Wednesday, 31 July - Cry me a river

🏃🏻‍♀️ Scroll on for The Paris Sprint - a speedy Olympics update…

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, 31 July. In your Squiz Today…

• Rex goes into voluntary administration

• Aussies told to leave Lebanon as tensions with Israel escalate

• And the Seine strikes again… 🤢

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Squiz the Weather

Squiz Sayings

Said Francine Pascal of her Sweet Valley High book series heroines Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield back in 1988. The author credited with changing the young adult publishing industry died in Manhattan on Sunday at 92yo. Imagine what Margot Robbie and Great Gerwig could do with that series…

Rex issues a mayday

The Squiz

Aussie airline Regional Express - which you’d know as Rex - has stopped selling seats on particular routes with administrators from EY Australia brought in to help them navigate the financially troubled company’s future. Rex - which covers regional Australian routes not covered by other airlines - issued a statement last night outlining the steps being taken after customers yesterday reported being unable to buy seats on the airline’s flights between capital cities.

That doesn’t sound promising…

And you’d be forgiven if your mind went straight to Bonza - the airline which went bust after flying into a financial storm recently - but it might not be a disaster in this case… Reports say the airline is losing close to $1 million a week on its capital city routes that were introduced in March 2021 - and it’s those that will be canned while regional flights continue. For travellers with tickets to flights that have been cancelled, the plan is they will be able to go with Virgin. PM Anthony Albanese was one who “expressed concern” about Rex’s ambitious expansion plan at the time. Yesterday he said the airline “is particularly important for regional communities” and the government will consider “any proposals” to ensure they are able to continue to service those routes.

Yikes…

It’s a tough trading environment - even for Maccas… McDonald’s says its sales have fallen globally for the first time in 3 years. We’re calling this out because of what the company says it means for consumer sentiment globally - it’s low thanks to sticky inflation, prompting a “rethink” of its menu prices. There’s no word on whether that extends to our Aussie Maccas, but customers here haven’t been feeling all that McHappy about items on its “loose change” menu costing more than $10. Speaking of cossie livs, the latest inflation numbers are out today. They will influence next week’s Reserve Bank interest rate decision - so no pressure…

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

No solace for Southport victims

There are more questions than answers this morning as a small UK seaside community tries to come to terms with a stabbing attack that left 3 children dead and 11 others, including 9 kids, injured yesterday. PM Keir Starmer says the whole country is “deeply shocked” after an unnamed 17yo boy carried out the “ferocious” attack on the kids at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the holiday town of Southport in Merseyside. Police arrested him a short time later but say while his motive remains “unclear” it’s not thought to be terror-related. Eyewitnesses described the “horrific” scene as “like something from America”. Swift yesterday said she was “in complete shock”. “They were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.” King Charles and Queen Camilla also sent their “most heartfelt condolences”. 

Leaving Lebanon in a hurry

With tensions rising across the Middle East as Israel’s war in Gaza spills over into other countries, our government has issued a ‘Do Not Travel’ warning for the whole of Lebanon, and advised those who are already there to “leave immediately”. Given the historic challenges of evacuating Aussies, it’s sparked a sense of déjà vu of a similar conflict back in 2006. It comes as Israel launched a retaliatory strike in Beirut overnight in response to an attack on a football pitch last weekend that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights, which Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu blamed on terror group Hezbollah. It’s denied responsibility, but the 2 sides have been trading missiles across the Israel-Lebanon border since the 7 October Hamas attack. The US is now leading an urgent diplomatic effort to discourage further strikes in a bid to prevent an all-out war.

It’s in their genes…

There’s long been debate about whether those who swear they can get by on 4-6 hours of sleep a night are telling a porkie, and a landmark sleep study at the University of California is turning a nightlight on their claims. Neuroscientist/sleep researcher Ying-Hui Fu says most of us need 7-9 hours a night, but there are always exceptions… The study has found a small group of people known as “naturally short sleepers” have a rare gene that helps their bodies mentally and physically recover from their days in a shortened window of time. Fu says researchers will use the study to figure out if there’s a way for the rest of us to get less sleep without tanking our health. She reckons “everybody can use more waking hours” - even if you use it to “just watch movies”. We concur…

The stinky Seine strikes again

We talked yesterday about the Olympic men’s triathlon in Paris being an event to watch, but it was suspended at the last minute following test results showing that despite spending $2.47 billion to clean up the Seine, the iconic waterway was too polluted for swimmers. The race has been pushed back until tomorrow evening, which is the same day as the women’s triathlon, as organisers blamed “meteorological events beyond our control”. But with the levels of infection-causing E. coli bacteria from sewage changing from one day to the next depending on the weather, there are no guarantees that events in the river won’t be further postponed (or is that postpooned?). The issue has been a headache for Games organisers for months with a barrage of questions about the suitability of the river that has been illegal to swim in for a century due to the pollution. 

For more on this in-Seine situation, check out this Squiz Shortcut on the preparations for the Paris Olympics.

Apropos of Nothing - Photographic edition

A group of millennials have been mocked for being oblivious that they were sitting next to Mick Jagger at the Paris Olympics and were instead glued to their phones. Imagine their satisfaction with the social content they could have made if they’d only looked up…

A lot of people are guilty of hoarding clothes, but it seems our digital wardrobes need a clean-out too as more of us are keeping every photo and message we’ve ever created on our phones. If only there was a guide on how to optimise our storage - actually there is… 

There’s been a lot of buzz about AI being used to generate unbelievable images, but an incredible viral photo of Brazilian Olympic surfer Gabriel Medina seemingly suspended above the waves has proven that there’s still a place for human photographers…

🏊🏼‍♀️ The Paris Sprint

Each day of the Paris Olympics we’ll bring you 3 of the top stories from the action overnight and 3 events to put on your radar for the coming day. 

Queenslander Kaylee McKeown found another gear to take gold in the 100m backstroke final, defending her Tokyo title and beating US rival Regan Smith. Later in the week, she’s got her 200m backstroke title to defend... And in the 800m men’s freestyle, Elijah Winnington missed out on a medal - but Irishman Daniel Wiffen made history by winning gold to become Ireland’s first-ever male medallist in the pool. 

After blazing their way into the semi-finals, our women’s rugby sevens team suffered 2 shock losses overnight to be booted out of medal contention. We went down to Canada and then the USA finished us off in a tussle for bronze. 

And gymnast Simon Biles wowed crowds to win gold along with Team USA in the artistic gymnastics final. It’s a sweet victory for Biles and it’s her first gold medal since the Rio Games in 2016. Emotions were also running high in the men’s team event with Japan causing an upset over China.

Squiz the Day

9.45am (AEST) - The Royal Australian Mint is tipping its hat to the final Cobb & Co coach run from Yuleba to Surat 100 years ago by launching a commemorative $1 coin - Bungendore, NSW 

12.30pm (AEST) - Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones will address the National Press Club on financial scams - Canberra

The final report into the 2024 NSW independent inquiry into The Star is due to be handed down

Company results - Rio Tinto

ABS Data Release - Quarterly Consumer Price Index, June

National Avocado Day

World Ranger Day

Birthdays for JK Rowling (1965), Harry Potter (1980)

Anniversary of:

• New Zealand's Christchurch becoming chartered as a city (1856)

• Germany’s adoption of the Weimar Constitution (1919)

• the end of Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland. It was the British Army's longest-running operation (2007)

• Michael Phelps becoming the greatest medal winner in Olympic history after securing this 19th gold medal. He ended his swimming career with 28 medals... (2012)