Squiz Today – Monday, 19 June

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“He said I had good style.”

Nikos Giannopoulos's work with his school's gay-straight alliance made him Rhode Island's teacher of the year - and gave him the chance to have his picture taken with US President Donald Trump. The resulting pic (complete with black lace fan) is so darn fabulous even Melania Trump’s smile seems to be genuine!

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GRENFELL TOWER - NOW FOR THE RECKONING

THE SQUIZ
The fallout from the catastrophic fire destroying London's Grenfell Tower continues in the UK. Authorities have updated the anticipated toll to 58 people feared dead – this makes the fire the country’s most deadly since WWII. UK PM Theresa May has been the target of fierce criticism for her handling of the incident, particularly for taking three days to talk directly with people affected by the fire. And closer to home, governments are looking into tougher regulations on the use of cladding on buildings after the product is believed to have contributed to Grenfell Tower’s flammability.

WHY IS MAY BEING TARGETED?
Residents are furious about the lack of information on missing loved ones and have complained about insufficient on-the-ground support to help them make short-term arrangements. May became the target for a lot of that anger when she visited the site last Thursday, but didn’t meet residents. They were so angry that when she returned on Friday, she was chased from a local church. Over the weekend, she met with residents, acknowledged the initial response wasn’t good enough and committed £5 million in support. We reckon May will be pleased when June is over.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR US?
Labor leader Bill Shorten will today call for a parliamentary probe into the use of aluminium composite panels on buildings in Australia. Reports say there are at least 30 buildings in Melbourne rated as a fire risk because they have cladding panels. And the NSW government is considering tougher regulations – reports yesterday said up to 2,500 buildings in that state could be fitted with cladding similar to that used at Grenfell Tower. Premier Gladys Berejiklian is pushing for a national response given the federal government's role in customs and standards, and the states/local government role in building approvals and inspections.

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SQUIZ THE REST

NEWSPOLL SHOWS STABILITY IN POLITICS
Well, stability in our opinion of their performance anyway. Labor continues to lead the Coalition 53:47 on a two-party preferred basis. And Malcolm Turnbull continues to lead in the ‘better PM' stakes slipping one point since the last poll to 44:31. One change was the increased support for One Nation - they recorded 11% support on primary votes. The Australian says that's eight times One Nation's actual vote in last year's election. 

FRENCH ELECTION DELIVERS MORE SUPPORT FOR MACRON
France has voted and exit polls show a win for French President Emmanuel Macron and his La République en Marche party – they are poised to win a majority of seats in the French parliament with their MoDem allies.  It’s not all good news though – there was a high level of people choosing not to vote meaning Macron’s party may have won just 15% of all eligible voters’ support. There’s a big job ahead for Macron, and he doesn’t have a base of experienced hands to help him – more than half his candidates have no previous political experience.

WILDFIRES IN PORTUGAL CLAIM 61 LIVES
Forest fires are burning on several fronts in Portugal trapping people in cars and homes. The death toll has been confirmed at 61, however, authorities expect that to rise with many missing. Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed, and France and Spain have offered assistance via water-bombing aircraft. The fires started during a 40 degree C heatwave and rainless thunderstorms on the weekend.

SEVEN DEAD AFTER WARSHIP COLLISION AT SEA
American destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship almost three-times its size on Saturday off the Japanese coast killing seven sailors and leaving the ship severely damaged. The container ship, the Philippines-flagged ACX Crystal, damaged the destroyer causing flooding of below deck compartments. The Fitzgerald’s captain, Commodore Bryce Benson, was evacuated to hospital in Japan and was lucky to survive – his cabin was destroyed in the collision. No word yet on what caused the incident.

QUICK CELEBRITY NEWS WRAP
Reports say Beyonce and husband Jay-Z have welcomed twins. No word on names yet but it’s fair to expect a couple of doozies given their effort with daughter Blue Ivy. Poor kids. We imagine there haven’t formally announced it themselves because they’re shooting an elaborate Instagram picture.

Comedian Will Anderson tried to hose down news of his arrest for disruptive behaviour on a flight to Wagga Wagga (note the formality please) on Saturday. Long story short, Anderson’s osteoarthritic back problems saw him moved from an exit row seat (which he had a Twitter spit about) leading him to pace the aisle during the flight - something he said was “misinterpreted”. We wonder if Gruen will do one of those crisis management diagnostics on how he handled it? Probs not.

The trial of international megastar Bill Cosby for aggravated indecent assault has ended with no result. A mistrial was declared when jurors were unable to come to a unanimous decision after six days of deliberation: longer even than the case had taken to hear in court. The District Attorney said they would retry the case on the same charges. Cosby’s team said the trial took a great toll on him and his wife Camille, the latter of whom ripped the DA and media for their conduct.

AMAZON BUYS WHOLE FOODS
Have you wandered the wondrous aisles of Whole Foods in the States and wished we had it in Oz? Us too, we always try to stop in when we’re there. Fingers crossed it doesn’t change too much after Amazon announced on Friday it bought the food retailer for US$13.7 billion – it's far and away Amazon’s biggest acquisition yet. The deal helps Amazon improve their fresh food supply chain as it pushes further into the food space. And it’s that push that the market is watching – in fact, the news pushed WalMart, Kroger, Costco and Target’s share prices down. And analysts here reckon it makes Amazon a bigger threat to Australia’s retailers.

SUNSHINE COAST TAKE OUT NETBALL TITLE
The Sunshine Coast Lightning beat the Sydney-based Giants 65-48 in Saturday’s Super Netball final. The Lightning’s defensive effort and shooting was too much for the Giants. This is the first year of existence for both teams. Lightning coach Noeline Taurua said; “I’m stoked. Everybody has relocated to the Sunshine Coast and everyone came on a dream. For us to be able to pull it together is amazing.” Well done ladies! We dips our lid.

SQUIZ THE DAY

ABS Data Release - New Car Sales, May

5th anniversary of Julian Assange's asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London

World Sauntering Day