Monday, 29 July - Right now is where you shine

🙋🏻‍♀️ Scroll on for The Paris Sprint, our short ‘n sweet ‘keep you across the Olympics’ update…

Good morning, it’s Monday, 29 July. In your Squiz Today…

• PM Anthony Albanese reshuffles the ministerial deck

• Fears of a growing conflict in the Middle East

• And the Aussies are on top of the medal tally in Paris… 🏅

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Céline Dion, who performed for the first time in 4 years to bring a triumphant end to the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony on Saturday morning. It really was the pièce de résistance…

Ministerial movers and shake-ups

The Squiz

With the Albanese Government’s handling of the release of criminals from immigration detention getting more attention than they would like as we head towards the next federal election, some ministers have been moved along. Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles have been assigned new portfolios in a broader reshuffle by PM Anthony Albanese yesterday. He downplayed it as a reflection on their performances, saying the reshuffle is simply “a knock-on effect” of last week’s resignation of frontbenchers Linda Burney and Brendan O’Connor, but plenty of commentators and the Coalition say the pair have been demoted. 

Remind me about the issues…

Last November, the High Court ruled more than 150 immigration detainees were being illegally detained and ordered their immediate release. Many of those detainees were convicted criminals, and nearly a fifth of them went on to commit other crimes in the community after their release. That sparked criticism of O’Neil and Giles’s handling of the issue - particularly their slow response in drafting emergency legislation to monitor the detainees days after their release, despite being warned of the potential ruling beforehand. Senior minister Tony Burke will take on both of their roles - he was the Immigration minister in 2013 and will “bring that experience to what remains a challenging portfolio,” the PM said. O’Neil and Giles remain in the ministry - she is set to take on the tough Housing portfolio, and he goes to Skills and Training. 

What else happened? 

Here’s a summary of the changes, but a couple of key promotions include Senator Malarndirri McCarthy becoming the new Minister for Indigenous Australians, and Senator Jenny McAllister taking over Emergency Management and Cities. Another thing to note is ASIO - our spy agency - has been moved out of Home Affairs and into the Attorney-General's department, which is where the Federal Police is administered from. Albanese said it "made sense" for the 2 to be in the same spot. As for the response from Coalition leader Peter Dutton, he said it’s a sign that Albanese had “no confidence” in his team. “This is a significant reshuffle because the Albanese Government is in all sorts of trouble,” he said. Reports say the new ministry is due to be sworn in this morning, before its first meeting.

Squiz the Rest

Temperatures rise in the Middle East

Israel’s Air Force says it has hit 7 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon including "weapons caches and terrorist infrastructure" after a rocket hit a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, killing 12 children and young adults on Saturday. It was the biggest loss of life on Israel's northern border since the war began on 7 October, but the terror group has denied any involvement - it claims the explosion was caused by an Israeli interceptor rocket. The retaliatory strike happened hours after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Hezbollah would "pay a heavy price". The United Nations has once again called for “maximum restraint” by all parties - there are ongoing fears a wider conflict would "engulf the entire region in a catastrophe beyond belief".

A big betrayal leads to a cartel bust

Friday’s arrests of Mexican drug lord Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada - leader of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel - and Joaquin Guzmán López - aka the son of jailed co-founder Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman Loera - resulted from an act of betrayal. Reports yesterday said there was a power struggle between the pair that saw Guzmán López tricked into boarding a flight to Texas where US federal agents were waiting. Why the 38yo duped the 76yo and also delivered himself into custody is still TBC, but it's a big win for the Justice Department as the cartel is considered one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organisations in the world. One person who wasn’t impressed is Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador - he says he wasn’t kept in the loop by the Americans. Both suspects will face court later this week.

Wildfires wreak havoc

Northern California is dealing with a catastrophic wildfire that’s growing by 20sq km every hour as firefighters struggle against steep terrain and strong winds. The blaze is thought to have been started by an arsonist allegedly rolling a burning car into a gully. It’s the state’s largest wildfire this year, having already burnt an area 5 times the size of New York City and caused a rare “fire tornado”. Governor Gavin Newsom says he’s "using every available tool to protect lives and property”. And over 2,000km north in Alberta, Canadians are fighting dozens of catastrophic blazes, including in Jasper where a lightning storm led to a 100m firewall that swept through the tourist town late last week. About a third of buildings were razed and Premier Danielle Smith says it’ll be “some time” before locals return. 

It’s going swimmingly… 

If you weren’t in awe of Ariarne Titmus’s defeat of Canadian prodigy Summer McIntosh and American legend Katie Ledecky to bring home our first gold from the pool of the Paris Games in the women’s 400m final yesterday morning, then who even are you? You can watch the “race of the century” here - it lived up to the hype despite a rocky start with the Aussie settling in behind the wrong block… The win backed up her gold medal performance in the same event in Tokyo, making her the first Aussie woman since Dawn Fraser in 1956 to defend an individual Olympic title in the pool. Also having a whale of a time in the pool is retiring great Emma McKeon - she’s become our most successful Australian Olympian ever with a gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay. It was her sixth Olympic gold, surpassing Ian Thorpe’s 5. "I couldn't think of anyone better to have that title," he said.

Apropos of Nothing - Seniors edition

We’re big fans of podcasts, and we’re far from the only ones… Residents at 9 residential aged care homes in Queensland have hit the mics to record their own series aimed at helping older people battle loneliness. They’ve probably got a story or 2…

While we’re listening to our elders… Bristol woman Hilda Leggett, who just celebrated her 110th birthday, has shared her secret to living a long life - being “strong-willed”. Her carers say she’s being “independent, feisty”, which must have its moments… 

And some Los Angelenos seniors are getting into the Olympic spirit this week by holding their own mock games at their retirement community. Their motto? “You’re never too old to go for the gold…” Too right. 

🏃🏻‍♀️The Paris Sprint

We’re flexing our decluttering muscles… Each day of the Paris Olympics we’ll bring you 3 of the top stories from all the action overnight and 3 events to put on your radar for the coming 24 hours. You’re so very welcome… 

Jess Fox has won gold in the women's kayak final, finally claiming the medal she missed out on in Tokyo and Rio. The Aussie flagbearer qualified in last place for the final, so she had an anxious wait while she watched the other 7 finalists try to beat her time. They didn't.

The Matildas put us through a nail-biter early this morning in their must-win game against Zambia. They won 6-5 after trailing 4-2 at half-time - talk about a heartstarter... It was a much smaller crowd than they’ve come to expect - just 110 tickets were sold to the game. 

And world champion US gymnast Simone Biles made her first appearance to a standing ovation after she withdrew suddenly in Tokyo with a case of the ‘twisties’ where she became disoriented mid-air. She nailed her moves in the women’s qualifiers in front of celebs like Tom Cruise, Ariana Grande and Anna Wintour, taking Team USA to the top of the table.

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEST) - An inquest into the fatal ambush of Queensland Police Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, and civilian Alan Dare, shot at a remote property near Wieambilla in December 2022, is to begin - Brisbane

2.15pm (AEST) - Federal Court hearing for Booktopia after entering voluntary administration - Melbourne

PM Anthony Albanese’s reshuffled ministry to be sworn in

The Quad Foreign Ministers’ meeting - Tokyo 

NSW Local Government Week (until 4 August)

International Tiger Day  

Rain Day

Anniversary of:

• the Irish Famine Rebellion (1848)

• the death of Vincent Van Gogh (1890)

• Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer’s wedding (1981)

• Lil Nas X’s Old Town Road breaking the record for longest run at the top of US singles chart at 17 weeks (2019)