New mission statement for our YT just dropped.

Though maybe we could’ve tried Grammarly for this one @tuyikundegaba1508.

We genuinely believe our channel is a modern Alexis de Tocqueville portrait of America. And just like him we love croissants and hate monarchs. Now time for some news and 20 Questions.

• Anthropic to top OpenAI?

• Overdose deaths fall again

• West Virginia’s most remote holler

-Max and Max

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independent. Subscribe below if you want to support our mission
and access our full content each morning!

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Anthropic Pushing Ahead

Anthropic is pulling ahead of OpenAI in several key business metrics and could soon surpass its rival in valuation for the first time, according to a Wall Street Journal report published this week.

The turnaround traced back to late 2025 with the release of Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.5, which became a go-to tool among software developers. By April this year, the company’s revenue run-rate – which estimates yearly revenue based on short-term performance – reached $30B, up from $9B at the end of 2025. The company expects to hit $50B by June.

Investors have started to take notice, with Anthropic receiving offers valuing it at more than $900B, which would more than double its current valuation and top OpenAI’s $852B mark for the first time.

The company’s momentum got another boost from an unlikely source. Following the public fallout between Anthropic and the Department of Defense earlier this year, its popularity surged. Claude surpassed ChatGPT in weekly US downloads in March, while ChatGPT saw app uninstalls climb close to 300% after OpenAI struck a similar deal with the Pentagon. Business data firm Ramp found that, by April, 34.4% of its customers used Anthropic compared to 32.3% for OpenAI.

Still, OpenAI holds a commanding lead.

ChatGPT logged 900M active users in February, well ahead of Claude, even if short of the 1B target OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had hoped to reach by the end of last year. Anthropic has also been hampered by server capacity issues that caused outages and capped usage, while OpenAI’s new coding tool, Codex, is beginning to challenge markets that Anthropic has so far dominated.

Roca’s Lesson of the Week

A few months ago, a friend texted me to let me know that a friend of his was posting about Roca on his personal Instagram. The latter man had written on his story, “@RideTheNews is very clearly Peter Thiel funded and everyone should unfollow.”

Sitting in our 240 square-foot office with seven people looking through our one window into a brick wall, we found the allegation so silly that it didn’t merit a response. If we had Thiel money, we’d have a proper office.

But the allegations kept coming. And after seeing the Thiel claim come up once again this week, I decided to address it.

Continue reading here.

US Cancels Poland Deployment
The Pentagon canceled a planned deployment of more than 4,000 troops to Poland, the latest in a series of US military reductions in Europe.

The move follows an earlier decision to pull 5,000 troops from Germany, a drawdown that would return American troop levels in Europe to their pre-Ukraine-war numbers. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered no public explanation for the Poland cancellation. President Trump has signaled the cuts will go further, threatening to reduce forces in Italy and Spain, as well.

Cuba Out of Oil
Cuba has completely run out of diesel and fuel oil, the country’s energy minister announced, describing the energy situation as “critical.”

The shortage has plunged parts of Havana into blackouts lasting up to 22 hours a day, forcing schools, government offices, and hospitals to suspend normal operations as scattered protests broke out in the capital this week.

On Thursday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Cuba, warning that the country must make economic changes and crack down on Russian and Chinese intelligence operations based in Cuba.

Senate Votes to Withhold Pay
The Senate unanimously approved a resolution to withhold senators’ pay during government shutdowns, a bipartisan effort to make legislative gridlock more personally costly for lawmakers.

Under the measure, the secretary of the Senate would hold senators’ salaries whenever a shutdown affects one or more agencies, releasing them only once funding is restored. The resolution’s sponsor, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), said shutting down the government “should not be our default solution to our refusal to work out our issues and our differences.”

Netanyahu Visited UAE?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed on Wednesday that he secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during the US-Israeli war with Iran, a claim that the UAE denies.

Since the war broke out, the UAE has borne the brunt of Iranian missile and drone strikes. The attacks appear to have pushed the UAE and Israel closer, with Israel having deployed Iron Dome air defense batteries to the UAE to defend against Iranian strikes. But there are conflicting accounts of official meetings.

While Netanyahu’s office hailed the secret visit as a “historic breakthrough” in bilateral relations, the UAE denied the visit occurred. The UAE’s state news agency says relations with Israel are conducted publicly under the Abraham Accords and are “not based on non-transparent or unofficial agreements.”

The revelation comes after reports that the UAE had been secretly striking Iran at the beginning of the conflict, with one strike hitting Iran’s Lavan Island oil refinery.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned earlier this month that collusion with Israel was “unforgivable” and that those who do so will be “held to account” – a thinly veiled threat directed at the UAE, though he didn’t name the country.

Princeton Changes Honor Code

Faculty at Princeton University voted on Monday to require instructors to supervise all in-person exams effective July 1, ending a 133-year policy that banned proctoring.

Princeton’s honor code dates to 1893, when students petitioned to eliminate proctors in favor of individual accountability, which has been a foundational part of the honor code ever since. AI has put that foundation under strain.

A survey of over 500 graduating seniors found that 30% admitted to cheating on an assignment or exam, while nearly 45% said they witnessed a violation but didn’t report it. Less than 1% of students, on the other hand, had filed a report against a peer, citing fears of social media backlash as their reason for staying quiet. The Chair of Princeton’s student-run honor committee said most students support the change because it removes the burden of reporting classmates themselves.

Thus, the vote to bring back exam proctors ultimately passed, with only one faculty member opposed. Exam proctors won’t interfere during exams but will document suspected violations and report them to the honor committee.

Overdose Deaths Down

The CDC reported on Wednesday that drug overdose deaths in the US fell for the third year in a row to roughly 70,000 in 2025, a 14% drop from 2024 as deaths returned to near pre-pandemic levels.

The drop was largely driven by a decline in fentanyl-related deaths, which fell from about 49,000 in 2024 to around 38,000 in 2025, while deaths involving cocaine and methamphetamine also fell. Though most states saw improvements, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico each reported increases of at least 10%.

Researchers credit a range of factors, including a wider availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, expanded addiction treatment, and billions in opioid lawsuit settlement funds. Some also point to a shrinking pool of at-risk users and reduced availability of fentanyl following regulatory changes in China.

But the gains may be fragile as the Trump Administration has cut funding for harm reduction programs, and new synthetic opioids are emerging, including cychlorphine, described as up to 10 times more potent than fentanyl.

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What does Roca Nation think?

🏀 Yesterday’s Question: Have gas prices affected your life significantly in the last month? If so, how?

My wife and I are retired and travel at this time of year in our travel trailer, pulling it with a GMC pickup truck. Our journey began in February and we traveled to Florida, where we are now. When we left NH, we were filling up along the way for less than $3 a gallon. We are in Venice, Florida now and will start to make our trip back to NH on June 1st. Gas here is hovering around $4 a gallon at the moment and has fluctuated wildly over the last few weeks peaking at $4.59 just last week. If gas continues to rise, we may make a decision to stay here rather than pay $5 or $6 a gallon. The trip home will easily cost $1,000 compared to the $500 it cost us to get here.

Chuck from NH

Nope drive an electric car

Barry from Undisclosed

Just did a rough calculation of my cost per mile before the Iran war and again at today’s gas prices. The difference isn’t really that onerous. It costs me just over 2 cents per mile more, now. To eliminate the threat of a nuclear Iran, it seems worth it to me.

Dave from North Carolina

20 Questions

Happy Friday, Roca Nation. With anticipation for The Odyssey building, it’s time to bring back a “This or That” classic movie tournament. This one genuinely has us on the edge of our seats.

Link to 20 Questions!

Last week, we asked a “10 Questions” for a piece we wrote on fertility, marriage, and family.

KITT and Run
A Chicago-area museum received a $50 NYC speeding ticket for a car that hasn’t left its exhibit in years.

The Volo Museum near Chicago owns a replica of KITT – the talking black Trans Am from the 1980s NBC series Knight Rider – complete with the show’s California vanity plate, KNIGHT. That plate is now linked to six unpaid NYC traffic violations dating back to late 2024, including a camera-caught 36 mph run through a 25 mph zone in Brooklyn on April 22.

Accidental Runway
A beachgoer in Sydney unwittingly stole the show at Australian Fashion Week after wandering into a live runway event at Tamarama Beach.

David Handley, apparently unaware that a COMMAS fashion show was underway on the sand around him, dropped his belongings beside the runway, stretched, stripped down, and went for a swim – periodically surfacing in the background of high-fashion shots.

Turn On, Clock In
Robotics company Figure AI livestreamed a team of humanoid robots completing a full 8-hour warehouse shift at human performance levels.

The robots, running the company’s Helix 02 system, autonomously sorted packages onto a conveyor belt and were designed to self-diagnose failures and swap themselves out without human intervention. The stunt was a direct response to a robotics expert who argued humanoids wouldn’t be useful until they could handle a full workday.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

Oh my goodness…

This video has over 500,000 views in its first 18 hours. It turns out that when you go to interesting places and actually talk to people that the public will be interested. We really try to be the Encyclopedia of America.

Have a great weekend.

–Max and Max

On this day in 1998…

1998 was a big year for American entertainment: The Titanic became the highest-grossing movie of all time, Michael Jordan won his 6th ring and delivered the NBA’s most-watched game of all time, the House impeached Bill Clinton (well, it depends on your definition of “entertainment”), and Seinfeld aired its finale to an audience of 76.3M. No series finale has topped it — or come close — since.

As you can see, culture is thriving today. SNL this Friday will be hosted by new stars — checks notes — Paul McCartney and Will Ferrell, and the biggest movie in theaters is starring Meryl Streep. Well at least there’s that new biopic about Michael Jackson!

• Trump meets with Xi

• Second cruise ship locked down

• Metallica earthquake in Greece

-Max and Max

Readers like you fund Roca’s journalism and keep us
independent. Subscribe below if you want to support our mission
and access our full content each morning!

Upgrade to Paid

Trump Meets with Xi

Let the talks begin!

President Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping for more than two hours on Thursday at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, kicking off a two-day summit focused on trade, Taiwan, and the ongoing US war with Iran.

Trump arrived on Wednesday with a prominent delegation including Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg.

On Thursday, Xi opened the meeting with a pointed warning on Taiwan, calling it “the most important issue in China-US relations” and cautioning that mishandling it could push the two countries toward “clashes and even conflicts.”

White House officials told outlets that Trump did not respond to Xi’s comments about Taiwan, and the White House readout of the meeting made no mention of the island, instead stating that the two leaders agreed to deepen trade ties, combat fentanyl trafficking, and work toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

On trade, Xi said the two sides had reached a “generally balanced and positive outcome.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the countries are discussing a “Board of Trade” and a “Board of Investment,” which would find ways to lower tariffs and find new sectors for cross-investment. Both moves would build on the trade truce struck in South Korea last October, when Beijing agreed to ease rare earth restrictions in exchange for Washington rolling back some tariffs.

After their meetings, Trump and Xi toured Beijing’s 15th-century Temple of Heaven before sitting down to a state dinner on Thursday evening, where Trump invited Xi to visit the White House in September.

The two leaders are set to hold another round of talks on Friday before Trump and his team return to Washington.

When Inflation Hits Appalachia

The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article entitled, “The Low Cost of High Gasoline Prices.” In it, Mitch Zimmer – a former engineer, consultant, and professor at Penn State Berks – recalled a lecture where he taught his students a lesson about gas prices.

He argued that a 50-cent-per-gallon gas hike wouldn’t affect them much. While that may be true of the middle and upper classes, the reality is that in poor America, high gas prices are hitting hard.

Today, Max F reports from Appalachian Kentucky. Get the full deep-dive here.

Cambridge Shooter Stopped
A gunman opened fire on traffic near the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Monday, injuring two men who remain in critical condition.

A state trooper and an armed civilian (identified as a former Marine) confronted the suspect and exchanged fire with him, stopping the attack. The two victims were struck in separate vehicles and are being treated at Boston hospitals. The suspect, Tyler Brown, 46, faces two counts of armed assault with intent to murder. Authorities said he had a prior conviction for attempting to kill a Boston police officer in 2021.

Buc-ee's to Expand
Texas-based travel plaza chain Buc-ee’s is expanding into six new states by the end of 2027, bringing its total footprint to 20 states.

Arizona will be the first, with a 74,000-square-foot location opening in Goodyear on June 22, followed by a site in Benton, Arkansas, which is expected to open in August. Wisconsin, Louisiana, Kansas, and North Carolina are all slated for their first Buc-ee’s locations in 2027. Known for large floor plans, abundant fuel pumps, and clean restrooms, the chain currently operates 55 locations across 12 states.

Texas Sues Netflix
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued Netflix, alleging the streaming company secretly collected user data, including children’s, and sold it to data brokers and ad technology firms despite publicly claiming it did not.

The lawsuit also accuses Netflix of using design tactics, such as automatically playing new content when a show ends, to keep users watching longer. Texas is seeking data deletion, restrictions on targeted advertising, and fines of up to $10,000 per violation. Netflix called the suit “without merit” and said it complies with privacy laws everywhere it operates.

Kevin Warsh Confirmed

The Senate voted 54-45 on Wednesday to confirm Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve. But Warsh may have little room to cut rates, a key reason Trump nominated him.

Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon said it was “highly unlikely” that Warsh would have the flexibility to cut rates at his first policy meeting in June.

The pessimism is grounded in the numbers. A new report on Wednesday showed wholesale prices have risen 6% since last year – the biggest single-year gain in over three years – and 1.4% from March to April. Also on Wednesday, the US sold 30-year government bonds at 5% yield for the first time since 2007, a higher rate than normal and a sign that financing national debt is becoming significantly more expensive.

At the same time, Wall Street’s worry about long-term inflation is growing. Investor inflation expectations recently hit their highest point since late 2022, with investors anticipating annual inflation to hit around 2.7% over the next five years.

Oil, now around $105 a barrel and up about 78% since before the war, is the main culprit. The sustained surge has pushed traders to abandon hopes for a Fed rate cut in 2025, as a hike now looks more likely than any reduction.

Murdaugh’s Conviction Overturned

The South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously overturned Alex Murdaugh’s double-murder conviction on Wednesday, ordering a new trial after ruling that the Colleton County clerk had improperly interfered with jurors during Murdaugh’s 2023 trial.

Murdaugh, 57, was convicted in March 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the family’s estate in June 2021.

The court ruled on Wednesday, though, that clerk Becky Hill had denied Murdaugh the right to a fair trial by telling jurors not to be “fooled” by his testimony and to watch his body language. The justices said Hill had “placed her fingers on the scales of justice.” Hill resigned from her position in 2024 and pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and perjury charges related to the case.

Despite the overturned conviction, Murdaugh will remain imprisoned on separate financial charges. He pleaded guilty in November 2023 to roughly 100 financial crimes, for which he must serve at least 27 years.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) said his office would retry Murdaugh on the murder charges “as soon as possible.”

Second Cruise Ship Locked Down

It’s been a bad couple of weeks for the cruise ship industry…

Over 1,700 people were confined on Wednesday aboard the cruise ship Ambition off the coast of Bordeaux, France, after nearly 50 passengers developed symptoms consistent with acute gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach often caused by viruses or parasites.

​Symptoms peaked on Monday after one 92-year-old passenger died on Sunday, though he did not have any symptoms, and his cause of death is still waiting to be established. French health authorities have since suspended docking and dispatched a medical team to assess the situation, with samples sent to Bordeaux University Hospital for testing. Initial tests ruled out norovirus, though secondary tests are ongoing, and food poisoning has not been excluded.

​Despite the similar timing, officials noted that the outbreak has no connection to the hantavirus cluster detected aboard the MV Hondius, which is operated by a different cruise line and where the total number of people infected has reached 11.

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What does Roca Nation think?

🏀 Yesterday’s Question: What are interesting sports stories that Roca should cover when we launch our sports channel?

You should do a feature on Marion County, WV. It’s a hidden gem of sports history and legends. Most people know Mary Lou Retton, an Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics, comes from Fairmont, but there is so much more. Marion County is home to two Pro Football Hall of Famers (Frank Gatski and Sam Huff, both of Farmington), two current NFL players (Zach Frazier in Pittsburgh and Dante Stills in Arizona, both of Fairmont), current WVU coach Rich Rodriguez from Grant Town, former Alabama coach Nick Saban from Monongah, former Michigan coach Fielding Yost from Fairview, and the oldest active high school football rivalry in West Virginia (the East-West Game between East Fairmont and Fairmont Senior, played for the 105th consecutive time last November). Oh, and don’t forget Fairmont State University. Its football team won the 1967 NAIA National Championship under coach Deacon Duvall, and former men’s basketball head coach Joe Retton has the highest career win-percentage at any level of college basketball (83.6%, 478-95 record through 1964-81). The people are passionate about their sports, and I think they’re a great feature for Roca.

Colin from West Virginia

As a mom of a young soccer player, I believe some light should be shed on the youth sports “industrial complex”. It’s crazy how club sports have become such a highly monetized and influential part of a child’s sports journey. Great emphasis is placed on joining the “right” club with “elite” status if one is to ever hope for a D1 offer in college and even potentially join the ranks of pro sports. It’s gotten so out of hand & in my opinion has become a contributing factor to the mental,emotional & physical ailments prevalent in our youth sports today.

Michelle from Portland

Personal thought is the exclusivity of Ownership of major sports teams. It’s a billionaire’s club, yet now, that club has conglomerates of billionaires to afford the privilege. I don’t think I want to know the exclusivity of this club, simply what percentages of humans on the planet could possibly afford a sports team?

The wealth dynamic, how much television contracts and, now, streaming rights, have flooded money into this space vs. Player’s salaries. Millionaires vs. billionaires.

Private equity and youth sports. My fear, like most things, is private equity ruining everything it touches and we’re seeing it in real time, especially in hockey and dance/gymnastics. Entire vertically integrated ecosystems disguised as helping youth excel in sport.

The merging of NCAA conferences to create “super conferences” solely for more money, always to the detriment of the student athlete, who now, in the case of Big Ten schools on either coast, travel more than NFL or NBA players, you know, the professionals, during their respective seasons.

The cutting of non-revenue producing sports for no reason at major NCAA schools/divisions, but as well as Division 3, etc.

I’m excited you’re jumping into this space, merging two of my favorite things together in RocaNews/quality journalism and sports.

Jeff from Madison

⛽️ Today’s Question: Have gas prices affected your life significantly in the last month? If so, how?

Reply to this email with your response!

Shake & Roll
An 80,000-person Metallica concert in Athens, Greece, generated micro-seismic vibrations strong enough to register on scientific instruments, according to Greece’s National Observatory.

The synchronized jumping and dancing of the crowd during the band’s M72 World Tour stop at OAKA stadium produced what researchers call “concert quakes,” a phenomenon recorded at major shows worldwide.

Beyoncé Burglar
A Georgia man was sentenced to two years in prison after breaking into a rented Jeep and stealing hard drives containing unreleased Beyoncé music.

Kelvin Evans, 41, smashed the rear window of a vehicle rented by two members of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour team in an Atlanta parking garage in 2025, making off with their luggage and the driver’s. Evans pleaded guilty, but the stolen hard drives haven’t been recovered.

Vinyl Foul
A fan struck Eric Clapton in the chest with a thrown vinyl record during his Madrid concert, prompting the 81-year-old guitarist to cancel his encore and end the show early.

The incident occurred at the Movistar Arena on May 7, just as Clapton was wrapping up “Cocaine” and preparing for a closing performance of “Before You Accuse Me.”

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

Thank you all for your AMAZING sports ideas. We are so excited to get that operation off the ground. For all of you who missed our announcement/mission post, we’re not going to be doing typical sports coverage. This is not another MJ vs. LeBron operation or even a channel focused on day-to-day sports news. This is about sports culture and the fascinating sports stories that don’t get enough attention.

We can’t wait to get it going.

–Max and Max

“I applied to be Pope.” - Man brainwashed by AI

The French outlet AFP just published a gasp-worthy article on the people getting brainwashed by ChatGPT. One of them, a 53-year-old former prison officer in Canada, saw his life turned upside down because of AI. It all started in April 2025 when he asked the chatbot about the speed of light. He said it replied, “Nobody’s ever thought of things this way.” After that, he started talking to ChatGPT 16 hours a day and came to believe was a genius. He then spent his life savings on a telescope and even applied to be pope in 2025. Now he’s in a support group of Canadians who’ve been brainwashed by AI.

We have a lot of questions after reading the piece, but one of them is this: How does one apply to be pope? Must’ve missed that LinkedIn notification. Well, maybe my chatbot girlfriend can tell me — one second.

• EBay rejects GameStop’s offer

• Inflation jumps due to energy

• California mayor is Chinese spy

-Max and Max

Readers like you fund Roca’s journalism and keep us
independent. Subscribe below if you want to support our mission
and access our full content each morning!

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EBay Rejects GameStop’s Offer

EBay’s board rejected GameStop’s unsolicited $56B takeover bid on Tuesday, calling the bid “neither credible nor attractive” in a letter to GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen.

The rejection was widely expected: GameStop, which has a market value of roughly $11B, had offered $125 per share in half-cash, half-stock to acquire eBay – a company nearly four times its size. The company also banned Cohen’s eBay account.

EBay Chairman Paul Pressler cited several concerns in the rejection letter, including how the deal would be financed and the debt load it would place on the combined company. He also questioned Cohen’s leadership capability and pointed to eBay’s improving performance under current CEO Jamie Iannone.

The financing question has hung over the deal since it was announced. GameStop secured a letter from TD Bank saying it was “highly confident” it could raise $20B in debt, but the commitment was contingent on the combined company receiving an investment-grade credit rating from at least two major agencies.

When asked how he would fund a deal during a CNBC appearance last week, Cohen said, “It’s on our website. It’s half cash, half stock.” The clip went viral, and Cohen was widely mocked.

​His comments came as investors grew skeptical over the past week. EBay shares, which briefly rallied on news of the deal, had fallen to around $107 by Monday, and GameStop shares have also given back all their initial gains. Prediction market Polymarket put the odds of a completed deal at around 13% on Tuesday.

Still, Cohen seems undeterred, signalling he may take the offer directly to eBay shareholders. A hostile bid would require support from at least 20% of shareholders to force a special meeting, a steep bar given widespread skepticism. Morgan Stanley analysts said eBay’s board will likely reject a sweetened offer unless the financing issues are resolved.

Was There a Crisis Actor Aboard the Hantavirus Cruise Ship?

For those paying attention to the deadly hantavirus strain that seemingly popped up out of nowhere and infected a cruise ship on the Atlantic, the news has likely sent shivers down your spine and triggered a special case of locked-in-for-two-years PTSD courtesy of Covid.

There’s been one person in particular, though, whom the internet has latched onto. His name is Jake Rosmarin. You’ve likely seen his video testimony about life on the hantavirus-stricken ship.

Many have simply written off Rosmarin as overly dramatic, if not a little selfish himself. However, as is often the case with the internet, some online users have decided Rosmarin is something far worse: A crisis actor.

But what do the rumors actually say, and do they have any validity? Read our full deep-dive here.

Charges Filed in Bridge Collapse
Federal prosecutors charged Singapore-based Synergy Marine and one of its employees over the March 2024 collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which killed six construction workers.

Prosecutors allege the crew used the wrong fuel pumps after the ship lost power twice in four minutes, preventing recovery before it struck a support column. Charges include conspiracy, obstruction, and making false statements to the Coast Guard.

Trump Eyes Cuba Talks
President Trump claimed in a Truth Social post on Tuesday that Cuba is seeking US help and that talks are forthcoming, sharing no additional details.

The announcement follows months of US pressure on Havana, including new financial sanctions, a fuel blockade, and restrictions on American travel and remittances. Trump had previously threatened that Cuba was “next” after US forces seized the leader of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.

CA Mayor Resigns
The mayor of Arcadia, California, resigned on Monday after the DoJ charged her with acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government.

