To make you feel my love

July 23, 2026

Good morning, it’s Thursday, 23 July. In your Squiz Today…

  • The countdown is on for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games

  • A legal win for actor Rebel Wilson

  • And the importance of a good hug… 🤗

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🙋🏻‍♀️ This newsletter was written by Anna Pykett, Andrew Williams, Larissa Huntington and Sophie Felice

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

“Some moments feel like a dream you never want to wake up from.”

Said Austrian mountain biker and stunt athlete Elias Schwärzler after riding his bike across the top of a flying hot air balloon before jumping into a skydive. (Yes, you read that right). He landed safely with a parachute, and the footage is as wild as you’d expect…

Gearing up for more cheering

The Squiz

We’ve just bid adios to the men’s FIFA World Cup, but in case you thought your armchair commentary was done for the year, think again: the 2026 Commonwealth Games kick off bright and early tomorrow morning. This is the event that Victoria was going to host, but it controversially pulled out of the contract in 2023. The Scottish city of Glasgow stepped in with a rescue package, but it means these Games will look a bit different…

Wind it back a bit…

You might remember that Victoria’s Premier at the time Dan Andrews pulled the pin in 2023 after the budget to host blew out from $2.6 billion to nearly $7 billion. Andrews said he wasn’t prepared to take money away from hospitals and schools for an event lasting 12 days. But it wasn’t just a case of walking away - Victoria had to pay $380 million in compensation to Commonwealth Games organisers. That money has ended up footing some of the bill for Glasgow, which isn’t putting a penny of public funding towards it. It means a pared back Games with 10 sports instead of 20 and no athlete’s village (teams will stay in hotels). That said, Team Australia dominated at the Birmingham Games in 2022, and if Bruce McAvaney is to be believed, we’re set to do it again…

Who are the Aussies to watch?

A quick sprint around the events: in the pool, Paris gold medallist Cam McEvoy is going for his first individual Commonwealth gold in the 50m freestyle and Mollie O’Callaghan (who beat Ariarne Titmus to the 200m freestyle gold in Paris) is also in action, but she’s been dealing with spinal fractures. Over to the track, there’s been a heap of buzz around our runners including Lachie Kennedy, who’s run 100m sub-10 seconds, Eddie Nketia and Rohan Browning, who've gone close. In the women’s 100m, Torrie Lewis has just broken her own record, so keep an eye on her, and Jess Hull is aiming to be the first woman to win the Commonwealth Mile. Then there's netball, where the Diamonds are heavy favourites. Something else to note: para events are held at the same time and contribute to the medal tally. We could go on but we’d be here until the opening ceremony begins… That’s at 5am AEST by the way, and the Games will run until 2 August - you can watch it for free on Channel 7 or 7Plus. C’mon Aussies…

Squiz the Rest

A new nuclear deal

US President Donald Trump has made a 30-year deal with Saudi Arabia that will allow American companies to run nuclear power plants on its soil. Saudi Arabia has been getting ready to move away from relying on oil for its economy, and it has plans to build large scale nuclear reactors. This deal with the US is the next step and it’s worth billions to companies like Westinghouse which designs nuclear reactors. But some nuclear experts are concerned that Trump could allow the Saudis to enrich their own supplies of uranium - which could give them the option to use those supplies to make nuclear weapons. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke about those concerns yesterday, saying his government wouldn’t accept any deal that “leads to the risk of proliferation”. The deal agreement to be announced in full this morning - you can track the response and international reaction here…

A win for Rebel Wilson

The Oz actor and director has been cleared of defaming the lead actress who starred in her film The Deb. The high-profile case was a bit complicated - Charlotte MacInnes claimed some of Wilson’s Instagram posts suggested she was a liar who retracted a sexual harassment complaint in order to further her acting and music career. It all centred around a bath incident involving MacInnes and one of the producers on The Deb back in 2023… which the federal judge called “unusual”. Essentially, the judge ruled the 27yo failed to prove her reputation had been harmed, and ordered her to pay Wilson’s legal costs. For Wilson’s part, she says she’s "grateful” the case is over, but MacInnes says she’s going to appeal. If you’re keen to see it, the film’s already out in Oz, and it comes out in the US and the UK next month…

