Alister: The Southport Killer, Axel Rudakubana, was finally sentenced last week and put away for 52 years. Many are shocked he didn’t get a whole life order (imprisoned for life), even though he probably won’t ever be eligible for parole.

MERIDYTH: I’m one of those who are shocked! At the time of the crimes, he was just 9 days shy of his 18th bday. That’s a technicality! He was tried as an adult in an adult court. So why wasn’t a whole life order on the table? The law needs to be amended.

ALISTER: It was only a couple of years ago they lowered it to 18. That’s how Lucy Letby, that nurse serial killer, got a whole life order. Rudakubana is serving the 2nd longest sentence in UK history! He’ll be 70 if he gets out, but given he’s a target for inmates and prisoners often die at a younger age, that’s a very big “IF.”

MERIDYTH: While you were jabbering away, I looked it up. Apparently, the UK is also bound by international laws that prohibit anyone under-18 to be imprisoned for life. So there’s that to contend with, again based on a technicality! My heart breaks for the families of those 3 little girls.

ALISTER: It’s a devastating loss. There aren’t words for it. But, the case has been referred to the Attorney General as being “unduly lenient.” By the way, remind me never to get on your enemies list.

🇬🇧 No squabble required

🔪 ID please! In light of Southport, retailers will now need to verify age before selling any knives, even online. With knife crimes on the rise, the gov’t is cracking down on its access. So get your ID ready before clicking “Buy” on that Wüsthof chef’s knife!

🏠 Boulevard of broken dreams. Almost three-quarters of councils expect to stop or delay new housing projects. 93% of councils’ housing budgets are already facing financial stress. But the gov’t is confidently pushing ahead with its promise to deliver 1.5 million homes. 🤔🤨

✈️ More runways? In next week’s speech to talk about UK growth, the gov’t is expected to throw support for the proposed 3rd runway at Heathrow and endorse expansion at Gatwick and Luton airports. Great for travellers and businesses, not so much for local residents and climate activists.

🪑 Wait, whose side are you on? In a surprise move, the current gov’t (usually known as pro-worker & -regulation) forced out the CMA chair to bring in someone more in favour of encouraging growth. The Competition & Markets Authority is one of many independent UK regulators, who are being scrutinised as potentially inhibiting that growth. 🤔🤨

🌎️ The rest of the world… according to us

🇧🇾 Europe’s “last director.” In Belarus, the presidential election was held yesterday, but in name only. Alexander Lukashenko is the de facto ruler for a 7th term, despite not bothering to campaign. Even the EU announced the “democratic” process as a farce.

🇩🇪 Elon’s guest appearance. Musk surprised far-right audiences at an AfD rally in Germany. Via video, he urged them to leave behind “past guilt,” blamed multiculturalism for “diluting everything,” and praised the party as the “best hope for Germany.” (This is depressing.)

🇪🇬🇯🇴 Do as I say, not as I do. Trump has asked Egypt and Jordan to let in tens of thousands displaced Palestinians, who have been blocked from returning to Gaza. Hamas has been accused of breaching the ceasefire. So Israel has closed down all checkpoints to enter the city.

🍊 Trump Watch: Week 1

We’ve dedicated a special section to Trump’s “reign” in America. And his 1st week in office has been a doozy with a flurry of executive orders. The BBC has a great video summary, but here are a few we’ve chosen to share:

🛫 Huge-est deportation in U.S. history. In a mass deportation programme, military aircrafts were used to fly illegal immigrants out of the country. Mexico refused to allow a plane to land (due to “admin” error), while Colombia who said ‘no por favor’ unless proper protocols are agreed, will now face tariffs and sanctions.

🔍️ Is ‘The Grassy Knoll’ conspiracy true? JFK’s assassination, along with RFK’s and MLK’s will be declassified. Whilst it might have researchers and theorists excited, others have questioned the value this will bring.

🇬🇱 But I really really want it! Even after the Danish PM rejected the request to buy Greenland, Trump remains confident he’ll get it. What’s more… according to Danish intelligence, a forged document created by Russia in 2019 may have fuelled Trump’s belief that Greenland wants to be part of the U.S.

🍎 Part of your ‘5 A Day’

🥚 Growing your own egg & sperm. The technology to grow eggs and sperm in a lab may be here sooner than you think. Lab-grown eggs have already been used to create healthy mice. Technology for human in-vitro gametes (eggs & sperm) may be potentially available within the decade.

🍷 Legally drink this illegal wine! Brexiteers have something to shout about. A wine banned in the EU is now available in the UK. What makes it illegal? A mix of EU and non-EU grapes. Go figure! You can find both at The Wine Society, called Hemispheres Red and Hemispheres White.

🧦 The odd sock

🏆️ Excel World Championship. Think you’re a freak in the (excel) sheets? In an intense 40-minute competition, contestants were tasked with solving Excel spreadsheet puzzles. The $5,000 prize winner? A Toronto-based financial consultant. Makes sense.

🚽 A knight in shining porcelain. It’s not just you. Public loos are disappearing. Even local cafes and bars, who had opened their toilets to the public, are now adding padlocks. Local councils under financial pressure are asking the gov’t to spend a penny to save our pants.

📱 Oops, our bad! Facebook (Meta) seems to have automatically set user accounts to follow and like Trump’s page, while Instagram (also Meta) has been accidentally hiding “#democrat” search results. Meta has denied it was on purpose.

⭐️ Recommendations

from Meridyth

Anyone else have issues sleeping through the night? I certainly do. I wake up multiple times! 😫 Is it age? Hormones? Diet? Too much screen time before bed? I’ve got no clue.

So a colleague gave me This Works Deep Sleep Pillow Spray. Cue extreme scepticism. But I went from waking up 6-7 times at night to now just 1-2 times. It’s crazy… I can finally get my beauty sleep!!! 😴💤 (Alister: Did you really write that hoping I wouldn’t make a joke about it? You’re lucky I’m nice.)

This Works sells a 125ml bottle directly on its site for £30. But if you don’t want to commit to a large bottle, Amazon sells a 75ml bottle for £18. You might even find it cheaper at your local TK Maxx. Happy restful sleeping!

🤣 What do you meme? 

SNL’s Founding Fathers

It’s been a tough week. We’ve survived Blue Monday, The Traitors finale, and Trump’s 1st week in office, which may have left some of you (like Alister) feeling down.

So, here’s Saturday Night Live’s opening sketch that might turn that frown upside down.

The bit about the “pull out method” had me snickering… 😅

Whew, you made it!

Back to the Monday grind. Need a light-hearted moment to get you through the week until our next squabble? Enjoy this Wallace & Gromit acapella interlude!

Alister & Meridyth