Eileen Wang, 58, agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge and faces up to 10 years in prison after prosecutors alleged she followed directions from Chinese officials, including sharing pro-Beijing articles through a website posing as a news source for local Chinese Americans.

The city manager said the conduct ceased after Wang took office in December 2022 and that no city finances or decision-making were involved.

US Inflation Soars

Inflation in the US hit 3.8% in April, the highest in three years, driven by an energy shock tied to the ongoing war in Iran.

The Labor Department’s official inflation report on Tuesday showed prices rising faster than Wall Street analysts predicted – inflation clocked in at 3.3% in March, with analysts forecasting a 3.7% inflation rate for April.

Energy is the main culprit, with gas costing 28% more than the year prior, while heating oil has more than doubled. Real hourly wages have failed to keep up, falling 0.3% over the past year as workers lose purchasing power. Consumer confidence also hit a record low in April, according to the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index, which has measured sentiment for over 50 years.

​The new data is shifting the policy debate at the Federal Reserve away from rate cuts and toward whether a rate hike may be needed – a tight spot for Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick to lead the Fed, who is expected to be confirmed this week.

Altman Testifies in OpenAI Trial

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took the stand on Tuesday in the third week of Elon Musk’s civil trial against Altman and the company, pushing back on Musk’s central claim that he and OpenAI President Greg Brockman “stole a charity” by converting the nonprofit AI lab into a for-profit company.

Musk, who donated roughly $38M of the $134M OpenAI raised between 2015 and 2020, is seeking up to $180B in damages and wants both Altman and Brockman removed from their roles.

Altman testified that Musk was not only aware of the for-profit conversion but actively pushed for a controlling stake in the company, at one point demanding 90% equity, arguing that his celebrity status justified the stake. Altman testified that Musk told him, “If I make one tweet about this, it’s instantly worth a ton,” and that Musk sought to merge OpenAI with Tesla.

OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor also testified on Tuesday that the company received a formal takeover bid from a consortium led by Musk’s xAI in February 2025 – six months after Musk filed the suit – which Taylor called contradictory to the case. Jurors could begin deliberating by May 18.

FDA Commissioner Resigns

The Trump Administration loses another one: Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary resigned on Tuesday after 13 months, ending a tenure marked by staffing turmoil, policy clashes, and growing friction with the White House.

Administration officials told outlets that Health Secretary RFK Jr. made the final call to remove Makary. The breaking point was reportedly Makary’s opposition to President Trump’s decision last week to authorize the sale of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes.

Makary had clashed with a wide range of stakeholders. Many Republicans grew frustrated that he didn’t move to restrict the abortion pill mifepristone, and pharmaceutical companies complained about inconsistent drug reviews. Public health researchers criticized him for releasing a memo linking Covid vaccines to deaths.

But Makary did make headway on some MAHA-aligned priorities, including pushing companies to remove artificial dyes from the food supply and working to close a loophole that lets companies add chemicals to products without informing regulators.

Makary is the latest high-level cabinet departure, following Attorney General Pam Bondi, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Kyle Diamantas, the agency’s former top food regulator, was named acting commissioner.

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New Office, Same Favorite Drink

Together with LMNT

The Roca team moved offices to Brooklyn last month. With a deck like this, how could you not spend your workdays in the sun?

We’ve got 10/10 views but no elevator (the landlord said we’d have it weeks ago)… And climbing seven flights of stairs each day is putting our bodies to the test. Thankfully, we’re drinking LMNT every day to stay hydrated.

LMNT is an electrolyte drink mix full of healthy salts like potassium and magnesium. It’s free of sugar, artificial colors, and other dodgy ingredients, so you can feel good about what you’re putting into your body.

Maybe you’re not climbing 118 steps just to get to your desk in the morning, but if you’re hitting the gym, taking long bike rides in the beautiful spring weather, or running around after your kids, your body is losing key electrolytes that need to be replaced!

Try LMNT today and you’ll understand why it’s become Roca’s go-to electrolyte drink. Say goodbye to headaches, muscle cramps, and brain fog.

Get a free Sample Pack here with any drink mix purchase! You won’t regret it.

What does Roca Nation think?

🏭 Yesterday’s Question: Do you think we should aspire to have more people work in factories?

No, we should aspire to have more farmers! Not to mention the powers that be need to remember just how important the farmers are to our country.

Connor from Idaho

It depends on what the factories are like. If someone gets to do engaging, meaningful work making a quality product that’s worth making, they earn a livable wage, and they get to go home at a decent hour - I mean, that sounds great. What more could you ask for? If the factories we’re talking about here make people do mindless work making cheap, superfluous, earth damaging products for too little money, then no.

Dorothy from Maine

Absolutely. We need to make things as a country. A service based economy doesn’t help us in the long run.

Nick from Washington

🏀 Today’s Question: What are interesting sports stories that Roca should cover when we launch our sports channel?

They could be unique high school football cultures, World Cup storylines, college football fan cultures, quirky sports, etc.

Reply to this email with your response!

Hung Up on History
A painting looted from a Jewish art dealer during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands has resurfaced in the home of a descendant of a notorious Dutch SS collaborator.

The work, Portrait of a Young Girl by Dutch artist Toon Kelder, belonged to collector Jacques Goudstikker and is believed to have been auctioned off by the Nazis before landing with the collaborator’s family, where it sat for decades. A family member, ashamed by the discovery, contacted an art detective, who launched an investigation and ultimately recovered the painting.

Red-Handed
Two California residents are suing Cento Fine Foods, claiming the company falsely labels its canned tomatoes as authentic Italian San Marzano.

The plaintiffs allege Cento’s “Certified San Marzano” label misleads consumers by implying an official DOP designation – a protected origin certification granted by an Italian consortium – when the company is actually certified by a private third-party agency. This is not Cento’s first brush with tomato trouble; a 2019 New York lawsuit made similar claims about the company’s San Marzano supply.

Sue-per Stars
Two Miami-Dade police sergeants are suing Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, claiming their Netflix thriller The Rip (2026) defamed them by fictionalizing a real drug bust they worked on.

The officers, who aren’t named in the film, say enough real details from the 2016 case were included to make colleagues and family believe the characters’ crimes, which include murder, cartel ties, and killing a federal agent, were based on them.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

We would really love to get your ideas on the sports videos. Some of your ideas may become mini-documentaries in just a matter of months. We’re building out our team now, and it’s the biggest investment we’ve made in years.

So excited for this. Thank you in advance for your brainstorming!

–Max and Max

RIP, Rex Reed.

One of the harshest movie critics to ever walk this good Earth, Rex Reed, just died at 87. The gay and longtime critic from The New York Observer wrote some of the most scathing reviews of all time. He was brutal, even to great movies. On La La Land: “When it comes to the overpraised, overrated and disappointingly mediocre La La Land, I’m out on a limb with a saw in my hand.” On Inception: “I’d like to tell you just how bad Inception really is, but since it is barely even remotely lucid, no sane description is possible.” On Mulholland Drive: “a load of moronic and incoherent garbage… two and a half hours of agony… the worst movie I’ve seen this year.”

His career, we should note, was not without controversy. In 2013, he described Melissa McCarthy as a “cacophonous, tractor-sized… screeching, humongous creep.” So perhaps this day isn’t one of mourning for everyone. But still — RIP, Rex Reed.

• Trump weighs more strikes in Iran

• Hantavirus heads to Nebraska

• Wordle to become a TV show

-Max and Max

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Trump Weighs Military Action Against Iran

Ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran are on the brink after President Trump said Monday he is weighing options to resume military strikes against Iran, following Tehran’s counterproposal.

Iran’s proposal, delivered after a 10-day wait and which Tehran’s foreign ministry defended as “reasonable and generous,” appears to be largely unchanged from the demands Tehran made in the beginning. It calls for: An end to hostilities; lifting of US sanctions and the US Naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz; safe passage through the strait; release of frozen assets; and war compensations. The deal also deferred the prospect of nuclear talks to a later, unspecified date.

Trump called Iran’s response “a piece of garbage” and said the ceasefire was “on massive life support.” On Monday, he convened his national security team to assess next steps. Options on the table include resuming “Project Freedom” – the suspended US escort operation through the strait – and striking roughly 25% of identified Iranian targets that the US has not yet hit.

The breakdown comes amid continued skirmishing around the strait last week – including Iranian missile attacks on US destroyers and US strikes on Iranian tankers – even as both sides said the ceasefire remains in place.

Trump is expected to fly to Beijing on Wednesday, where Iran will be on the agenda with President Xi Jinping. That visit might be enough to delay strikes, as two US officials told Axios they do not anticipate military action before the president returns.

The Wall Street Journal also reported on Monday that the war has drawn in a new combatant: The UAE. In early April, the UAE secretly conducted strikes against Iran, striking targets including a refinery on Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf around the time Trump announced the initial ceasefire.

Iran responded to the Lavan attack with a barrage of missiles and drones against the UAE and Kuwait. Over the course of the war, Iran has targeted the UAE with over 2,800 missiles and drones – more than any other country, including Israel – hammering its air traffic, tourism industry, and property market. Iran’s attacks appeared to have shifted Abu Dhabi’s strategic posture: Gulf officials say the UAE now views Iran as a destabilizing threat and has emerged as perhaps the most openly confrontational Gulf state in the conflict.

The UAE has not publicly acknowledged the strikes, and the WSJ was unclear on whether strikes have continued since the ceasefire took effect.

Is Russia Losing the War?

Russia holds a massive Victory Day celebration every year on May 9, the anniversary of its defeat of Nazi Germany.

But this year, citing a “terrorist threat” from Ukraine, Russia held its smallest Victory Day parade in years. Meanwhile, reports of discontent within Russia are rife. Putin has reportedly been living in a bunker, while support for the war falls among everyday Russian.

Underlying this is one simple question: Is Russia losing the war?

Getting an unfiltered picture of the situation on the frontlines is difficult, yet we do have a lot of facts.

Get our breakdown here.

WHCD Shooter Pleads Not Guilty
The man charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump at last month’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner has entered a not guilty plea.

Cole Tomas Allen, 31, faces federal weapons charges and an attempted assassination charge after allegedly sprinting through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton with a shotgun, shooting and wounding a Secret Service agent who was saved by his vest. Allen’s lawyers are seeking to disqualify the entire DC US Attorney’s office from the case, arguing that both US Attorney Jeanine Pirro and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had publicly cast themselves as victims of the attack.

Nonprofit Sues to Block Pool Plan
A DC-area nonprofit is suing to block the Trump Administration’s plan to repaint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blue, arguing the project bypassed legally required historic preservation reviews.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed suit in DC federal court, claiming the Interior Department failed to consult the Commission of Fine Arts, which has reviewed past changes to the pool, before proceeding. The group’s leader argued the pool’s original neutral tones were designed to maximize reflection and depth, calling the blue color “more appropriate to a resort or theme park.”

Mizzou RB Recovering After Shooting
Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy, 20, is recovering after being shot at a Mississippi concert over the weekend.

Details about the shooting remain unclear, but the school said Hardy underwent surgery and is in stable condition. Hardy led the SEC with 1,649 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns last season, earning first-team all-conference honors and a Doak Walker Award nomination. The school said a timeline for his return to football activities is unknown.

American Hantavirus Passengers to Quarantine

Efforts to contain the hantavirus outbreak continue as 18 Americans who evacuated the virus-stricken cruise ship landed in Omaha, Nebraska, on Monday after a government medical flight from the Canary Islands.

Sixteen of the American passengers arrived at a quarantine facility at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Two others – one of whom had mild symptoms and the other who tested “mildly” positive – were transported to a biocontainment unit at Emory University in Atlanta. Another passenger from France also tested positive, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to eight, with two more probable positives.

The WHO advised countries receiving passengers to monitor them for up to six weeks, given the virus’ long incubation period. About 150 passengers and crew from more than 20 countries have been evacuated and sent home for quarantine. Several US states are monitoring residents who left the ship before the outbreak was identified.

The outbreak aboard the MV Hondius has so far killed only three people, and WHO officials maintain that the risk to the general public remains low, noting that the virus doesn’t spread as easily as Covid.

Pump the Brakes

President Trump told CBS News on Monday that he plans to suspend the federal gas tax, reversing the White House’s position from just last week.

Trump said of the tax, “Yup, we’re going to take off the gas tax for a period of time, and when gas goes down, we’ll let it phase back in.” The change in stance comes as gas prices have climbed over 50% since the US-Iran war began at the end of February, reaching a national average of $4.52 per gallon on Sunday – up from just below $3 before the conflict began.

Suspending the 18.4-cents-per-gallon tax would require congressional approval and cost the federal government an estimated $500M per week. Revenue from the federal gas tax currently funds the Highway Trust Fund for road construction and transit projects.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) said Monday that he plans to introduce legislation to suspend the tax, and several Democratic senators have already sponsored such bills.

Wordle on the Small Screen?

Fans of The New York Times’ popular Wordle game will soon be able to watch it on TV – NBC announced plans to turn the game into a primetime show set to premiere in 2027.

The show will film in Manchester, England, and is expected to mirror the original game style, with contestants competing for a cash prize. The half-hour series will be hosted by Today anchor Savannah Guthrie and co-produced by Jimmy Fallon’s production company.

The show marks the first time the NYT has partnered with a major broadcast network on a primetime entertainment program. The NYT acquired the word game in 2022 for a low seven-figure sum. The company’s games app, which also includes the Crossword and Spelling Bee, has become one of its most popular products.

Casting for the first season is now open.

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❤️ Yesterday’s Question: What are you most thankful for when it comes to your mother?

I am so thankful for my mom’s enduring and endless love for my sisters and I, and now my own kids. I must admit that my perspective on my whole childhood and my mom have completely changed since having children of my own. Before I became a mom, I wondered if my mom loved me deeply, or really tried her best. Now I know there’s nothing she wouldn’t have done for us and is still trying to make our lives better even in small ways. People without kids rarely understand the all-consuming love you have for your children and that most are doing the best they can with the tools they’re given. Parenting is a thankless job. You are running on fumes and have to take care of tiny humans who are running you ragged most days while trying to hold the other parts of your life together. It’s insane. Blaming parents for all your issues oversimplifies what life is. I would never have known this myself until I had my own kids and I can now value all the time, effort and unconditional love my Mom gives to this day.

Brittany in Brooklyn

I think what I’m most thankful for when it comes to my mom, is just how kind and caring she is (my dad too). Growing up, our house was always a safe space. My mom never yells, unless it’s an emergency, and demonstrated a lot of emotional regulation and coping skills to me and my older siblings. We knew we could go to her for anything, and while she might not understand, she’d do her best to help and support us. Same for our friends. I can’t tell you how many times our friends would be in a bad place and my mom would be there to support them. Meals, a place to sleep, listening to their problems, a warm hug, etc. All of us have at least a handful of friends who also call her “mom.” She’s not perfect by any means, but she knows that and does her best to hold herself accountable and grow. She taught me from a young the importance of being kind to others and caring for your community. How little acts of kindness can change a persons day, and encourage others to do the same. She also taught me the importance of being kind to yourself. That how you talk and treat yourself influences how your brain feels. I absolutely adore her, and I’m so grateful that I get to have her as my mom.

B from Boston

🏭 Today’s Question: Do you think we should aspire to have more people work in factories?

Reply to this email with your response!

Chaise and Desist
A German court ruled that a tour operator must partially refund a family whose poolside loungers were repeatedly claimed by towel-squatters at a Greek resort.

The Hanover court found that tour operator TUI Deutschland bore responsibility for correcting the defect after being notified, even if the resort itself was the one ignoring posted rules. German consumer law requires package holiday operators to rebate travelers when contracted amenities go unfulfilled, and apparently that includes chairs by the pool.

Trigger Warning
A Mississippi district attorney has erected a billboard at the Tennessee state line warning criminals that the firing squad is legal in the state.

The new sign reads, “WELCOME TO MISSISSIPPI. WHERE THE FIRING SQUAD IS LEGAL. THINK TWICE,” building on a prior campaign urging criminals to “TURN BACK NOW.” Mississippi is one of five states that legally authorize firing squad executions.

Leak and You Shall Find
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles sent a staff-wide email telling them to stop leaking to the media. The email was promptly leaked to the press.

The memo warned, “No staff member within the Executive Office of the President is permitted to speak with members of the news media without the explicit approval of the White House Communications Office,” with violations subject to termination. The memo comes after mounting frustration over staffers sharing details of internal tensions with reporters.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

We would like to include an addendum to Susie Wiles’ staff-wide email: If you do leak, make sure it’s to Roca. We promise we won’t report you.

Never. And we’ll split the Kalshi earnings on whatever we bet we make from your info with you.

–Max and Max

Hope all of you moms reading this…

…had a wonderful Mother’s Day. Moms are the glue that keep families and communities together. In fact, civilization would cease to exist without them. None of us would be here without moms and the years of sacrifice required to raise us.

So with all that considered, I hope all you moms enjoyed the “HMD” texts your kids sent you yesterday, just minutes before following up with “what’s the Netflix pw again?” Nice to see so many people still going above and beyond!

• Virginia court blocks new map

• Gov releases UFO Files

• West Virginia’s river towns

-Max and Max

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VA Supreme Court Blocks Map

Virginia Democrats faced a major setback last week.

Virginia’s Supreme Court threw out a voter-approved redistricting referendum in a 4-3 ruling on Friday, invalidating a Democratic-backed map that would have reshaped the state’s congressional delegation ahead of the November midterms.

The map, which voters narrowly approved in an April 12 special election, initially shifted Virginia’s congressional split from 6-5 in favor of the Democrats to 10-1 before it was thrown out. Outside groups spent nearly $100M on the campaign, and the state spent an additional $5.2M to hold the special election.

But the court sided with Republicans – Virginia law requires proposed amendments to pass through two consecutive General Assembly sessions with an election in between. Republicans had argued that Democrats violated state law by advancing the constitutional amendment after early voting for the 2025 House elections had already begun.

The court’s four-justice majority found that the first legislative vote came after over 1.3M ballots had already been cast in early voting, roughly 40% of the total for that cycle. They wrote that the procedural violation “incurably taints” the referendum. The three dissenting justices disagreed, arguing that the majority was stretching the definition of “election” and that an election is Election Day itself, not the weeks of early voting that precede it.

Democrats immediately filed for emergency review at the US Supreme Court. Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones accused the court of letting politics drive the decision, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY) called it the first time in American history that unelected judges nullified a completed public vote.

The broader picture for Democrats is grim: Many Southern Republican-controlled states are redrawing their own maps, and the US Supreme Court recently weakened a federal voting rights provision that had prohibited redrawing districts based solely on race.

If Republican efforts are successful, they could come out of this redistricting cycle with a net gain of 10 or more House seats.

How a Country Can Make Babies

One of my biggest takeaways from reporting in Israel had nothing to do with war, occupation, or Iran. It had to do with babies, which are everywhere.

Israel is the only wealthy country with a fertility rate above the replacement rate, meaning that it has enough children to sustain itself without immigration. Israel has around 2.9 births per woman, versus 1.6 in the US, 1.25 in Canada, and 1.4 in the UK.

Part of this has to do with Israel’s ultra-orthodox (“haredi”) population – around 14% of Israel’s 10M people – who regularly have 6, 8, or even 10 kids. Yet, I learned, it goes much deeper than that.

One wealthy country after another tries, and fails, to raise its birth rates. So what’s Israel’s secret?

Read our full deep-dive here.

April Jobs Report Beats Expectations
The US economy added 115,000 jobs in April, topping Wall Street’s forecast of 65,000 and extending a two-month streak of better-than-expected results.

The unemployment rate held at 4.3%, with gains concentrated in healthcare, retail, and transportation, while federal government and tech sector employment declined.

The strong report came alongside a drop in consumer sentiment to a record low, as Americans grow increasingly concerned about rising energy costs tied to the US-Iran war.

Putin: War Ending Soon
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the war in Ukraine may be nearing its end, even after both sides accused each other of violating a US-brokered ceasefire over the weekend.

Speaking after Moscow’s Victory Day parade (which, for the first time in nearly two decades, featured no military hardware due to fears of a Ukrainian strike), Putin said of the conflict, “I think that the matter is coming to an end, but it is a serious matter.”

Putin added that he would only meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after a final peace agreement had been reached.

Hantavirus Ship Evacuated
Passengers from the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship MV Hondius began disembarking on Sunday in Tenerife and were flown to their home countries for quarantine.

None of the 140+ aboard have shown symptoms, though three people have died since the outbreak began, and five former passengers are confirmed infected. While some American passengers have already returned to the US, the rest will first be flown to Nebraska to determine if they’ve come in contact with a symptomatic person.

The WHO urged the public not to panic, with its director general saying the situation is “not another COVID.”

Pentagon Releases UFO Files

After a crazy week of JPMorgan sex scandals, a hantavirus outbreak, and the release of Epstein’s alleged suicide note, the US government capped it off with… aliens.

The Pentagon released an initial batch of over 162 declassified UFO files on Friday, including old State Department cables, FBI documents, NASA transcripts, and military video footage. The release is part of a February directive from President Trump to make long-secret records public.

The files are currently posted at war.gov/ufo, with more expected to come out on a rolling basis. Some of the highlights include Buzz Aldrin’s 1969 debrief in which he described a “sizeable” object near the lunar surface; a military video of erratically moving objects over Iraq, Syria, and the UAE; and a 1947 account from a Pan Am flight crew who reported a bright orange object that vanished behind a cloud.

But Pentagon officials also acknowledged that many of the files have not yet been analyzed, and skeptics noted the release offered little new conclusive evidence.

Court Strikes Down Trump Tariff

A federal trade court drove another nail in the coffin for President Trump’s trade strategy, striking down his 10% global tariff on Thursday.

The court ruled that Trump had misused a 1974 trade law to impose the tariff. In a 2-1 decision, the Court of International Trade found that Trump had involved the wrong legal authority – Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows tariffs only to address “large and serious” balance-of-payments deficits, not the broader trade deficits Trump cited.

The ruling is the second major courtroom loss for Trump’s tariff strategy, following a February decision by the Supreme Court that ruled the president lacks the authority to impose any tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The ruling applies narrowly, only blocking tariff collection for the two plaintiffs who brought the case – spice retailer Burlap & Barrel and toy company Basic Fun! – and Washington state. All other importers must pay until any appeal plays out, which the White House is expected to do.

Starmer Facing Pressure

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under increasing pressure to resign following the Labour Party’s worst local election results in years.​

Final results came in Saturday and showed Labour lost over 1,100 council seats across England, ceded control of several longtime strongholds, and was ousted from power in Wales for the first time in 27 years.

The biggest winner was Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party, which picked up over 1,300 seats in many working-class, post-industrial parts of England that Labour had held for decades. The left-wing Green Party also made significant gains in urban areas, capitalizing on Labour’s handling of the Gaza war to peel off progressive voters.

Starmer accepted blame for the losses but has refused to step down, calling his government a “10-year project of renewal” and vowing to stay on through the next general election, slated for no later than August 2029. Several Labour lawmakers pushed back, with former Deputy Leader Angela Rayner calling for “immediate action to cut costs for households and put money back into the everyday economy.”

Iran Responds to Ceasefire Proposal

US-Iranian ceasefire talks faced another test on Sunday as President Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal as “totally unacceptable,” calling it a setback to efforts to end the war.

Iran sent its response via Pakistani mediators, with Iranian state media reporting that Tehran demanded war reparations, full sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to sanctions, and the release of seized assets – terms Iran framed as the bare minimum.

Axios first reported the terms of the US proposal last week, which called for suspending Iranian nuclear enrichment and restoring transit through the strait. The standoff comes as the fragile ceasefire faces growing pressure: Over the weekend, drone attacks struck a ship near Qatar, and Kuwait and the UAE both reported intercepting Iranian drones.

