Squiz Today – Monday, 11 September

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“I was in Australia and totally unaware of the whole incident and the crazy controversy.”

Margot Robbie, who plays infamous US figure skater Tonya Harding, initially thought the script of her new movie was a work of fiction. I, Tonya tells the story of Team Harding’s attack on fellow skater Nancy Kerrigan in 1994. In Robbie’s defence, she was just 4yo when it happened, and it is a pretty out there episode of sporting history…

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IRMA MAKES LANDFALL IN FLORIDA

THE SQUIZ
Hurricane Irma has made landfall in south Florida and is recording sustained winds of more than 200km/hr. Reports are saying:

• Irma is making its way over the Florida Keys and is heading towards Fort Myers and Tampa along to southwest coast at a slow 12km/hr. That means Miami might be spared the worst.

• More than 5.6 million people in Florida (about a third of the state’s population) and 540,000 in Georgia have been ordered to leave, probably making it the largest evacuation in US history.

• She’s a big one - hurricane force winds are being experienced up to 130km from Irma’s centre.

• Authorities are especially concerned about people in the Florida Keys who decided to defy evacuation orders: “Most of this island chain is only three to five feet above sea level. With the surges we’re expecting, this is not the place to be,” said one emergency services official.

You can track its progress here.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Simply getting through it is the agenda for the next 24 hours. A million homes are already without electricity so getting basic infrastructure up and running will be a priority when its safe. Fundraising for disaster relief has begun in earnest: all five living former Presidents came together to spearhead an appeal (including Jimmy Carter sporting an attractive woggle). And President Trump donated $1 million of his own money to a range of charities for Hurricane Harvey relief activities with more expected in light of Irma.

AND WHAT HAS IRMA LEFT BEHIND?
Death and devastation across the Caribbean region. Irma is responsible for at least 24 deaths in the region with many more injured, and tens of thousands are homeless. The islands of St Martin, St Barts and Barbuda were flattened. The UK government announced relief funding and 500 troops to assist their territories of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and Turks & Caicos which were also badly affected. One thing’s for sure – the bill is going to be massive. One insurer said about US$1.4 billion of damage had been done to the French part of St Martin and St Barts alone.

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SQUIZ THE REST

TURNBULL TO EYEBALL AGL CHIEF TODAY
Mondays that have a meeting that you’re dreading are the worst. Pity then AGL’s chief executive Andy Vesey after being called to a meeting with PM Malcolm Turnbull today to discuss the future of the Liddell coal-fired power generator. Neither side has said a lot ahead of the meeting, but Turnbull made his preference clear last week: he wants the energy company to extend the life of the plant until at least 2027 (even though they have plans to shut it in 2022). Vesey and AGL have recently made noise about “getting out of coal” (which irks some conservative Coalition MPs before they even start), a position he reconfirmed last week. Maybe Vesey started feeling a little fluy last night…

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE CAMPAIGNERS MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD
Organisers say 30,000 same-sex marriage supporters turned out in Sydney yesterday ahead of postal vote ballots hitting mailboxes from this week. Labor leader Bill Shorten apologised to the crowd for Parliament’s failure to deal with the issue. One eye-catching sign said; "I'm here to find a wife for my daughter." PM Turnbull also turned out (fresh from a social media incident the night before) at the 'Liberals and Nationals for YES' campaign launch. And former PM John Howard told the Weekend Australian that he was supporting a ‘no’ vote because he believes that; “…there is a conflict here between those seeking the right for same-sex marriage and the rights of the child, and I believe the right of the child to have a mother and father should be preserved.” 

TREASURER OPTIMISTIC ABOUT YOUR PAY RISE
Good jobs numbers are expected this week – enough to prompt Treasurer Scott Morrison to yesterday predict that wage increases are on the way for Aussie workers. Can we get a hallelujah? There are two reasons for his upbeat outlook: first, as the supply of labour becomes tighter, workers have more leverage for better pay. And second, he thinks as companies improve their profits, more will be directed workers’ way to keep them and to attract good new staff. Our fingers are crossed for you.

QUICK WORLD NEWS WRAP
MEXICO EARTHQUAKE – Rescuers are still trying to reach people trapped in the rubble from Thursday night’s 8.1 magnitude earthquake that struck off Mexico’s southern coast. More than 90 are confirmed dead. Hurricane Katia was expected to strike Mexico on Friday – thankfully it weakened and was not as damaging as expected.

ROHINGYA CRISIS – Myanmar’s military have rejected a one-month ceasefire announced by Rohingya Muslim fighters. The ceasefire was declared to help ease the crisis on the Myanmar/Bangladesh border. About 290,000 Rohingya have fled Rakhine in the last few days promoting the UN to appeal for funding. Myanmar’s de facto leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi continues to cop criticism for failing to protect the Rohingya. And Bangladeshi officials say they believe Myanmar forces are planting landmines to prevent the Rohingya from returning.

VALE CONNIE JOHNSON
Connie Johnson, sister of Gold Logie winner Samuel Johnson, died on Friday after a long battle with breast cancer. Connie first came to public awareness when her brother rode a unicycle around Australia raising money for their Love Your Sister charity, which has a goal of raising $10 million. Posting to Facebook on Friday night, Samuel said; “I’m off to cuddle the fam and warmly embrace an exquisite whisky, in memory of my sister, who did so bloody well, from start to finish. Thanks for everything, Connie Cottonsocks. It was my pleasure to be your Sammy Seal.” Connie was 40yo and leaves behind two young boys. Terribly sad.

QUICK SPORTS NEWS WRAP
AFL FINALS WITH AIDO - The AFL finals weekend produced some thumping results - Adelaide thumped Greater Western Sydney; Richmond thumped Geelong; Sydney thumped Essendon. The only outlier was West Coast beating Port Adelaide by two points in extra time. Other highlights? Richmond broke a 16-year hoodoo by winning their first final since 2001. Adelaide Crows remain premiership favourites, but Richmond is now a close second. Talk to you on Friday.

NRL FINALS WITH GIBBO - If you wanted to watch nail-biter matches, the NRL was the way to go. Every match was tight (the way it should be in finals footy…). The Chooks (Sydney Roosters) ended up roasting the Brissie Broncos - just. The Parramatta Eels were fantastic against the Melbourne Storm, but unbiased observers felt the 50/50 calls went the Storm’s way. The same could be said for the Panthers who just managed to get over the Manly silvertails. And as expected, the Cronulla Sharks came out with real bite against the North Queensland Cowboys, but they were beaten in extra time… no back to back premierships for the Sharks!

TENNIS – The US Open is (almost) over for another year. The fabulously named Sloane Stephens beat fellow-American and friend Madison Keys to take out the women's singles. Stephens was ranked 957th at the start of August after being off the tour for 11 months from injury. And Rafael Nadal takes on South Africa’s Kevin Anderson this morning for the men's title.

NEW YORK LOOKING ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS
It's New York Fashion Week, and while we're not experts, the looks are something we call dishevelled-chic with an eighties vibe. Think big jackets and high-waisted denim. And move over Kendall Jenner (kudos to you if you have no idea who she is…) – there’s a new celebrity model in town. Kaia Gerber, daughter of Cindy Crawford, made her catwalk debut at the age of sweet 16yo. She absolutely takes after her mother.

SQUIZ THE DAY

6.00am (AEST) - US Open Men's Singles Final - Rafael Nadal v Kevin Anderson

UN Security Council meets to discuss new sanctions for North Korea

ABS Data Release - Lending Finance, July

Headache and Migraine Week

Include A Charity Week - encourages more Australians to include a charity in their will

16th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US