Monday, 3 February - Good luck, babe

Good morning, it’s Monday, 3 February. In your Squiz Today…

• A woman has died and thousands of people have been evacuated from floodwaters in Far North Queensland

• A trade war is brewing after US President Trump has signed off on more tariffs

• And a lineup of stars will perform at the Grammys to raise money for LA fire victims… ⭐

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said a caller to the Welsh Ambulance Service after his son’s pet alligator escaped. It’s one of many “inappropriate calls” to the service, which is asking people to direct their non-emergencies elsewhere. One person’s alligator crisis is another's ‘meh’…

A washout in Far North Queensland

The Squiz

Residents in Far North Queensland are waking up this morning to survey the damage caused by torrential rains and flooding over the weekend. Reports say some parts of the region notched nearly a metre of rain over the past 48 hours - with one woman saying it’s “much, much worse” than the 750mm recorded in the 2009 Queensland floods. The stretch between Cairns and Townsville is the area in focus, with the town of Ingham, about 100km north of Townsville, particularly hard hit. At least one local woman died there… Police are investigating that - she was in a State Emergency Services boat with 5 others that capsized in floodwaters before her death. The others were all found safely.

So it’s bad, then…

Yep. As the rain bucketed down yesterday, the Bureau of Meteorology (aka the BOM) warned that the Herbert River at Ingham was nearing 15.2 metres - a record set in March 1967. It’s considered a ‘major flood’ there when it hits 12 metres, so that gives you some idea… It’s not alone - Rollingstone (near Townsville) had 999mm between Friday and yesterday morning, Deeragun received 666mm, and Saunders Creek saw 655mm. In Townsville, authorities declared a “black zone” in low-lying suburbs along the Ross River - where they told residents to evacuate to avoid “life-threatening flooding”. By last night, thousands of households in the affected areas were dealing with power outages - and Townsville Airport was forced to close. As for the forecast today, you can check current warnings here, but reports say there’s more rain on the way…

Anything else?

They say Australia’s the land of extremes when it comes to the weather - and that was certainly true this week, with a heatwave moving across southern Oz… The whole of South Oz, Victoria and Tasmania are under heatwave warnings today - but parts of Western Oz, the Northern Territory and NSW could also reach temps between the high 30s and low 40s. That’s not news to the ears of firefighters in Victoria, where they’re battling bushfires in the Grampians in the state’s west. Residents of Mirranatwa - a small community in the fire’s path - were evacuated to Hamilton yesterday morning. And FYI - given the heatwave conditions/low rainfall expected this month, the fire season could drag out… BOM Senior Forecaster Kevin Larkyn says “the continental interior of Australia's like a frying pan at the moment”.

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Squiz the Rest

A trade war is brewing…

It may have been the weekend, but US President Donald Trump took some time out of golfing at his Mar-a-Lago estate to sign his latest executive orders… Top of the pile was slapping Canada, Mexico and China with long-promised trade tariffs (aka taxes). He’s been threatening to impose them for a while, saying they’re “to protect Americans” from undocumented migrants and illicit drugs he claims are coming from the 3 countries in question. But many economists say the tariffs could result in Americans paying more on everything from shoes to avocados… The leaders of Canada, Mexico and China aren’t happy - all 3 have announced retaliatory tariffs on US imports to their countries. While encouraging Canadians to buy local, the outgoing PM Justin Trudeau said “the actions taken today by the White House split us apart instead of bringing us together”.

The ceasefire continues to hold in Gaza

Dozens of sick and injured Palestinian children left Gaza for treatment on the weekend through the Rafah crossing, which has reopened after its closure 9 months ago. The crossing is the only one leading to Egypt, and humanitarian workers said the closure made it much more difficult for aid to get in. Analysts say the reopening is important not just for medical reasons but because it's a sign the ceasefire may hold in the long term. Though 50 children were meant to travel to get medical help, 2 died before they could, and others were too sick to be moved. A further 183 Palestinian prisoners - including Mohammad al-Halabi, the former head of an Australian aid program in Gaza - and 3 more Israeli hostages have been released as well, with their handover going a lot smoother than the last one.

