Squiz Today – Thursday, 14 December

SQUIZ SAYINGS

“I once got lost backstage leaving my dressing room and the opera started without me.”

You'd think a soprano as poised as Penelope Mills would never miss her cue. Turns out she's as discombobulated as the rest of us. She’s a Sydney Opera House regular and singer of great note (geddit?). Please give Penelope’s Three Minute Squiz a generous standing ovation.

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KAREN RISTEVSKI’S HUSBAND CHARGED WITH HER MURDER

THE SQUIZ
Borce Ristevski, the husband of Melbourne woman Karen Ristevski, was yesterday arrested and charged with her murder. The case has maintained a high profile since her disappearance in June last year. A large search over many months (including an appeal by her friend, actor Samuel Johnson) eventually resulted in the discovery of her remains in bushland outside Melbourne in February. Borce’s lawyer yesterday said his client would plead not guilty to the murder charge.

WHAT HAPPENED?
There are a few versions. Borce told police she had left the family home in Avondale Heights on foot after a fight about money. Borce’s son from a previous relationship told the media he was aware the couple had talked about separating after 20 years of marriage. And Borce’s brother said Karen was alive and had fled overseas on a false passport. But police allege that 53yo Borce killed her. They have pieced together mobile phone data from both Ristevskis on the day she went missing, as well as footage of her car near where her body was found.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Borce will remain in custody until his case returns to court in April next year. You have to feel for their 21yo daughter Sarah who has been through a lot already. And Karen’s brother Stephen Williams said he was feeling emotional. "It is in no way a celebration, but just another stage in bringing my beautiful sister Karen the justice she so deserves,” he said.

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HOW TO GET AHEAD IN 2018

PRESENTED BY COMMTRACT

It's so easy to slide into Christmas and then all of a sudden it's Australia Day. If you have a bit of time up your sleeve in the first part of the year, Commtract's Pete McConnell has five tips to help you knock your communications priorities into shape.

Whether you're looking for campaigning, writing, internal comms, video content or specialised communications skills check out how Commtract can amplify your voice.

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SQUIZ THE REST

REPUBLICANS LOSE ALABAMA CONTEST
This is a pretty big deal in the US today, so we’ll make it real simple. The Republican Party suffered a significant electoral loss with Alabama – a “deeply red state” (aka usually Republican supporters) - voting for Democrat Doug Jones to fill one of its two Senate spots. Republican candidate Roy Moore had been embroiled in scandal during the campaign. It’s been characterised as a significant loss for US President Donald Trump who backed Moore. He won Alabama with 62% of the vote in the presidential election, and the loss has sent shockwaves through his Republican Party.

JOYCE AND ARDERN GO HEAD TO HEAD
Is there anything more undignified than our political leaders slugging out the serious issues like they’re in a schoolyard brawl? Recently reinstated Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce warned New Zealand the “stay away” from the issue of resettling Manus Island refugees during an interview on Kiwi radio. “If you’re going to talk to (other nations) at all, talk to them quietly and discreetly off the record, not via telephone and not via TV,” he said without even the slightest hint of irony. Kiwi PM Jacinda Ardern said Australia was being “overly sensitive” about the issue. So that relationship’s going well then…

CBA/AUSTRAC CASE TAKES NEXT STEP
The Commonwealth Bank has filed its defence to the anti-money laundering regulator’s legal action against it. Reports this morning say Oz’s biggest bank has made admissions on the late reporting of 53,000+ cash deposits of more than $10,000 that were put through its smart ATMs between 2012 and 2015. But there are some allegations it will fight. And AUSTRAC is expected to file more charges today. The matter will next be in court in March next year.

WINNING WORDS FOR 2017
Merriam-Webster's dictionary has announced its words of the year and the winner is… drumroll… feminism. It was a top referenced word throughout the year following a number of significant news events. If you want to look it up, the definition is here. The other words of note were ‘complicit’ (following a Saturday Night Live skit about Ivanka Trump); ‘recuse’ (following US Attorney General Jeff Sessions removing himself from any investigations into Hillary Clinton); and one of our favourites, ‘dotard’.

QUICK SPORTS NEWS UPDATE
Brisbane’s boxing world champion Jeff Horn successfully defended his WBO welterweight title last night. He beat the UK’s Gary Corcoran by a technical knockout in the 11th round. It’s expected Horn’s next fight will be against America's best pound-for-pound boxer (just say it like you know what it means…) Terence Crawford in Las Vegas next year.

This year’s Tour de France winner Chris Froome failed a drug test in September according to reports overnight. The Guardian investigated the 32-year-old and said he had double the permitted levels of the asthma medication salbutamol in his body during the Vuelta a Espana race. Froome says he’s done nothing wrong.

HUGE HAPPY FEET
This story had us at ‘human-sized penguins’. Sounds fab except the scientists say they would probably have been nasty-pasties. From 60 million-year-old fossilised skeletal remains found recently in New Zealand, these mega-penguins stood +1.7 metres (5’10” in the old scale) and probably weighed more than 100kg. The theory is they became extinct because they were hunted by whales and had to compete for food with sea lions. Maybe Jacinda Ardern has one tucked away somewhere to unleash on Barnaby Joyce…

SQUIZ THE DAY

ABS Data Release - Labour Force, November

European Union Council Meeting - on the agenda is Brexit and Catalonia's potential split from Spain

5th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in the US. Twenty of the 26 victims were aged between five and 10 years old.