Monday, 5 January - Guess who's back, back again

Good morning (and Happy New Year…), it’s Monday, 5 January. In your Squiz Today…

• The US has attacked Venezuela and captured its President

• Pressure builds over a federal Royal Commission into Bondi

• And new characters enter the public domain…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz the Break

Having some time off is great - but then there’s the getting up-to-speed bit to take care of. The Squiz is your shortcut to being informed, so of course, we’ve got you covered with the major headlines from the last couple of weeks. Spoiler alert: quite a bit has gone down… Check it out here.

Squiz Sayings

Said Aussie cricket commentator Adam Gilchrist, revealing last night that his friend and former teammate Damien Martyn is out of an induced coma after he was hospitalised with meningitis in December. It’s news as good as one of his cover drives… 

The US attacks Venezuela

The Squiz

It’s definitely not been a quiet start to 2026, with US President Donald Trump announcing on Saturday night that his military had struck the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and captured the country’s authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro. It’s the culmination of a long-running campaign against Maduro (here’s our Shortcut to that…), who the Trump administration is accusing of narcoterrorism - essentially being in league with terrorist groups trafficking drugs like fentanyl and cocaine into the US. He’s also accused Venezuela, which has the largest known oil reserves in the world, of stealing US oil by seizing US assets used to develop its oil industry. Maduro denies all those allegations - but he’ll now face some of them in a US court.

Yep, that’s big news, alright…

Sure is, and it’s sparked a debate about whether this kind of military action is legal under international law… US Vice President JD Vance argued that “you don’t get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas”, but senior Democratic Senator Adam Schiff said it sets a dangerous precedent for other countries to act the same way - and by way of example, that there was now little to stop China from “indicting and capturing the leaders of Taiwan tomorrow”. The United Nations Security Council is holding an emergency meeting to determine its response - and Oz PM Anthony Albanese said Australia was urging all parties to “support dialogue and diplomacy” to resolve the situation. 

So what happens now?

Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are set to face court in New York in the coming hours - they’ve been charged with narcoterrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offences. As for who runs Venezuela now, Trump says the US will do it for the foreseeable future - but we don’t know much more than that. He said the Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez would willingly take over for Maduro, but she seemed to deny that when she appeared on local TV to call for Maduro’s release. As for recent Nobel Peace Prize winner and Venezuelan Opposition leader Maria Machado, who celebrated the US operation, Trump said he doesn’t think she has the “respect” of her citizens to be able to govern. It’s a fast-moving story, so here’s a liveblog if you’d like to follow along today.

Squiz the Rest

A criminal investigation has begun…

…into the managers of a Swiss ski resort bar where a fire on New Year’s Eve killed 40 people and injured 119 - including at least one Aussie. Jacques and Jessica Moretti, managers of Le Constellation at Crans-Montana, in Switzerland’s southwest, are suspected of manslaughter, bodily harm and arson, all by negligence. Police say the deadly blaze was likely caused by party sparklers setting the basement bar’s ceiling alight. It was particularly popular with teens, and was packed that night… Prosecutors are probing a number of safety concerns, including the lack of fire escapes and overcrowding - leading to a crowd crush at the only stairway out - and the use of foam on the ceilings. We’re also starting to learn the names of victims - while families continue to search for their loved ones among the missing…

Pressure builds over Bondi

As the new year kicks in, debate over whether a federal royal commission should be called into antisemitism and the lead-up to the Bondi terror attack continues… After families of the victims and prominent business groups called for the Albanese Government to establish one, saying it’s needed to “ensure that shock and grief do not turn into ongoing anger and division”, 60 of our biggest sport stars have followed suit. The open letter signed by current/former athletes like Ian Thorpe, Jess Fox and Lleyton Hewitt calls on PM Anthony Albanese to “show decisive national leadership by confronting extremism and terrorism in all its forms”. He’s so far refused those calls, pointing to other plans for a NSW-based royal commission and the intelligence review he’s announced - but the calls are mounting up…

The Ashes reaches its conclusion…

…and Sydney cricket fans might get a bit more bang for their buck after England put together a strong first day in the fifth Test at the SCG. The tourists finished at 3 for 211 before rain stopped play, which means unlike the games in Perth and Melbourne, this one should make it to a third day tomorrow. That’s particularly important in Sydney, as Day 3 is Jane McGrath day - a major fundraising event on the cricketing calendar raising money for cancer nurses throughout Australia. With the series at 3-1, this game is a dead rubber - though it still counts towards the World Test Championship - but plenty rocked up to see an emotional tribute to the heroes of Bondi, and to farewell longtime batter Usman Khawaja, who announced his retirement this week.

