Monday, 22 July - Electric blue

Good morning, it’s Monday, 22 July. In your Squiz Today…

• Biden drops out of the US Presidential race

• A train tragedy in Sydney

• And a new-old hair trend…

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Said F1 driver Oscar Piastri who won his first grand prix overnight, taking out the race in Hungary. His main rival was McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who was none too pleased to give up the lead to the young upstart. That would have made for some interesting after-work drinks…

Biden bounces

The Squiz

After weeks of pressure since his poor showing in the first debate against presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, US President Joe Biden has abandoned his run for another term and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement. The 81yo said overnight that being America’s leader had been “the greatest honour” of his life. "And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term," he said.

That’s big…

Yep, but more and more senior Democrats were publicly and privately urging him to stand down after that debate on 30 June, where he appeared vague and, at times, incoherent. Many appearances after that weren’t as bad, but party movers and shakers became convinced he wasn’t capable of beating Trump. Senate Leader Chuck Schumer was one who came out last week urging Biden to go - he thanked the President for putting "his party, and our future first." As for Harris, Biden reckons she’s best placed to get the job done - he said that “it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.” If elected, 59yo Harris would make history as the first female president, but she’s struggled with approval ratings that are lower than Biden’s. Other candidates flagged as potential replacements include Californian Governor Gavin Newsom and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. 

So what happens next?

Well, Biden has COVID but is set to address the US later this week. As for the Democrats’ candidate selection process, individual delegates will need to select the party’s nominee either during a virtual roll call tentatively scheduled for early August, or from the convention floor when they assemble in Chicago later in the month. That’s TBC… Meanwhile, Trump’s done his first campaign rally since last weekend’s assassination attempt, declaring he "took a bullet for democracy". The fallout from the shooting isn’t over - Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle will face tough questions today at a congressional hearing where they’re expecting answers on how Thomas Crooks was able to take the “one-in-a-million shot”. It’s all happening… 

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A train tragedy in Sydney

A 40yo father and his 2yo daughter have died after a pram carrying the toddler and her twin sister rolled onto train tracks at Carlton Railway Station in Sydney's southern suburbs yesterday. Police were able to pull one of the twins to safety, and she and her 39yo mother escaped without injuries. Police say the pram appeared to have rolled towards the train lines after the parents took their hands off it "for a very, very short period of time" after exiting the station's lift. During a press conference, NSW Premier Chris Minns said the father died from “an extraordinary, instinctive act of bravery” when he jumped onto the tracks to save his daughters. “That's not going to bring him or his little daughter back, but it shouldn't go unremarked upon in the face of a terrible, terrible accident,” he said.

Israel’s new front line

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have launched retaliatory air strikes over 1,700 km away on the city of Hodeidah in Yemen after Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked Tel Aviv using a drone on Friday, killing one person and injuring 8 others. Israel claims that was the latest in a series of hundreds of projectiles from Yemen, with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant saying their response - which killed 3 people and injured more than 80 - is intended as a warning to people across the Middle East and the “significance is clear”. Houthi officials denounced the "brutal" aggression and they say it won't stop them supporting Palestinians in Gaza as they are “prepared for a long war”. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he’s “deeply concerned” by the new round of hostilities.

The computer says no

Microsoft has given an update on what’s looking like the world’s biggest-ever IT outage on Friday - saying it hit 8.5 million devices around the globe… It caused huge problems, derailing major services like airports, banks, hospitals, media outlets and supermarkets. Not even weather reports were spared… Microsoft has pointed the finger at CrowdStrike (a cybersecurity company it works with) for sending out corrupted code in a software update for Windows computers last week. Most services were back online by Saturday, but it’s been slow going, so be prepared for lingering delays… In the meantime, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has warned us to be on the lookout for scammers pretending to be Microsoft or CrowdStrike asking for personal/banking details to “get access to a reboot” - she says we should report them to Scamwatch.

Chainsaws at the ready…

Because there's lots of potential firewood to chop after a very windy weekend saw trees and power lines downed in South Australia, NSW and Victoria. The NSW SES alone received over 1,100 calls for assistance on Saturday as energy companies worked to get the lights back on. And 2 women in Sydney’s Manly breathed a big sigh of relief, escaping unharmed after scaffolding collapsed onto their car. Weather warnings have eased off and the BOM says the cold front is making its way off the coast, “pulling the severe weather away with it". That’s also good news for regional Northern Territorians who we wrongly assumed were warm last week, but have actually also been unusually chilly… But the cold was a “season saver” for ski resorts across Oz with snow falls of over 50cm meaning it really does feel like Christmas in July.

It’s nice, it’s different, it’s unusual

Hands up if you had a dodgy - or perhaps fabulous - 80s perm… You certainly aren’t alone and the retro hair trend is making a return - but before you swear-off the straighteners, it’s men leading the curl comeback. Yep, move over mulletfest because the perm parade is here, with hairdressers reporting an increasing number of men requesting the follicular fashion. Like so many trends now, TikTok is leading the way with scores of males posting videos of their transformations - including a 13yo with millions of views… Musicians like K-Pop’s Kim Taehyung also take some credit, having made the ‘leaf perm’ a desirable look. And even Hollywood is getting on board, with the new Superman - actor David Corenswet - showing off tussled twirls, with his ‘broccoli cut’ aka ‘zoomer perm’ dividing the internet... They're all good efforts, but Kath Day-Knight will always be our supreme hair queen…

Apropos of Nothing

First it was feta, prosecco and parmesan, now it’s Aussie bourbon and whiskey distillers facing push-back over the naming rights of their products as US authorities aren’t happy. Maybe they all need to sit down and talk it out over a good tipple…

A rare orange lobster named Crush has had a lucky escape after being rescued from a Red Lobster restaurant and taken to Denver’s Downtown Aquarium. As far as new homes go, it definitely beats the dinner plate… 

Thrill-seekers rejoice because Detroit’s dodgy 6-lane slide that went viral in 2022 after videos showed people flying down - and landing hard - on the bumpy ramp is back in action… Authorities say they’ve learnt their lesson, adding padding and deducting the wax this time.

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEST) - Cooperative Research Australia’s Collaborate Innovate 2024 conference begins. Speakers include Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic, and a keynote by CSIRO Deputy CEO Kirsten Rose - Brisbane

SA and Tassie schools are back for Term 3

Start of National Pain Week (until 30 July) 

World Brain Day 

Birthdays for actor Willem Dafoe (1955), Selena Gomez (1992) and Prince George of Cambridge (2013)

Anniversary of:

• Dick Smith making the first solo helicopter flight around the world (1983)

• attacks in Norway carried out by far-right extremist Anders Breivik that killed 77 people (2011)