Friday, 3 July - A party in the USA

July 03, 2026

Good morning, it’s Friday, 3 July. In your Squiz Today…

  • America gears up for a 250th anniversary party and the wedding of the year

  • An earthquake survivor has been pulled from the rubble after 8 days in Venezuela

  • And some irresistible choc chip cookies… 🍪 

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🙋🏻‍♀️ This newsletter was written by Anna Pykett, Larissa Huntington, Alice Dempster and Sophie Felice

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

"It was an absolute logistical nightmare, but with grit and determination we did it.”

Said British runner Craig Robson, who reckons he’s broken a world record for completing a half-marathon along with 9 other mates, all in the same (wait for it) 18-metre-long caterpillar costume. We hear it was very hungry work…

It’s my party

The Squiz

It’s a big weekend ahead in the US - with Americans gearing up to wish their country a very happy 250th birthday. The 4 July celebrations mark the day the US Declaration of Independence was adopted, and you can bet your bottom dollar there’s a bit going on to mark the semiquincentennial (and not just because Congress loves long words…). And ahead of that, did we mention there's a teeny-tiny, low-key wedding happening too…? Taylor Swift and footballer Travis Kelce are said to be tying the knot in New York. Are you ready for it?

Go shawty, it’s your birthday

Let’s back it up a bit… The Declaration of Independence was created by America’s Founding Fathers - and it was adopted on the 4th of July 1776. Millions of Americans around the world are putting their party hats on to celebrate, and so is President Donald Trump. He’s already hosted the Freedom250 cagefight on the White House lawn, unveiled a ‘Patriot Passport’, and is headlining a rally in DC (after a heap of artists pulled out of appearing). It’ll end with a 40-minute firework display (BYO neck cushion) - but there’s some concern that these events will be highly politicised. It’s set to be a scorcher, with more than 175 million Americans under heat warnings - red, white and blue cups and mini fans at the ready… 

It’s a love story 

Talking of Cruel Summers, in the worst-kept secret of recent weeks, America’s most famous couple is apparently getting married on Friday New York time, which is early tomorrow morning for us in Oz... Details of the Kelce/Swift nuptials have steadily been leaking out - the ceremony and ‘mega-reception’ are said to be happening in different spaces inside New York’s Madison Square Garden (which fits 20,000 people FYI - we’re sure our invite is still in the post…). Crews have been spotted unloading things like a huge mirror ball, (they never go out of style AND they’re delicate…), stage equipment & ‘garden party’ decorations. Congrats to our fav English teacher and gym coach…the old Taylor can’t come to the phone, right now. Why? Because she’s getting married…

For more background on America’s big celebration, check out our latest Squiz Shortcut…

Claude, AI for scientific discovery

Researchers at Australia's Garvan Institute are partnering with Claude to do what wasn't possible before: analyse genomic data at massive scale to understand how our genes cause rare diseases, and accelerate treatments to cure them. When science and AI come together, the future of human health gets a little brighter. Try Claude here.

Squiz the Rest

Russia’s fuel shortage

The Russia-Ukraine war has been back in the headlines this week, with reports saying Russia plans to start importing fuel for the first time in decades. Experts say it’s down to Ukraine stepping up long-range drone attacks in recent weeks, which have hit several of Russia’s largest oil refineries - and some parts of the country like Siberia have imposed purchase limits of 40L of fuel per vehicle per day. Putin has played down the supply issue, saying “right now, we’re observing a certain shortage, but it’s not critical”... It comes as new data shows Russian forces have borne the brunt of the casualties since the war began in 2022 - but yesterday Russia struck back, hitting residential buildings and a hotel in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv which killed at least 22 people.

Holding out hope in Venezuela

It’s been just over a week since back-to-back earthquakes struck the South American country, but rescue teams aren’t giving up on finding more survivors after a man was pulled alive from the rubble overnight. The quakes had magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 and brought down dozens of buildings near the capital Caracas. More than 2,200 people have been confirmed dead, but rescue teams are continuing to search for survivors using specialist equipment including micro or ‘cockroach’ drones which can fit inside cracks that humans can’t, as well as cameras, trained rescue dogs and listening equipment. Among the incredible survival stories this week: a mother and her 18-day-old baby were found alive after 2 days, and a toddler was pulled from the rubble alive after 6 days. 

Cracking down on NDIS crooks

A parliamentary inquiry into fraud in the NDIS tabled a report yesterday with 12 recommendations on how to improve the scheme. The inquiry, which was led by Labor, heard from police, disability groups, service providers and government, who outlined concerns that the sector wasn’t regulated tightly enough and patients were being exploited by criminals. The committee recommended government agencies share information so that providers banned in other care areas couldn’t work in the NDIS. It also recommended imposing penalties for anyone offering kickbacks, as well as introducing stronger protections for whistleblowers. A separate Senate inquiry into Labor’s proposed cost cuts for the scheme has been extended until 14 August to allow more time to go through the thousands of submissions received.   

