Friday, 24 January - I think I wanna marry you

January 24, 2025

Good morning, it’s Friday, 24 January. In your Squiz Today…

  • Elon Musk pours cold water on Trump’s big AI announcement

  • Another big wildfire has broken out in California

  • And an ace chilli con-carne to serve on Aussie Open finals weekend… 🌶️

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

"We have just been waiting for the law to catch up and support us."

Said police officer Pisit Sirihirunchai after his home country of Thailand legalised same-sex marriage yesterday. Pisit and his partner Chanatip are hoping to be one of the first couples able to tie the knot - you can check out some of the celebrations here. Ain’t love grand…

An AI funding face-off…

The Squiz

Following US President Donald Trump’s launch of a new artificial intelligence (AI) initiative, his new-ish ally/political donor Elon Musk has taken issue with it… On Wednesday, Trump announced Stargate, a White House-backed AI company funded by existing tech companies, including OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank - who pledged $160 billion towards it between them. But yesterday, Musk sowed some doubt about the project, posting on X that “they don’t actually have the money” and “SoftBank has well under $10b secured”.

I thought Stargate was a TV show…

It is, and it’s a sci-fi classic - but now it’s also a company designed to build AI infrastructure (think giant data centres) in the US. And the $160 billion figure is just the start - the companies involved are planning to sink a total of $800 billion into it. But after Musk queried if they had the cash to back up their promises, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the “American people should take President Trump and those CEOs’ words for it”. One of those CEOs is Sam Altman, who runs OpenAI, a company Musk co-founded in 2015 - and someone Musk is currently suing over the company’s direction. He fired back on X, saying “wrong, as you surely know” and “this is great for the country”. Trump himself has yet to respond directly to Musk, but he’s got plenty of other things going on…

Like what?

Along with announcing the AI project, Trump is also sending 1,500 troops to the southern borders of California and Texas to support his immigration policies. On that front, the US State Department has also cancelled all refugee travel to the US - that was signalled by an executive order Trump signed after taking office, which said the US “lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees”. The President has also given his first TV interview since returning to the role, talking to Fox News’ Sean Hannity about a range of topics, including Joe Biden’s last-minute pardons, what’s going to happen to TikTok, and if those JFK assassination files will be released anytime soon…

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:

🍓 Strawberries - Cereal topper, smoothie staple, straight from the punnet - the possibilities are endless…

🍉 Watermelon - Sweet ‘n’ refreshing - what more could you ask for?

🌱 Spring onions - They love the summer sunshine, so crops are thriving this season…

Squiz the Rest

A lengthy sentence for the Southport killer  

A teenager who murdered 3 young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance concert in the UK last year has been jailed for at least 52 years. The attack in Southport by Axel Rudakubana last July triggered weeks of riots and was described by UK PM Keir Starmer as "one of the most harrowing moments in our country's history". Rudakubana pleaded guilty to murdering 6yo Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7yo, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, who was 9yo - and the attempted murder of a further 8 children and 2 adults. He was 17yo when he carried out the "ferocious" and "sadistic" attack, meaning he couldn't be sentenced to life behind bars, and despite owning an al-Qaeda training manual, he wasn't charged under terror laws. A public inquiry will now look at how red flags were missed despite Rudakubana having been referred to authorities at least 3 times. 

A new blaze in California

It’s been 3 weeks since the catastrophic wildfires kicked off in Los Angeles, and with residents still counting the costs of those, another fire started on Wednesday. It’s not small, either - so far, the Hughes Fire has burned through more than 10,000 acres near Castaic Lake, a reservoir about 56km north of the city, forcing the evacuations of 19,000 people. Some much-needed rain is on the cards for southern California over the weekend, but in the meantime, meteorologists say conditions are dangerous. Just like the Palisades and Eaton fires (neither of which are fully contained yet), it’s being fanned by hot and gusty Santa Ana winds… Those fires have killed at least 25 people, burned through more than 37,000 acres and destroyed at least 17,000 structures, with early damage bill estimates coming in at up to $239 billion.

Rex gets a bailout

The Albanese Government has taken on $50 million of debt owed by Regional Express (or Rex) - making it the majority creditor. You might remember the airline ran into financial trouble last year, entering voluntary administration owing more than $500 million. Many of the airline’s planes were grounded, and administrators Ernst and Young (EY) began selling off parts of the business. But there was concern over the future of its regional routes - 42 of which are only serviced by Rex planes. The federal government had already intervened by granting EY an $80 million commercial loan to keep the airline flying… Yesterday, Transport Minister Catherine King and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the acquisition was “an important step to prevent an adverse outcome for regional communities”. 

It’s crunch time in the tennis

We’re getting to the match point-y end of the Aussie Open, and we have our finalists in the women’s singles - world #1 Aryna Sabalenka will be taking on Madison Keys tomorrow night. It’ll be Keys’ first Aussie final, after the American #19 seed caused a major upset, beating #2 Iga Świątek in a 3-set nail-biter. "I feel like I blacked out at some point," Keys said. "To be able to stay in it and just keep fighting … it was an actual dramatic finish”. Tonight, we find out our men’s finalists as 10-time champ #7 Novak Djokovic takes on German #2 Alexander Zverev, and last year’s winner (and Demon-vanquisher) Jannik Sinner plays #21 seed, American Ben Shelton. And while we mightn’t have any players left in the singles, there’ll still be some locals holding up trophies - the mixed doubles final is an all-Aussie affair, the first time that’s happened since 1967.

