Squiz Today – Friday, 10 September

THE SQUIZ
Tomorrow marks 2 decades since the 9/11 terror attacks – the deadliest on American soil in their history. The world was stunned when 19 al-Qaeda terrorists took control of 4 US passenger jets and crashed them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon outside of Washington D.C. The 4th plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers thwarted the militants’ plan to crash into another building in the capital. The tragedy left 2,977 people dead from 77 countries, including 10 Aussies. Twenty years on, the victims are still being identified. The consequences of what happened on 11 September 2001 are still being felt across the globe.

GEEZ IT’S A LOT…

It is. And we’ll likely see a lot about it in the coming few days, so here are 3 things we found that we wanted to show you.

• This interactive timeline of the day that’s been produced by the 9/11 Memorial. The little snippets of how the chaos of the day unfolded from the passengers on the planes calling loved ones to finding trapped first responders alive that night, it puts you in that day.

• At the time of the attacks, President George W Bush was in Florida visiting a school. They needed to get him to safety, and so his staff and the travelling press piled onto Air Force One. For the next 8 hours, they flew around America’s east. This account is from those there at the time. Our then PM John Howard has also talked to ABC’s Conversations program about being in Washington DC at the time of the attack.

• The newspaper front pages from the day after – worth a look. And this one comes with a warning: one of the most searing photos from the day was ‘the falling man’. Here, the photographer talks about taking the shot and the reaction to it.

WHAT’S NEXT?
Family members of the World Trade Centre victims will gather at the memorial in Manhattan to read the names of those killed in the attacks. US President Joe Biden will be there – he’s also attending services at the sites of the other crashes. Former President Bush will attend the service at the Pennsylvania memorial. Not far from people’s minds: the end of America’s nearly 20-year engagement in Afghanistan that resulted from the attacks. Overnight, 113 people were reportedly flown out of Kabul in the first civilian flight since US forces left the country. President Biden says the US had accomplished its goals “to get the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11”. Not everyone agrees… Still, the hope is that the anniversary reminds Americans “what binds them rather than divides them”. But for many, it’s a painful reminder of loved ones who were killed that day. 

This week’s Squiz Shortcut is on the 9/11 terror attacks – look no further for a quick rundown on what happened, what it meant and what changed.

NSW’s road outta lockdown

NSW’s locked down gym junkies, restaurant/cafe goers, and those in need of a haircut got sorta-kinda answers yesterday on when they can get back to it. The state has been promised a “bright summer” by Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who outlined the “roadmap to freedom” as residents of Greater Sydney and surrounds enter their 12th week of lockdown tomorrow. At the current run rate, restrictions for fully vaccinated people could start to ease on 18 October – that’s the Monday after 70% of the eligible NSW population are expected to be double jabbed. If that target’s not hit, the date will be put back. In the here and now, parts of regional NSW will wake up sans restrictions tomorrow morning – including the Northern Rivers. Residents in that area are hoping that will bring about an easing of Queensland’s hard border.

Aussie cricket set to cancel Afghanistan Test

There is “no alternative” but to cancel November’s men’s Test match in Hobart between the Aussies and Afghanistan after the Taliban banned women from participating in sport, Cricket Australia (CA) said yesterday. It’s a position supported by the Tasmania government, but a final decision is yet to be made. CA boss Nick Hockley said they’d be led by the Federal Government and the International Cricket Council (ICC). On that front, a discussion on revoking their full ICC membership is slated for their board meeting in November. It’s compulsory for full ICC members to have a women’s team, and although an Afghan women’s cricket team has never played on the international stage, progress has been made in recent years. With Afghanistan set to play in a T20 tri-series involving Australia and West Indies early next month, there’s a lot of dust yet to settle.

Fraud v failure

Prosecutors and defence attorneys sketched out their portraits of fallen Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in their opening arguments of her fraud trial on Wednesday. Holmes is facing a sentence of up to 20 years if convicted after her Silicon Valley biotech company claimed it had invented a small machine that could run more than 200 complex diagnostic tests from just a small drop of blood. On Wednesday, prosecutors accused Holmes of misleading investors to secure more than $700 million in capital, and they say she lied about the company’s progress to save her faltering business. Her lawyers say her company isn’t different from other businesses that had ideas that didn’t work out. “Failure is not a crime,” an attorney for Holmes said. Over the coming weeks, the jury will hear from many witnesses. On the maybe list: Theranos investor Rupert Murdoch.

Lion snaps up Stone & Wood brewer

Bevvy behemoth Lion has added another Aussie craft brewing biz to its collection: Stone & Wood maker Fermentum. The deal will see Lion buy all of the Byron Bay-founded brewer which was founded in 2008 and now claims 1% of Australia’s $4 billion beer market. The price hasn’t been disclosed, but reports say it is one of the largest-ever craft beer acquisitions in the country. Lion is one of Australia’s largest beer companies and an arm of Japanese drinks giant Kirin. It produces big name brands including XXXX and James Squire, as well as craft beers like Little Creatures. Stone & Wood co-founder Jamie Cook said Lion will back their plans for the brewery. He won’t be cracking a celebratory beer just yet – the deal needs approval from the competition regulator, the ACCC.

Players look to serve up tennis history

The US Open is ending Monday morning our time (boo…), and there are 2 Aussies to keep an eye out for. Sam Stosur is in the women’s doubles semis – she and Chinese partner Zhang Shuai play tomorrow. And world #1 wheelchair quad singles tennis champ Dylan Alcott is expected to win his quarter-final this morning against American Bryan Barten. Both he and women’s singles champ Diede de Groot hope to become the first players in wheelchair tennis history to claim the Golden Slam – all 4 tennis majors + Paralympic gold. And to play Captain Obvious for a moment, another player to watch this weekend is world #1 Novak Djokovic. While missing out on a Golden Slam after placing 4th in Tokyo, he’s 2 wins away from becoming the first man to claim all 4 grand slam titles in a single calendar year since Rod Laver in 1969. And he’s poised to take a record 21st major championship. Djokovic currently shares the record with rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. No pressure.

We spent some time this week immersed in this New Yorker long read, Crowded House. It’s not about the band… It’s about a once-famous American photographer Michael Tammaro, who starts scamming prospective renters after falling into hard times. It’s one helluva story.  

If you’re riding the Ted Lasso bus all the way to Feel Good Town, swing by Little America after you’ve had your fix. Also on Apple TV, it’s a gentle, smart, funny, based-on-true-stories tribute to those who have adopted the US as their home. Firm recommend.

Far out brussels sprout – is what we said when we ate a plate of these little green suckers with parmesan, lemon and anchovy. You’ll convince the most sceptical with this side-dish pleaser. After all, experts say it’s all in the way you cook ‘em…

9.00am (AEST) – Tennis – US Open Women’s Semi-Finals – Leylah Fernandez v Aryna Sabalenka followed by Emma Raducanu v Maria Sakkari

​​7.50pm (AEST) – AFL Preliminary Final – Melbourne Demons v Geelong Cats – Perth

7.50pm (AEST) – NRL Qualifying Final – Melbourne Storm v Manly Sea Eagles – Sunshine Coast

World Suicide Prevention Day

Braveheart’s White Balloon Day to benefit child protection advocacy

Birthdays for actor Colin Firth (1960), Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma (1964), ballerina Misty Copeland (1982), Matilda’s captain Sam Kerr (1993)

Anniversary of:
• the birthdays of fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld (1933), poet Mary Oliver (1935)
• the founding of OPEC aka the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (1960)
• the release of Nirvana’s single Smells like Teen Spirit (1991)
• the debut of The X-Files (1993)