Squiz Today – 26 February 2024

The Squiz

Former US President Donald Trump has won the Republican primary in South Carolina, beating his last remaining rival Nikki Haley in her home state. He’s gained 60% of the vote, leaving Haley – his Ambassador to the United Nations – in his wake. The result was called almost as soon as polls closed, and it’s the fourth state to go to Trump after Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. Despite the defeat, Haley has vowed to keep fighting, saying she doesn’t “believe Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden”. For Trump’s part, he says the party has never been “so unified” behind him.

So Trump is a shoo-in?

Looks that way… Pundits say it would be tough for Haley to gain the Republican nomination now. That hasn’t deterred the 52yo who said she promised to keep going and “I’m a woman of my word”. On Friday, her team said it was spending a “7-figure” sum on campaign ads ahead of next week’s Super Tuesday when 15 states and one territory will vote. She’s also continuing her cross-country tour, hitting Michigan ahead of its primary tomorrow. But it could all be for nought unless something catastrophic rocks Trump’s campaign… That could include his legal fights – including 91 felony charges and increasingly vast legal fees and fines. Conventional wisdom says that would tank his chances, but so far, it’s reinvigorated his support base.

And Biden’s still saddling up for the Democrats? 

Yep… the President is still likely to be their candidate even though recent polling shows he’s unpopular, particularly among young voters. That’s a problem because Trump is, and it’s one reason why the polls show him as having the edge. Biden’s advancing age is seen as part of the problem – you’ll remember a couple of weeks ago, we went over a report that raised concerns he’s not fit for another 4-year stint in the White House… Despite those issues, party high-ups reckon there isn’t anyone who could replace the 81yo at this point, so it’s increasingly likely a repeat of the 2020 election will be run on 5 November. That’s seen commentators say the vote will be about “which man Americans think is the least bad option”.

We chatted about this on News Club… – In fact, our launch week focused on the growing discussion about the suitability of the candidates for the upcoming US presidential election. Join the conversation with Claire Kimball and Kate Watson on the podcast, and dive into their curated news sources to get more. 

A grim search continues

NSW Police detectives spent yesterday going over the inner-city Sydney home of Ten presenter Jesse Baird for a second time as the hunt continues for him and his partner Luke Davies. Police divers have also focused on searching a waterway in Newcastle and a dam on a property near Goulburn. A fair bit has happened since the case was made public on Thursday, including the arrest of serving police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon. He handed himself in on Friday, but reports say he is refusing to speak with investigators. And as organisers of next weekend’s Mardi Gras parade consider how to pay tribute to the couple, Baird’s cousin described him as “one in a million”, while a friend of Davies said he was “a kind, beautiful soul with a cheeky smile”. Police Commissioner Karen Webb is expected to make a statement on the case today. 

Navalny’s body is released 

Nine days after Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny’s death at an Arctic penal colony, his body has been released to his mother Lyudmila Navalnaya. Last week, she said Russian authorities were blackmailing her into holding a “secret funeral” for her son, who was in jail on extremism, fraud and embezzlement charges – which he vehemently denied. Navalny was widely considered the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hold on power, and there’s been an outpouring of grief from his supporters in Russia and across the world. Hundreds of mourners have been arrested at memorials for Navalny across Russia, and talk is now turning to his funeral, which his spokeswoman says is still up in the air. Critics say the Kremlin’s concern is that a public funeral could spark protests against Putin’s leadership as his war in Ukraine drags on into its third year…

Getting the education system up to speed

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has released the final report from the Universities Accord – the first major review into the sector since 2008. An expert panel made 47 recommendations to achieve “significant change”. The big ones include basing HECS on a graduate’s future potential earnings, doubling the number of uni places so that 80% of Aussies receive uni/other advanced training by 2050, and giving those from disadvantaged backgrounds more access. Uni administrators broadly welcomed the report. Clare says he will consider the report’s “top priorities”, but the Coalition’s Education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson wants him to move faster… She says he’s had the report for 2 months and plans to act should be more advanced. 

On the path to Paris

The Tillies have done it again… Our soccer stars came out on top of their first Olympic qualifier against Uzbekistan on Saturday, winning 3-0 in the home team’s capital Tashkent. The star of the match was Michelle Heyman, the 35yo striker recalled to the squad to fill in for injured Matildas star/captain Sam Kerr. Heyman described nabbing the team’s first goal after a scoreless first half as “a dream come true”. It was quickly followed by goals from Mary Fowler and Caitlin Foord. Reports say the win has helped the Matildas lock in their presence at the Paris Olympics, but they still have a final match against the Uzbeks… It’ll be in front of a 50,000-strong crowd at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on Wednesday night. Coach Tony Gustavsson says the team don’t underestimate Uzbekistan, but he’s challenged his players to convert more goals next time. 

The devil really does wear Prada

The Screen Actors Guild awards yesterday didn’t disappoint, with chef Curtis Stone adding Aussie flavour to the proceedings – his adrenaline was “pumping” as he fed the 900 guests and prepped 9,000 after-party canapes… Working up an appetite was the Oppenheimer gang after taking home the most gongs. Gong-less was Barbie, despite Margot Robbie going the distance and putting on her best happy-just-to-be-nominated face… Speaking of fashion, there seemed to be 2 different dress codes as some stars embraced colours as muted as the grey-not-red carpet, while others went for a frenzy of fuschia, ruffles and fringes. It’s something Meryl Streep might have thoughts on as she dressed as alter-ego Miranda Priestly… And we learnt that funnywoman Melissa McCarthy is Billie Eilish’s biggest fan, although we’re not sure she’s up for permanently inking the singer’s signature on her face…

If you’ve been lucky enough to attend one of Taylor Swift’s gigs, you might have noticed a Blank Space while trying to upload photos/videos. Fans used 35 terabytes of data during the Melbourne shows – enough to stream the Eras Tour concert film on repeat for 1.7 years…

Elon Musk has promised to “make things good” with a bakery after finding out his electric vehicle company cancelled a big catering order. The owner says they were left “high and dry” after Tesla dropped 4,000 party pies at the last minute. Nobody likes getting pied off…

Having just watched Bob Marley: One Love, we’re all over this call to get Aussies eating more goat meat. Despite producing some of the best in the world, 90% of it is exported, and farmers say we should enjoy it more at home. Jamaican goat curry, anyone?

10.15pm (AEDT) – Gladys Berejiklian’s hearing to overturn ICAC’s corruption findings – NSW Court of Appeal

12.30pm (AEDT) – Dr Andrew Forrest AO will be speaking at the National Press Club on energy security

5.00pm (AEDT) 2024 Wang Gungwu Lecture – Parliament House

Federal Parliament sitting – both Houses (until Feb 29) – Canberra

Company results – Suncorp; TPG 

ABS Data Release – Business Indicators, December

Paris Fashion Week begins (until 5 March)

Birthdays for former Kiwi PM Helen Clark (1950), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (1954)

Anniversary of:

• the birthdays of Victor Hugo (1802), Levi Strauss (1829), John Harvey Kellogg (1852), Fats Domino (1928) and Johnny Cash (1932)

• the first known European landing in Australia by Dutch navigator Willem Jansz at Cape York (1606)

• P&O’s SS Ceylon beginning the world’s first round-the-world pleasure cruise from Liverpool (1881)

• the infamous Oscars mixup with La La Land mistakenly awarded Best Film instead of Moonlight (2017)

• Cardinal George Pell’s conviction of child sexual abuse charges – that was later overturned on appeal (2019)