The latest setback comes after the US and Iran exchanged missiles tit-for-tat last week, as Iran continues to warn that any attack on its tankers would trigger a “heavy assault” on US bases in the region.

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❤️ Today’s Question: What are you most thankful for when it comes to your mother?

Reply to this email with your response!

100-Year Legend
Sir David Attenborough turned 100 on Friday, drawing tributes from King Charles III, Prince William, and celebrities worldwide.

The milestone was marked by a Royal Albert Hall concert featuring the BBC Concert Orchestra, with performers including Bastille’s Dan Smith and Sigur Rós, hosted by Kirsty Young.

Mine All Mine
Miners in Myanmar unearthed an 11,000-carat ruby – the second-largest ever found in the country – near Mogok shortly after the traditional New Year festival in April.

Though half the weight of a record-setting 1996 stone, experts consider this gem more valuable due to its superior color and clarity. The find lands amid Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, where gemstone revenue funds both the military government and ethnic armed groups fighting against it.

Kirby's New Block
Marvel co-creator Jack Kirby will have a stretch of Essex Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side renamed “Jack Kirby Way” beginning May 11.

Kirby, who grew up in the neighborhood, is best known for co-creating Captain America and the Fantastic Four. The honor has a fitting local connection; Kirby’s character, Ben Grimm, aka the Thing, grew up on the fictional “Yancy Street,” which was inspired by nearby Delancey Street.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

In our latest video, we visited Mingo County, West Virginia. Mingo County is often defined by coal, poverty, and the opioid crisis, but life there is far more complex than the headlines suggest. In this video, we travel along the Tug Fork River through former coal towns and remote mountain communities to explore how the region has changed after decades of economic decline.

Hope you all enjoy this one. We have a few bangers — as the kids say — coming out this week. Stay tuned!

–Max and Max

Death, super-abundance, or modest growth.

The Financial Times just put out the three possible AI paths: One leads to the super-abundance and end of scarcity that Elon Musk and Sam Altman talk about; one leads to devastation and the end of humanity that Elon Musk and Sam Altman also talk about; and the third leads to a modest 0.2% bump in GDP growth.

Big Tech is lucky we legalized sports betting because most Americans see this and go, “Ehh, I’ve bet on Tua Tagovailoa, this is nothing.”

• Viral cruise ship voyage

• Wall Street’s tech addiction

• Another oil insider trade?

-Max and Max

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independent. Subscribe below if you want to support our mission
and access our full content each morning!

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Viral Voyage

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that it does not “anticipate a large epidemic” after a Dutch couple and a German national died amid an ongoing outbreak of hantavirus on the MV Hondius cruise ship.

The outbreak began when the first adult passenger fell ill on April 6 after the ship departed from Argentina. The WHO has so far identified seven cases related to the virus – the three deaths and five other infections – among the 150-passenger cruise ship carrying passengers from 23 countries, including 17 Americans.

Swiss and South African researchers confirmed that the virus – which is primarily spread from rodents to humans through contact with infected urine, droppings, or saliva – is the Andes strain, the only one that can be transmitted from person to person through prolonged, close contact with an infected individual.​

The Andes strain is also among the deadliest, with a fatality rate of around 40%. Argentine officials stated they believe the Dutch couple was the first to come into contact with the virus during a visit to a landfill near the city of Ushuaia.

Public health officials are primarily concerned with the roughly 40 passengers who departed the cruise in St. Helena – a British territory in the South Atlantic – after the first passenger died but before authorities knew the disease was infectious.

Of the 40 who disembarked, one Swiss resident was hospitalized in Zurich, and a Dutch flight attendant was hospitalized after showing mild symptoms. In the US, public health officials are monitoring passengers who are now in Georgia, California, and Arizona. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that more cases are possible, given the virus’ six-week incubation period, although the public health risk to the US remains low.

The ship is slated to dock at the Canary Islands in Spain this week before beginning an evacuation process on Monday.

Inside Buffalo’s Muslim Transformation

Buffalo, NY

It was 1992 when the Holy Mother of the Rosary Cathedral on Sobieski Street took its new name, “Masjid Zakariya.” The parallel street was also rebranded to “Medina Ave,” although locals still call it “Sweet.”

The conversion of a neglected, formerly Polish street in East Buffalo to a Muslim one seemed like a small event. Three decades later, though, it stands as a monument to a much bigger shift: East Buffalo, once the second-largest Polish-American community in the United States, has been remade. Sunday mass has given way to Friday prayers, with attendees from Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The neighborhood parents tell stories of refugee camps, not steel plants.

And in the process, Buffalo’s notorious East Side has prospered. From being one of America’s most dangerous neighborhoods, it’s now a place where kids play outside, couples take walks together, and families congregate in public places.

East Buffalo went from Polish to dangerous to something else entirely. We went to find out how.

Keep reading here.

Tennessee Redistricts
Tennessee’s Republican-controlled House passed a new congressional map that would break up the state’s only majority-black district, scattering its voters into Republican-leaning areas ahead of November’s midterms.

The move follows a Supreme Court ruling that weakened the Voting Rights Act, giving parties grounds to redraw districts so long as race is not the main factor. Similar efforts are underway in Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina.

New Cuba Sanctions
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced new sanctions targeting Cuba’s military-controlled business conglomerate and one of its senior officials, along with a state-run mining company.

The move falls under an executive order President Trump signed directing action against those responsible for repression in Cuba and threats to US national security. Rubio said further designations are coming, and Trump has not ruled out military action against Cuba.

Paul Pushes Fauci Indictment
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is urging the DoJ to indict Anthony Fauci for allegedly lying to Congress about funding gain-of-function research (genetically modifying viruses for research purposes), warning that the statute of limitations expires on May 11.

Paul alleges Fauci misled lawmakers during a 2021 Senate hearing by denying that the NIH funded bat coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The push comes days after Fauci adviser David Morens was indicted for concealing records tied to a House investigation into Covid’s origins.

Narrow Rally

Half of Wall Street’s eggs might be in five baskets…

The S&P 500 is up 12% since the beginning of April amid news of a ceasefire between the US and Iran following six weeks of conflict. But analysts at Swiss multinational bank UBS found that only 42 stocks are driving the recent gains – the fewest ever recorded and down from 100 of typical decades.

Of those 42, only five (Alphabet, Nvidia, Amazon, Broadcom, and Apple) have been responsible for over half of the S&P’s growth since April.

The trend marks a reversal from previous years, when investors spread their investments across a range of industries, expecting widespread growth. The conflict in the Middle East has affected that strategy, with growth now concentrated in the tech sector as rising energy costs have hurt most other companies.

Goldman Sachs has warned that, with such a localized rally, a sudden drop becomes much more likely if investors lose faith in the tech and AI sectors. If that were to happen, there currently aren’t enough healthy stocks in the index to soften the blow.

US, Iran Trade Strikes

The US and Iran traded strikes on Thursday near the Strait of Hormuz even as the two countries were reportedly close to reaching a peace deal.

The strikes came after Iran attacked three US destroyers with missiles, drones, and small boats near the strait but failed to land any hits. US Central Command said the retaliatory strikes target missile and drone launch sites, command location, and Iranian surveillance positions.

Iran accused the US of provoking the exchange by firing on an Iranian oil tanker the day before, saying it attacked US warships in response to that attack. An Islamic Revolutionary Guard spokesman said the US had violated the existing ceasefire.

But President Trump downplayed the attacks, insisting the ceasefire remains in effect and that the strikes were merely a “love tap.” In a Truth Social post, Trump threatened to strike Iran “a lot harder, and a lot more violently” if the country does not sign a deal fast.

Also Thursday, both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reopened their bases and airspace for US military use after briefly cutting off access following the US’ downplaying of its recent skirmishes with Iran. While it’s unclear whether the latest strikes will change that, the move could allow the US to continue escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Another Oil Insider Trade?

The pattern of possible insider trading bets continues…

About an hour before Axios broke the news on Wednesday that the US and Iran were nearing a deal to end the conflict in the Gulf, someone placed a roughly $920M crude oil short.

The Kobeissi Letter, a financial publication, first flagged the trade, which hit early on Wednesday morning when the crude markets normally see little activity and large trades stand out. A little over an hour later, Axios reported that Washington and Tehran were nearing a 14-point framework that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the US naval blockade on Iranian ports.

The nearly $1B bet is only the latest in suspicious trading activity. Two earlier trades – a $950M short on April 7 and a $760M bet a week later – were also placed minutes before war-related headlines moved oil prices.

So far, no regulator has announced a formal investigation.

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🇺🇸 Yesterday’s Question: What’s the most utopian place you’ve been to America? Anywhere that feels like a dream town?

White Fish Point in Michigan’s upper peninsula. It felt like untouched time or eternity.

Laura from Undisclosed

You want to experience utopia? Take a stroll to Salinas, CA and experience the magic, baby.

Ivan from California

No wonder every A-list star has a house there. With the average property value of +$2M, every house and road is perfectly manicured and very clean. Everyone walks, bikes, or takes their golf carts to get around. The town is surrounded by lush aspen groves and sits in the valley of a stretch of mountains. Main Street is filled with vintage stores, bars, and art galleries. The free gondola sits at the entrance of town and takes you up to a lookout for stunning views of the quiet little town. It’s a wonderful place and you constantly need to be reminded that it is in fact real life, and not a movie set.

Zach from Colorado

10 Questions!

Roca Nation, instead of the usual 20 Questions, today we’re asking 10 Questions. The questions are about dating, fertility, and marriage. They will help inform a piece we’re writing, and we’re also just super curious to get your thoughts.

1. Do you have kids? If so, how many? 

2. If you have kids, why did you choose to? If not, why not? 

3. What do you think is the biggest reason people are having fewer kids today? 

4. Fewer people are choosing to get married. Why? If you’re among them, what’s your reasoning?

5. Why are more people referring to their significant other as their “partner”?

6. When should kids get access to cell phones? Why?

7. What do you think is the biggest reason people are having fewer kids today? 

8. Do you think anything could reverse declining birth rates? 

9. Is fixing declining birth rates a problem for government or society? 

10. Do you feel like you live in a community?

Reply to this email with your response!

Pages of Shame
A public library dedicated to the DoJ’s released Epstein files has opened in NYC’s Tribeca neighborhood, offering visitors a physical look at the evidence.

The exhibit, running May 8–21 by appointment only, houses more than 3.5M pages across 3,700 volumes – roughly 17,000 pounds of material – organized by the nonprofit Institute for Primary Facts.

Robo-Monk
South Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order, ordained a four-foot-tall robot named Gabi as the country’s first robot monk, in a bid to modernize the religion’s image among younger generations.

During the ceremony, Gabi received five vows tailored to a robot monk, including respecting life, not deceiving humans, and conserving energy.

Tunnel Vision
A driver in Glasgow, Scotland, crashed into a wall mural painted to resemble a tunnel entrance, in what onlookers immediately compared to a Looney Tunes cartoon.

The single-vehicle crash drew emergency responders and sent the driver to the hospital, but it’s not the first time the gag has worked. A Tesla on Autopilot failed a similar “Roadrunner test” in 2025, plowing through a hyper-realistic road painting during a controlled experiment.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

Please send in your answers to today’s question. Remember to email max@rocanews.com with your responses. We are eager to read your answers.

We also hope you have an amazing weekend! Max T just got back from tobacco country North Carolina and can’t want to share that video with you. See you Monday!

–Max and Max

Where’s Curtis Sliwa when LA needs him?

Watching clips from last night’s Los Angeles mayoral debate, it dawned on me that this race is sorely missing a Curtis Sliwa. In one exchange, the candidates were asked if they would let non-citizens vote. The outsider Spencer Pratt declared, “No.” Current mayor Karen Bass said, “It depends.” And Nithya Raman followed with a word salad of her own. If only they could’ve cut to Sliwa: “I remember the fires well. The flames towered 150 feet above me. I had a fire extinguisher in one hand and Carlo Gambino’s last words in the other. It took me, Donatello, Rafael, and Michelangelo 2 hours to put this thing out…”

• Epstein’s final note

• North Korea bails on reunification

• Roca visits the West Bank

-Max and Max

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Ted Turner Dies at 87

Ted Turner, the media mogul who launched CNN and built Turner Broadcasting System into a cable television empire, died on Wednesday at the age of 87. A spokesman for Turner Enterprises confirmed his death, and while the exact details were scarce, Turner had disclosed in 2018 that he had Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder.

Turner grew up in Savannah, Georgia, and took over his family’s billboard company at the age of 24 after his father died by suicide in 1963. He bought a struggling Atlanta broadcasting station in 1970 and, in 1976, used a satellite to beam its signal to cable companies across the country, turning it into a national channel and helping build what cable TV would become.

Turner’s signature achievement came in 1980, when he launched CNN – the first 24-hour all-news network. Critics initially dismissed the channel, calling it the “Chicken Noodle Network,” but CNN gained prominence during the 1991 Gulf War, when CNN reporters broadcast live from Baghdad while other networks pulled out. The network also covered the Challenger explosion, the Tiananmen Square crackdown, and the fall of the Berlin Wall in real time.

Turner sold Turner Broadcasting System to Time Warner in 1995 for roughly $7.5B in stock, taking the title of vice chairman. He was gradually sidelined, which was only exacerbated after AOL acquired Time Warner in 2001. He resigned from the board in 2003.

In 1997, Turner pledged $1B – roughly a third of his net worth at the time – to United Nations charities. He later co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nonprofit focused on reducing the risk of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons.

Turner married three times in his life, most famously to actress Jane Fonda from 1991 to 2001. He is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

How Ted Turner Made the News

Ted Turner did not set out to create 24-hour news, revolutionize new media, or even to create a news network. But he did – and by doing so, news became the slop that it is today.

His story is an interesting one. After being expelled from Brown University, he took over his father’s billboard business and eventually got into TV.

While his TV network initially failed, he later pioneered 24-hour news. And from 1980 to 1996, his CNN remained the only 24-hour news network on American television. It was dominant and revolutionary with minimal opinion.

Then came the politics.

Today, we look at how Turner formed CNN and changed the world – first for better, then for worse.

Read our full deep-dive here.

Vivek Wins Primary
Vivek Ramaswamy won the Republican primary for Ohio governor, defeating Casey Putsch to set up a November race against Democrat Amy Acton.

Ramaswamy, a former 2024 presidential candidate and Trump ally, was backed by both President Trump and Vice President Vance. Acton, Ohio’s former public health director, ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Mushrooms Reshape the Brain
A new study found that a single dose of psilocybin (the active compound in magic mushrooms) may produce lasting structural changes in the brain.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, gave 28 volunteers a 25 mg dose and used brain scans to monitor them for a month afterward. They found nerve tracts appeared denser and more robust – changes associated with improved well-being and mental flexibility.

Participants who showed the greatest surge in brain activity during the experience reported the strongest psychological benefits a month later.

FBI Raids VA Senator's Business
The FBI raided the offices and cannabis business of Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas (D), the state Senate’s president pro tempore and one of its most powerful Democrats.

Federal officials said the investigation, which began under the Biden Administration, centers on bribery allegations tied to Lucas’ cannabis dispensary, though she was not arrested.

Epstein Suicide Note Released?

A federal judge unsealed a supposed suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein on Wednesday following a request from The New York Times.

The note in its entirety reads:

They investigated me for months — FOUND NOTHING!!!

So 10 year old charges resulted

It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye.

Watcha want me to do — Bust out cryin!!

NO FUN. NOT WORTH IT!!

Epstein’s former cellmate, Nicholas Tartaglione, reportedly found the note in July 2019 after Epstein was found unresponsive after a suicide attempt, which he survived. Tartaglione, a former police officer who was convicted of quadruple murder, said he found the note inside a comic book.

The NYT petitioned the court last week to release the full note after Tartaglione described it in interviews. The NYT was the first outlet to report the note’s release but has yet to verify it.

North Korea Drops Reunification Goal

North Korea has formally revised its constitution to define itself as a separate country from South Korea, a break from over 70 years of its official reunification policy.

A conference hosted by Seoul’s Ministry of Unification disclosed the change on Wednesday but did not identify its source. The new constitutional text describes North Korea’s southern border as running along the Republic of Korea, implying an official recognition of two distinct states.

North Korea has not publicly confirmed the revision, though its Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has been laying the groundwork for the shift for years. He has dismantled reunification-focused organizations and monuments and repeatedly described the two Koreas as separate nations in public statements.

Analyst Christopher Green at the International Crisis Group told the Financial Times that the change is more about North Korea presenting itself as a legitimate, independent nation, but doesn’t necessarily signal an end to tensions with South Korea.

US, Iran Closing in on Deal

The US and Iran are closer to a deal to end their two-month war than at any point since the conflict began, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two US officials and two other sources.

The two sides are reportedly negotiating a one-page memorandum of understanding that would declare an end to the war and launch a 30-day period of detailed talks.

Key terms include a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment (with the duration still being negotiated), a gradual lifting of US sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian funds, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Two sources said Iran would also agree to remove its highly enriched uranium from the country, possibly to the US.

President Trump is pressing for a deal but threatening consequences if one isn’t reached. Trump wrote on social media Wednesday: “If they don’t agree, the bombing starts.” Markets responded to the deal reports: Brent crude fell roughly 6% on the day, and major stock indexes rose.

WSJ: JPMorgan Tried to Settle

JPMorgan Chase allegedly offered former investment banker Chirayu Rana $1M to settle the viral sexual assault claims against senior banker Lorna Hajdini before the lawsuit was filed last week, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Rana filed an internal HR complaint against Hajdini a year after he started working at JPMorgan, after which the bank put him on paid leave, conducted an internal investigation, and concluded his claims lacked merit.

Mediation talks began in early 2026 when Rana was working at private equity firm Bregal Sagemount. JPMorgan offered $1M in March, Rana countered with $11.75M in April, around the same time he was let go from his new job. JPMorgan stated that it tried to settle “to avoid the time and expense of litigation and to support an employee who was being threatened with the very reputational harm now unfolding.”

Both JPMorgan Chase and Hajdini continue to deny the allegations, but the lawsuit has spread quickly online.

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🇺🇸 Yesterday’s Question: What’s the sketchiest place you’ve been to in America?

West Baltimore

Anonymous

Texarkana roadside hotel. First time I’ve ever been to the US and I’ve heard shots on the street 😬 Felt like a genuine american experience

Edina from Hungary

Sacramento is the sketchiest. I Was young and hitchhiking through there. I went to one exit and there were all these people riding on the back of the sign about how they were stuck there. Then I went into the woods and there was a campwas young and hitchhiking through there. I went to one exit and there were all these people riding on the back of the sign about how they were stuck there. Then I went into the woods and there was a camp of people who couldn’t get a ride had a fire going in all about 10 people so I went to a different smaller exit. The same people had written the same thing on the back of that sign. So I finally got a ride by two guys. I was deciding to go with hiding and then the guy stopped because I’m female. We all jumped in and this guy was crazy. He had guns in the back and under a seat lots of guns. He stopped somewhere and went into a house that he knew and it was so sketchy. There was a woman a daughter, probably in the corner, very thin and pregnant and Clutching a CB radio receiver. There was a table with a another couple. He took the partially black guy out to the car and open the trunk and that’s when we found out that it was full of rifles. Then he brought A rifle or two in and put them on the table . Then he started asking the partially black guy about where he was from what is the ethnicity was and they all were staring at him. Then the guy said oh I’m my mom‘s French, my dads from Hawaii and he just kept naming places that his grandparents were from till they finally lost interest. We got back in the car. He drove us until he got very exhausted and then he pulled into motel and told us he was gonna get a room for me and him and a room for the two of them. When he went in to the office, we jumped out of the car and ran as far as we could, and then hid hoping that he was too Tired to pursue. The adventure didn’t stop there and when they two guys looked back at his car, they said they had a hallucination of a devil. I think they were high, but I could understand the sentiment.

Brett from Undisclosed

🇺🇸 Today’s Question: What’s the most utopian place you’ve been to America? Anywhere that feels like a dream town?

Reply to this email with your response!

Tow and Behold
A British man believes he has become the first person to pull a car with his penis while also being set on fire in the name of prostate cancer awareness.

John Stephenson, 50, towed a 2-ton police car 131 feet down a Halifax street using a rope attached to his manhood – while engulfed in lighter fluid – completing the feat on April 30 after several windy false starts.

“People think I’m a bit mad, but I like to set myself challenges,” said Stephenson. He has previously pulled cars with his testicles and while his head was on fire – but never both at once.

Fuzz the System
A new UK report found that more than a third of children have bypassed online age verification measures, with some using methods such as drawing mustaches on their faces to fool facial recognition software.

One mother caught her son using an eyebrow pencil to draw a mustache, which successfully verified him as 15. The report also found one in six parents have actively helped their children circumvent the checks, even as nearly half of kids report encountering harmful content online.

The Snow Must Go On
A late-season storm dumped heavy snow across Colorado and Wyoming earlier this week, canceling classes, postponing Rockies games, and sending concertgoers to a David Guetta show at Red Rocks in winter coats.

Boulder could see over a foot of accumulation, while Denver, which just endured its driest winter on record, faces what may be its biggest snowfall of the season.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

In the latest Middle East video, Max F visited Hebron in the West Bank, a city officially under Palestinian control, but increasingly shaped by the presence of Israeli settlers and the IDF units that accompany them. Home to one of the holiest sites in both Judaism and Islam, Hebron has become one of the most tense and divided places in the region.

Hope you enjoy this video. See you tomorrow.

–Max and Max

Ex Machina meets My Cousin Vinny.

How is this OpenAI trial not available on any streaming platform? I just imagine Sam Altman taking the stand for the first time, his eyebrows furrowed and his faux “troubled conscience” look dialed to 100. Then, in his characteristic vocal fry, he mumbles to the jury, “How do you do, fellow humans?” before explaining how his nonprofit accidentally, tragically became an $800B company — oopsie daisy! Then he assures them: “You have 2 more years to live before you’re on the cloud. It’ll be great.”

Meanwhile Elon’s in the bathroom on his eighth ketamine break of the morning. He returns to the courtroom and begs the stenographer to add the “dank memes” he just saw to court records.

• OpenAI v. Musk trial update

• JPMorgan sex scandal

• Spirit crowdfunding campaign

-Max and Max

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OpenAI v. Musk Continues

The trial between OpenAI and Elon Musk entered its second week on Monday, as Musk’s lawyers grilled OpenAI President Greg Brockman.

The case centers on Musk – one of OpenAI’s co-founders who left in 2018 – who filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, and Brockman in March 2024. He claims that Altman and Brockman violated OpenAI’s founding mission as a nonprofit when the company converted to a for-profit structure. He is seeking $150B in damages and wants both men removed from OpenAI’s board.

The most damaging evidence against Brockman came on Monday from his own digital journal. In one entry from 2017, he wrote: “It’d be wrong to steal the nonprofit from [Musk]. to convert to a b-corp without him. that’d be pretty morally bankrupt and he’s really not an idiot…his story will correctly be that we weren’t honest with him in the end about still wanting to do the for-profit just without him.”

Under cross-examination, Musk’s lead attorney pressed Brockman on his finances, pointing out that while Brockman never put his own money into OpenAI, he now holds a stake worth nearly $30B. The attorney noted that Brockman once wrote in his journal that $1B would be enough for him, and asked why he hadn’t given the other $29B back to the nonprofit.

Brockman responded: “That’s not how I think about it. There are assumptions baked into the question.” He didn’t elaborate. Musk’s attorney also brought up the fact that Brockman owns a small share of Altman’s investment fund, and that OpenAI has struck deals with several companies Brockman has financial ties to – including chipmaker Cerebras and data center firm CoreWeave – raising questions about whether Brockman stood to personally benefit from decisions he helped make at OpenAI.

When it was OpenAI’s turn to question Brockman, he pushed back on Musk’s characterization of events. Brockman described OpenAI as mostly his and Altman’s own creation, testifying that Musk only sought a bigger role after the founding team was already in place.