An un-fur-tunate detour

An 8yo cat called Mittens has accidentally racked up some frequent flyer points after stowing away on 3 separate trans-Tasman flights earlier this month. Sadly for Mittens, she wasn’t in business class - her crate was down in the cargo hold on a flight between Christchurch and Melbourne and the staff missed it during unloading. By the time they and her stressed-out owner Neas found out, she was on her way back to the Land of the Long White Cloud. That meant Mittens had to take another flight (layovers, amirite?) back to her original Aussie destination - luckily the pilot knew she was there this time, and turned on the heating to keep her comfy. She’s now back with her relieved (and completely refunded) owner, who says the normally affection-avoidant Mittens has been extra cuddly…

Wanna be in the Saturday Squiz?

This week, news landed that the online retailer Catch, known for its daily bargains, is closing up shop. It got us wondering…

Are you a bargain shopper?

Click to cast your vote and while you're there tell us about the best bargain you've ever snagged. We'll share 3 responses in Saturday's newsletter.

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Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

If you miss the good old days of ER and have a particularly strong stomach, you might like The Pitt, a new medical drama streaming on BINGE. Told in real time, it stars ER’s Noah Wyle and - be warned - its fair share of injuries and illnesses shown in all their, um, gory glory…

Some Chalamet for your weekend - his Bob Dylan movie A Complete Unknown is out in Aussie cinemas and getting rave reviews. He’s also the host/musical guest - of Saturday Night Live, for which he’s enlisted the help of his brigade of lookalikes…

It’s the Australia Day weekend so tradition says we should be serving lamb but we’ll be too busy watching the tennis on the couch, so this good old-fashioned Chilli Con Carne is what we’re turning to. It’s a Recipe Tin Eats take on the classic - and can be served with tortillas or corn chips if you’re sharing…

Squiz the Day

Friday
8.15am (AEDT) - Olympic champion paddlers Jess and Noemi Fox will be in action at the 2025 OCA Canoe Slalom Continental Championships (on until 26 January) - Penrith, NSW

9.30am (ACDT) - Olympic cyclist Rohan Dennis is due to be sentenced after pleading guilty to a charge of creating a likelihood of harm over a crash that led to the death of his wife, fellow champion cyclist, Melissa Hoskins - Adelaide

10.00am (AWST) - HSBC SVNS 2025 Mens and Womens - Perth, and watch on Stan Sport

11.45am (AEDT) - This year’s Australian of the Year nominees will attend a lunch at The Great Hall in Parliament House, and later, a Government House reception - Canberra

12.30pm (AEDT) - PM Anthony Albanese will announce a new election pitch for housing construction apprentices - which includes a $10K cash payment designed to bolster the workforce to meet Labor’s target of 1.2m new homes in 5 years - when he addresses the National Press Club - Canberra

7.15pm (AEDT) - Men's Cricket: BBL challenger final, Sydney Sixers v Sydney Thunder - Sydney, and broadcast live on Kayo

A birthday for Neil Diamond (1941)

Anniversary of:

  • Apple Computer Inc unveiling its revolutionary Macintosh personal computer (1984)

  • the release of Adele's second studio album 21 (2011)

  • former US Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar sentenced up to 175 years in prison after being found guilty of molesting over 150 girls (2018)

Saturday
12.00pm (AEDT) - Triple J's Hottest 100 kicks off 

From 7.30pm (AEDT) – 2025 Australian of the Year announced, and broadcast on ABC

7.15pm (AEDT) - Women's Cricket: T20I game 3 - Australia vs England - Adelaide, and watch on Kayo

The Australian Open women’s singles final

Belarus presidential election 

A birthday for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (1978)

Anniversary of:

  • Antarctica being identified as a new continent by Charles Wilkes' American naval expedition (1840)

  • the Beatles hitting #1 in the US for the first time with I Want to Hold Your Hand (1964)

  • the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Australia, from a returning traveller from Wuhan, China (2020)

Sunday
🇦🇺 Australia Day

Santos Tour Down Under Stage 6 (final stage) - Adelaide

The Australian Open men’s singles final

A birthday for Ellen DeGeneres (1958)

Anniversary of:

  • the Rum Rebellion, the only successful armed takeover of government in Australian history (1808)

  • the deaths of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and 7 others in a helicopter crash (2020)

Monday
🏖️ Australia Day public holiday (Team Squiz are taking the day off; we’ll be back with you tomorrow)

7.00pm (AEDT) - 80 Year Anniversary of the Liberation of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus will attend the ceremony - Poland 

7.15pm (AEST) - Cricket: Big Bash League final, and watch live on Kayo

Surfing: WSL Lexus Pipe Pro at Banzai Pipeline - Hawaii

National Geographic Day

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, marking the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp by the Soviet Army (1945)

Anniversary of:

  • the end of the Siege of Leningrad. More than 2 million Russians were killed in the WWII battle (1944)

  • the Apollo 1 disaster. Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee lost their lives when a fire swept through the command module during a preflight test of what was to be the first crewed mission of NASA's Apollo space program (1967)