Cheering on the green and gold

A busy weekend of Oz sport kicks off with the Socceroos World Cup clash with Egypt tomorrow morning in Texas (set your alarm clock, it’s another early start of 4am AEST). Midfielder Jackson Irvine says the lads are ready to do something "no Australian team has done before", and that’s win a knockout stage match - so if they win - expect loud celebrations (sorry in advance to our neighbours…). If he’s playing - Pharaohs superstar Mohamed Salah will be one to watch - he’s considered one of the best players in the world. You can watch that on SBS... If netball’s more your thing, the Melbourne Vixens will defend their Super Netball title tomorrow against the Adelaide Thunderbirds at 7.30pm on Foxtel… And a quick Wimbledon update: Alex de Minaur is through to the third round after a win over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, but after beating Serena Williams, our girl Maya Joint went down to the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala… 

A tall order 

It mightn’t seem like it adds up, but a study out of the University of Barcelona has found that giraffes may be capable of rudimentary maths. The paper published in Scientific Reports found that giraffes were able to keep track of containers that held more pieces of food 68% of the time. They were less on the money when it came to subtraction (same here, spotty friends…). Researchers say it’s unlikely they’re thinking about maths the same way humans are, but they do show a basic understanding of numbers that affect their decision-making. Scientists reckon this could help them survive in the wild - for example by identifying where their biggest meal of Acacia trees might be across the African plains. Kind of like us when we spy chips…

Friday Lites - 3 things we liked this week

We feel like TV horror is having a bit of a moment - and can’t get enough of Widow’s Bay with Matthew Rhys. That’s because it doubles as a dry comedy, which had us in stitches. You can watch on Apple TV.

We enjoyed Season 5 of Clarkson’s Farm on Prime Video - our tip is that Hannah the bird lady is set to be a breakout star… And knowing that Jeremy Clarkson will be back for more tractor adventures after all meant we could still laugh at him… 

How is it school holiday time again…? For some mind-bending fun, check out Squiz Kids Holiday Brainteasers, and if you’re in need of a steady supply of snacks, these chocolate chip cookies will keep the wolves children happy…

Squiz the Day

Friday
9.00am (AWST) - Author Craig Silvey returns to court on child exploitation charges - Perth 

5.30pm (AEST) - National Indigenous Arts Fair (until 5 July) - Sydney

7.30pm (AWST) - Basketball: World Cup qualifier between Australia and Guam - Perth, watch on Kayo 

💒 Rumoured start of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding celebrations at Madison Square Garden 

Bondi festival begins (until 19 July)

Festival of Voices begins (until 13 July) - Hobart

💃 Madonna's Confessions on a Dancefloor: Part II album released 

Independence Day in Belarus

Plastic Bag Free Day

Birthdays for actor Tom Cruise (1962) and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (1971)

Anniversary of:

  • the Battle of Gettysburg, the largest battle ever fought on the American continent (1863)

  • Karl Benz driving the first automobile (1886)

  • the death of rocker Jim Morrison (1971)

  • the premiere of Back to the Future (1985)

Saturday
4.00am (AEST) - Football: FIFA World Cup round 32  Australia v Egypt - Arlington, watch on SBS

8.00am (ACST) - The NAIDOC Awards for Indigenous people, recognising the contribution of Indigenous Australians in improving lives and advancing issues - Alice Springs 

9.00am (AEST) - NSW Labor Annual State Conference (until 5 July) - Sydney 

9.30am (AEST) - The winners of the Young Archie prize announced - Sydney 

7.30pm (AEST) - Netball: Super Netball grand final between Adelaide Thunderbirds and Melbourne Vixens - Melbourne, watch it for free on Kayo 

8.10pm (AEST) - Rugby: Nations Championship round one Australia v Ireland - Sydney, watch on 9Now 

🇺🇲 250th anniversary of American independence 

The funeral for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei begins (until 9 July) - The funeral will begin in Tehran

World Rugby Nations Championship begin (until 29 November)

🐫 Outback Camel Trail kicks off with the Jundah camel races (until 26 July) 

International Day of Cooperatives

Independence Day - US

A birthday for rapper Post Malone (1995)

Anniversary of:

  • Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) creating the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland for Alice Liddell on a family boat trip in Oxford (1862)

  • the launch of hotmail.com, the first free web-based email service (1996)

  • North Korea testing their first successful intercontinental ballistic missile (2017)

  • wedding anniversaries for David and Victoria Beckham (1999) and Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis (2015)

Sunday
PM Anthony Albanese to travel to Fiji and Solomon Islands (until 8 July)

NAIDOC Week begins - the 2026 theme is '50 Years of Deadly' (until 12 July) 

👙 National Bikini Day

Independence Day in Venezuela and Algeria

Anniversary of:

  • the launch of famous luncheon meat Spam (1937)

  • the premiere of Seinfeld (originally titled The Seinfeld Chronicles) (1989)

  • the founding of Amazon by Jeff Bezos (1994)

  • the WHO announcing the containment of SARS after affecting 26 countries and resulting in 774 deaths (2003)

  • the release of Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye featuring Kimbra (2011)

  • the release of an FBI report stating Hillary Clinton was "extremely careless" handling classified emails, but doesn't recommend prosecution (2016)

Monday
12.00am (AEST) - Motorsport: Formula One British Grand Prix - Silverstone, watch on Kayo 

12.30pm (AEST) - Cricket: Women's T20 World Cup final Australia v TBD - London, watch on Prime Video