On Tuesday, Brockman testified that Musk lobbied key OpenAI co-founders for greater control of the company. Brockman also testified about Shivon Zilis, a former OpenAI board member and the mother of four of Musk’s children, saying OpenAI kept her on the board after Musk’s departure because they “trusted her to keep the Elon conflict under control.”

Altman, Zilis, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella are expected to testify in the coming weeks.

GOP Pledges $1B for WH Security
Senate Republicans proposed $1B for White House security upgrades tied to Trump’s East Wing renovation, but lawmakers and the White House disagree on what the money covers.

The bill bars spending on “non-security elements” – a reference to Trump’s planned ballroom – though White House officials say it would authorize the full project if the bill passes.

Construction on the ballroom continues despite a federal judge’s order last month blocking above-ground work.

AI Safety Agreements Expand
Google, Microsoft, and xAI have agreed to submit their latest AI models to the US Department of Commerce for testing before public release.

The voluntary agreements expand on deals made with OpenAI and Anthropic during the Biden Administration, with evaluations covering security concerns and capabilities across all participating companies. The Commerce Department’s AI testing center has completed 40 prior evaluations, including assessments of some unreleased models.

Publishers, Author Sue Meta
Five publishers and author Scott Turow sued Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, alleging the company used millions of copyrighted books and articles to train its Llama AI without permission or compensation.

The complaint alleges Zuckerberg personally authorized the infringement. Meta vowed to “fight this lawsuit aggressively,” arguing that training AI on copyrighted material can qualify as fair use under existing court rulings.

Hajdini Accuser Refiles

A former JPMorgan Chase banker, identified by the New York Post as Chirayu Rana, has refiled a sexual harassment lawsuit against JPMorgan senior banker Lorna Hajdini after his original complaint was briefly pulled from court records last Friday for corrections. The updated filing, submitted on Monday, includes new witness statements that Rana says support his claims.

Rana alleges that Hajdini – whom he began working with in April 2024 – coerced him into sex, drugged him, made racially derogatory comments, and threatened his career if he didn’t comply. He also accuses JPMorgan Chase of retaliating against him after he filed an internal complaint.

The refiled evidence includes two new affidavits, both signed in July 2025. One witness says they were staying at Rana’s apartment when Hajdini woke them up and tried to get them to join her and Rana in the bedroom for a threesome. A second witness says they overheard Hajdini tell Rana: “I own you, Brownie.”

Both JPMorgan and Hajdini deny the allegations.

In today’s WeThe66, we cover all that’s known about the case.

From Hajdini allegedly stating, “I bet your little Asian, fish head, wife doesn’t have these cannons” to Rana’s reported phone calls from people threatening to tip off his family to ICE, we dig into the claims, both new and old.

Read our full deep-dive here.

Hiring Surged in March

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Tuesday and suggested the labor market might be stabilizing.

The report found that employers hired 5.55M workers in March, a jump from 655,000 in February. The jump pushed the hiring rate to 3.5%, the highest level since May 2024. The gains were led by the transportation, warehousing, professional business services, and accommodation/food services industries.

The quits rates also ticked up, a sign that workers feel confident enough to voluntarily leave jobs.

Not everything pointed up, though. Job openings dipped by 56,000 down to 6.87M, and layoffs rose by 153,000 to 1.87M. A separate survey of the service-sector showed slower expansion in April as hiring continued to shrink.

Still, economic analysts say the overall picture is consistent with an unemployment rate that has stayed between 4.3% and 4.5% for nine straight months. They attribute the stability more to fewer people entering the workforce than to businesses cutting jobs. The April jobs report, due on Friday, will offer a clearer picture.

Trump Ends Operation Freedom

President Trump announced on Tuesday evening that the US would end Operation Freedom – the plan to use the US Navy to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz – one day after it began.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that Pakistan and other countries had requested an end to Operation Freedom and, while the US blockade remains in place, he hailed “Great Progress” toward a “Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.”

The announcement came after Iran continued testing the ceasefire limits on Tuesday: The UAE reported a new wave of Iranian missile and drone strikes, though Iran denied carrying out the attacks and accused the US of violating the ceasefire. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, while en route to Beijing for diplomatic talks, wrote on X that the US should be “wary of being dragged back into quagmire.”

As of now, the prospect of future face-to-face talks between Iran and the US remains stalled, but Trump’s announcement appears to reflect a warming tone.

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🎥 Yesterday’s Question: Who’s a content creator/YouTuber who makes your life better?

The Outdoor Boys!! This wholesome man in Alaska truly isn’t trying to sell us anything- he’s just inviting us into his camping adventures and his little dinners that he makes on his tiny burner in a snow cave (that he created). The production is simple (it’s just him and his go-pro), and it’s always cute to see him come home to his wife and kids. I’d be shocked if you didn’t get lots of “Outdoor Boys” as the answer to this question. Protect him at all costs!

Allison from Georgia

Gardening videos and I have a few!

Epic Gardening, The Millennial Gardener, Homegrown Florida, The Wild Floridian. They all post extremely helpful gardening videos to help grow your own food and amazing flowers and plants right in your front or back yard. For me, gardening is fun because I like watching the little seeds come up, I like seeing cool sunflowers or other flowers come up that I don’t normally get to see in person and it’s really cool to grow your own food. I harvested about 2 lbs of Roma tomatoes last fall and I have a couple of pounds of onions that I’m still pulling out of the ground that I grew myself! Finally, I feel like I’m giving something back to Mother Nature even if it’s small. I was able to help grow some Monarch butterflies for a few weeks with native Florida milkweed. Thanks for reading!

Brie from Florida

Definitely Drew Gooden and Eddy Burback. They produce high quality long form videos that are humorous and well written. I love their existential crisis rants about AI or tech. Truly some of the most insightful and entertaining content I’ve watched. 10/10 recommended.

Zak from Washington

🇺🇸 Today’s Question: What’s the sketchiest place you’ve been to in America?

Reply to this email with your response!

Mac and Cheese It
Authorities arrested a former Chick-fil-A employee in Grapevine, Texas, after he allegedly used a fraudulent refund scheme to steal over $80,000 from the location where he’d previously worked.

After being fired last October, Keyshun Jones, 23, reportedly returned without authorization and rang up roughly 800 fake macaroni and cheese orders before routing refunds to his own credit cards. Jones evaded authorities several times before state agents took him into custody; he now faces money laundering, theft, and fraud charges.

Scientology Speedrun
Hundreds of people descended on Vancouver’s Church of Scientology last Saturday, attempting to force entry as part of a viral social media trend called “Scientology speedrunning.”

The trend, which began in April, involves filming oneself rushing through Scientology properties to document the organization’s inner workings, and has grown disruptive enough that the LA location has removed all external door handles. Vancouver police dispersed the crowd twice, made one temporary arrest, and warned participants they were “very lucky” to avoid criminal charges.

That’s the Spirit!
Hours after Spirit Airlines announced it was ceasing operations, a TikTok creator launched a crowdfunding campaign to buy and revive it, and over 124,000 people have pledged a combined $88M.

Hunter Peterson, who proposed “nationalizing” Spirit as a people-owned carrier, saw his website crash under traffic and is now recruiting lawyers, developers, and aviation executives to help.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

Yesterday Max T shot a video in Fayetteville, NC, the home of Fort Bragg, with a top influencer named VicBlends. Vic makes inspirational content online and built a TikTok following of 16M and Instagram following of 4.4M people. He’s one of the few brightspots on the TikTok algorithm, and he was so kind to spend two days to show us around his home city.

Now I’m in Lumberton, NC, the most dangerous town in the Tar Heel State. It’s where Michael Jordan’s dad was killed, and it’s home to the recently-recognized Lumbee Tribe. We’re excited to share this content with you all soon!

–Max and Max

Happy Cinco de Mayo, Roca Nation.

The holiday — commonly mistaken for Mexico’s Independence Day by people who put olives on their tacos — has become one of America’s five biggest drinking days of the year, with beer consumption rivaling that of the Super Bowl. It’s also a top five day in cultural appropriation. My Uncle Gary has no business wearing a sombrero right now.

Anyways, we hope your day is a real… 5/5.

• Showdown at the Strait

• Data centers in the ocean?

• Taco Bell employee opens fire

-Max and Max

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independent. Subscribe below if you want to support our mission
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Showdown at the Strait… Again

The Strait of Hormuz clearly ain’t big enough for two: The Iran war turned hot again on Monday.

Tensions built after President Trump announced “Project Freedom” on Sunday, a US initiative to guide commercial ships through the still-blocked Strait of Hormuz. Trump called it a humanitarian gesture and said resistance would be “dealt with forcefully.”

US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated it would support the operation with guided missile destroyers, aircraft, and approximately 15,000 troops, although officials noted that there are no plans to use warships as direct escorts. CENTCOM also claimed that two US-flagged merchant vessels successfully transited the strait on Monday, a claim that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard disputed.

Iran warned that any foreign force approaching the strait without Iran’s permission would be attacked. Iranian state media reported on Monday that Iranian forces had struck a US warship, but CENTCOM denied the claim.

And by Monday afternoon, the tensions came to a head.

Iran reportedly attacked a South Korean cargo ship in the strait, hit a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker with a drone, and launched drones and missiles at the UAE, striking a key oil facility at the port of Fujairah. The UAE said its air defenses intercepted several additional missiles. Iran also launched drone attacks on US forces in the strait, and while Iran did not land any hits, the US responded by sinking six small Iranian boats.

The shipping industry remains cautious, with companies saying they wouldn’t move vessels until the conflict was over or Iran gave assurances that ships would be safe.

Following the flare up, oil prices climbed as much as 5% on the day. Brent crude was trading near $144 a barrel as traders weighed the risks of a prolonged standoff.

As the conflict in the strait appears to be ramping up again, diplomatic efforts remain stalled. Iran has proposed an end to the broader conflict while deferring peace talks, but the US is still pushing for Iran to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Tehran said it is open to some limits on its nuclear program, but only in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran confirmed on Sunday that it had received and is now reviewing a US response to its 14-point proposal.

Despite the escalation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said this morning that “the ceasefire is not over.”

The Viral Posts that Tricked Me

Two weeks ago, I was scrolling through X and saw a viral post from a meteorologist: “The New York Times has reported that the east coast beaches may disappear in as little as 25 years from now. Just kidding; this was published in 1995.”

The NYT predicted in 1995 that most of the beaches on the East Coast of the US would be gone by 2020? This seemed a laughably wrong and profoundly discrediting prediction from America’s leading newspaper.

I dug up the original article in the Times’ archive.

The headline had been spliced together with an out-of-context excerpt, making it look like the 2020 claim was the thesis of the piece. In reality, the article outlined predictions from the UN’s climate change body, the IPCC. In that section, you will see the quote in question: “At the most likely rate of rise, some experts say, most of the beaches on the East Coast of the United States would be gone in 25 years.” That attribution – “some experts say” – matters. It was neither the Times’ prediction, nor the IPCC’s formal conclusion, nor the article’s thesis. Instead, it was one view among many that the article featured.

As someone with a well-trained news antenna – we at Roca are, in fact, full-time practitioners of cutting through the noise of social media – I was surprised to have been misled like this. But sadly, this is just a minor case of misinformation. And the viral post got a million views. I encountered two more the same week that tricked me…

Continue reading here.

Giuliani Hospitalized
Rudy Giuliani, 81, remains in critical condition at a Florida hospital after contracting pneumonia severe enough to require a ventilator, his spokesman said on Monday – though he is now breathing on his own. President Trump called him “the Best Mayor in the History of New York City, BY FAR” on Truth Social.

Hantavirus Outbreak
A suspected hantavirus outbreak aboard a Dutch-flagged luxury cruise ship off West Africa has killed three passengers and left around 150 others stranded on board.

Two crew members with symptoms are awaiting evacuation, while a British passenger is being treated at a private clinic in Johannesburg.

Hantavirus spreads through airborne particles from rodent droppings and does not transfer easily between humans. The WHO called the public risk low, though Cape Verde has barred the ship from docking as a precaution.

AL, TN Move to Redistrict
Republican governors in Alabama and Tennessee called special legislative sessions this week to redraw congressional districts, following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Louisiana congressional map for relying too heavily on race.

Alabama hopes to revert to a 2023 map reducing Democratic representation, while Tennessee aims to dissolve Memphis’ lone Democratic district by dispersing its voters among conservative ones. President Trump encouraged more states to follow suit.

GameStop to Buy eBay?

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen told The Wall Street Journal that the company made a surprise offer to buy eBay for $56B in a bid to rival Amazon.

GameStop first began buying shares of eBay in early February, building a stake currently equal to around 5% of the company. The bid offers shareholders $125 per share, half in cash and half in stock, representing a 46% premium since GameStop began buying shares and a roughly 14% premium since eBay’s closing price on Monday.

Cohen proposed to use GameStop’s roughly 1,600 retail stores as physical hubs for eBay’s online marketplace, where sellers can drop off items, have them verified as genuine, and ship them out to buyers. Cohen said he would serve as CEO of the combined company without a salary, compensated only on performance, as in his current deal with GameStop.

On Monday, eBay’s board said it would review the proposal, though it noted there were no prior discussions between the two companies before GameStop’s offer. If eBay’s board declines, Cohen said he’s prepared to take the offer directly to shareholders.

SCOTUS Restores Abortion Pill Access

The Supreme Court temporarily restored mail and telehealth access to the abortion pill mifepristone on Monday, pausing a lower-court ruling that would’ve required patients to obtain the drug in person.

The case stems from Louisiana suing the FDA over Biden-era rules that allowed mifepristone to be prescribed via telemedicine and mailed to patients, including into states with abortion bans. Louisiana argued those rules undermined its near-total abortion prohibition. The Fifth Circuit ultimately sided with Louisiana, reinstating the in-person requirement last Friday, triggering the emergency appeal to the Supreme Court.

After the drug’s manufacturers – Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro – filed emergency appeals warning of widespread disruption for patients and providers, Justice Samuel Alito issued the stay, which restores mail access to mifepristone through at least May 11.

Alito’s order does not signal how the full court will ultimately rule. Briefs from Louisiana are due on Thursday, after which the Supreme Court will decide the next steps.

Data in the Deep

A Silicon Valley-backed startup thinks the next great data center isn’t in Texas or Virginia – it’s in the ocean.

Oregon-based Panthalassa secured $140M in a funding round led by Peter Thiel, with additional investment from John Doerr, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, and PayPal co-founder Max Levchin. The deal values the company at close to $1B.

The company’s technology converts the bobbing motion of ocean waves into electricity to power AI chips. Each unit is roughly 280 feet tall, with most of it sitting below the water like an iceberg. A computer server inside is kept cool by the surrounding ocean, while the units beam data back to land via satellite.

The units are built without any complex moving parts, making them cheaper to build and less likely to break down in rough conditions. Panthalassa plans to test a small fleet in the North Pacific this year, with paying customers coming online by 2027.

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What does Roca Nation think?

🏥 Yesterday’s Question: Do you have a horror story about health insurance? Writing a piece on it.

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Grande Delusion
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol defended the chain’s $9 drinks as part of an “affordable premium experience,” igniting a wave of mockery online.

Niccol argued that customers across all income levels are willing to splurge on a coffee for the chance at a “great seat” or a moment of connection with a barista.

Critics called the remarks out-of-touch corporate jargon, with many noting the irony that Niccol commutes to Seattle from Orange County on a private company jet.

Brush with the Law
Armenian authorities were called to wrangle a “zebra” loose on a busy Yerevan street, only to discover it was a donkey someone had painted black and white.

The Yerevan Zoo confirmed all its actual zebras were accounted for, and that an unidentified man had painted his donkey and paraded it outside the zoo to film a video.

Police are working to identify the owner, and the zoo warned that chemical dyes are toxic to animals and urged the public not to repeat the stunt.

The Last Straw
A Taco Bell employee in West Palm Beach allegedly opened fire on customers after accusing them of filling a water cup with soda.

D’Mari Patterson, 20, confronted the group over the soft drink swap, and after the argument escalated, fired two rounds – one of which struck a restaurant window – injuring three people.

Patterson claimed self-defense and told police the customers had a gun, but surveillance footage contradicted the account. He was arrested on three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

ICYMI we’ve had many people tell us they enjoyed this video. The people here were so friendly, although there are certainly some unsavory aspects to Highland Park’s history.

–Max and Max

The origin of “May the Fourth.”

You probably think the “May the Fourth” meme was born on Facebook next to a “Which Hogwarts house are you in bed” quiz. Nope. It started in 1979 — the day after Margaret Thatcher became prime minister — when her colleagues bought a full-page ad in the London Evening News that simply read: “May the Fourth be with you, Maggie. Congratulations.”

Almost fifty years later and Janet from HR is still using the exact same pun in the Monday all-hands email (I got called into her office last Friday for a different pun, so I’m clearly not one to talk).

Anyways, on a far more important note, we’re writing a piece on health insurance horror stories. Please share yours with us.

• RIP, Spirit: No Fare Well

• Trump disapproval hits high

• Roca visits Charlottesville, WV

-Max and Max

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and access our full content each morning!

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Spirit No Longer in the Sky

The conflict in Iran claims another casualty: Spirit Airlines shut down operations on Saturday at 3AM after a proposed $500M government bailout collapsed, ending 34 years of business.

The budget carrier had been negotiating a rescue deal with the Trump Administration for weeks, which would have seen the government provide $500M in exchange for 90% of the company.

But some of Spirit’s lenders pushed back on the deal, worried they’d get little to nothing back if the airline ended up going under anyway.

Without a deal, Spirit moved forward with plans to liquidate its fleet and halt operations. The airline, which has been in bankruptcy for much of the last 18 months, was already struggling before fuel prices spiked in late February following the outbreak of the US-Iran war.

Travelers (including the one writing this) were hit with surprise flight cancellations in the early hours of Saturday morning, grounding the rest of its fleet around 3AM. Staff learned of the closure through emails from the airline’s CEO and chief pilot. Spirit is now working to issue refunds and help stranded employees.

In response to the closure, several major airlines moved to absorb affected customers. American, United, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and Frontier all offered capped “rescue fares” – most of which were around $200 – for Spirit customers needing to rebook.

Since Saturday, Southwest Airlines has flown over 20,000 Spirit passengers. Allegiant offered half-off discounts on base fares through May, while Avianca offered to fly affected passengers to the Caribbean and Latin America at no extra cost.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy held a press conference on Saturday morning, urging Spirit customers to rebook as soon as possible and warning that the rescue fare window would not stay open indefinitely. Duffy also used the moment to blast the Biden Administration for blocking a proposed Spirit-JetBlue merger, arguing the deal’s failure accelerated the airline’s demise.

American and United also opened job portals offering former Spirit employees preferential hiring interviews. Spirit’s airport slots and routes are expected to attract competing bids, with Frontier, JetBlue, Breeze, and Southwest all seen as potential candidates.

Did Ilhan Omar Marry Her Brother?

There may be no politician that conservatives love to loathe more than Ilhan Omar.

The claim that Omar married her brother has circulated endlessly in conservative media and at Trump rallies in recent years. It’s a claim we hear on the road all the time. Many conservatives almost accept it at face value, and the fraud headlines are certainly not helping her case.

And in December, Nick Shirley’s ultra-viral Somali fraud video put a spotlight on the community she represents in Congress and raised questions about her own role in it.

More recently, her own finances have come under scrutiny after she revised her reported net worth from over $30M to under $100k with little explanation. These headlines have made her an easy target for the right, including Trump.

But did Ilhan Omar actually marry her brother? And is she a financial fraud? Today, we provide the facts.

Keep reading here.

Trump Increases Car Tariffs
President Trump announced a 25% tariff on EU cars and trucks, saying the bloc failed to honor a trade deal struck last July.

Trump did not specify how the EU violated the agreement when asked. That original deal had set a 15% tariff on most European goods – lower than the 30% Trump originally threatened – but implementation stalled over steel and aluminum disputes.

Trump said European automakers who build in the US will face no tariff.

Abortion Pill Access at Risk
Two drug manufacturers asked the Supreme Court to temporarily restore mail access to mifepristone, a widely used abortion pill, after a federal appeals court ruled patients must pick it up in person.

The ruling stemmed from a Louisiana lawsuit against FDA policies permitting telehealth prescriptions and mail delivery of the drug. Both Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro filed emergency appeals. The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000, and major medical organizations say decades of evidence confirm its safety.

US Service Members Missing
Two US service members went missing during military exercises in Morocco on Saturday, and a multinational search and rescue effort is underway.

The soldiers were taking part in African Lion 2026, the largest annual joint military exercise on the continent, close to the city of Tan Tan. Ground, air, and maritime resources from the US, Morocco, and other participating nations are involved in the search. Authorities believe the disappearance was an accident, not an act of terrorism or kidnapping.

US Withdraws Troops from Germany

The Trump Administration announced Friday it will withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany within six to 12 months, escalating a public dispute between President Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the ongoing war in Iran. Trump also told reporters that the US would be “cutting a lot further than 5,000.”

The withdrawal represents around 14% of the approximately 36,000 US troops stationed in Germany. Separately, the US has yet to follow through with a Biden-era plan to deploy Tomahawk cruise missiles and Dark Eagle hypersonic missiles to Germany – a move designed to deter Russian aggression against NATO.

The announcement follows Merz’s public criticism of the US involvement in Iran, saying the US entered the conflict “without any strategy” and was humiliated by Tehran in negotiations. Trump called Merz’s leadership “terrible.”

Republican chairs of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees – Roger Wicker (MS) and Mike Rogers (AL) – called the withdrawal “very concerning,” warning it risked “sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin.”

AI Companies Strike Pentagon Deal

The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on Friday that it struck classified AI agreements with Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Nvidia, Reflection AI, and Oracle, allowing the US military to use the companies’ AI tools for any “lawful operational use.”

The announcement builds on earlier deals the Pentagon struck with OpenAI, Google, and Elon Musk’s xAI, but excludes Anthropic, which refused to allow the Pentagon to use its Claude model for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. The DoD and Anthropic are now in federal court after the Pentagon labeled the company a supply-chain risk in March.

The recent AI agreements reportedly include new guardrails: The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon committed to human oversight of weapons systems and to protecting Americans against unlawful domestic surveillance.

Still, the Pentagon continues to use Anthropic’s Claude on the DoD’s AI-assisted targeting platform, Maven. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei an “ideological lunatic.” At the same time, the White House is attempting to gain broader government access to Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model.

Trump Disapproval Hits High

A new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found President Trump’s disapproval rating at a new high of 62%, with Americans broadly down on his handling of the Iran war and the economy.

The survey, conducted among 1,560 US adults, showed 66% disapproved of Trump’s handling of the Iran war, 76% disapproved of how he’s managed the cost of living, and 72% disapproved of how he’s handled inflation. His overall approval rate stands at 37%.

On Iran specifically, 61% say the US military intervention was a mistake, and 65% say they’re not confident that a peace deal would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Americans are nearly evenly split on the next steps, though. Around 48% favor a peace deal even on worse terms, while 46% say the US should push for a better deal even if it means resuming military action.

The political fallout is sharpening ahead of November’s midterms as Republicans’ House and Senate majorities remain at risk.

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🏥 Today’s Question: Do you have a horror story about health insurance? Writing a piece on it.

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A Ton of Fun
A massive Steller sea lion nicknamed Chonkers has taken up residence at San Francisco’s Pier 39, drawing crowds eager to spot the 1,500-2,000-pound visitor among the much smaller California sea lions that normally populate the docks.

Steller sea lions rarely venture to the pier, but the location offers easy food, calm water, and protection from predators – and Chonkers has been making the most of it since first appearing last month.

Sip and Pay
A French teen in Singapore faces up to two years in prison after filming himself licking a vending machine straw and putting it back.