Origin investigates a hack

The energy company - one of Australia’s largest electricity and gas suppliers - says it’s urgently looking into a “potential security breach” that may involve unauthorised access to the data of 2 million customers. The breach came to light after an alleged hacker sent The Australian newspaper (paywall) a sample of 50 customer records including names, dates of birth, addresses, emails, phone numbers and billing histories. After that, Origin alerted Federal Police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre, as well as notifying the ASX. The company says it doesn’t believe the impacted data includes customers’ credit card or bank details. It says it’s investigating the breach “as a matter of urgency” and will provide further updates, so we could hear more today…

A testing time

Before you jump out of your skin on Monday afternoon, here’s a PSA: the federal government will test its national emergency system at 2pm AEST, and every mobile device in the country will vibrate and play a siren for 10 seconds. An AusAlert message will also appear on screens. It’s for a new warning system rolling out from October to alert people if they’re in an area affected by an emergency. But critics have raised concerns, given that not all phones are compatible with it, and the warning is only in English. They’re also concerned about vulnerable people with hidden phones. But Emergency Minister Kristy McBain said a siren would “move across language barriers” and anyone with a concealed phone who may be at risk of domestic violence is being urged to turn it off or put it on aeroplane mode ahead of the test.
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You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals

Sometimes we all just need a hug, and new research from Durham University studying chimpanzees and bonobos suggests that that feeling goes way back in our DNA… The study found that when our ape relatives living in sanctuaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia engaged in physical contact like touching, embracing and kissing, they were able to cooperate better and more peacefully. Groups that were particularly tolerant of one another participated in what researchers called ‘reassurance trains’ - think massage train-style hugs in succession of one another. Apes in the group that were particularly touchy were even more likely to access food within the group, so it’s linked to some pretty important stuff. So next time you just feel like a cuddle might fix a fair few of your problems, know that our closest living relatives feel the same way…

Apropos of Nothing - Shorts edition

A Turkish governor has been removed from office following criticism that he was wearing tight cycling shorts too often. One MP described him as "abandoning the seriousness and dignity of state office”, but the governor responded, “I will keep pedalling”. Ride on…

Tokyo is encouraging men to don shorts to the office in the summer, but some women (who are largely expected to wear tights still BTW) are calling it “leg hair harassment” to see their colleagues' hairy legs. Mixed feelings about shorts we’re noticing…

And the English are discovering warm weather for the first time this year and have subsequently dubbed it “board short summer”. Designer brands are recreating their own versions, accessorised with a YSL surfboard. Maybe we need to do a Shortcut… on shorts…

Squiz the Day

10.30am (AEST) - Macquarie Group AGM

10.00am (ACST) - The 50th Australian Labor Party (ALP) National Conference (until 25 July) - Adelaide

Foreign Minister Penny Wong will give a speech to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers conference in Manila, where she’s expected to continue criticising China over its military activities in the Pacific and call for the Strait of Hormuz to remain toll-free

Victorian public school teachers will go on strike for 24 hours following a breakdown of negotiations with the state government 

Australian Bureau of Statistics data release: Labour force, June 2026

Birthdays for actors Woody Harrelson (1961) and Daniel Radcliffe (1989), and musician Slash (1965)

Anniversary of:

• Austria-Hungary issuing an ultimatum to Serbia following the killing of Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serb assassin, setting the stage for WWI... (1914)

• the formation of One Direction on X Factor (2010)

• NASA’s announcement of the discovery of the most Earth-like planet found yet – Kepler-452b. It’s a convenient 1,400 light-years away… (2015)

• Singer Amy Winehouse’s death (2011)

Friday
5.00am (AEST) - The Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Commonwealth Games begins with King Charles and Queen Camilla attending - Glasgow, watch on Channel 7 or 7Plus