Tuesday, 20 August - Rockin' in the USA

Good morning, it’s Tuesday, 20 August. In your Squiz Today…

  • The Democratic National Convention kicks off in the US

  • Sydneysiders get on board the new Metro

  • And Booktopia’s happy ending…

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Squiz Sayings

"If there had been no Phil Donahue Show, there would be no Oprah Winfrey Show." 

Said Oprah Winfrey of “the king of daytime TV” Phil Donahue, who died on Sunday aged 88. Winfrey said he was the first TV host “to acknowledge that women are interested in more than mascara tips and cake recipes”. We still love a good cake recipe, but we take her point…

It’s a party (convention) in the USA…

The Squiz

It’s been a month since Republicans celebrated the survival of presidential nominee Donald Trump at their convention, and now their major party rivals have their big-stage moment as the Democratic National Convention kicked off in Chicago overnight. Over the next 4 days, thousands of people will gather to see America’s Vice President/would-be leader Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz formally accept the party’s nomination and outline their policy platform. They’re on the ascendancy in the popularity stakes (not that pro-Palestinian and anti-abortion protestors would agree…) as they look to formally launch the campaign. 

What can we expect?

Those snagging one of 20,000 seats inside the United Center - aka home of the Chicago Bulls - will see top Democrats past and present, starting with current President Joe Biden. He will make the first big address this arvo. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff - aka Harris’ hubby - will speak tomorrow, with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama also set to take the mic. Note: you’d have to think they could all be upstaged if rumours about Beyoncé/Taylor Swift appearing are true... As for the headliners, Walz will deliver his address on Thursday, and Harris will make her closing night speech titled ‘For Our Future’ on Friday. Aside from the bunting and balloons, experts say now is the time for Harris to really show who she is and how she’s going to pull in voters who were disenchanted with both Biden and Trump.

How’s the presidential race shaping up? 

It looks to be neck and neck right now, with Harris/Walz’s nominations providing an alternative to Trump/Vance, who were ahead in many states while Biden was seeking 4 more years in the White House. For his part, Trump will campaign in several swing states during the Democrats’ convention to drum up more support, but that will only work if he can stay on message… Republicans have been begging him not to keep ditching the script in favour of personal attacks, including former presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, who says "the less we make it about policy, I think the worse it's going to be for us.” As for undecided voters - they say they simply need “more information”.

Bedding down some big savings

Emma Sleep is having its biggest clearance sale on Australia’s most-awarded mattress range and bestselling pillows with up to 55% off. That includes the Emma Comfort Mattress and Good Design award winner Emma Zero Gravity mattress... On top of that, there's a 100-night trial, 10-year warranty, and free shipping. Run (don't walk) to emma-sleep.com.au - and then have a great rest...

Squiz the Rest

Ceasefire talks galore (or not…)

Russian officials have denied reports that negotiations with Ukraine have been put on ice because of its recent attacks in Russian territory, saying there were never any talks to start with… Over the weekend, the Washington Post reported that both countries would send delegations to Qatar to negotiate a halt to the attacks on key energy infrastructure. But yesterday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said “no one broke anything off because there was nothing to break off”. What hasn’t been broken off is the latest round of ceasefire/hostage-release talks between Israel and Hamas… US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the region to speed things along, and reports say Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to a “bridging proposal” to end the war. Now it’s back over to Hamas…

Mad for the Metro

The former Royal yacht may have narrowly avoided being burnt on Sunday in Sydney Harbour, but the long-awaited Sydney Metro City line was definitely on fire yesterday as the new section of the $25 billion project opened to the public between Chatswood and Sydenham. Services started after 4am, but some eager beavers rocked up to secure their spot on the historic maiden journey at 1am... It’s a big deal for travel-weary Sydneysiders because the service will slash journey times, including for those with a disability who’ve labelled Oz’s first fully accessible railway a “game-changer". NSW Labor Premier Chris Minns said it will “transform Sydney” and praised his Liberal predecessor saying “Gladys Berejiklian deserves a lot of credit for this city-shaping piece of infrastructure.” And it’s not just the trains getting high praise - check out the stations’ escalators… 

