Wednesday, 2 September - That's just the way it is

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 2 September. In your Squiz Today…

• After nearly 3 decades, an ex-gang boss is convicted of US rapper Tupac Shakur’s murder

• Oz home prices continue to fall

• And Dollyfest is in the works for next year…🎤

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

Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Aussie tennis player Kim Birrell of the $265,000 in prize money heading her way after she won through to the second round of the US Open. She’ll get even more if she beats Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova tomorrow. Maybe that one can pay for the honeymoon…

Justice for Tupac

The Squiz

The 1996 murder of US rapper Tupac Shakur - AKA 2Pac - has remained an unsolved mystery for nearly 3 decades, but yesterday a US jury took just 3 hours to unanimously find 63yo former gang boss Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty of one count of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon. The 2-week trial in the US state of Nevada heard that Davis’ memoir published in 2019 included a play-by-play account of his involvement in the murder and ultimately led to his prosecution.

Back it up…

To remind you, the shooting of 2Pac was a huge news story in the mid-1990s. The hip-hop star behind California Love and Changes was targeted in a drive-by hit in Las Vegas in September 1996 when he was 25yo, and died 6 days later. At the time of his death, he was one of the most influential voices in rap culture and his records have sold more than 75 million copies worldwide. During the trial, the court heard that the shooting was in retaliation for a brawl between Davis’ nephew Orlando Anderson and Shakur and his crew hours earlier. The prosecution didn’t claim Davis fired the gun, rather that he ordered the shooting and supplied the gun to his nephew, who opened fire. In his memoir Compton Street Legend, Davis described driving around searching for his quarry, and wrote: “Pac chose the wrong game to play”. 

What was the fallout?

Police investigating the case at the time said there was a shortage of forensic evidence to link Anderson to the crime and no witnesses willing to come forward. The case went cold after Anderson died in 1998 - until Davis went public, claiming to be the “shot caller” in interviews and his book. His defence lawyer argued that Davis made up the stories as “bravado and exaggeration” hoping to benefit from the public interest in the case to sell more books. The lawyer also argued that he didn’t fire the weapon. But under Nevada law, you don’t have to pull the trigger to be convicted of murder. As for what’s next, Davis is due to be sentenced on 13 October - he’s already said he’ll appeal the verdict.

More’s possible with Google AI

We're big fans of pub trivia at the Squiz, and we know many of you are too. But, for the millions of Australians with hearing loss, trying to distinguish the quizmaster from the noise of the pub and joining in can be difficult. Traditional hearing aids don’t isolate sound, they just turn up the volume on everything. That’s why researchers are using Google AI to help hearing devices better isolate sound, just like the human ear, and restore those vital connections. When medical research joins forces with Google AI - more's possible.

Squiz the Rest

Germany points the finger at Moscow

The country’s Interior Minister said this morning that Russia was behind a drone attack on Leipzig Airport last month, and he expects it won’t be the last. Alexander Dobrindt says a drone with an explosive device on it was found near Ukrainian cargo planes at the airport, and didn’t explode due to a faulty detonator. He says the equipment used points to Russia’s involvement in what’s called a ‘hybrid attack’ - that’s something that would damage or destabilise a country but isn’t directly linked to Russia enough to trigger a full-scale war. Russia has denied being involved, but it’s been repeatedly accused of trying to destabilise NATO countries in Europe, which reports say US CIA Director John Ratcliffe warned it about when he unexpectedly travelled to Moscow last week.

Home price values fall (again)

For the fifth month in a row, Oz property prices have dropped in all capital cities, apart from Darwin. We’ve had 2 reports crunching the numbers from Cotality and REA Group - Sydney has recorded the biggest fall, followed closely by Melbourne and Canberra, and across the regions, home prices have fallen by 0.4%. Experts reckon this is to do with the 3 rate rises we’ve had this year, as well as the Albanese Government’s decision to restrict negative gearing and increase capital gains tax. Cotality’s Tim Lawless says that home values are likely to keep falling - especially if the Reserve Bank lifts interest rates again when it next meets on 29 September.

