Thursday, 17 July - Stop and stare

July 17, 2025

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 17 July. In your Squiz Today…

  • Hope of ever finding Peter Falconio’s remains fades for his family

  • Israel strikes targets in Damascus

  • And this year’s Emmy noms are out…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“I love getting to live out my dreams. But at the end of the day, sometimes I just don’t understand the point.”

Said #1 golfer in the world Scottie Scheffler ahead of The Open Championship, which starts today. Scheffler was asked what winning tournaments means to him and his response was unexpectedly thoughtful - even the world’s best have the odd existential crisis…

Taking a secret to the grave

The Squiz

Following on from yesterday’s news that Bradley Murdoch - the man who murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio in the Northern Territory outback in 2001 - had died from throat cancer, those close to the case spoke out. Chief among them was Colleen Gwynne, who led the investigation 24 years ago. She’s now retired from the NT Police force, but was quick to say yesterday that people should focus on mourning Peter, and that “Bradley’s prolonged refusal to cooperate with police and provide the information that we needed to locate Peter's remains” resulted in “agony” for the Falconio family…

Where does that leave things?

It’s a good question. You might remember late last month, police made a last-ditch push while Murdoch was in palliative care to find out where Falconio’s remains are located - offering a $500,000 reward to anyone with information leading to them. At the time, they thought Murdoch might have confided in someone else, but, in a statement yesterday, NT Police said he “has died without, as far as we are aware, ever disclosing the location”. During Murdoch’s trial in 2005, the court heard he’d put Falconio’s body in the back of his ute and dumped it somewhere between Alice Springs and Broome. But Gwynne isn’t holding out much hope… She said, in the “circle of justice”, they “got a conviction for the person responsible”, but they hadn’t found Falconio - and now, “the chance of doing that is remote”.

So what now?

In a statement released overnight, Falconio's parents Luciano and Joan acknowledged that the chances of finding their son's remains now were slim, but they said "even now we still hold out hope". Speaking from their home in the UK, the Falconios said their "first feeling was of relief" when they found out Murdoch had died - but they wouldn't let him "ruin" their lives any further. "Our family's future with Peter was cruelly taken away," they said, and "today we instead focus on the three children we have left and our grandchildren". On Murdoch’s end, his family said they “understand that the public perception of Bradley will always be shaped by his conviction”. But they also noted that the 67yo had “always denied responsibility” for Falconio’s murder and they’d “deeply miss him”. Per the rules, his death in custody will be subject to a mandatory coronial inquest - so that’s yet to come.

The power of hope

Rural Aid does incredible work supporting Aussie farmers hit by drought. In the last decade, it's distributed $125 million worth of assistance via 160,000 bales of hay and 13,000 counselling sessions. But CEO John Warlters says it’s also about hope: “And there's no 4-letter word that's more powerful than that one.” Woolworths is a longtime supporter of Rural Aid - a relationship that’s the subject of a new podcast episode called From Grassroots. Listen here.

Squiz the Rest

Israel has struck targets in Damascus…

At least 2 buildings in Syria’s capital were bombed overnight by Israel, killing 3 people. Israel says the strikes were aimed at military targets, and were carried out to protect the minority Druze community, who’ve been fighting pro-Islamist forces this week in the south of the country. If you haven’t heard of it, the Druze faith came from Ismaili Islam - it’s been around since the 11th century and members don’t identify as Muslims or allow converts… Reports say Israel has vowed to protect the Druze in Syria, and when Syrian government forces joined in the conflict in Suwayda this week, they came into Israel’s crosshairs. The Syrian foreign ministry called the Israeli strikes a “flagrant assault”, and the US is trying to restore calm…

