Monday, 7 July - Hot diggity, dog ziggity

Good morning, it’s Monday, 7 July. In your Squiz Today…

• Another Melbourne synagogue has been targeted in an arson attack

• A search for survivors after deadly floods in Texas

• And some major league munching…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher as the band kicked off a huge reunion tour which heads to Oz in October. It’s the first time he and brother Noel have performed together since their nasty split in 2009, but they finished the set with a hug, so it seems they’re not looking back in anger…

More antisemitism in Melbourne

The Squiz

Police have charged a 34yo man from NSW over an arson attack at a Melbourne synagogue on Friday night. Detectives are still looking at whether it was an act of terrorism, but, in the meantime, have charged Angelo Loras, from the western Sydney suburb of Toongabbie, with reckless conduct endangering life, alongside other charges. Also part of the investigation is whether there are any links to a protest outside a Jewish-owned restaurant and arson attacks on 3 cars early Saturday morning… They’re the latest antisemitic attacks in Melbourne, after the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea was firebombed last year, so the Jewish community is calling for action.

What happened?

Police allege the man entered the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation synagogue grounds around 8pm Friday. About 20 people, including children, were inside having dinner when he allegedly doused the front door in flammable liquid before setting fire to it. The blaze was contained quickly, with everyone inside getting out safely, but it’s left the Jewish community shaken… Alex Ryvchin from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry says it and the Saturday morning attacks are “clear evidence that the antisemitism crisis is not only continuing, but getting worse” in Oz. PM Anthony Albanese and Coalition leader Sussan Ley have condemned the “shocking acts”, and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu also weighed in - calling them “serious hate crimes”. He wants those responsible brought to justice quickly.

Anything else?

As the fighting continues in Gaza, the wheels are turning in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas… Over the weekend, Netanyahu rejected the changes Hamas leaders put forward on Israel’s latest US-backed proposal, but both parties say they’re ready to talk more - so they’ve each sent delegations to Qatar to get the ball rolling. Analysts say it’s the closest they’ve been to making a deal in months, with Qatari and Egyptian mediators, along with US President Donald Trump, pushing hard for a truce since Israel and Iran locked in theirs on 24 June. And something else for your diary - Netanyahu’s on his way to Washington for a meeting with Trump on Monday local time. So we’ll be hearing more out of that…

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Squiz the Rest

A search for survivors

…is underway after “catastrophic” flash floods killed at least 67 people including 21 children in central Texas over the weekend. Hundreds of rescue workers and volunteers are scouring the banks of the Guadalupe River in the centre of the state to find 11 girls - most under 12yo - missing from Camp Mystic, a youth summer camp. Reports say the river rose more than 8m in under an hour early on Friday morning local time, leaving the children, other campers and residents in the area very little time to react. It’s an ongoing search and rescue operation, but as of yesterday, 850 people had been rescued from the area. And overnight, the federal Coast Guard was brought in to boost that effort, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed an expanded disaster declaration.

A woman has lost an arm in a lion attack

… at Queensland’s Darling Downs Zoo, south of Toowoomba yesterday. Reports say she was known to the zoo keepers and was watching them work when she was bitten by a lioness at around 8.30am. In a statement, the zoo said that's something that the woman, who’s in her 50s, had done "many, many times over the past 20 years", and that she was “well versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals". She's in a stable condition after undergoing surgery but reports say she’s lost an arm. The zoo is closed today while workplace safety officers and police investigate how the incident happened, but it says there’s no further risk to staff members or the public and it’s due to reopen tomorrow. 

Vale to Aussie greats

We’ll start with actor Julian McMahon, whose wife Kelly announced his death on Saturday… She says he died after a “valiant effort to overcome cancer” - news that came as a shock to many, with the 56yo keeping his illness private. McMahon’s most famous for his roles in US shows Nip/Tuck and Charmed - but here in Oz, he was the son of our former PM, Sir William McMahon, and the star of famous Levi’s ads. Tributes from his Hollywood co-stars have been pouring in - you can read them here. And yesterday, we learned another icon, Peter Russell-Clarke, has died at 89yo after a stroke. He gained fame in the 1980s as one of our first celebrity TV chefs, hosting the ABC cooking show Come and Get It for nearly 1,000 episodes - catchy intro and all… 

Around the grounds in sport

In a gallop through the results, the Wallabies started their season with a late-scoring 21-18 win over Fiji yesterday, which was better news for fans after the Waratahs went down 10-21 to the British & Irish Lions, who’re yet to be defeated on their tour of Oz. Our cricketers clinched a series-winning second test this morning against the West Indies, while over in the UK, Oscar Piastri came second in the British Grand Prix behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris after he was handed a 10 second time penalty for braking behind the safety car. And our last man standing at Wimbledon, Alex de Minaur, has cruised his way into the Round of 16 - and he’ll need to keep up that form given he meets 7-time champ Novak Djokovic tonight. You can watch that match from around 10.30pm on 9Now…

A major league muncher

Another Aussie who’s scored a podium finish recently is James Webb - he scoffed 45 and a half hotdogs in 10 minutes, earning himself third place in Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York. It was a good effort from the 36yo Sydneysider, but it was a snack compared to the 70 and a half dogs the winner, 17-time champion Joey ‘Jaws’ Chestnut, downed. Webb is our current Oz champ at Major League eating - yep, it’s a thing - he holds 7 records, including for chowing 70 donuts in 8 minutes and 224 chicken wings in 10 minutes. But after “a crazy month of every second day eating hot dogs” he said he’s glad the comp’s over. Not the champ though - Chestnut said “I wish I ate a couple more”. That’s dedication to the craft…

Apropos of Nothing

Continuing the theme of locals done good, Astrid Jorgensen, a conductor from Brissy who honed her skills in Pub Choir has gone viral after directing the audience of America’s Got Talent in a rousing version of Toto’s Africa. There’s nothing like singing your head off as if no one’s watching…

In Labubu news, the creepy plushies have officially entered the world of high fashion after designer Marc Jacobs was seen with a ‘prawn tempura’ version attached to his black Birkin bag. It was still in its packaging, but one look at Jacobs’ nails and we can understand why.

And winning the Archibald Prize for portraiture is all well and good, but we especially enjoy the entries by our up-and-coming artists in the Young Archies… This year’s winners have just been announced - you can check them out, along with the finalists, here.

Squiz the Day

Term 2 school holidays begin in the ACT (until 22 July), NSW, (until 18 July), SA, VIC, Tas and WA (until 21 July)

7.30am (AEST) - The Reserve Bank’s 2-day board meeting begins ahead of tomorrow’s announcement on interest rates  - Sydney

10.45am (ACST) - Coroner Elisabeth Armitage to deliver findings into the death of Kumanjayi Walker in the remote community of Yuendumu, NT

10.30pm (AEST) - Tennis: Wimbledon, Round of 16, Alex de Minaur v Novak Djokovic - London, watch it on 9Now

NAIDOC Week (until 13 July)

Solomon Islands National Day

🍫 Happy World Chocolate Day to the chocoholics

World Kiswahili Language Day

Ringo Starr's birthday (1940)

Anniversary of:

• Missouri becoming the first place sliced bread is sold (1928)

• the death of Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle (1930)

• the first Three Tenors concert featuring Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti in Rome (1990)

• the London terrorist attacks that targeted commuters during the morning rush hour killing 56 people and injuring 784 (2005)

Tuesday
8.30am (AEST): Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House - Washington DC