Friday, 26 July - Sweet dreams are made of this

Good morning, it’s Friday, 26 July. In your Squiz Today…

• The Olympics kick off

• A Cabinet reshuffle in Canberra

• And a costly night’s kip… 😴

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Squiz Sayings

Said US singer Katy Perry, confirming she'll be the headline act at September's AFL grand final at the MCG. No doubt there will be plenty of fireworks, but hopefully she won’t get drowned out by the Roar of the crowd…

Let the Games begin

The Squiz

After years of preparations and months of hype, the Paris Olympic Games will officially kick off in style (very) early tomorrow morning. Rather than the usual stadium show, the French are going their own way for the Opening Ceremony with 10,500 athletes sailing down the River Seine, with 3,000 dancers along the banks - all of whom could be dancing along to performances from Lady Gaga and Celine Dion. But it wouldn’t be an Olympics without a bunch of controversies, and these Paris Games are no exception… 

What’s that about?

The Canadian women’s soccer team sacked 2 of its staff and head coach Bev Priestman removed herself ahead of this morning’s match against New Zealand, after they were caught flying a spy drone over their opponents' training session. And in the pool, there are ongoing concerns about whether China's swim team is ridgy-didge after 23 of them took a banned substance ahead of 2001’s Tokyo Games where they were still allowed to compete and win medals. US swimming legend Katie Ledecky says she hopes to face “clean” athletes in the coming weeks. 

So who am I looking out for?

We’re sending 460 of our finest athletes, and there are high hopes for their success with experts predicting this could be our most successful Games since Sydney 2000. One analysis reckons we could come away with 54 medals, including 15 golds. Ranging from Squiz Kids fave 14yo skateboarder Arisa Trew up to 51yo mankini-wearing equestrian Shane Rose, we have some serious medal contenders… As usual, we’re expected to dominate in the pool - Ariarne Titmus is favourite in the 200m and 400m freestyle, Kaylee McKeown in the 100m and 200m backstroke, and our flagbearing paddler Jess Fox is the pick in her events. Commentators say the Tillies are also a medal chance, despite losing 3-0 to Germany in their first match early this morning. Win or lose though, it's all about turning up - so c'mon Aussie… You can check out all the festivities and events across the fortnight on the official broadcaster, Nine.

Squiz the Rest

Political musical chairs

The Albanese Government is shufflin’ after Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Skills and Training Minister Brendan O’Connor announced their retirements yesterday. The pair won’t contest their respective seats of Barton (in Sydney’s southwest) and Gorton (in Melbourne’s north-west) at the next federal election and have stepped down as ministers, effective immediately. Burney was called out for special praise yesterday - she will be remembered as the first Indigenous woman to serve as Minister for Indigenous Australians. Yesterday, PM Anthony Albanese praised the pair’s “passion for this nation” and “their determination to leave this country better”. It means a couple of ministerial positions are up for grabs… Reports say Albanese will announce his new ministry on Sunday.

Biden passes the torch

In his first Oval Office address since dropping out of the presidential race on Sunday, US President Joe Biden yesterday said he’d realised the “defence of democracy” was more important than “personal ambition”. Biden joins a rare club of US Presidents who’ve handed over power voluntarily (mmm sorta/kinda…), saying “I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation”. As for the Democrats’ presumptive presidential candidate/Veep Kamala Harris, she’s continuing to round up support from delegates to officially clinch the nomination. Political watchers say she’s all but a shoo-in, so the real focus is on who she’ll pick as her running mate. Commentators say Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is someone to clock, and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear is also said to be high up the list. They call it the ‘Veepstakes’…

A question of succession

Australian-born media mogul/billionaire Rupert Murdoch is facing off against 3 of his children in a US court battle over who will inherit control of the family’s media empire when he dies. Court documents show the 93yo Murdoch’s move to change the terms of the Murdoch Family Trust to allow his eldest son Lachlan (aka the Aussie-based News Corporation/Fox Corporation chair) to take over the reins on his own hasn’t got the support of the whole tribe... The trust currently states that Lachlan, his younger brother James, sister Elisabeth and half-sister Prudence would all get a say in how the company runs. Lachlan - who pundits say aligns to his father’s conservative editorial instincts - has recently been put in charge of the company’s main business units, and reports say that blindsided his siblings. Talk about family politics…

Cork hats at the ready…

Messing with fly DNA didn’t end well for Jeff Goldblum, but a team of Aussie scientists reckon that genetically engineering the insects could solve one of our biggest problems. The team at Sydney’s Macquarie University says tweaking the genetics of black soldier flies (you know, the ones we’re constantly swatting…) would enable their larvae to consume a wider range of organic waste, drastically reducing the amount of methane entering our atmosphere. That would help tackle climate change big time... The flies are already used commercially to consume food scraps, but this could be the “next frontier”. Fun fact: they can eat double their body weight a day… Time to celebrate instead of shooing away these little guys when they’re buzzing around.