Life’s not a beach for Bondi

US President Donald Trump told his supporters yesterday to lay off US Attorney-General Pam Bondi, who has been under a bit of pressure over her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Ever since a US Justice Department memo last week said there was no evidence that the convicted sex offender was murdered in prison, or that a list of his clients exists, many of Trump’s supporters have been unhappy with that explanation, and they’re convinced there’s more to the story. Given that Bondi said in February that a list of Epstein’s clients was on her desk, she’s copping a lot of the heat - she says she meant the entire Epstein file, not a specific list. She largely avoided the topic yesterday while speaking to reporters - but Trump says there’s a chance she might release more files on Epstein down the track. TBD… 

Punishing some arboreal barbarians

A UK judge has sentenced 2 men who chopped down a beloved tree near the historic site of Hadrian’s Wall to 4 years in prison apiece. Back in September 2023, Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers cut down the Sycamore Gap tree, which was almost 200 years old and had been featured in movies like 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The 2 filmed themselves in the act and bragged about it online before the legal consequences and public outrage kicked in - and given the tree's popularity and significance, the outcry was huge - it's been a big story in the UK ever since. As for the tree itself, there might be a green shoot or two, literally… The UK's National Trust said the base of the tree is showing signs of life and it might eventually recover. We're rooting for it… 

Kids’ vape use is vanishing…

… Into thin air, according to a new Cancer Council Australia report - which found that vape use among 14-17yos has declined over the past year. The survey of 3,000 young Aussies shows vaping rates in school-aged children were at 14.6% in April, compared to 17.5% at the start of 2023 - and vaping rates for over-15s are down more than a third. If you’re wondering what’s changed, health officials are pointing to the government’s ban on disposable vapes, with only nicotine vapes available with a prescription at pharmacies. It doesn’t mean there’s not an illegal market for them, though - authorities have seized more than 10 million of them since early 2024. Health Minister Mark Butler says it’s a “really, really tough fight and we've got a lot more to do”, but he believes “the peak of vaping” is over…

Gearing up for the Oscars of TV

The nominations for television's Emmy Awards came out yesterday, and while the usual suspects like Hacks, The Bear and Severance attracted all the headlines, we’ve found a couple of interesting facts and figures… Like 77yo Kathy Bates, who could become the oldest Drama Actress in the history of the ceremony if she wins for her role on Matlock, or Adolescence’s Owen Cooper, who scored his own nom at the ripe old age of 15. Another fun quirk: in the Guest Comedy Actor category, 5 of the 6 nominees are from the same show - Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire The Studio - and 4 of those were playing themselves. Add this list of the Aussies and Kiwis up for a gong on 15 September, and you’ll be the most informed person at your Emmys party… If that’s a thing people have…

Apropos of Nothing

On the off chance you’re a coin collector and a rugby union fanatic, boy do we have some good news… The Royal Australian Mint released commemorative $2 coins for the Wallabies and Wallaroos yesterday, so any fans can pick and drive to their local Rebel store to add those to their collection… 

Major League Baseball has taken a big step towards automated umpires, rolling out a computer challenge system in its All-Star exhibition game yesterday. If it gets a good review from players and fans, it might be called up for the real thing next year… 

And experts have explained the ‘Gen Z stare’ to those of us who’ve been blanked by a youngster and need clarification. The deadpan look has overtaken social media of late, and they reckon it’s akin to a young mind “buffering” - proving too much screen time really does go to their heads…

Squiz the Day

9.00am (AEST) - Bastille Festival returns to The Rocks and Circular Quay (until 20 July) - Sydney

9.30am (AEST) - A roundtable on the threat of AI-facilitated child sexual exploitation will be held at Parliament House - Canberra

7.00pm (AEST) - Golf: The Open Championship tees off at Royal Portrush (until 20 July), watch on Kayo

G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meeting - KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (until 18 July)

ABS data release - Labour force, Australia, June 2025

Birthdays for Queen Camilla (1947) and Angela Merkel (1954)

Anniversary of:

  • the execution of Russian Czar Nicholas II, his wife and their 5 children by Bolsheviks (1918)

  • the opening of the first Disneyland in Anaheim, California (1955)

  • the death of singer Billie Holiday (1959)

  • the downing of MH17 over Ukraine (2014)