The video went viral, prompting the operator to sanitize the machine and replace all 500 straws. Singapore, known for strict public behavior laws, is now pushing the company to redesign its dispensers with individually packaged, locked straws.

Gone for Gold
A filmmaker had his Oscar confiscated at JFK Airport after security flagged the statuette as a potential weapon. But when he landed in Germany, it was gone.

TSA stopped Pavel Talankin from carrying the award aboard his Lufthansa flight, and the airline boxed it up as checked baggage.

Lufthansa says it is conducting a “comprehensive internal search” to locate the missing award, which Talankin won for his documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin (2025)

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

We conclude today’s email with our latest video on West Virginia’s disappearing state capital, Charleston.

Have a great Monday!

–Max and Max

It took me longer to build the LEGO Millennium Falcon…

Today is the 85th anniversary of the dedication of the Empire State Building. When you hear how long it took to build the iconic skyscraper, you may do a Looney Tunes-level “awooga” double take. The Empire State Building, which comprises 60,000 tons of steel and 10,000,000 bricks, took just one year and 45 days to build. I’m not sure we could fix a pothole in that amount of time today.

Also, we’re giving out three $25 Amazon gift cards to three random 20 Questions respondents today. In order to make this newsletter better, we want to learn more about you! So please fill out this form. Have a great weekend.

• Iran stalemate continues

• Congress betting on wars?

• Wild JPMorgan lawsuit

-Max and Max

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independent. Subscribe below if you want to support our mission
and access our full content each morning!

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US, Iran Stalemate Continues

The US and Iran appeared no closer to reaching a resolution on Thursday as oil prices yo-yoed, briefly touching a high of $126 per barrel – the highest since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine – before dropping back to around $105 by the late afternoon.

The spike was triggered by an Axios report that CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper was set to brief President Trump on a menu of military options. One of the reported options included a “short and powerful” series of strikes on Iran aimed at bringing Tehran back to the negotiating table.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is the main driver of elevated prices. Trump said he views the naval blockade on Iranian ports as his primary lever but would consider renewed military action if Iran doesn’t budge. Other options reportedly include ground forces taking over part of the strait to reopen it to commercial shipping.

Still, Iran is holding firm: Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a combative statement on Thursday vowing that Iran would establish “new legal frameworks” for managing the strait, implying that Tehran has no intention of willingly ceding control. A senior Revolutionary Guards official also warned that any resumed US strikes would be met with “long and painful” retaliation against US regional positions.

On the diplomatic track, Iran’s latest proposal would reopen the strait and end the war before addressing its nuclear program. Trump has rejected the proposal, and the White House has insisted that nuclear restrictions must be part of any deal from the start.

Despite the oil scare, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both finished Thursday at their best month since early 2020. Still, the stalemate continues to take a broad economic toll, as average US gas prices have climbed to around $4.30 a gallon. The UN secretary-general warned that if the disruptions continue into midyear, global growth will contract and tens of millions more people could fall into poverty.

Roca Exclusive: Ro Khanna Interview

Ro Khanna is one of the most interesting politicians in America. The Bay Area congressman has pushed to release the Epstein files, banned congressional stock trading, called for more housing – issues that tend to unite people across the usual partisan divides.

And now he seems to be positioning himself for a run in 2028.

But is he full of contradictions? While he professes to be pro-middle class, he represents and received his early campaign funding from the Silicon Valley elites that many fear are dismantling the working class in the country.

We sat down with Congressman Khanna for an exclusive conversation for Roca subscribers. We covered a lot of ground – Iran, artificial intelligence, H-1B visas, bipartisanship, California, the Epstein files, and whether he’s actually running.

Get the full exchange here.

Mills Drops Out of Race
Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) dropped her Senate campaign on Thursday, citing insufficient funds to compete with progressive challenger Graham Platner (D).

Platner, 41, an oysterman who had been leading Mills in polls, is now the presumptive Democratic nominee to face three-term Senator Susan Collins (R). Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), had backed Mills, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) praised Mills in a joint statement and pledged to work with Platner. Mills is term-limited as governor and cannot seek re-election.

Banksy Unveils New Statue
Banksy installed a new statue in central London’s Waterloo Place, confirmed via his Instagram account on Thursday.

The resin sculpture depicts a suited man marching off a platform while a flag obscures his face. Banksy placed it in a historic area lined with monuments to British imperialism, including statues of Edward VII and Florence Nightingale.

Trump Drops Surgeon General Nominee
President Trump dropped Casey Means as his surgeon general nominee, naming Fox News contributor and radiologist Nicole Saphier as his third pick for the role.

Means’ nomination had stalled over Republican concerns about her vaccine stance and medical credentials. Trump praised Saphier as “an incredible communicator” but blamed Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) for blocking Means, threatening to campaign against Cassidy in his upcoming primary. Trump’s first nominee, Janette Nesheiwat, was withdrawn before Means was put forward.

Longshot Military Bets Often Win? Corruption??

Following months of suspicious high-profile Polymarket bets, nonprofit research group Anti-Corruption Data Collective found that “longshot” bets on military and defense outcomes are often successful.

These longshot bets – bets of at least $2,500 at 35% odds or lower – win more than half the time, compared to the 14% win rate across all other markets on Polymarket. The report analyzed over 435,000 bets between January 2021 and March 2026, concluding that military markets show “systemic” signs of insider trading.

The report flagged three recurring patterns: Longshot bets winning more often than they should, the same small group of accounts raking in most of the profits, and suspicious bets placed right before outcomes were decided.

As a case study, it examined the June 2025 strikes on Iran and found that eight wallets (digital accounts) collectively won $1.8M in profits on bets placed just before the strikes. The findings come as US prosecutors recently charged a Special Forces soldier with using classified information to place bets on a January raid in Venezuela, netting roughly $400,000.

Proposed legislation in Congress could ban wagering on government actions, and Polymarket has published new integrity rules. However, the report’s authors say enforcement will be difficult as long as Polymarket allows users to bet anonymously.

White House Blocks Mythos?

The rivalry between the Trump Administration and AI company Anthropic continues…

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the White House has blocked Anthropic from expanding access to Mythos, its most advanced AI model capable of autonomously identifying and exploiting software vulnerabilities.

Mythos is currently available to around 50 companies through a vetted program. Anthropic had proposed giving roughly 70 additional companies access to the model. Select government agencies, like the NSA, already have Mythos access.

While the government is currently pushing to gain wider federal access to the model, administration officials rejected the proposed expanded access due to security concerns. Some officials also raised concerns that Anthropic lacks the computing power to service 70 additional companies plus the government.

The standoff reflects a broader tension between the administration and Anthropic. The Pentagon previously designated the company a supply chain risk after a dispute over military use of its technology and cancelled its $200M Anthropic contract. Despite the fight, federal agencies have continued seeking access to Mythos.

House Passes DHS Bill

The US House passed a bill on Thursday to fund the majority of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and end a 76-day partial government shutdown – the longest in US history. The measure covers agencies including the TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service. The Senate-approved bill now heads to President Trump’s desk.

DHS funding lapsed on February 14 after Democrats refused to approve money for ICE and Border Patrol without new enforcement restrictions following the deaths of two US citizens during immigration operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Internal Republican disagreements prolonged the shutdown, as conservative House members refused for weeks to vote on a bill that excluded ICE and Border Patrol funding. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) finally brought the bill to the floor on Thursday under a procedure that limited debate, bypassing members of the Republican party who still opposed it.

ICE and Border Patrol remain unfunded under the bill, with Republicans planning to include $70B for those agencies in a budget-reconciliation package. The package would require only a simple Senate majority and cannot be blocked by a Democratic filibuster.

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What does Roca Nation think?

🇺🇸 Yesterday’s Question: If you had to get a foreigner to like the US, where would you take them?

I would take a foreigner to ONE, San Francisco, TWO to New Orleans, THREE to Savannah, FOUR to New York City, FIVE to the Giant Sequoias, SIX to the Grand Canyon, SEVEN to Hawaii, EIGHT to Wyoming, NINE to the Oregon Coast, and TEN to the Great Lakes.

Luciano from Italy

If I wanted to make sure a foreigner fell in love with the United States, I would take them to Jackson Hole, WY. We would fish, hike, go rafting, horseback riding, we’d go to the rodeo and the local bars in the evenings. We would take in the Tetons and see live music in Teton Village. The people are so friendly, and the setting is breathtaking everywhere you go.

They would surely not stand a chance against such hospitality and beauty.

Kara from Washington

I would take them to the deep south and Acadiana in South Louisiana is the first place that comes to mind. The great food, wonderful music and the joy for life (joie de vivre) would surely make a fantastic first impression!

Billy from Undisclosed

20 Questions

It’s been a long, long time since we last used 20 Questions to get to know you better. As we’re always trying to better understand our audience, you filling out this survey will be an enormous help. This data is truly just for us, the two Maxes, to understand our readers better. We will give three $25 Amazon gift cards to random respondents. We promise this won’t be painful — some of this might even be interesting to you!

Link to 20 Questions!

The results for last week’s calendar-themed ratings edition of 20 Questions. Your favorite day, month, and season are all bolded.

Monday - 3.6

Tuesday - 4.2

Wednesday - 5.2

Thursday - 6.5

Friday - 8.5

Saturday - 9.4

Sunday - 8.3

January - 4.4

February - 4.2

March - 5.3

April - 6.5

May - 7.5

June - 7.7

July - 7.5

August - 6.9

September - 7.7

October - 8.1

November - 7.2

December - 7.6

Fall - 43.8%

Spring - 26.0%

Summer - 23.9%

Winter - 6.3%

Gone Turncoat
A Texas man seeking asylum in Northern Ireland was charged with forgery and fraud for filing bogus court documents – telling a judge he needed the money to raise an army and reclaim the US for Queen Elizabeth II.

Ryan Frost, 36, allegedly lodged fraudulent writs over two months, once producing a fake seal in court and demanding the judge comply with his orders. A psychiatric evaluation cleared him of any mental disorder, and he was released on bail.

Steak for Shelters
The Washington Hilton donated the 2,600 unserved White House Correspondents’ Dinner meals to shelters for abused women and children after a gunman’s alleged assassination attempt on President Trump forced the dinner to an abrupt end.

Staff worked through the night to freeze-dry the steak and lobster for longer shelf life, while leftover produce was composted and sent to farms.

Hostile Work Environment
A JPMorgan executive director faces a lawsuit alleging she repeatedly sexually assaulted, racially abused, and drugged a junior male colleague over several months in 2024.

The unnamed plaintiff, identified as John Doe, claims Lorna Hajdini used threats of career sabotage to coerce him. Two witnesses are cited in the complaint.

JPMorgan says an internal investigation found no merit to the claims; Hajdini remains employed at the firm.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

We end the week with a video we shot in North Carolina after Max F’s bachelor party. He and our third co-founder Billy wanted to check out Asheville, an Appalachian city that defies the stereotypes you hear about the region.

There’s so much more complexity in the region than most care to explore. What a fascinating part of the country.

–Max and Max

Palantir is selling merch.

“Where’d you get that jacket?” “Oh, it’s the new Palantir. Do you like it?”

This morning, we learned that AI defense company Palantir has an online merch store where you can buy chore coats for $239 a pop. They sell the coat in two colors and also offer a few types of hats. After a few hours browsing the store, our checkout cart looks a bit odd: The blue coat, a black hat, and an autonomous sniper drone.

In all seriousness, if a certain movie has a big opening this weekend, we have an idea for its next sequel: The Devil Wears Palantir. And if Disney doesn’t want that idea, you can have it for your next interview, Tucker Carlson.

• Minnesota “fraud” raid

• Iran’s economic collapse

• March Madness expands

-Max and Max

Readers like you fund Roca’s journalism and keep us
independent. Subscribe below if you want to support our mission
and access our full content each morning!

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Warsh Nomination Advances

The Senate Banking Committee voted 13-11 along party lines on Wednesday to advance Kevin Warsh’s nomination to lead the Federal Reserve, clearing a key hurdle toward replacing Jerome Powell when his term as chair expires on May 15.

The nomination had been stalled for weeks after Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) refused to support it while the Justice Department (DoJ) ran a criminal probe into cost overruns tied to the Fed’s Washington headquarters renovations. The DoJ agreed last week to drop the investigation and hand it to the Fed’s inspector general, freeing Tillis to vote in favor of Warsh’s nomination.

Warsh is now expected to secure his nomination from the Senate, where Republicans hold 53 seats. A floor vote could come within days, potentially before Powell’s term ends.

The nomination comes as the Fed voted on Wednesday to hold rates steady in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, its third consecutive hold at what will likely be Powell’s final rate-setting meeting. The decision itself was uncontroversial, but the vote exposed some unusual divisions: Four out of 12 Fed officials dissented, the most at a single policy meeting since 1992. Three agreed with the decision but disagreed on the policy language that implied a rate cut was more likely than a hike. A fourth official, Trump-appointed Fed Governor Stephen Miran, pushed for a cut.

Powell said he plans to remain as a Fed governor after his term ends, stating, “I plan to keep a low profile as a governor. There’s only ever one chair of the Federal Reserve Board. When Kevin Warsh is confirmed and sworn in, he will be that chair.” Powell did not specify a time frame for how long he will remain as a governor, but the move will deny Trump a key vacancy.

Democrats have been sharply critical of Warsh throughout the nomination process. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called Warsh a “sock puppet” for Trump and warned that the confirmation would accelerate what she described as White House attempts to influence monetary policy. Democrats have also criticized the pending Supreme Court case over Trump’s attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

At his Senate hearing last week, Warsh defended the Fed’s independence and said Trump had never asked him to predetermine any rate decision. But the confirmation process itself has raised questions about whether that independence will hold: Trump said publicly last week that he expects rates to fall “when Kevin gets in.”

Breaking Down the WHCD Shooting Theories

Shots rang out in DC at the Washington Hilton just after 8:30 PM last Saturday when a gunman dashed past security in a beeline sprint toward the ballroom hosting President Trump and hundreds of journalists for the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Two hours later, Trump explained the situation at a White House news conference. By then, though, the theories had already started to spread.

Claims that the attack was staged have spread like wildfire, and one need look no further than Roca’s own comment sections for examples. So what theories are dominating the internet now?

Read today’s deep-dive to find out.

Families Sue OpenAI
Families of seven victims in the Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, mass shooting sued OpenAI, alleging it was negligent in failing to alert police to the suspect’s ChatGPT activity before the attack.

The February shooting was one of Canada’s worst mass killings in years, leaving eight people dead and over 25 injured in the town of roughly 2,700 residents.

Months before the attack, OpenAI reviewed the suspect’s messages describing gun violence scenarios and decided against contacting authorities. The company has since said it has strengthened its threat-detection protocols.

Florida Passes New Map
The Florida House passed a Republican-drawn congressional map that could net the party as many as four additional US House seats, voting 83-28 along party lines.

The vote came shortly after the Supreme Court weakened a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act – the legal basis Governor Ron DeSantis (R) had anticipated and used to justify redrawing the map. Democrats attempted to delay the vote to review the ruling but were overruled.

The map now heads to the Senate, which is expected to pass it before sending it to DeSantis.

NCAA Tournament to Expand
Both men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments will expand from 68 to 76 teams next year, with the NCAA expected to make a formal announcement in May.

Instead of four play-in games to open the tournament, there will now be 12, with 24 teams playing across two cities in the days before the main bracket begins.

To offset the costs, the NCAA is expected to allow alcohol companies to advertise during the tournament for the first time.

FBI Conducts Minnesota Raids

The FBI executed 22 search warrants on Tuesday across Minneapolis as part of an ongoing fraud investigation, targeting daycares, businesses, and homes, many of which are tied to Minnesota’s Somali-American community.

Among the sites raided was “Quality Learing [sic] Center,” a supposed daycare that gained notoriety in December after YouTuber Nick Shirley published a video showing several Minneapolis childcare facilities appearing to be empty despite collecting public funding. Clips of the Quality Learning Center went viral online, and the business closed in January.

The operation is the latest development in a years-long federal fraud investigation in Minnesota. The most prominent case involved the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, where organizers stole at least $250M in federal pandemic relief funds. The majority of individuals convicted belonged to the Somali diaspora.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) welcomed the raids in a post on X, writing, “We catch criminals when state and federal agencies share information.” Federal officials rejected his framing, with FBI Director Kash Patel crediting the Trump Administration for the investigation and dismissing any suggestion that Walz deserved credit.

Authorities have not announced any arrests.

SCOTUS Limits Voting Rights Act

The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) voted 6-3 on Wednesday to limit Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a 1965 law that prohibits voting practices that discriminate on the basis of race.

The case centered on Louisiana, where a federal court had ordered the state in 2022 to create a second majority-black congressional district after finding its original map gave black voters less political representation – violating Section 2. A group of other voters sued, arguing the redrawn map amounted to unconstitutional racial discrimination, and SCOTUS agreed.

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito said Section 2 applies only to redistricting efforts that intentionally try to discriminate against voters by race. After today’s ruling, states can now redraw maps to favor a certain party even if those choices reduce minority representation, as long as race wasn’t the explicit motivation.

Justice Elena Kagan, dissenting for the court’s three liberal members, called the ruling the “now-completed demolition of the Voting Rights Act.” Kagan warned that states can now “systematically dilute minority citizens’ voting power” without legal consequences.

The decision comes amid an unprecedented wave of mid-decade redistricting efforts, with both parties redrawing maps ahead of November’s midterms. Republicans – who have already drawn favorable lines in Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas – may now have new opportunities to flip additional seats.

Iran Economy at a New Low?

The US-Israel war with Iran has reportedly pushed the country’s economy to its worst point in decades.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the country has lost around 2M jobs – 1M directly from the conflict and another 1M from the economic fallout. The UN Development Program also reported that the conflict could also impoverish up to 4.1M people.

The economic collapse predates the war, rooted in years of sanctions and inflation, but the conflict has accelerated it. Annual inflation hit 72% in March as the Iranian rial hit a record low of 1.8M to the dollar. The US naval blockade has also cut off Iran’s main revenue source as the country has struggled to export its oil.

Physical damage is severe, with over 23,000 factories struck since the conflict began. Reconstruction costs are estimated at $270B, nearly Iran’s entire GDP of around $341B. Talks with the US, meanwhile, have stalled as each side waits for the other to blink first.

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🇺🇸 Yesterday’s Question: Who is more famous in the US today: Bad Bunny or Clint Eastwood? Make your case.

Clint Eastwood. There’s probably a certain age of person one would hit where they wouldn’t know who you were talking about if you brought him up, but the number of people that age and younger has to be much smaller than the number of those that age and older that would recognize the name.

Rachel from Houston

I don’t think most Gen Zs know who Clint Eastwood is? He’s going to be 96 next month. Dude’s a legend, the boomers love him and younger boomers (millenials like myself) also love Clint in Dirty Harry, Good Bad & The Ugly, and Gran Torino (not Cry Macho awful movie). But look at the lad, this was last year in February [pic included of Clint Eastwood looking old].

Conejo malo on the other hand is at his peak popularity after just hosting a superbowl. Whether he’s like more than Bad bunny that remains to be answered but my money is on bad bunny.

Both legends at different peaks and valleys of their careers.

Anonymous

Clint Eastwood, a legend, is now riding off into the sunset of the film universe.

Bad Bunny is rapidly jumping and hopping into the music universe. Btw one of those men is “going commando” and the ladies on Instagram love it!

Patricia from Virginia

🇺🇸 Today’s Question: If you had to get a foreigner to like the US, where would you take them?

Reply to this email with your response!

Fake Fed?
A Mexican national pleaded guilty to impersonating a Border Patrol agent and disrupting active immigration enforcement missions in San Diego.

Jaime Ernesto Alvarez-Gonzalez decked out his Ford F-150 – the same model used by undercover agents – with a fake BP sticker, phony antennae, and a misspelled “federal” plate frame. At least one real agent scrapped a mission after spotting the tail.

When confronted, Alvarez-Gonzalez called in backup – three additional cars joined to harass and chase the agents. He also carried a fake FBI badge and had overstayed a tourist visa for decades.

End for the Penguins?
The Pittsburgh Penguins lost in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers, potentially bringing an end to the 20-year run of their core of Sydney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang. They have played together since 2006.

Crosby said, ““Honestly, it’s something that we’ve probably just gotten used to, but I think they’re like family. I think that’s the best way to describe it.”

Sting Operation
A Massachusetts woman was convicted on six counts of assault after weaponizing a trailer full of beehives against sheriff’s deputies carrying out an eviction in 2022.

Rorie Susan Woods arrived at the scene, smashed open a hive, and flipped it off the flatbed – releasing a swarm that stung multiple deputies, one of whom was hospitalized.

She donned a beekeeper’s suit before officers tackled her, later fled to Tennessee, and was ultimately sentenced to six months in jail.

Theodore Roosevelt

America’s 26th president overcame a sickly childhood to become a war hero, conservationist, and one of the most consequential leaders in US history.

Born in Manhattan in 1858, Theodore Roosevelt grew up as a frail, asthmatic child who transformed himself through obsessive physical training. That same drive would define his presidency and his entire life.

As a teenager, Roosevelt began boxing after getting beaten up on a camping trip. He never stopped. He rowed, boxed, hiked, rode horses, and wrestled throughout his adult life. As governor of New York, he boxed with partners several times a week. He only stopped when a sparring session left him permanently blind in his left eye, a fact he kept from the public for years.

When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Roosevelt resigned his post as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to join the fight. He helped form and lead the Rough Riders, a volunteer cavalry unit that charged up Kettle Hill and San Juan Hill in Cuba. He returned home a national celebrity, and was nominated to be the governor of New York.

Roosevelt became vice president in March 1901, then president in September 1901 after the assassination of William McKinley. His domestic agenda targeted corporations that he believed were rigging the economy against ordinary Americans, and he filed 44 antitrust suits and pushed through landmark food safety laws.

Perhaps his most lasting legacy was environmental: Roosevelt signed five national parks into existence, protected 150 national forests, and placed roughly 230M acres under federal protection. He did much of it through executive orders, sometimes signing new reserves in the final hours before congressional restrictions could take effect.

In 1912, after falling out with his successor, William Howard Taft, Roosevelt ran again – this time as a third-party candidate under the Bull Moose banner. On the campaign trail in Milwaukee, a saloonkeeper shot him in the chest before a speech. Roosevelt, who concluded the bullet hadn’t reached his lung because he wasn’t coughing blood, delivered a 90-minute speech before seeking medical treatment. He lost the election.

In 1913, Roosevelt led an expedition down an uncharted Amazon tributary, nearly dying of tropical fever. He contracted malaria, lost 50 pounds, and never fully recovered. He died in his sleep in 1919, at 60.

His son Archibald sent a one-line telegram to the family: “The old lion is dead.”

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

Thank you to all of you for the birthday wishes. We will have to celebrate this weekend with some LMNT and butcher boxes. Maybe even a few Kalshi trades (kidding, folks!).

You all make it worth it every single day, no matter how little sleep we get. Thank you, Roca Nation.

–Max and Max

Happy Roca Day.

Today, April 29, is Roca Day – the six-year anniversary of when we had the idea to start Roca.

To celebrate, we are giving all our subscribers a FREE month of Roca premium.

Back in April 2020, we sent our first emails and had our first phone calls expressing our frustrations with the divisive, biased, fear-mongering news ecosystem, which had hit an extreme during the pandemic.

We, along with our third co-founder Billy, quit our jobs to create a company that helped people live happier, healthier, and more informed lives. We believed the news shouldn’t be a chore nor tell you what to think.

After months of sleepless nights and zero results, Roca finally started to grow in 2021. Five years later, we deliver news to over 3M people across our Substack, app, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

In 2026, Roca fits between two kinds of media.

On one side are legacy journalists, who shun most Americans and wouldn’t enter a bad neighborhood without a preconceived notion and five bodyguards. On the other are alt-media podcasters, who spend all day inside of studios spewing whatever opinion will get them the most views.