Ray Hadley gives evidence

The retired 2GB radio talkback star was called as a witness yesterday in the trial of his former colleague Alan Jones, who’s facing 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching. Hadley was asked about a man known as Complainant C, and the court heard that he had confided in Hadley that Jones had kissed and touched him in 2008 without consent in a work lift and while he was driving. Hadley said Complainant C told him in 2019 about the allegations - which Jones’ defence lawyers say never happened. In her opening remarks at the start of the trial, Jones’ barrister Gabrielle Bashir said Hadley was a “rival” who wanted to “destroy” him. Hadley’s expected to continue his evidence today.
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The Apple CEO doesn’t fall far from the tree

Tim Cook has officially handed over the reins to his successor, John Ternus, after 15 years leading the tech company. Cook took over from Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs in 2011 (no pressure…) and oversaw a period of massive growth - it went from a US$350 billion company to a US$4.6 trillion one during his tenure, so he’ll be a hard act to follow. Luckily for Ternus, Cook will stick around as Executive Chairman, so he’ll be close by for advice… Ternus is the company’s former hardware engineering lead, and analysts say one of his big challenges in the coming years will be keeping up in the AI race, where other companies have been quicker out of the blocks. We’ll see more of him on 10 September at Apple’s next big product launch, where it’ll reveal its new products, including potentially a foldable iPhone.

We will always love Dolly

A private service has been held for the queen of country music, who died last week at 80yo of cancer. Her great-niece, Lainey Parton, posted on Insta after the ceremony, saying “it still doesn’t feel real that she’s gone”, and thanking everyone for their messages of support. We’ve also learned that Dollyfest is in the works - the Parton estate says that fans will be able to celebrate her legacy at a 2-day festival in Nashville and London over 2 consecutive weekends next year. Dolly’s longtime manager and business partner Danny Nozell said: “A lot of people always say, WWDD (What Would Dolly Do?), and at this moment, Dollyfest is WDWD (What Dolly Would Do!)”. If you fancy a trip to Tennessee or England, you can sign up for info about tickets and dates here.

Apropos of Nothing - Culinary crimes edition 

Drivers outside of Cairo in Egypt observed a Fast and Furious-style robbery in a heist for frozen chicken… The gang of 6 stole at least 105kg of frozen chook, and (on brand…) the clips were online faster than the driver was able to contact the company.

Pabst Brewing Company is offering a reward to anyone who helps locate a $35,000 truckload of beer that was stolen from a Californian distribution centre. If no one comes forward with information, it’ll turn into a cold case…

And police officers in Broome have found a bag of meth hidden inside a McDonald's McMuffin during a traffic stop search - the second time they’ve found drugs hidden in fast food in the last month. They’re not lovin’ it…

Squiz the Day

10.00am (AEST) - AUKUS inquiry hearing - Canberra 

12.30pm (AEST) - CEO of Teach Us Consent Chanel Contos will address the National Press Club on 'Algorithmic funnels and division: the systematic promotion of outrage, misogyny, and radicalisation online' - Canberra 

Hundreds of staff from the University of Sydney are set to strike for 24 hours over AI concerns and the lack of action on a new enterprise agreement - Sydney 

Venice Film Festival begins (until 12 September) 

NBL Blitz begins, where every team plays across 5 days in the lead-up to the season - Bendigo (until 6 September)

Australian Bureau of Stats data release: Oz national accounts - income, expenditure and product, June 2026 

Indigenous Literacy Day

🇻🇳 Vietnam’s National Day

Democracy Day in Tibet, marking the anniversary of Tibet's first election of the Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration (1960)

🥥 World Coconut Day 

Birthdays for actors Keanu Reeves (1964) and Salma Hayek (1966)

Anniversary of:

• the Great Fire of London, which destroyed 80% of the city (1666) 

• the deaths of Henry Lawson (1922), Ho Chi Minh (1969), JRR Tolkien (1973) and Bob Denver (2005)

• Being John Malkovich premiering at the Venice Film Festival (1999)

Housekeeping

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