Monday, 12 January - Somebody's watching me

Good morning, it’s Monday, 12 January. In your Squiz Today…

• Victoria is still grappling with bushfires, with one person confirmed dead

• Checking in with the under-16yo social media ban, one month on

• And some fancy tech reveals land with a thud… 🤖

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Oscar-winning costume designer Jacqueline Durran on her upcoming film Wuthering Heights, which stars Aussies Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in the leads. You can see some of those costumes here - wonder if Margot was able to sneak any of them home…

A dark weekend for Victoria

The Squiz

Firefighters are still battling more than 20 bushfires across the state this morning - including 2 emergency-level blazes - and at least one person has been confirmed dead in the Longwood fire in central Victoria. The catastrophic conditions were enough for Premier Jacinta Allan to declare a state of disaster for 18 local government areas on Saturday, and for the Defence Force to be called in… PM Anthony Albanese, who visited the Bendigo Incident Control Centre yesterday, has also announced a $19.5 million support package - a large chunk of which will go to farmers.

So what’s the latest?

The focus is on the most severe fires in the Otways region and near Walwa in Victoria’s northeast, although there was a glimmer of hope yesterday afternoon, when the largest - the Longwood fire - was downgraded to a watch and act. The numbers paint a picture of how bad these fires have been… At least 390,000 hectares have burned, and more than 300 structures have been destroyed, and that’s likely to rise as the full extent of the damage becomes clear. As for today, temperatures in Victoria are expected to ease, but fire bans are still in place for the state’s North East and North Central regions - and air quality across the state is likely to be poor. It could be that way for a while - emergency services have warned the fires could continue burning for weeks…

And it’s not only fires causing problems…

Nope - for Far North Queenslanders, there was a cyclone to think about. Tropical Cyclone Koji made landfall near the town of Ayr (about 90km southeast of Townsville…) early yesterday morning. It brought strong winds - gusts of 113kmph were recorded at Hamilton Island - and heavy rains over the weekend, prompting major flood warnings at several spots. And when we say heavy, Clarke Range, near Mackay, recorded 362mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday… It’s not over yet - although Koji has been downgraded to an ex-tropical cyclone and winds have been easing, BOM forecaster Sue Oates says the system could move south towards Rockhampton today, with “the potential to produce locally more intense rainfall, which may produce life-threatening flash flooding”.

Lightening the load for 2026

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Squiz the Rest

The death toll rises in Iran

The country’s health system is under immense pressure as massive, ongoing anti-government protests have been met with force by the country’s security services. Estimates say hundreds of people have been killed or injured over the last couple of weeks, with a medic at one hospital saying they’d seen “direct shots to the head of young people.” Despite a nationwide internet/phone blackout, more reports of violence are coming to light and the US is watching closely - President Donald Trump said his country “stands ready to help” the protesters, but Iran says it will hit back if the US intervenes. Last week, the Oz Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told any Aussies in the area to “leave as soon as possible” - here’s the latest official advice.

And protests are also raging in Minneapolis…

That’s where 37yo mother-of-3 Renee Good was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer last week. On Saturday, thousands of people marched in Minnesota’s biggest city, demanding that ICE leave, while hundreds of other anti-ICE protests were held across the US. The fallout’s also spread to Washington, DC, where Democrats and some Republicans are pushing for consequences… They’ve floated reduced funding/policy changes for ICE related to its nationwide immigration raids, alongside the possibility of impeaching Homeland Security boss Kristi Noem, who claimed that the ICE officer responsible for Good’s death was acting in “self-defence”. But with Republicans currently in control of Congress, an impeachment would be difficult…

Checking back in with a ban

It’s been just over a month since the Albanese Government’s social media ban for under-16yos kicked in, and we’re starting to get some updates on how it’s going… Yesterday, tech giant Meta revealed it’s axed over 500,000 accounts across its platforms of Instagram, Facebook and Threads since the ban began. But it’s not happy about it - the company claims there’s been no improvement in online safety/wellbeing for Aussie kids, and there are still way too many workarounds. We’ve also heard from kids about how it’s going - like 14yo Amy, who told the BBC she felt truly “disconnected from her phone” since the ban, while others like 13yo Aahil say their lives haven’t changed much. Communications Minister Anika Wells is expected to release an official government update soon, so keep an eye out for that…
*For the full story of the social media ban, be sure to check out our 3-part Shortcut series with Squiz Kids’ Bryce Corbett on how it came to be and how it landed in the early going…

Vale Bob Weir

The guitarist, singer and founding member of the legendary rock band the Grateful Dead was 78yo. If you’re not a Deadhead (the nickname for the band’s ultra-loyal fans), they were a key plank of the counter-cultural music movement of the 1960s. They have a stack of classic songs in their catalogue, but for Weir’s voice specifically, check out Sugar Magnolia and One More Saturday Night. Along with fellow founder/guitarist/vocalist Jerry Garcia, Weir was the most recognisable name in the lineup - and after Garcia died in 1995, he continued playing live - including for the band’s 60th anniversary last year. His family said his death from lung issues followed Weir “courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could” and he “transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones”.

What not to see at CES

The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas turns up plenty of exciting new developments, but also a fair few products that miss the mark… And that’s where the ‘Worst in Show’ awards come in. Decided by a panel of judges, the awards nominate the products that are a bit shonky, shoddy or just… well, you can probably think of another ‘sh’ word. AI was a big theme this year, and ‘winners’ this time around include Samsung, for an AI-equipped fridge that uses voice commands (not always successfully) to open and close the fridge door and Chinese company ‘Lepro’, for an AI “soulmate” called Ami that sits on your desk in a sort of lava lamp-style cylinder and watches you work. No possible issues there… Here’s the full list of fails - maybe wait a bit before you add any of these to cart…

Apropos of Nothing

Indy the dog - the star of 2025 horror film Good Boy, in which he plays protagonist, uh, Indy the dog - has won an Astra Award for Best Performance in a Horror or Thriller. He wore a nice bowtie to accept the trophy - but seemed a bit flat that it wasn’t edible… 

Speaking of clever pooches, new research suggests that dogs are able to learn new words - by eavesdropping. Some sneaky pups were observed listening to their owners talk about a new toy to someone else - and could then identify that toy. Smart…  

And if you’ve been charmed by the ABC TV series Muster Dogs, be prepared to feel a bit jealous - 5 kids in regional Australia have been gifted a puppy sired by Banjo, one of the series’ stars. It’s like a golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, but waaay cuter…

Squiz the Day

12.00pm (AEDT): The Golden Globe Awards hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser, with Rose Byrne, Jacob Elordi, Joel Edgerton and Sarah Snook all Aussie chances - watch live on Paramount+ or delayed on Channel 10 at 7:30pm

ABS release: Monthly household spending indicator

Opening week begins at the Australian Open, featuring qualifying and exhibition matches

Submissions close for an inquiry launched by the NSW government following the Bondi terror attack into banning slogans that incite hatred

Quitters Day - the most likely day for people to give up on their New Year's resolutions (you can do it, we believe in you…)

The Royal Australian Navy’s training ship, the Young Endeavour, will make its final visit to Hobart before being replaced with a new vessel currently under construction

Birthdays for author Haruki Murakami (1949), Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (1964), singer Zayn Malik (1993)

Anniversary of:

• Josef Dzhugashvili first using the pseudonym Stalin ("man of steel") in a letter penned to the newspaper Social Democrat (1913)

• the founding of Timely Comics (later Marvel) by New York publisher Martin Goodman (1939)

• the death of British crime novelist Agatha Christie (1976)

• an earthquake in Haiti that killed more than 200,000 people (2010)