New year, new rules

We’re not talking about resolutions - unless yours include getting across new laws, guidelines and price changes, in which case you’re in the right place… The new year brought changes that will impact millions of Aussies’ wallets - you can read up in detail here, and we’ll go through a few… First up: Centrelink payments have risen due to indexation, with students and carers now receiving more. If you’re headed to the supermarket, the government’s new cash mandate means major stores have to accept cash transactions of $500 or less from 7am-9pm. From today, families eligible for the Child Care Subsidy can get 3 days of subsidised child care per week. And if you’re planning on travelling in 2026/need a new passport, it’ll now set you back $422 - making it the world’s most expensive.

And that’s not all that’s new…

The start of a new year also means a bunch of old movies, music, books and characters have now entered the public domain. If you’re a legal expert, you’ll already know this is about copyright law. Stay with us… Every year on 1 January, a new batch of intellectual property reaches its 95-year US copyright term, meaning works from 1930 can now be shared, adapted and reused. Think: characters Betty Boop and “Blondie”, book sleuths Nancy Drew and Miss Marple, and for films, the Marx Brothers’ Animal Crackers and Oscar winner All Quiet On The Western Front. Law professor Jennifer Jenkins says the works are a reminder of culture “between the 2 wars and the depths of the Great Depression”. We can’t leave you without one of the songs: Dream A Little Dream Of Me. How’s that for an earworm…

Apropos of Nothing

One of the most popular TV series in the world came to an end on New Year’s Eve, with sci-fi/coming of age drama/80s throwback Stranger Things airing its final episode after nearly a decade - and as you might expect, not everyone was thrilled with the ending…  

Much more in agreement were respondents to an annual Michigan university survey on overused words and phrases - with the 2025 catchphrase ‘six-seven’ the clear winner. They’re hoping it will be much less popular in 2026/7… 

And we love a quirky collection, and Western Oz man Greg Sharp has an absolute belter - 50 separate pinball machines. They make up the majority of the 86 machines made by Bally-Williams in the 80s/90s, and Sharp is having a real tilt at collecting them all…

Squiz the Day

It’s Twelfth Night - a day when you’re supposed to take down your Christmas tree if you haven’t already… 

National Bird Day in the US 🦜

Cricket: Day 2 of the fifth men’s Ashes Test in Sydney and the Big Bash continues with the Sydney Sixers playing the Brisbane Heat in Coffs Harbour - watch on Channel 7, 7plus and Kayo

Tennis: One of the lead-up events to the Australian Open, the Brisbane International, continues in Queensland - watch on Channel 9 and 9Now

Tennis: Another warm-up event, the United Cup, is taking place concurrently in Perth and Sydney - watch on Channel 9 and 9Now

Basketball: The NBL’s Round 15 continues with the Sydney Kings taking on the South East Melbourne Phoenix (watch via ESPN on Disney+) and the Sydney Flames and Bendigo Spirit tussle in the WNBL (watch on 9Now)

Football: A-League Round 17 continues with Macarthur FC and Auckland FC facing off in Sydney (watch on Paramount+)

Birthdays for actors January Jones (1978) and Bradley Cooper (1975)

Anniversary of:

• Pope Clement VII forbidding King Henry VIII to remarry - a warning that was ignored with Henry going on to marry Anne Boleyn - and four more women. Which all led to his ex-communication and the English Reformation (1531)

• the publication of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886)

• the formation of the German Workers' Party, the precursor to the Nazi Party (1919)

• Brian Lara scoring his maiden test century. He went on to score 277 runs in a West Indies v Australia Test match at the SCG (1993)

• the birthday of actor Diane Keaton (1946)

• 15yo Mumbai schoolboy Pranav Dhanawade becoming the first batsman to ever score 1,000 runs in a single innings in cricket (2016)