United - Wollongong, and watch on Kayo

Anniversary of:

  • the founding of Lifeline (1963)

  • American figure skater Tonya Harding pleading guilty to obstruction of justice over a plot to seriously injure her rival Nancy Kerrigan (1994)

  • the establishment of the UN Human Rights Council (2005)

  • the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by 2,997.10, the single largest point drop in history (2020)