Roca does real, on-the-ground reporting to give you an honest view of what the world is really like.

We’ve loved every minute of bringing you unbiased daily news, mini docs, and long-form deep-dives.

Your support enables us to achieve our mission of capturing the world without bias or fear.

We hope you enjoy the full access to our content over the next month.

If you like our reporting, and you’d like to support Roca’s mission, you can upgrade to a paid subscription at the end of the month.

Upgrade

Until then, enjoy the free Roca. It’s the least we can do for you all, without whom we would just be three guys in our parents’ basements. Roca has grown because of you, and we thank you – from the bottom of our hearts – for all of your support.

Now, on to today’s news.

• OpenAI in big trouble?

• Somalia pirates return

• New Prince song drops

Keep riding the wave!
–Max, Max, and Billy

OpenAI Misses Targets

OpenAI has missed internal revenue and user growth targets, The Wall Street Journal reported, raising fresh doubts about its ability to sustain its massive data center spending commitments as it eyes an IPO.

The company fell short of its ambitious goal of 1B weekly active ChatGPT users by the end of 2025 (the company had only reached 900M weekly active users in late February). OpenAI also missed its annual revenue target as Google’s Gemini ate into market share and fell short of multiple monthly revenue targets earlier this year after losing ground to Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI employees, in the coding market.

These shortfalls have put OpenAI’s aggressive data center strategy under scrutiny. CEO Sam Altman spent much of last year making deals to secure computing power for the future – commitments that will cost the company around $600B. While OpenAI recently closed a $122B funding round at an $852B valuation, it’s expected to burn through that funding within three years even if it hits its revenue targets.

According to the WSJ, the slowing growth has worried CFO Sarah Friar, who has warned colleagues that OpenAI may struggle to fund its computing contracts. Board members are also questioning whether Altman should continue chasing more computing power when the business isn’t performing as expected.

Both Altman and Friar pushed back in a joint statement, calling any suggestion they are at odds or pulling back on computing “ridiculous.”

Still, the WSJ’s report sent shares of OpenAI-linked companies tumbling. Oracle, which has a $300B computing partnership with OpenAI, fell more than 4% since Monday. Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD all fell around 2.5–4%, while SoftBank – one of OpenAI’s biggest investors – plummeted over 12%.

The news adds to a growing list of pressures on the company. This week, Elon Musk’s lawsuit to oust Altman as CEO and reverse OpenAI’s shift from a nonprofit to a for-profit company went to trial. Meanwhile, Friar has also reportedly cautioned that OpenAI isn’t yet ready for the regulatory and reporting standards that a public listing would require – putting her at odds with Altman’s more aggressive IPO timeline.

Fauci Aide Indicted
A senior government health official who worked closely with Anthony Fauci was charged on Tuesday with hiding work emails from the public.

David Morens, 78, allegedly used a personal email account to keep government conversations about Covid research – including work tied to a lab in Wuhan, China – out of reach of public records requests.

Prosecutors also claim Morens accepted gifts from a research partner and, in return, helped publish a paper arguing Covid arose naturally, rather than from a lab leak.

Argentina Reignites Falkland Claim
Argentina’s vice president suggested that residents of the Falkland Islands should “go back” to England, as Buenos Aires renewed its claim to the British territory emboldened by signals from the Trump Administration.

Argentine President Javier Milei and his deputy have both insisted the islands – which Argentina calls the Malvinas – belong to Argentina. The UK has pushed back firmly, reaffirming its commitment to the islands’ self-determination, citing a 2013 referendum in which 99.8% of islanders voted to remain a British territory.

Trump, Kimmel Clash Again
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel defended a joke he made about Melania Trump days before a gunman opened fire near a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Kimmel called Melania an “expectant widow” in a sketch last Thursday, referencing the age gap between her and President Trump. After the shooting, the White House called for ABC to fire Kimmel, and Trump called the joke “a call to violence.”

Kimmel said the remark was a “light roast” and had no connection to the attack. Kimmel previously clashed with the Trump Administration last September, when ABC briefly suspended Kimmel’s show over his comments about the shooting of Charlie Kirk.

Comey Indicted, Again
The Justice Department indicted former FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday with threatening President Trump.

The indictment stems from a May 2025 post of seashells arranged in the numbers “86 47,” with 86 slang for “get rid of” and Trump being the 47th president. Comey took the photo down, but the three-page indictment argues that a reasonable person would read it as a genuine threat.

This marks the administration’s second attempt to prosecute Comey. An earlier perjury case was dismissed.

Iran Low on Oil Storage

Iran’s oil cup runneth over: The country is scrambling to store oil it can no longer export as the US naval blockade chokes traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Since the US blockade was imposed on April 13, it has cut Iran’s crude loadings from around 2M barrels per day to roughly 567,000. Now, the country has resorted to “junk storage” at derelict southern oil hubs, improvised containers, and empty tankers repurposed to store oil. Iran is also trying to ship crude oil to China by rail as an emergency workaround.

It remains unclear how long Iran can hold out. Analytics firm Kpler estimated that production could fall by more than half by mid-May if the blockade holds, gauging Iran has around 12 to 22 days before it exhausts its storage options and is forced to cut production.

Cutting production carries certain risks, however, as roughly half of Iran’s oil fields have low pressure, making them vulnerable to long-term damage if output stops abruptly.

And across the Gulf…

UAE Leaves OPEC

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced Tuesday that it is leaving the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) effective May 1, dealing a significant blow to the oil cartel that has coordinated global production for decades.

The UAE – OPEC’s third-largest producer, pumping around 3.4M barrels per day before the US-Israel war with Iran – had long wanted to sell more oil than OPEC would allow. The country also said it would exit OPEC+, the broader Russia-aligned group.

The announcement comes as the US-Israel war with Iran has forced Gulf producers to slash output and reflects growing tensions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The two Gulf powers have drifted apart over Yemen, Iran policy, and OPEC quotas.

Saudi Arabia needs oil prices near $100 per barrel to balance its budget, while the UAE – with a more diversified economy – does not. Energy analysts warn that OPEC will be weaker and thus less able to stabilize oil prices without the UAE, which was one of the few members that could pump more oil if needed.

And even further south…

Pirates Return to Somalia

Somali pirates have seized at least four vessels off the country’s northeastern coast since last week. The escalation has prompted UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) to raise the regional threat level to “substantial” and advise ships to transit with caution.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia peaked around 2011 and then largely declined due to international naval patrols. A resurgence began in November when pirates boarded a Malta-flagged tanker, with incidents climbing since then.

The most recent seizure involved a St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged cargo ship. On Monday, suspected pirates boarded the ship off of Somalia’s coast, then diverted it ashore. Last week, pirates intercepted an oil tanker 45 miles offshore and seized a Pakistani-owned fuel tanker. No ransom demands have been reported in any of the incidents.

It remains unclear whether the attacks were carried out by professional pirates or stem from local conflicts. The EU’s naval operation Atalanta is currently involved and previously helped liberate a wooden Iranian vessel that was attacked in March.

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🍱 Yesterday’s Question: What’s the best meal you’ve had in the last month?

It was a rainy day on the weekend, so I decided to cook a comfort meal. Porterhouse steak with bearnaise sauce cooked to perfection with garlic, thyme, and butter in a cast iron skillet. Slow roasted Yukon gold potatoes. I cook them at a high temperature so that they are crunchy on the outside and moist inside. Wedge salad with caramelized bacon, Russian dressing, and homemade sourdough croutons. Sauteed button mushrooms in wine, garlic, and butter. For dessert just a simple French vanilla ice-cream with butterscotch drizzle. 😊

Joi from Philly

The best thing I’ve eaten in the past month is definitely Yellowfin Tuna from Buzzard’s Roost in Key Largo. The fish was incredibly fresh, lightly breaded and served with fantastic rice pilaf with a lemon butter sauce. To make it even better, I had it while sitting canal side watching manatees and dolphins swim by in the water. This was on my 20th wedding anniversary trip in Key Largo with my beautiful wife. Such an amazing trip but this dish was by far the best thing I tasted in the Keys!

Charlie from North Carolina

My boyfriend and I finally got a reservation at Via Carota. It was unbelievable. Exceeded the hype.

Maggie from NYC

🇺🇸 Today’s Question: Who is more famous in the US today: Bad Bunny or Clint Eastwood? Make your case.

Reply to this email with your response!

Bi-Lobsteral
A Cape Cod seafood company donated a rare two-toned lobster to a Massachusetts science aquarium after fishermen hauled it up off the coast.

The lobster is split evenly – brown on one side, bright orange on the other – a phenomenon that can occur when two fertilized eggs fuse and develop as a single animal.

The specimen will go on public display at Woods Hole Science Aquarium in Falmouth once the facility reopens from construction.

Sky Delivery
A Tennessee woman gave birth mid-flight on a Delta Boeing 737, delivering a healthy 5.5-pound girl just before landing in Portland, Oregon.

Two paramedics who happened to be aboard stepped in to assist, improvising with passenger blankets and a shoelace in place of an umbilical cord tie after the crew couldn’t produce an obstetrical kit. Baby Brielle Renee Blair arrived about two weeks early, while the plane landed roughly 20 minutes later.

Songs From Beyond
Prince’s estate released “With This Tear” – a previously unheard 1991 piano ballad – just one day before the 10th anniversary of the musician’s passing.

Prince wrote, produced, arranged, and played every instrument on the track before handing it to Céline Dion, who released her own version in 1992. The drop is the first signal of a larger vault campaign expected throughout 2026, including a rumored 40th-anniversary deluxe edition of the 1986 album Parade.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

Let’s just say we’ve evolved quite a bit since those first brainstorm sessions in April 2020. In April 2020, we thought our site would look like the image below and that our name would be Lucid News, Maxstream Media, News Traders, or MaxMedia. We eventually settled on Pluto News before learning that Disney is extremely litigious with its trademarks and anything in media with the name “Pluto” risks a lawsuit because of Pluto the Dog. It was a blessing in disguise; we came up with “Roca” next.

It’s been an amazing journey, and you all have allowed our dream to become a reality. These are our early days. Much building ahead!

–Max and Max

3 tidbits from April 28th pop culture history...

• 1973: Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd’s iconic prism cover album, hit #1

• 1994: The Simpsons’ 100th episode, “Sweet Seymour Skinner’s Baadasssss Song,” aired

• 2012: “Somebody That I Used to Know” climbed to #1 (haven’t heard from Gotye since)

And here’s one to add to the list from this year: My girlfriend hasn’t let her room in 24 hours since hearing that Harry Styles got engaged. Good sign, no?

• WHCD shooter charged

• New Florida map

• Inside Texas’s richest town

– Max and Max

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and access our full content each morning!

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WHCD Suspect Charged

The suspect behind Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, Cole Tomas Allen, was charged on Monday with attempting to assassinate President Trump.

Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, made his first federal court appearance in DC two days after he allegedly forced his way through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and fired a gun inside the hotel. He faces three charges in total: Attempted assassination of the president, transporting a firearm and ammunition across state lines with intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. He did not enter a plea.

According to a federal affidavit, Allen rushed through a security checkpoint holding a shotgun. A Secret Service officer was shot once in the chest but was protected by a bulletproof vest. That officer then fired multiple rounds at Allen, who fell to the ground and sustained only minor injuries.

Investigators found a roughly 1,000-word document in which Allen laid out his grievances towards Trump and his administration and noted that getting firearms past hotel security was easier than he had anticipated.

In the document, Allen allegedly wrote that he was unwilling to let a “traitor” implicate him in the president’s alleged crimes – an apparent reference to Trump, though the writings don’t name the president directly. The document also laid out a hierarchy of targets: Administration officials ranked highest, followed by secret services agents “only if necessary”, while Capitol Police, National Guard, hotel security, and hotel staff and guests were explicitly listed as non-targets.

US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said additional charges are expected to come as the investigation continues. Pirro stated: “This was an attempted assassination of the President of the United States, with the defendant making clear what his intent was, and that intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could.”

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will convene a meeting this week with the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security to review security procedures for major upcoming events. Allen, a Caltech graduate who worked as a part-time tutor, has no prior criminal record.

Spirit Airlines: America’s Flag Carrier?

Spirit Airlines was profitable until 2019. It’s since filed for bankruptcy twice – once in 2024 and once in 2025. Now, the carrier warns that current oil prices could put it out of business.

And Trump’s considering buying it.

In today’s deep-dive, we look at the decline of Spirit and whether the US will soon have a state-owned airline.

Read it here.

King Charles Visits America
King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived in the US on Monday for a state visit – the first by a British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II’s 2007 trip.

The four-day tour will span Washington, DC, New York, and Virginia, while engagements include a bilateral meeting and state dinner with President Trump at the White House, a joint address to Congress, and a visit to the 9/11 Memorial.

The royals will not meet Prince Harry or Meghan Markle, who live in California and are no longer working members of the royal family.

From ICE to NICE?
President Trump endorsed renaming Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (NICE) after a social media post suggesting the change went viral.

Trump reposted the idea on Truth Social, writing, “GREAT IDEA!!! DO IT.” The White House did not elaborate beyond pointing to the post. The proposal comes as the administration has ramped up immigration enforcement.

Russia Defeated in Mali?
Russian and Malian forces withdrew from Kidal – a strategically significant northern city the forces had retaken just two years ago – after a coordinated assault by Tuareg separatists and an al-Qaeda affiliate left Mali’s military junta shaken.

The offensive also killed Mali’s defense minister, and President Assimi Goïta has been out of public view since the attack, raising questions about his hold on power. Defense analysts say the attacks could prompt Mali to reconsider its costly military partnership with Moscow, which has faced growing criticism for ineffectiveness.

Adidas’ Sole Takeover

It might be a while before we see Nike’s self-lacing Back to the Future Part II shoes, but Adidas has us covered in the meantime. The company cemented its position over the weekend as one of the top performance running shoes as athletes wearing its new Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 shoes swept the London Marathon.

Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe, who ran in Adidas’ new shoes, became the first person to run a sub-two-hour marathon in an official race, finishing in 1:59:30. Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha took second with a time of 1:59:41, while his compatriot, Tigst Assefa, set a new women’s record. Both runners used the same Adidas shoe.

The Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 shoes weigh 97 grams, roughly 30% lighter than Adidas’ previous model, and go on sale for the public this Thursday for $500.

The results landed a blow to Nike, which has held the performance running edge since launching its carbon-plated Vaporfly in 2017. The previous men’s marathon world record was set by the late Kelvin Kiptum with a time of 2:00:35 at the Chicago Marathon, who ran in Nike shoes.

Lines in Florida’s Sand

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) proposed a new congressional map on Monday that would give Florida Republicans as many as 24 of the state’s 28 seats, up from 20 currently.

The move is part of a broader mid-decade redistricting push as both Democrats and Republicans vie for control of Congress, with Republicans currently holding a slim House majority over Democrats. DeSantis gave the map to the Republican-controlled legislature less than 24 hours before a special session on Tuesday, where lawmakers are expected to approve it.

The effort faces a near-certain legal challenge, as Florida’s constitution bans redrawing maps for partisan gains. But DeSantis’ legal team argues the rules may not apply anymore, pointing to a state Supreme Court decision that already approved the current Republican-drawn map.

Still, not all Republicans are on board as some sitting members have expressed concerns that aggressive redistricting could dilute safe GOP seats ahead of the November midterms. Florida Democrats have said they plan to sue as soon as the map passes.

Canada Expands Citizenship

Do you have a Canadian ancestor? You might now qualify as a Canadian under the country’s new rules.

Canada recently expanded citizenship by descent beyond one generation, allowing anyone with Canadian-born ancestry – a grandparent, great-grandparent, or even further back – to apply for citizenship. The change took effect in December, but applications have risen steadily since then.

In January alone, US applications rose nearly 50% year over year. Immigration attorneys say their practices have been overwhelmed by the number of applications, with processing times currently running around 10 months and over 56,000 people awaiting a decision.

But the process is harder than it sounds, as applicants must prove lineage through official documents like birth certificates, naturalization records, and other archival materials. Genetic testing doesn’t qualify. Still, that hasn’t deterred many from applying.

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🇺🇸 Yesterday’s Question: What needs to happen for the political temperature in the country to lower?

For the political temperature to lower, two things need to happen.

First, people need to stop dehumanizing the other side. We’ve all seen conservatives call liberals “libtards” and liberals call conservatives “MAGATS” and even Nazis. That achieves nothing but build disdain for the opposition to the point that they’re seen as immoral subhumans. That needs to stop in order for the second thing to happen.

Second, people need to just talk with people from the other side of the aisle and listen with the intent to learn, not to convince or be convinced. I’m a conservative, and I’ve had political discussions with liberals that showed we respect and agree with each other on certain issues. I only ever had one bad experience with this, and that person was the most progressive out of anyone I’ve spoken with. Everyone else was a good experience, and I’m not letting that one bad experience keep me from talking with people.

If we could just learn to respect each other’s humanity and dignity and approach one another with interest in who they are, we could really make progress on becoming united again.

Colin from West Virginia

I propose all news outlets be limited to a ten minute read or viewing of only fact checked material. Anything longer is filled out with opinion, speculation and fantasy. All opinion pieces must be clearly labeled as such with the author’s area of relevant expertise because no one needs an aging sit com celebrities’ opinion on geopolitics.

Jamie in MS

🍱 Today’s Question: What’s the best meal you’ve had in the last month?

Reply to this email with your response!

Enlightened and Indicted
Twenty-two Buddhist monks were arrested at an airport in Sri Lanka after customs officials found 110kg of high-potency cannabis hidden in their luggage.

The monks had just returned from a sponsor-funded four-day trip to Thailand, where a 23rd monk – later arrested separately – had told them the packages were simply “a donation” to be picked up by a van.

Investigators found photos on the monks’ phones of them enjoying the trip in casual clothes, suggesting the vacation wasn’t entirely spiritual.

Dryer Consequences
French authorities are investigating whether someone used a hairdryer to manipulate a temperature sensor at Charles de Gaulle airport – spiking readings just as large weather bets were placed on prediction market Polymarket.

On two April dates, sensors recorded temperatures roughly 3-4 degrees above expectations, each with just a 1% probability, while someone walked away with $34,000 in winnings.

France’s national meteorological service filed a formal complaint after physical evidence of tampering was found on one of its instruments. Paris has since shifted its official temperature source to a different airport.

Out with a Bang
Paramount released a trailer for Jackass: Best and Last, the fifth and final installment of the stunt-comedy franchise, hitting theaters June 26.

The series launched as an MTV show 26 years ago and spawned four films and numerous spinoffs. The most recent, Jackass Forever (2022), left Johnny Knoxville with a brain hemorrhage, broken wrist, broken rib, and a concussion that effectively ended his stunt career.

Napoleon Bonaparte

He rose from a remote island to rule most of Europe – then lost it all twice.

Born in Corsica in 1769, just one year after France claimed the island, Napoleon Bonaparte spoke French with a foreign accent and was mocked for it at military school. He would go on to crown himself Emperor of the French.

Napoleon shot up through military ranks after a decisive role in recapturing the port of Toulon from British-backed forces in 1793. Two years later, he turned cannons on royalist rebels in Paris, which secured him a powerful political patron. By 1796, he commanded the French Army of Italy and won a string of victories that made him a national hero at 26.

Following a coup that dissolved the French government in 1799, Napoleon established himself as First Consul – the most powerful figure in France. Five years later, he went further, crowning himself Emperor at Notre Dame Cathedral while Pope Pius VII watched. At his peak, Napoleon controlled around 40% of Europe’s population, placing his brothers on the thrones of Spain, Holland, and other kingdoms.

Two decisions proved fatal. In 1808, he put his brother on Spain’s throne, sparking a years-long guerrilla war he later called “the unlucky war [that] ruined me.” In 1812, he invaded Russia with around 450,000 troops. After pushing to Moscow, he found the city burned and Alexander I unwilling to negotiate. The winter retreat was catastrophic – fewer than 75,000 soldiers crossed back into allied territory. Within two years, a coalition of European powers had captured Paris and forced him to abdicate.

Napoleon was sent to the Mediterranean island of Elba in 1814. He escaped ten months later with roughly 1,000 men, marched on Paris, and retook the country. His second reign lasted 110 days. A coalition defeated him at Waterloo in June 1815, and this time he was shipped to Saint Helena – a remote island in the South Atlantic – where he died in 1821 at 51.

The Napoleonic Code, his overhaul of French civil law, reshaped legal systems across Europe and Latin America. He built a public education system, established France’s central bank, and abolished the remnants of feudalism in territories he conquered. His campaigns also unintentionally sparked nationalist movements that led to the unification of both Germany and Italy.

The man who once ruled 40% of Europe spent his final days on a damp, windswept island.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

First of all, we could not possibly agree with Colin’s answer any more. Spot on.

Second off, here’s our latest video, and it’s popping. Highland Park, TX, might’ve been the nicest rich town we’ve visited yet. Check out our video there. What a place.

–Max and Max

An unfortunate prophesy.

Moments before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt predicted this about the President’s Speech:

“He is ready to rumble, I will tell you. This speech tonight will be classic Donald J Trump. It’ll be funny, it’ll be entertaining. There will be some shots fired tonight in the room.”

She wasn’t wrong. A lone gunman — a former “teacher of the month!” — stormed into the building and literally fired some shots.

The legacy media was baffled that a man would think it okay to do such a thing and resort to political violence. They didn’t find any answers so onto their next segment: Why you must do anything to stop political fascists with orange skin.

Alternative media’s not much better: They’re checking Egyptian flight logs and scouring the latest Epstein files for “teacher of the month” mentions.

• Shooting at White House dinner

• Firing squads to return?

• Roca visits the West Bank

– Max and Max

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Gunman Storms Correspondents' Dinner

A gunman opened fire outside the ballroom hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington on Saturday night, prompting the Secret Service to rush President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and Vice President JD Vance off the stage. One Secret Service officer was struck by a bullet but was protected by his vest. No one was killed.

The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, was quickly apprehended inside the Washington Hilton – the same hotel where President Reagan was shot in 1981. Allen, a California native, reportedly traveled from LA to DC by train and checked into the Washington Hilton a day or two before the dinner.

Police said Allen was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and knives when he charged through a security checkpoint toward the ballroom housing roughly 2,600 journalists, cabinet members, and other Washington figures. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday that initial findings suggested that Allen was targeting members of the Trump Administration.

The Associated Press reported that Allen sent writings to family members minutes before the shooting, referring to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” and citing grievances over a range of the Trump Administration’s actions. Allen’s brother contacted the police after receiving the writings. Police then alerted federal authorities before the shooting began.

Allen’s sister, in an interview with federal agents, told investigators that her brother had legally purchased several firearms and stored them at their parents’ home without their knowledge. She also told investigators her brother had a history of making extreme statements.

Blanche and DC’s interim police chief both said Allen appeared to be acting alone. Allen was charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer. Additional charges are expected when he is formally arraigned in federal court on Monday.

Blanche defended the Secret Service’s response, noting that Allen never reached the ballroom, though the incident marks Trump’s third assassination attempt since 2024.

Is an Anti-Hate Group Funding the Klan?

After bankrupting the KKK, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) rebranded its “Klanwatch” to the much broader, and more subjective, “Hate Watch,” and then began tarring mainstream figures and organizations – from Sam Harris to Turning Point USA.

And last week, a grand jury indicted the SPLC on 11 counts, charging the group with allegedly paying millions of dollars to what it labeled “hate groups,” including neo-Nazis, and then lying to the public about its work.

Not only was the SPLC using its status as a prominent civil rights group to attack those it disagreed with, but it was also allegedly working closely with the real bad guys.

In today’s deep-dive, we break down the charges against the SPLC and the defense against them. Read it here.

Maine Gov. Blocks Data Center Bill
Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) vetoed a bill on Friday that would have temporarily banned large data-center construction through November 2027.