Boom goes zoom

Are we there yet? A US company called Boom Supersonic has conducted a test flight in California that’s flown faster than the speed of sound - a first for an independently developed jet... To show you how it all began (thanks, Coldplay…), Boom was founded in 2014 - and while they’ve got several planes, their XB-1 model achieved the feat, all while being livestreamed on YouTube. It got up to speeds of Mach 1.112 - about 10% faster than sound - 12 minutes into the test flight. Its predecessor is the Concorde, which was developed via government programs between the UK and France, reaching Mach 1 in 1970 before going commercial. It stopped flying in 2003 due to maintenance issues and the expense. Boom’s CEO Blake Scholl says he expects supersonic to replace conventional travel in our lifetime. Keep those tray tables stored very firmly upright…

Chicken dinners all round

The Aussies didn’t miss a trick in their 16-0 Women’s Ashes clean sweep of England, with leg-spinner Alana King providing a series highlight with this “ball of the century” to bamboozle England’s Sophia Dunkley. It’s a delivery that’s drawn more than a few comparisons to another legendary leggie… King took 23 wickets to be named Player of the Series - as for England, their defeat was so comprehensive that their captain and coach are already under pressure to resign. Less than 2 minutes after the women wrapped things up, our men’s Test team completed an absolute rout of Sri Lanka in Galle - winning by an innings and 242 runs. That’s the biggest defeat in Sri Lanka’s history, and along the way, Steve Smith became the 15th player to score 10,000 runs, after going oh-so-close at the SCG…

Stop, Grammy time!

Music’s most prestigious awards ceremony is happening in LA, and given the fires that have swept through the city in recent weeks, they’re going to be focused heavily on fundraising - so no after-parties or pre-parties this year. But there will still be heaps of performances - some of the biggest acts of 2024, like Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter and Billie Eilish, as well as some old-school stars like Sheryl Crow, Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder will take to the stage. A big award to look out for is Album of the Year - Beyonce is going for her first win with her country album Cowboy Carter, after missing out in the category 4 times before - she’ll need to beat favourite Billie Eilish, among others, to break the duck, as well as some unknown upstart called Taylor Swift… You can stream the whole thing today on Stan.

Apropos of Nothing

Some like it hot, and then they hit the water - that was the scene in Brighton, South Oz, yesterday when more than 700 ‘Marilyns’ gathered for the 12th Marilyn Jetty Swim, undeterred by the 39C temps, to raise around $400K for cancer research…

If you’re a dab hand with ancient languages, a million bucks could be in your future - that’s what’s on offer from the government of the Tamil Nadu region of India if you can decrypt the script of the Indus Valley Civilisation, one of the oldest cultures in the world. Simples… 

We feel like we’ve written this story before, but it’s Groundhog Day in the US. Here’s a handy background to the annual tradition, where if a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow - and it looks like he’s done it again - it’s a prediction of 6 more weeks of winter.

Squiz the Day

11.00am (AEDT) - 67th Annual Grammy Awards - Los Angeles, and broadcast in Australia on Stan 

4.30pm (AEDT) - Parliamentary Last Post Ceremony at the Australian War Memorial, marking the opening of federal parliament for 2025 - Canberra

8.00pm (AEDT) - Matildas player Sam Kerr’s trial over the alleged racially aggravated harassment of a police officer is set to begin - London (9am local time)

7.00pm (AEDT) - Cricket Australia Awards Night, where the Allan Border Medal and Belinda Clark Award are to be presented - Melbourne

It’s back to school for NSW students

ABS Data Release - Retail Trade, Dec; Building Approvals, Dec

Half-yearly reporting season begins 

The Australian Electoral Commission will release details of annual financial disclosure returns from MPs and Senators

Children's Mental Health Week 2025 (on until 9 Feb)

🦴 Doggy Date Night 

Birthdays for Isla Fisher (1976), Amal Clooney (1978), and Elizabeth Holmes (1984)

Anniversary of:

• the establishment of the world’s first commercial cheese factory in Switzerland (1815)

• New Zealand's worst natural disaster, the Hawke's Bay earthquake, which killed 256 people (1931)

• the day the music died. Rock n’ roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and JP ‘The Big Bopper’ Richardson were killed in a plane crash in Iowa (1959)

• YMCA by Village People peaking at #2 on pop singles chart