Swimming against the AI tide…

A new survey has dug into how Aussies are consuming media and how we’re using generative artificial intelligence (AI). The results show 39% of 4,442 respondents have tried/regularly use applications like ChatGPT or Bard while 29% knew about them but haven’t used them. A quarter of respondents (26%) were “not at all familiar”. Even fewer people are using generative AI image software… Researchers from the Australian Media Literacy Alliance say we’re pretty distrustful of generative AI, with 40% believing it will harm society - that’s more than the number of people who think it will improve things. And we wouldn’t have to tell parents this, but of particular concern is how AI content is influencing young minds - prompting some experts to call for media literacy to be added to school curriculums.

The Squiz is all about helping the next generation navigate this brave new world. It’s why we’ve created the Squiz Kids Newshounds classroom-ready program to help 7-12yos become critical consumers of media. Find out more here.

Booktopia’s new chapter…

You might recall our largest online bookseller Booktopia had some financial woes… It resumed trading yesterday after administrator McGrathNicol confirmed the business has been bought by Shant Kradjian, who owns the electronics store digiDirect. Booktopia went into administration in July after months of job losses and with debts of around $60 million, with the company saying the increased cost of living and more online competition had caused sales to drop. All of Booktopia’s current employees will be retained under the purchase, and digiDirect will hire an extra 100 staff as they turn over a new page. It wasn’t such good news for another troubled business yesterday - administrators for Rex Airlines say another 73 roles will be cut as the search for a buyer continues.

Snake huntin’ for sustainability

As you might know, we’re Fat Bear Week fanatics from way back (bring on October…), and this year the Fish Doorbell in the Dutch city of Utrecht piqued our interest. Which brings us to the Florida Python Challenge… The 10-day event kicked off on Friday with hunters heading into the Everglades to track down Burmese pythons in the hopes of winning a share of $45,000-worth of prizes. It might sound unpleasant, but Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the decade-long tradition is humane and an important part of managing the invasive species. Over 600 people are joining in, which in previous years has seen celebs get involved, including Gordon Ramsay who knew what to do with the spoils of the hunt… Python lettuce wraps, anyone?

Apropos of Nothing

Many of us are guilty of spending too much on a must-have pair of jeans, but we’d probably draw the line at the $28,000 Valentino’s sported by Hollywood actor Blake Lively. Some are wondering how much is too much for some new duds…

He might still be in jail on the other side of the world, but that isn’t dulling former cricketer-turned-Pakistani PM Imran Khan’s career ambitions. He’s submitted an application to become Oxford Uni’s new Chancellor. Don’t ask, don’t get… 

And it seems cozzie livs has us squeezing lemons as well as budgets with reports of a rise in the number of adult-run lemonade stands in the US. Turning a negative into a positive certainly worked for Beyoncé…

Squiz the Day

6.00am (AEST) - Surfing: The Corona Fiji Pro kicks off (until 29 August) - Tavarua, Fiji

10.00am (AEST) - Former test cricketer Michael Slater is set to apply for bail. He’s charged with domestic violence offences - Brisbane 

From 12.00pm (AEST) - US President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr Jill Biden will speak on the first night of the Democratic National Convention along with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (the DNC runs until 22 August) - Chicago  

6.30pm (AEST) - Rural Women's Award announcement and gala dinner - Canberra

The AFR is holding its Higher Education Summit 2024 - Sydney 

World Mosquito Day 

Birthdays for Robert Plant (1948), David Walliams (1971), Amy Adams (1974), Andrew Garfield (1983), and Demi Lovato (1992)

Anniversary of:

  • the first known African slaves arriving in North America (1619)

  • US President Andrew Johnson formally declaring the end of the US Civil War (1866)

  • Operation Danube, or the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union, Poland, Bulgaria, East Germany and Hungary in response to the Prague Spring (1968)