Thursday, 28 August - Beer never broke my heart

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 28 August. In your Squiz Today…

• A manhunt continues in Victoria’s high country for a gunman on the run

• Former Senator Linda Reynolds has a legal win against Brittany Higgins

• And studying beer in the name of science…

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Communications Minister Anika Wells of the frock she picked up from a mother-of-the-bride on Marketplace for parliament’s annual Midwinter Ball last night. It’s Canberra’s big night out, when everyone parks their views and plays nicely - not unlike a family wedding…

A manhunt continues in Victoria

The Squiz

Police in Victoria are continuing the search for alleged gunman Dezi Freeman in the country around Porepunkah, after 2 police officers were shot dead and a third seriously injured on Tuesday. On Tuesday, Freeman - who is a ‘sovereign citizen’ also known as Desmond Filby - disappeared into the dense Alpine bushland surrounding the town in the north-eastern region of the state. Police say they have sent multiple units into the region to search for Freeman, who is thought to be heavily armed - their advice for locals is to remain indoors. 

What’s a sovereign citizen?

It’s a good question... Essentially, it’s someone who believes that the government and legal system have no authority over them - as a result, they believe they’re not bound by the same rules as everyone else. It’s nothing new - in its briefing on sovereign citizens, the Federal Police point to longtime sovereign citizen Leonard Casley of the Hutt River Province in WA as an example. But in recent years, they say SovCits, as they’re sometimes known, have become more organised - actively communicating with and recruiting from each other. And just last week, Western Oz’s Chief Justice Peter Quinlan said the growing number of sovereign citizens was a risk to “the safety and stability” of society, in part because they do not recognise the authority of the courts. That’s a theme ABC TV’s Four Corners explored earlier this month. 

So what happens now?

Police have said that Freeman is an experienced bushman and knows the area better than they do - and some heavy rain in the area yesterday hasn’t made the search easier. They’re being helped out by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and Federal Police - Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said “every resource” is being devoted to the manhunt. And late yesterday, Victoria Police released the names of the 2 officers who were killed - Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart. Thompson was remembered as an adventurer who “loved all things outdoors” and was soon to retire, and De Waart as an “eternal optimist and avid traveller”. Vale…

The skincare ingredient that sounds weird but works wonders

Winter does a number on the skin, and for many of us, regular moisturisers just don't cut it. Enter Bescher Beauty's Sea Cucumber Collagen Glow Toner: it's packed with marine collagen, native botanicals, and hyaluronic acid that work together to deliver results. The proof? It sold out in 6 days after building a 35,000-person waitlist. Now it's back in stock, and if winter skin is the bane of your existence, it might be worth trying something that thousands of people couldn't wait to get their hands on. You can check it out here. 

Squiz the Rest

An “unthinkable tragedy” in Minnesota 

Two children aged 8 and 10yo were fatally shot during a Catholic school mass when a man opened fire through church windows in the US city of Minneapolis. Seventeen other people were injured, 14 of them children, during the mass which was being held to mark the opening of the school year at Annunciation Catholic School just before 8.30am local time. Reports say 6 children have been hospitalised in critical condition and 4 needed surgery. The shooter, who has been identified as a 23yo man from the same city with no extensive criminal history, took his own life. There have been 286 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which records when 4 or more people are shot. Police Chief Brian O’Hara said it was “a deliberate act of violence against innocent children” and “an unthinkable tragedy” for the city. 

Another Higgins-related legal case concludes

Former Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds has been awarded more than $300,000 in damages after the Western Australian Supreme Court found her ex-staffer Brittany Higgins had defamed her in social media posts. Yesterday, Justice Paul Tottle found that Higgins and her now husband David Sharaz defamed Reynolds when they implied she’d mishandled rape allegations and had harassed them. This stems from Higgins' time as a staffer - remember a judge last year found that her colleague Bruce Lehrmann likely raped her... Reynolds said the result is a “great relief” but it's taken a toll on her. Higgins said “I accept that Linda Reynolds’ feelings were hurt by these events”, and wished her well. Once legal fees are factored in, Higgins is on the hook for mega costs, so watch this space… 

A mess in Woolies’ aisle

The supermarket giant copped a hammering from investors yesterday after it reported a 17% drop in its annual profit yesterday. That was particularly tough to take given the result came a day after rival Coles surprised the market with a 4.3% lift in year-on-year sales... Woolies’ newish boss Amanda Bardwell yesterday said the result was “below expectations” and customers have been “clearly sending us the message that they were looking for more value”. Note: the supermarket dropped the prices of another 100 shopping staples, such as rice and muesli bars, just last week… BIG W’s also a perennial underperformer for the company. The business has had a particularly bruising year - you’ll recall the regulatory and government inquiries into the sector following claims of price gouging, amongst a few other things. Onwards and upwards (but hopefully not the prices…).