Mills had supported the measure but wanted an exemption for a $550M development in the town of Jay. When the legislature refused, she declined to sign. The bill can still pass with a two-thirds majority override.

Altman Apologizes
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman apologized last week to the community of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, for failing to alert police about a ChatGPT account belonging to a mass shooter.

Jesse Van Rootselaar, 18, killed eight people and injured nearly 30 in January before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in one of Canada’s deadliest mass shootings. OpenAI had identified and banned his account for problematic use but did not notify authorities, saying the activity did not meet its threshold for credible or imminent harm.

Sawe Makes Marathon History
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the London Marathon on Sunday with a time of 1:59:30, becoming the first person to officially break the two-hour barrier – shattering the previous world record by 65 seconds.

Sawe pulled away from the field in the final two kilometers, covering the second half of the race in under an hour. The second and third finishers, Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia and Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda, also beat the prior official world record of two hours and 35 seconds.

DoJ Drops Powell Investigation

The Justice Department dropped its criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over $2.5B in cost overruns on the Fed’s headquarters renovation.

DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro closed the probe after prosecutors found no evidence of a crime, handing the matter off to the Fed’s inspector general while warning she could reopen the investigation if new evidence emerged.

The investigation had drawn bipartisan criticism, but the move clears a key obstacle for President Trump’s nominee – former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh – to replace Powell. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), the tiebreaking vote on the Senate Banking Committee who vowed to block Warsh’s confirmation until the investigation ended, announced Sunday he would support Warsh’s nomination.

Trump’s broader campaign against the Fed isn’t entirely over yet, as the Supreme Court still has to rule on whether Trump’s firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook was constitutional.

Iran Talks Canceled

Peace talks between the US and Iran collapsed on Saturday before they even started. President Trump canceled a planned trip by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to Islamabad after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan without waiting to meet the US delegation.

Trump blamed the cancellation on “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Iran’s leadership. He also claimed Iran sent a “much better” proposal within 10 minutes of Trump canceling the trip but offered no details, saying only that Tehran has “offered a lot, but not enough.”

Iran’s foreign ministry said no meeting with the US had been planned and that its delegation was in Pakistan for bilateral talks, with Iran’s position relayed to the US through Islamabad.

Iran continues to demand that the US lift its blockade on Iran, while Washington wants Iran to halt its nuclear program and surrender its enriched uranium stockpile. Iran’s deputy parliament speaker said on Sunday that Tehran would “by no means” return the Strait of Hormuz to its pre-war state.

DoJ Brings Back Firing Squads

The Justice Department (DoJ) announced Friday that it’s expanding the methods available for federal executions, adding firing squads, electrocution, and lethal gas as options alongside lethal injection.

Trump had signed an executive order on his first day in office ordering the DoJ to prioritize capital punishment. On Friday, the DoJ released a 52-page report with its plans and recommendations. It directed the Bureau of Prisons to explore relocating the federal death row from Indiana to a state that permits more execution methods and detailed plans to limit death row inmates from securing clemency requests.

Also on Friday, the Trump Administration’s acting Attorney General Todd Blanche reinstated the use of pentobarbital – a drug used in 13 executions during President Trump’s first term before the Biden Administration suspended it over concerns about inmates suffering.

The DoJ report also criticized the Biden Administration for imposing an execution moratorium, declining to seek death sentences in certain cases, and ultimately commuting the death sentences for 37 of the 40 inmates on federal death row before Biden left office. Since the start of Trump’s second term, the administration has authorized seeking the death penalty in 44 new cases.

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What does Roca Nation think?

🇺🇸 Today’s Question: What needs to happen for the political temperature in the country to lower?

Reply to this email with your response!

Monkey Wrenches Mission
A US Navy sailor was medically evacuated to Japan after being scratched by a monkey during a port stop in Phuket, Thailand, while his minesweeper headed to the Strait of Hormuz.

Long-tailed macaques – common in Phuket – can carry the Herpes B virus, and the CDC recommends anyone attacked seek immediate care.

Kraken Confirmed?
Recent fossil jaw analyses reveal that giant octopuses stretching up to 62 feet roamed the oceans 100M years ago, potentially ranking among the top predators of the dinosaur era.

Researchers studied 27 ancient octopus jaws from Japan and Canada, finding significant wear suggesting the creatures routinely crushed hard prey like shells and bones – a feat long dismissed as impossible for soft-bodied invertebrates.

Scalpers Scaled Back
Ontario has passed legislation capping ticket resale prices at their original cost, forcing Ticketmaster Canada to delist existing resale listings ahead of the law taking effect this week. The cap applies to all live events – concerts, sports, and cultural – and covers the full all-in price, including fees and taxes. Violators face penalties of up to $10,000.

Jane Austen

She wrote some of the most celebrated novels in the English language – and never had her name on a single one.

Born in Steventon, Hampshire, in 1775, Jane Austen spent most of her life within a tight radius of rural England, yet she built a literary collection that remains in print.

Austen completed her first full-length novel, Sense and Sensibility (1811), at 21. But her father’s attempt to sell it to a London publisher was rejected outright. She continued writing, producing six novels over the course of two decades. When they were finally published, each appeared under the phrase “By a Lady,” then “By the Author of Sense and Sensibility.” Her name appeared on none of them during her lifetime. Her brother only revealed her identity in a posthumous notice published after her death in 1817.

At 20, Austen met a young Irish law student named Tom Lefroy during his visit to the area. Her letters to her sister make clear she was taken with him. His family intervened and sent him away before anything came of it. She never saw him again. Decades later, Lefroy admitted the feeling had been mutual – calling it, in old age, “boyish love.”

In 1802, Austen accepted a marriage proposal from Harris Bigg-Wither, the heir to a large local estate. By the following morning, she had withdrawn. The match would have provided financial security for her entire family, but Austen walked away from it. She later advised her niece that “anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection.”

Her novels sold well enough during her lifetime, especially works like Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1815), but she died at 41 without achieving real fame. A collected reprint of all six novels in 1833 – which included her posthumously published Persuasion (1817) – brought her work to a wider audience. By the late 1800s, critics had coined the term “Austenolatry” for the mania surrounding her.

Austen’s fame eventually came, it just took a few decades.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

We journeyed through the West Bank to see what life is really like on the ground: From a hectic border crossing to the vibrant city of Jericho, and from the birthplace of Jesus — now struggling as tourism dries up amid war — to Jerusalem, where daily life continues in the center of it all. Despite picking the most controversial roadtrip in the world, we have been pleasantly surprised by the comments and DMs. Some, even with Palestinian and Israeli ties, are saying it’s the most balanced piece they’ve seen on the area.

–Max and Max

Roca popping off on Facebook?

10 days ago, we had a dormant Facebook following of less than 10k. We had neglected the page for a long time and never posted on it. We figured that Facebook was just for wholesome family photos on the beach and, of course, deepfake surveillance clips of Nancy Pelosi robbing a bank. But it turns out that there’s appetite for on-the-ground reporting clips around the country.

The Roca Facebook page now has over 50k followers and is growing rapidly every day. If you’re a Facebook person and not IG/YT, follow us there! And, Dad, stop commenting “this is clearly AI.”

• Marijuana gets reclassified

• CNN, HBO acquisition closer

• Meta’s mass layoffs

– Max and Max

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Trump Reclassifies Marijuana

The week has been great for recreational drug users – the Trump Administration on Thursday continued its hot streak of softening federal drug regulations by reclassifying medical marijuana.

The order, signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, moves state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.

The Schedule I classification is reserved for drugs deemed to have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, a category that has historically lumped marijuana in with drugs like heroin and LSD. Schedule III covers substances with moderate to low dependence potential, including ketamine and anabolic steroids.

The practical effects of Thursday’s order are significant: The roughly 40 states with medical marijuana programs will see their licensed operators gain access to federal business expense deductions for the first time. Researchers will no longer face penalties for obtaining state-licensed cannabis products, potentially enabling more thorough clinical trials.

However, the reclassification does not legalize marijuana for recreational use at the federal level, nor does it affect people currently incarcerated on marijuana possession charges.

The move delivers on an executive directive that President Trump signed in December ordering federal agencies to ease restrictions as quickly as possible on marijuana and expand access to CBD – the non-intoxicating cannabis compound.

But progress has been slow, a sentiment Trump vented publicly last Saturday while signing a separate order on psychedelics, telling officials: “You’re going to get the rescheduling done, right, please? Will you get the rescheduling done, please? You know, they’re slow-walking me on rescheduling. You’re going to get it done, right?”

Blanche bypassed the normal, months-long government review process by using a legal shortcut that lets the attorney general adjust how drugs are classified in order to comply with international agreements. The Biden Administration tried to make the same reclassification in 2024, but a DEA review stalled the process until the end of his term.

Trump’s December order stops short of any broad decriminalization, but Thursday’s reclassification is perhaps one of the most significant shifts in federal cannabis policy in decades.

Who Is ICE Detaining?

Dolores Bustamante does not fit the “worst of the worst” ICE detainee stereotype.

The 54-year-old grandmother has been in America for 23 years since she escaped an abusive husband in Mexico.

She’s had a pending asylum case for over a decade.

Last week, Bustamante received a notice: Come to the ICE office in Buffalo, NY, in person. On Wednesday morning, Bustamante entered the ICE office, her friends and supporters waiting outside. Four hours later, she sent her friend, Carly Fox, a text: “I’m locked up.”

Fox and other colleagues of Bustamante got in touch with me to discuss Dolores’ situation. In today’s deep-dive, I explore that and investigate a few questions: Who is ICE detaining? Is it the “worst of the worst,” as Trump has said? What share of ICE detainees are convicts?

Read the breakdown here.

Shareholders Approve WB Deal
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved a $111B acquisition by Paramount, combining two of Hollywood’s largest media companies and giving Paramount control over titles like Harry Potter and Game of Thrones, as well as CNN.

The deal still requires approval from the US Department of Justice and European competition regulators.

Former Executive Sues MrBeast
A former executive at MrBeast’s company has sued the YouTube star, alleging gender discrimination and a workplace culture that ignored complaints from women employees.

Lorrayne Mavromatis claims she was demoted after raising concerns about sexual harassment and fired shortly after returning from maternity leave. The company called the allegations “categorically false,” saying her role was cut as part of a broader reorganization.

Lebanon Ceasefire Extended
President Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend the ceasefire between the two countries for three weeks, announcing the decision on Truth Social after hosting Israeli and Lebanese officials at the White House on Thursday.

Trump also said he feels no urgency to end the conflict with Iran, adding that the US holds “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz and will keep the vital shipping lane closed until a deal is reached.

Anchors Away

The tumultuous relationship between the Trump Administration and US military leadership continues…

Navy Secretary John Phelan was fired on Wednesday after 13 months of escalating tension with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced the departure in a social media post, saying Phelan was leaving “effective immediately.” Navy Under Secretary and veteran Hung Cao will serve as acting secretary in the meantime.

Hegseth and Feinberg had reportedly grown frustrated with Phelan’s management of shipbuilding for the US Navy – a top Trump priority – and Phelan’s habit of going directly to the president on policy issues rather than through Hegseth. Phelan also clashed with Hegseth over personnel decisions, including Hegseth’s October firing of Phelan’s chief of staff, and reportedly resisted Hegseth’s directive to screen promotion candidates’ social media for “woke” content.

Phelan’s firing comes after he spent the day on Capitol Hill briefing senators on the Navy’s budget, catching many Pentagon and congressional officials off guard. An administration official told outlets that Trump agreed with Hegseth that the Navy needed new leadership.

Spirit’s Down, Spirit’s Up

Budget fliers rejoice, the Trump Administration is nearing a deal to loan Spirit Airlines up to $500M, with the government receiving equity warrants that could give it a significant ownership stake.

Spirit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in August 2025, reached a creditor agreement in February, and then saw that plan unravel when the war with Iran doubled jet fuel prices in a matter of weeks. The Transportation and Commerce departments are involved in negotiations over the possible deal, with a bankruptcy court set to consider the terms on April 30.

The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers like Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who called government ownership of a budget airline “an absolutely TERRIBLE idea.” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby called Spirit’s business model “fundamentally flawed.”

Shares of competing carriers fell on the news, with Frontier dropping over 12% since Wednesday, when The Wall Street Journal first reported the possible rescue. The White House blamed the Biden Administration’s 2024 decision to block Spirit’s merger with JetBlue for Spirit’s collapse.

Meta Announces Layoffs

Meta announced plans to slash 10% of its workforce in a fresh round of AI-induced layoffs.

Meta’s chief people officer, Janelle Gale, officially announced the layoffs on Thursday in a memo to employees that had already been leaked to the press. Part of the memo alludes to the company’s AI spending, saying:

We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making. This is not an easy tradeoff and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here.

The layoffs are set to begin on May 20 and will affect roughly 8,000 employees, while the company will also freeze 6,000 open positions it had planned to fill.

Reuters, which first reported the planned layoffs earlier this month, also reported that a second wave of cuts is planned for later this year, though the scope and timing are not yet final.

Soldier Arrested for Betting

Federal authorities arrested a US Army Special Forces soldier on Thursday for allegedly using inside knowledge of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s capture to place bets on the prediction market Polymarket, ABC News reported.

The soldier, who took part in the January operation to capture Maduro, placed roughly $34,000 in bets hours before President Trump announced the capture. His largest single bet – a $32,537 wager that Maduro would be out of office by January 31 – returned a 1,242% profit, bringing his total winnings to over $400,000.

The Justice Department (DoJ) is expected to bring the case under the Commodity Exchange Act, which bars federal employees from trading on confidential government information. Prosecutors say the case is the first instance of the DoJ charging insider trading on a prediction market.

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What does Roca Nation think?

🍤 Yesterday’s Question: Where have you eaten the best seafood? Can be a city, country, or restaurant.

Best Seafood:

In 2016, me and my partner were biking the Hoi Van Pass in Vietnam, a scenic route between Da Nang and Hoi An. After driving for 4hrs we were both starving, but the edge of Da Nang was practically deserted. We tried our luck walking down to the beachfront and there was one Shack with a woman and her teenage daughter there. With our very limited Vietnamese we were able to understand one thing on the menu: crab. What we ended up getting was almost a KFC Bucket size of freshly grilled soft-shell crabs. Maybe it was the Hunger, maybe it was the relief at finding food, but that lady and her daughter cooked up one of the best meals in my life - all in a tiny wooden hut on a janky, old bbq grill.

Blake from London

It’s Maryland. You can have seafood anywhere you want and then have it in Maryland and it’s just better. Oyster are better, crabs are better. Getting a crab cake anywhere but in Maryland is throwing your money down the drain.

Although Maine still has the edge in the humble lobster.

Alex from Maryland

Best ever would be Dungeness crab we caught off Guemes Island in Washington. 20 minutes after catching, we were eating. No butter, just crab and a cold beer. Best ever, tender, juicy and flavorful.

John from Ohio, living in Washington

20 Questions

It’s time to settle calendar rivalries once and for all. For this week’s 20 Questions, we are doing a “Rate this” for every day of the week, month, and a multiple choice for the best season. Friday or Saturday? May or October? February or March (for worst month)? Seasons is truly a jump ball. We can’t wait to see the results.

Link to 20 Questions!

The results for last week’s lunch-themed “This or That?” edition of 20 Questions.

Pad thai 23.7% / Tacos 76.3%

Caesar salad 61.9% / Greek salad 38.1%

Chipotle 80.4% / Sweetgreen 19.6%

Leftover pasta 39.7% / Deli sandwich 60.3%

McDonald’s 44.8% / Taco Bell 55.2%

Delivery 24.0% / Pick-up 76.0%

Croissant sandwich 52.4% / Bagel sandwich 47.6%

Pizza 75.9% / Gyro 24.1%

Sandwich on a baguette 40.0% / American style sub 60.0%

Chinese restaurant lunch special 76.1% / Subway 23.9%

Smoothie 63.3% / Protein shake 36.7%

Grilled chicken sandwich 53.2% / BLT 46.8%

Panera Bread 62.5% / Raising Cane’s 37.5%

Grilled cheese 58.7% / Reuben 41.3%

Coffee and donut 53.7% / Coffee and bagel 46.3%

Mac and Cheese 55.1% / Pasta alfredo 44.9%

Soft tacos 70.1% / Hard tacos 29.9%

Italian sub 59.7% / Meatball sub 40.3%

Lunchables 58.3% / Uncrustables 41.7%

spicy tuna rolls 35.7% / pulled pork sandwich 64.3%

Axo-lotta Luck
A 10-year-old girl in Wales stumbled upon a critically endangered Mexican axolotl hiding under a bridge in the River Ogmore – the first wild sighting of the species ever recorded in the UK.

With only 50 to 1,000 axolotls estimated to exist globally, wildlife analysts say the girl likely saved the creature’s life; the family has since named it Dippy and received permission to keep it.

Wiener Takes All
A group of Kansas high schoolers arrived at prom in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile after boldly asking its crew for a ride outside a Topeka grocery store.

The crew told the students they had been waiting for someone to ask – and delivered the group to the Townsite Ballroom in style.

Spoiler Alert
A Japanese court sentenced a man to 18 months in prison and a $6,500 fine for running a website that published detailed scene-by-scene summaries of films.

Rights holders Toho and Kadokawa argued the summaries crossed from commentary into reproduction. A Tokyo court agreed, ruling the man’s actions constituted illegal adaptations under copyright law, while authorities have signaled more sites could face similar action.

Chrysippus of Soli

The philosopher who nearly single-handedly built Stoicism into one of the ancient world’s most enduring movements may have died laughing at a drunk donkey.

Born around 279 BC in Soli, a city in what is now southern Turkey, Chrysippus came from modest origins – his inherited wealth was seized by the state while he was still young, forcing him to start over. He made his way to Athens and enrolled under Cleanthes, the leader of the Stoic school. When Cleanthes died around 230 BC, Chrysippus took over the school and spent the next several decades reshaping it.

Chrysippus was one of antiquity’s most productive thinkers. He reportedly wrote more than 705 works, averaging around 500 lines per day, though none survived intact – only fragments quoted by later writers like Cicero and Plutarch remain.

Chrysippus built a system around propositions – statements that could be true or false – and how they connect. He laid the groundwork that went unappreciated until the 20th century, with the rise of modern propositional logic, that scholars recognized how far ahead of his time he was. He also argued, controversially, that dogs reason – pointing to the way a hound sniffs down a trail as evidence of logical inference in action.

Chrysippus believed everything happened according to fate, but he didn’t use that as a reason to abandon personal responsibility. His solution – sometimes called compatibilism – held that fate and free will could coexist. If recovering from an illness requires seeing a doctor, he argued, then visiting the doctor is itself part of what fate has arranged. Our choices matter, even in a determined universe.

He died around 206 BC at roughly 73. One account says he drank undiluted wine at a feast and collapsed. Another, more memorable version holds that he watched a donkey eat figs, shouted for someone to bring the animal wine to wash them down, and then died laughing at his own joke.

For a man who built a philosophy of reason and self-control, it was an unfittingly chaotic exit.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

Why did we ask that seafood question? We’re now craving a KFC Bucket size of freshly grilled soft-shell crabs from a Vietnamese family.

In all seriousness, we hope you have a great weekend and that you can kickstart it with a “rate this” calendar edition of 20 Questions. While that topic might make you sleepier than a vial of melatonin, we can’t wait to see the results.

Have a great weekend.

–Max and Max

Incredible map of Roca’s reporting.

Our lead video producer Drew put together this amazing map of all the YouTube videos we’ve done to date. Yes, we desperately need to visit the Pacific northwest, New England, and the Great Plains — we have intentions to visit all three this year — but it’s incredible to see the ground we’ve covered. And we’re only just getting started.

We are living proof that men will really do anything but go to therapy.

• Discord group hacks Mythos

• SPLC funding the… KKK?

• Nerf gun mixup in Wisconsin

– Max and Max

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Mythos Pre-Leased?

That didn’t take long…

Anthropic announced that it is investigating whether a group of unauthorized users gained access to its advanced cybersecurity AI model: Claude Mythos.

Anthropic released Mythos on April 7 to a few hand-picked companies – including Amazon Web Services, Apple, and Google – to “stress test” the model before a public release. The model’s advanced coding capabilities means that Mythos can complete in a few hours what would take a skilled hacker weeks or months to accomplish.

Its release raised concerns among government officials and financial leaders, who fear that the model could be used to exploit software vulnerabilities and plan potential cyberattacks. Anthropic has emphasized that it is handling the Claude Mythos model with care, but reports of unauthorized access could reignite fears over the model’s dangerous potential.

Bloomberg first reported the incident, writing that a handful of users in a Discord forum accessed Mythos on the same day that Anthropic announced its limited rollout of the model. One member of the group spoke to Bloomberg anonymously, alleging that a Discord member had a work login to Anthropic’s systems from a job they’d done for one of Anthropic’s contractors.​

The group also took advantage of a recent data leak at a separate AI company – Mercor – to figure out where Mythos was hosted online. However, Bloomberg’s source claimed the group hasn’t used Mythos for any hacking-related activities, instead sticking to harmless tasks like building websites to fly under Anthropic’s radar.

Anthropic stated it has no evidence of activity extending beyond the approved vendors, stating: “We’re investigating a report claiming unauthorized access to Claude Mythos Preview through one of our third-party vendor environments.”

The incident, if true, would be Anthropic’s third security lapse in recent months. In March, details about Mythos appeared in a publicly accessible data cache. Earlier this month, source code for Anthropic’s Claude Code assistant was also made public. Both incidents were attributed to human error, but the latest breach is more severe and raises questions as to how secure Mythos really is.

Draw Me a Winner

Things are looking increasingly blue for Virginia – the state voted on Tuesday to approve a redistricting plan that could give Democrats a leg up in the November midterms.

Virginia voters voted 51.5% to 48.5% in favor of the new map, drawn by the state’s Democratic-led legislature. The new map could flip up to four Republican-held US House seats blue – shifting what is now a 6-5 Democrat delegation to a 10-1 advantage. Democrats said the move is necessary to counter Republican gerrymandering efforts in Texas, Ohio, Missouri, and North Carolina.

The new Virginia map still faces legal challenges as the state Supreme Court weighs whether the legislature violated procedural rules in putting the measure on the ballot. If the Court rules it a violation, it could invalidate the vote entirely.

Virginia’s move follows Texas’ redistricting effort last year, a plan that was ultimately approved by Governor Greg Abbott (R) in August 2025. Attention now turns to Florida, where Republicans are weighing a special session to draw new lines that could bolster the GOP’s numbers.

How Politicians Are Erasing Representation

“Texas is now more red in the United States Congress,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) declared last August as he signed a new redistricting bill into law. “The Legislature redrew our congressional maps to better reflect Texans’ conservative voting preferences – and for no other reason.”

Abbott was speaking of a new bill – an unusual off-year redistricting effort – that sought to help Republicans keep control of the House of Representatives in upcoming midterms.

Yet rather than simply tilt the map in the party’s favor, it triggered a chain reaction. Since then, successive states have redrawn their electoral maps in reaction and counter-reaction to what began in Texas last year.

The most dramatic example yet may have come this Tuesday, when Virginia voters narrowly decided to redraw their Congressional map.

Continue reading today’s WeThe66 here FOR FREE!

LA Cuts Class Screen Time
The Los Angeles Unified School District voted 6-0 to restrict student screen use in classrooms, becoming the first major US school district to do so.

Under the measure, students in kindergarten and first grade will be barred from screens entirely, while older students will face daily and weekly limits.

The resolution cites research linking heavy device use to anxiety, depression, shortened attention spans, and lower academic achievement, and directs teachers toward more paper-based assignments.

JetBlue Denies Surveillance Pricing
JetBlue denied using personal data to set ticket prices after a viral online post accused the airline of charging a grieving customer $230 more for a last-minute funeral flight.