A solo slumber party

It’s the age-old dilemma of how to get a good night’s sleep that ironically keeps many of us up at night, which might explain why ‘sleep tourism’ is becoming a trillion dollar industry… Hotels across the world - including Hobart’s special 'slumber suite' - are targeting the sleep-deprived with promises of the best rest ever. All sorts of snoozy solutions are on offer, like AI-controlled smart beds, pillow menus, comatosing cocktails, calming mists, and blue-light-blocking glasses. With prices often topping $1,000, getting 40 winks can cost a fortune. Sleep experts say they’re increasingly popular because the “burnout is real” as the lines between work/home life are increasingly blurred, but it’s not a “magic bullet”. Instead, we should focus on good sleep hygiene and consistent bed/wake up times. That’s very logical, but not as much fun as a fancy hotel…

Wanna be in the Saturday Squiz?

Friday Lites - 3 French things we liked this week

For a full French immersion over the next fortnight, we enjoyed Sydney author Vanessa McCausland’s novel Dreaming in French - a beautifully written romantic mystery about a woman who inherits a crumbling villa on the remote Ile de Re. 

Good for you if you’re lucky enough to be reading this in Paris, but even if not, this article has a list of some of the best places to eat in the French capital and their equivalents here in Australia so you can hunt down the best croissants wherever you are. 

Given all the action though, you may not want to venture out, and Adam Liaw’s French onion soup recipe is the perfect solution to allow you to dine like the French without leaving the comfort of your own home. Bon Appétit, and go Aussies…

Squiz the Day

Friday
10.15am (AEST) - A judgement is due in the appeal case of former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian who is trying to have a corruption finding by the ICAC against her overturned - Sydney

Independence Day in Liberia

International Day for the Conservation of Mangroves 

Strive to be Kind Day (in memory of Allison Baden-Clay) 

Schools Tree Day 

Birthdays for John Howard (1939), Mick Jagger (1943), Helen Mirren (1945), Kevin Spacey (1959), Sandra Bullock (1964), Jacinda Ardern (1980), and Stormzy (1993) 

Anniversary of:

• the birthdays of Carl Jung (1875), Aldous Huxley (1894) and  Stanley Kubrick (1928)

• the capital of New Zealand moving from Auckland to Wellington (1865)

• the formation of the US Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation) (1908)

• US President Harry S Truman signing the National Security Act which establishes the Central Intelligence Agency (1947)

Saturday:
3:30 am (AEST) - Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony (the Games are on until 11 August) and watch on Nine

5.00pm (AEST) - Super Netball preliminary final, West Coast Fever v Melbourne Vixens - Melbourne

7.00pm (AEST) - Olympics: Swimming, the Aussie swimmers begin their heats - Paris

9.45am (AEST) - The winner of the Young Archie prize will be announced - Sydney

NSW Labor Party Conference begins, with PM Anthony Albanese and Premier Chris Minns to speak (on until 28 July) - Sydney

And the Victorian Liberal Party State Council is on, with Coalition leader Peter Dutton and Victorian State Liberal leader John Pesutto to speak (until 28 July) - Melbourne

Victory Day in North Korea, marking the end of the Korean War (1953)

Anniversary of :

• the first tobacco was brought to England from Virginia (1586)

• Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolating insulin at the University of Toronto (1921)

• Bugs Bunny’s cartoon debut in A Wild Hare (1940)

• the Korean War armistice (1953)

Sunday
PM Anthony Albanese is set to announce his new Ministry

Donate Life Week (until 4 August) 

World Hepatitis Day 

National Tree Day

Independence Day in Peru

Birthdays for Garfield creator Jim Davis (1945) and Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn (1952)

Anniversary of:

• the birthdays of author Beatrix Potter (1866) and former FLOTUS Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929)

• the invention of the hamburger in Connecticut (1900)

• the beginning of WWI, after Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia (1914)

• the release of Walt Disney's Alice In Wonderland (1951)

• the Provisional Irish Republican Army calling an end to their 30-year armed campaign in Northern Ireland (2005)

• the Australian Defence Force MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crash during a training exercise in Queensland that killed 4 members (2023)