A proud first for an Aussie Rules player

Former West Coast Eagles player Mitch Brown has become the first openly bisexual man in the history of the Australian Football League - and he hopes that others will feel “safety, comfort and space” to do the same. No male player at AFL’s top level has publicly identified as gay or bisexual before, and Brown said he retired early in 2016 in part because he felt like he had to hide his sexuality given the “hyper-masculine” environment he experienced. He decided to speak up after the 4-week suspension of Adelaide Crows player Izak Rankine for a homophobic slur - the AFL copped some stick over that, as well as its choice of Snoop Dogg (who has used the same slur in the past…) as grand final entertainment. The organisers will need a very good banana kick from the boundary to thread that PR needle…  

Foam is where the heart is…

Beer drinkers will be the first to tell you that the right amount of foam atop a glass makes for a good brew. But up until now, what makes some beers hold their head longer than others has been a bit of a mystery. Enter researchers from ETH Zurich and Eindhoven University of Technology, with a literal ‘hold our beer’ on that problem… After turning the contents of their glass into a test subject to study foam stability, they’ve found that the relationship between proteins influences the foam’s elasticity, which makes it last longer. You can read about it in more detail here… Beyond brewing, the findings could be useful in other industries like firefighting and medicine, where stable foams are crucial. See - bending an elbow can be sciencey…

Apropos of Nothing - US Open tidbits edition

Carlos Alcaraz has been his usual elite self at the grand slam tennis tournament so far, but he’s made one major change - a pretty severe buzz cut. Alcaraz admitted that “some people don’t like it”, but he feels like it’s improved his game. No Samson-esque issues here… 

Speaking of bold fashion choices, Venus Williams unveiled a new one during last week’s mixed doubles tournament with a fuzzy, fluffy tennis racket cover in what you might describe as Big-Bird-yellow. The experts reckon her style is ace…

And Taylor Swift famously never goes out of style, particularly if you’re Polish gun Iga Świątek, who celebrated her first-round victory at the tournament by… celebrating Swift’s engagement announcement at her post-match press conference. It’s a love match, after all…

Squiz the Day

9.30am (ACST) - An appeal judgment will be delivered in Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell’s fraud case after he was found guilty of 20 counts of theft last year - Adelaide

9.30am (ACST) - Tax Office whistleblower Richard Boyle will be sentenced for disclosing protected information to another entity - Adelaide

10.00am (AEST) - Sydney Marathon Press Conference will be held at the Opera House - Sydney

10.00am (AEST) - ACT Senator David Pocock and cricketer Usman Khawaja will appear at Federal Parliament and urge the PM to meet with them on the issues of Gaza and sports gambling - Canberra

12.00pm (AEST) - CEDA will host the Victoria Mid-Year Economic Outlook - Melbourne

2.00pm (AEST) - The Gympie Music Muster kicks off (until 31 August) - Gympie, Queensland

7.30pm (AEST) - AFL Awards night will announce the All-Australian Team and the Coleman Medal, which is awarded to the season’s leading goalkicker - Melbourne

FY2025 results for Star Entertainment Group, Wesfarmers, Qantas and South32

The BOM will release its long-range forecast for Spring

ABS data releases: Private New Capital Expenditure and Expected Expenditure, Australia, June 2025; and Regional population by age and sex, 2024

The Thursday Murder Club movie premieres on Netflix

Red Nose Day

Birthdays for musician Shania Twain (1965), Aussie TV presenter Sonia Kruger (1965), US tech executive Sheryl Sandberg (1969) and actor Jack Black (1969)

Anniversary of:

• Pharmacists John Lea & William Perrins inventing Worcestershire sauce (1837)

• Dr Martin Luther King Jr delivering his 'I have a dream' speech (1963)