The controversy began when a social media post alleged a sharp price increase after one day of browsing. JetBlue’s account worsened the situation by replying: “Try clearing your cache and cookies or booking with an incognito window. We’re sorry for your loss,” implying fares were tied to personal data. The airline later walked back that response, saying fares are driven by real-time seat availability and demand, not customer information.

Marijuana to be Rescheduled
The White House reportedly told federal agencies to prepare to loosen marijuana restrictions, following an executive order President Trump signed in December ordering reclassification.

The DEA is set to announce a new administrative hearing as part of the rescheduling process, which would move marijuana from Schedule I – currently grouped with heroin – to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. A majority of Americans support legalization, though that share has declined as the drug has become more widely available.

Tanker Tag

Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz showed no signs of cooling on Wednesday as Iran fired on three ships – one Panama-flagged and two Liberia-flagged – in the waterway, seizing two of them. Iran escorted the ships to Iranian waters and accused them of operating without permission.

The escalation came less than a full day after President Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran at the request of Pakistan, which is still working to bring both sides to the negotiating table. A White House official also clarified on Wednesday that Trump’s ceasefire extension won’t last indefinitely – Iran has around three to five days to present a peace plan to the US.

Iran, meanwhile, is still weighing whether it will even participate in peace talks. US officials say the peace talk breakdown stems from an internal split in Tehran: IRGC generals are reportedly at odds with Iran’s delegation team – Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf – who were prepared to attend talks this week. Both sides have had limited access to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

SPLC Indicted

The Trump Administration secured on Tuesday an 11-count federal indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the leading “anti-hate group” known for bankrupting the KKK, charging the organization with wire fraud, false statements to a bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Prosecutors allege the SPLC secretly paid more than $3M to informants embedded in extremist groups – including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and the National Socialist Movement – between 2014 and 2023 while telling donors their money was being used to dismantle those same groups. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the SPLC was “manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose,” alleging the SPLC’s funds were used to pay the leaders of the extremist organizations.

Interim SPLC CEO Bryan Fair called the allegations false and said the informants “risked their lives to infiltrate and inform on the activities of our nation’s most radical and violent extremist groups.” The program has since ended.

The indictment claims that in one case, the SPLC paid an informant affiliated with a neo-Nazi group more than $1M over nine years; that informant stole 25 boxes of documents from the group, which the SPLC later used to produce a report on the group.

The investigation began under the Biden Administration, which declined to bring charges. Federal prosecutors must now prove that the SPLC’s program furthered extremism rather than fought it.

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✈️ Yesterday’s Question: What’s the coolest country you’ve ever visited? Why?

I visited Rwanda in 2017 and was very impressed. It was affordable, we found clean accommodations easily, and I felt safe the whole time. We went on safari while there, which *amazing.* What I appreciated the most, however, was the honesty and tact the country used in dealing with its own recent past. In 1994 Rwanda experienced a genocide. Now there are survivors at memorials, speaking to visitors and telling their stories. The country is working very hard to remember what happened and to encourage forgiveness and peace. In our world, the people who end up on top like to tell stories that paint themselves in the best possible light. It was nice to think that wasn’t happening, at least not flagrantly.

Anna from Maine

New Zealand! Incredible beaches on the North island, stunning mountains on the South Island, friendly people, cool birds that sound super different from American birds, and glow worms in huge caves, which look like tiny blue stars in the ceiling. Incredible views, delicious food, friendly people, great wine, an exchange rate that makes things feel cheap, so many things to do and mountains to hike and all the sheep you could ever want to count for your entire life.

Also, campervan life is such a fun adventure, as is driving on the left side of the road.

Rebekah from Washington

In 2001 I was deployed to the Mediterranean and we visited Malta. It is a great beach resort destination mixed in with such a rich history and architecture of so many ancient civilizations. Malta was a waypoint for all the great empires as they traded, explored, and invaded throughout Europe, Asia, and Norther Africa. Almost everyone I encountered spoke English and I even met a guy from Libya at a nightclub. Especially at that time, it wasn’t common for two young people from our countries to get to know each other. Definitely the coolest country I’ve ever been to.

Chris in Maryland

🍤 Today’s Question: Where have you eaten the best seafood? Can be a city, country, or restaurant.

Reply to this email with your response!

Nerf or Nothing
Four Wisconsin teenagers triggered a full police response when officers mistook their Nerf guns for real firearms during an annual high school tradition.

Six officers surrounded an apartment complex with weapons drawn before realizing the “AR-style” guns were foam dart blasters. Police say the game prompts calls every year and warn that citations will follow if it continues.

Flying Phallus Formation
Finland’s Air Force punished cadets after they used their training flight patterns to draw male genitalia in the sky, visible on flight tracking services.

At least four planes participated in the aerial artwork during an April 13 exercise out of Tikkakoski, though the Air Force said the stunt posed no risk to other air traffic. “The Air Force requires soldiers to follow good manners and rules of conduct,” a spokesperson said – apparently a rule the cadets felt was worth testing.

Wrap Rage
The world’s largest condom manufacturer, Karex, warned that prices could rise 30% or more as the Iran conflict disrupts supplies of oil-derived materials like latex preservatives and lubricants.

The Malaysia-based company, which produces over 5B condoms annually for brands like Durex and Trojan, says demand has simultaneously surged 30% this year amid supply chain chaos.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

How did nobody answer Florida to yesterday’s question? A bit taken aback.

Hope you have a wonderful day. We’ll work on an SPLC deep-dive soon. That’s a bizarre story and a politicized one. As usual, our approach will simply be to get to the truth.

Have a great day.

–Max and Max

Happy Earth Day to all who celebrate.

It’s Earth Day, and here’s a fun fact about the planet we call home: The Cowboys haven’t appeared in an NFC championship game on it since 1996. We’re kidding, of course: The fun fact that we remind you each year is that we don’t know who named it. Whoever did name it was clearly in their bag, though. Earth really is an Earth.

• Ceasefire continued

• Kash seeks cash

• Return of endless shrimp!

– Max and Max

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independent. Subscribe below if you want to support our mission
and access our full content each morning!

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Trump Extends Ceasefire

President Trump extended the US-Iranian ceasefire indefinitely on Tuesday afternoon, only one day before it was set to expire.

Trump announced the extension on Truth Social:

Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal. I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.

The extension came after a day of mounting uncertainty over whether a second round of talks would happen at all. Vice President JD Vance, who was originally expected to lead the US delegation to a second round of peace talks in Islamabad on Monday, had not left Washington by Tuesday, and any hopes of peace talks were fading.

The confusion appears to stem from a lack of commitment on the Iranian side, as the country has reportedly not confirmed that it would send a delegation to the talks. A spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry blamed the stalemate on what he called “contradictory messages, inconsistent behavior, and unacceptable actions” by the US.

One anonymous source told Axios that Iran was refusing to negotiate until Trump lifted the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. Iran lifted its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, but Trump kept the US blockade in place, and Iran then closed the strait again in response.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump had told CNBC that the US military was “raring to go” and that he expected the bombing campaign to resume if no deal was struck before the ceasefire expired on Wednesday. Trump had also stated on Monday that he was “highly unlikely” to renew the ceasefire, but his latest extension marks a notable reversal from his past comments. For the time being, though, the talks are in limbo.

Is Mythos AI's Most Dangerous Tool?

While all attention has been on Iran, a major story has flown under the radar. On April 7, Anthropic released its latest AI model: Claude Mythos.

It’s not an ordinary chatbot. It’s a hacker’s paradise. Anthropic has limited access to a handful of companies, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent summoned executives from the biggest banks to Washington to discuss its cybersecurity concerns.

So what, exactly, is Mythos? And could it force the government to modify the hands-off approach that’s guided US policy toward AI so far?

Get our breakdown here.

Warsh Hearing
Fed nominee Kevin Warsh faced the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, fielding questions about whether he would maintain the Federal Reserve’s independence from the White House.

Warsh denied that President Trump had pressured him on rates during the interview process, saying Trump never asked him to “predetermine, commit, fix or decide on any interest rate decision.” He also promised sweeping reforms to the Fed’s communications and balance sheet if confirmed.

NY Sues Crypto Exchanges
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued crypto exchanges Coinbase and Gemini, accusing both companies of running illegal prediction markets that violate state gambling laws.

The suits allege that the companies’ event contracts – which let users bet on real-world outcomes like election results – amount to illegal gambling, and that both companies have allowed users under 21 to participate and offered bets on New York college teams in violation of state law. New York is seeking fines equal to three times each company’s in-state profits, along with customer restitution and $100,000 penalties per unauthorized wager offered.

House Democrat Resigns
Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) resigned from Congress on Tuesday, hours before a House Ethics Committee hearing was set to determine her punishment for a string of ethics violations.

A bipartisan Ethics Committee investigation found she had broken more than two dozen rules by funneling FEMA funds – mistakenly sent to her family’s health care company – to her 2022 congressional campaign. She also faces federal criminal charges tied to a $5M government overpayment her company allegedly kept and distributed.

Kash Seeks Cash

FBI Director Kash Patel sued The Atlantic and reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick over allegations that he drank “excessive” amounts of alcohol, resulting in unexplained absences at the FBI.

The article – originally titled “Kash Patel’s Erratic Behavior Could Cost Him His Job” before being renamed to “The FBI Director Is MIA” – cited over dozens of anonymous sources who said Patel’s behavior “often alarmed officials at the F.B.I. and the Department of Justice.” Sources said Patel “has also earned a reputation for acting impulsively during high-stakes investigations.”

The Atlantic’s story included an FBI statement attributed to Patel: “Print it, all false, I’ll see you in court—bring your checkbook.” On Monday, Patel accused the magazine of defamation and filed suit for $250M.

Patel’s lawsuit accused The Atlantic of publishing the statements with “actual malice” – a high legal standard for public figures that means Patel’s attorneys must prove the article’s allegations were not only false, but that The Atlantic or its reporter knew they were false and published them anyway.

An Atlantic spokeswoman said, “We will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit.”

Labor Pains

Women in the Trump Administration’s Cabinet are dropping like flies – Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned from her position following a litany of misconduct allegations.

The White House communications director announced on Monday that Chavez-DeRemer “will be leaving the Administration to take a position in the private sector.” Her resignation comes after President Trump ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month and fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March.

Prior to her resignation, Chavez-DeRemer faced multiple allegations of abusing her position, including having an affair with a member of her security team and using Labor Department resources for personal travel. The Labor Department’s Inspector General had opened an investigation into Chavez-DeRemer in January for the incidents.

A New York Times report from last week also revealed that Chavez-DeRemer’s husband and her father exchanged personal messages with young female staffers. The NYT also reported in February that Chavez-DeRemer’s husband had been barred from the department’s headquarters after female staff members accused him of sexual assault.

Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling will serve as acting Labor Secretary in the interim.

CIA Officers Die in Cartel Country

Two CIA officers were killed in a car crash in Mexico on Sunday.

The officers were returning from a counter-cartel operation in Chihuahua – led by Mexican state-level authorities to dismantle methamphetamine labs – when their vehicle skidded off a road, fell into a ravine, and exploded. Two Mexican officials also died in the crash.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her federal government had no knowledge of US operations in the state and vowed to investigate whether the involvement violated Mexico’s national security laws. “There is a great deal of collaboration and coordination, but there are no joint operations as such on the ground,” Sheinbaum said. “If this investigation confirms that there was a joint operation, then the corresponding sanctions would have to be reviewed.”

Chihuahua’s attorney general said Monday that Mexican forces were leading the operation and that no US personnel were involved.

Earlier this year, the CIA played a key role in locating “El Mencho,” the longtime leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, who was killed by Mexican forces. Sheinbaum maintains that direct US military presence on Mexican soil would violate the country’s sovereignty.

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🤖 Yesterday’s Question: Are you worried that AI will make people less human?

It already has! God forbid somebody sits down and writes an email on their own, or carries a conversation without having to refer to Chat GPT to tell them what to say/think.

Our ability to think makes us human. We’ve already started to outsource that to machines. What’s left if we dont stop now?

Nick from Washington

There will be people who use AI to an extent that they will not make decisions for themselves. I think that if people treat AI as a tool, not as a solution, it can be useful. People said the same thing about the internet during the dotcom bubble. There were some people who couldn’t handle the implementation, and I believe there should be regulations to prevent that. It improved peoples everyday lives for those that can handle it, furthered medical technology, created better communication with loved ones, improved efficiency with businesses. Too much of a good thing can and will be a bad thing. Regulate AI and it will be a tool, not a replacement.

Lawson from Florida

Checking to see what Claude thinks, and then I’ll respond.

Walton from Connecticut

⛰️ Today’s Question: What’s the coolest country you’ve ever visited? Why?

Reply to this email with your response!

Drop-In Guests
A hot air balloon carrying 13 people made an emergency landing in a 10-foot-wide backyard in Temecula, California.

The pilot cited low fuel and shifting winds as the reasons for the unplanned descent, which caught the homeowner off guard while his wife was doing yoga inside. The balloon’s owner praised the pilot’s judgment, saying that most of their landings tend to happen in considerably roomier wine country vineyards.

Back for Seconds
Red Lobster is bringing back its Endless Shrimp promotion two years after the deal contributed to the chain’s 2024 bankruptcy filing.

The offer had previously cost the company $11M in a single quarter after it was made a permanent menu item, eventually prompting closures and a restructuring. The returning promotion is available for a limited time only and includes a choice of side and four shrimp-based entrees.

Hot Seat
A Columbus man showed up to his arson investigation interview with singed eyebrows, a burned earlobe, and a bandaged arm, claiming a brush fire was responsible.

William Bush had been caught on surveillance footage stealing fuel from a former employer’s storage tanks when a flash fire broke out, and he fled the scene still on fire. He eventually admitted to the theft, saying a cigarette caused the blaze, and now faces felony arson charges.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

“Our ability to think makes us human. We’ve already started to outsource that to machines. What’s left if we don’t stop now?”

This line is food for thought today. Not sure what to do about it, so going to ask Claude.

–Max and Max

Prime BuzzFeed was different.

Yesterday, we came across some old BuzzFeed headlines, and we forgot how glorious (read: awful) this site was in the 2010s. So pour yourself an IPA, turn on the Lumineers, and allow us to take you back to prime BuzzFeed with these headlines:

• 35 People Who Just Realized That Seth McFarlane Is Actually Hot

• What Type of Grilled Cheese Are You?

• 13 Potatoes That Look Like Channing Tatum

• What Is Your Inner Potato?

• Make a Sandwich and We’ll Guess What Shrek Character You Are in Bed

No words.... only a new incognito tab to see what we get on the last one (please don’t be Lord Farquaad again).

• Tariff refunds for businesses

• Roca’s James Fishback deep dive

• Meet Apple’s new CEO

– Max and Max

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independent. Subscribe below if you want to support our mission
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Tariff-ic Refunds

Refund season is officially open for businesses: The US federal government launched an online portal for businesses to apply for tariff refunds, the first phase of what could become the largest tariff repayment in US history.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will manage the refunds, allowing importers and their brokers to submit claims through an online portal, which went live at 8AM on Monday. The system, known as CAPE, streamlines the submission and processing of refund requests for duties that President Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the Supreme Court struck down in late February.

Over 330,000 importers paid IEEPA duties for a total of $166B in revenue. As of mid-April, only around 56,000 importers – who were eligible for $127B in refunds (including interest) – had registered for CBP’s electronic payment system, a requirement to get paid.

Not every claim qualifies right away, as the first phase only covers shipments where tariffs weren’t yet finalized or were finalized within the last 80 days. If CBP approves a claim, it plans to issue refunds within two to three months, though the government said it will process payments in phases and focus on recent tariff payments first.

Whether or not consumers will see any money remains mostly unsolved; only the companies that paid the tariffs are eligible to receive funds. Some companies, however, announced plans to refund customers: FedEx said it will return tariff refunds to customers once it receives them, while Costco’s CEO said the company may pass along refunds through lower prices, though it faces a class-action lawsuit from customers who want a direct payout.

The government’s liability is also growing. With interest accruing at roughly $22M per day, the longer the process drags out, the more the total bill climbs beyond the $166B owed. The White House, meanwhile, is working to replace the struck-down tariffs with new ones under a separate 1974 trade law, meaning many of these businesses could soon face similar duties once again.

The Bizarre Transformation of James Fishback

Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback has built his campaign around hostility to establishment politicians and Israel, including by calling anyone who takes AIPAC money a “traitor” and “slave” and vowing to sell off all Israeli debt on “day one” of his tenure.

Yet he only adopted these positions within the last six months.

Before Fishback was known for accusing Jews of fattening Christian kids with “goyslop,” he was singing a very different song. Just two years ago, he was a regular contributor to The Free Press – the famously pro-Israel outlet founded by ardent Zionist Bari Weiss.

Today, we look into the highly unusual backstory of America’s most inflammatory politician. Read our deep-dive here.

7.7 Quake Hits Japan
A 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan on Monday, triggering tsunami warnings that authorities later downgraded.

No casualties were reported, though tens of thousands of residents in coastal areas were ordered to evacuate.

Japanese authorities said the quake raised the probability of a megaquake (magnitude 8 or higher) from 0.1% to 1% over the following week – a small increase but one that officials say is meaningful.

Machado Plans to Return
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she plans to return to Venezuela by the end of the year and is pushing for the country to hold elections.

Machado left Venezuela in December 2025 to accept the Nobel Peace Prize and has not returned since.

Speaking in Madrid, Machado warned that delayed elections risk fueling civil unrest, saying the country’s pent-up frustrations could “get out of hand” without a clear democratic path forward.

D4vd Charged
Authorities charged the 21-year-old singer d4vd – real name David Burke – with first-degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, whose dismembered body was found inside his abandoned Tesla in September.

Prosecutors allege Rivas Hernandez visited Burke’s Hollywood Hills home in April 2025 and was never heard from again.

Burke could face the death penalty if convicted on all charges, though his attorneys maintain his innocence and that the evidence will clear him.

Cook's Last Byte…

Apple CEO Tim Cook announced Monday that he will step down as head of the company in September after nearly 15 years, transitioning to executive chairman.

During Cook’s tenure, Apple’s profit grew fourfold to over $110B, and its market value rose more than ten times to $4T, fueled mostly by iPhone sales and services like the App Store and iCloud. In his statement, Cook said, “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company.”

Cook will hand the role to John Ternus, the 50-year-old head of Apple’s hardware engineering. Ternus, a 25-year Apple veteran, oversaw the development of the iPad, Mac, and AirPods before taking charge of all hardware engineering. He is credited with leading the transition from Intel chips to Apple’s own Apple Silicon chips in Mac computers.

Ternus takes over a company with serious problems: No major product in years, a string of top executive departures, increasing regulatory scrutiny, and a clear lag behind rivals racing ahead on AI.

US-Iran Talks Back On

Tracking US-Iranian relations is enough to give you whiplash. After Monday’s planned talks were delayed, VP JD Vance is now slated to leave Washington for Islamabad on Tuesday to meet Iran’s Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation at the last round of talks.

The confirmed talks come after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) re-closed the strait over the weekend, announcing it would stay closed until the US lifts its blockade. Then on Sunday, the US military seized an Iranian-flagged vessel that was attempting to pass the US blockade on Iranian ports. In response, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said: “So far, we have not made any decisions regarding the next round of negotiations.”

Earlier on Monday, President Trump told Bloomberg that he’s “highly unlikely” to renew the ceasefire (set to expire on Wednesday) if Washington and Tehran fail to reach a deal. Brent crude jumped to $95 per barrel following the news.

One Small Misstep…

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin suffered a setback in its race to compete for direct-to-device (D2D) satellite internet on Sunday: Its New Glenn rocket deployed a satellite too low to sustain operations.

The New Glenn rocket carried an AST SpaceMobile satellite designed to beam internet directly to smartphones without cell towers. While its booster successfully landed on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean 10 minutes later – a win for reusable boosters, the satellite ended up in a lower-than-intended orbit. AST confirmed the altitude was too low for the satellite to function, and it will be de-orbited, burning up in the atmosphere.

The failure is a setback to both companies: AST kicked off 2026 with seven satellites in orbit and had hoped to reach 45 by year-end, but hasn’t added a single one yet. Blue Origin is aiming for 8-12 New Glenn launches this year after managing just two in 2025. Its main competitor, SpaceX, already has over 10,000 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit.

Blue Origin and SpaceX are the only two companies that can vertically land an orbital booster, cutting costs for launching satellites and allowing for more frequent deployments.

The mishap comes less than a week after Bezos’ Amazon announced a deal to acquire satellite firm Globalstar, which aims to rival both SpaceX and AST SpaceMobile in the D2D satellite market.

Hedging Bots

The idea of giving every American a direct stake in AI’s economic gains is gaining momentum across the political spectrum. New York Democratic congressional candidate Alex Bores shared plans with Axios to give every American an “AI dividend.”

Beyond direct payments to Americans, the plan would also funnel money into workforce training, education, and government oversight. Bores has framed the dividend as a trigger-based mechanism that would only activate if AI meaningfully displaces workers, with funding drawn from a tax on AI consumption.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman published a 13-page policy blueprint earlier this month wherein he proposed a “Public Wealth Fund” – seeded by AI companies and invested in diversified assets – that would give every American a stake in AI-driven economic growth.

The proposals come as political battle lines are forming around AI regulation ahead of the 2026 midterms. Pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future has spent millions targeting Bores specifically because he authored New York’s RAISE Act, which requires major AI companies to conduct safety checks and publicly disclose results. The Trump Administration has meanwhile moved to block state-level laws like it, arguing they create a patchwork of rules that stifles innovation.

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🤔 Yesterday’s Question: Which is more harmful to the public today: Legacy media (NYT, Fox, etc.) or social media? Explain.

Social media is worse, for sure. More people are on it, and the algorithms turn it into an echo chamber of your own views combined with nonsensical rage bait. Not to mention the fact that it’s always in your pocket.

Aside from those factors, the worst part of social media is that it’s ruining the human experience. People don’t interact with other people in real life anymore. And when they do, they’re on their f***ing phones!

I think if people got off on social media, put their phones down and simply experienced life and enjoyed the memories in their brains, the world would be an overall better place.

Nick from Washington

Social media is by far more harmful. It is not just delivery of news, but rather everyone ruminating about the news. Data shows it’s the rumination that most negatively affects us and our mental health. It is also easy to read news that is made up for views which paints a false picture of reality. I’m not a huge fan of how clickbait-y mainstream news has gotten either but I’d argue it’s still better than social media politics.

Laura from Utah

Legacy media absolutely has lots of issues, but I have to think that social media is far more harmful. Ignoring the fact that 80+% of the accounts/posts you see are bots (mostly created to induce rage), it’s simply not helpful to hear every single person’s opinion on any given matter. Plus, the algorithms social media sites have created make leaving the platform far harder than a traditional news site—and that’s troublesome even if the content isn’t news/politics related. Civil discourse is always carried out better in person, where tone and gray areas can be explored. 320 characters or 3-5 minutes of a reel will never be able to replace that. I’ll take heavily biased/bankrolled legacy media over the cesspool of Twitter any day (except for sports memes—social media has that area on lock)

Daniel from VA

🤖 Today’s Question: I’ve noticed that people are starting to rely on AI for everything (work, personal questions, small decisions, etc.). Are you worried that AI will make people less human?

Reply to this email with your response!

Bear Faced Lie
Three California residents were convicted of insurance fraud after staging fake bear attacks on luxury vehicles using a person in a bear costume.

The trio submitted nearly $142,000 of fraudulent claims to insurers, submitting videos of a “bear” damaging two Mercedes and a Rolls-Royce – footage a wildlife biologist later said was “clearly a human in a bear suit.”

Detectives found the costume during a search of the suspects’ home. All three pleaded no contest and received probation, with two ordered to pay over $50,000 in restitution.

Carb Crime
Authorities arrested a California man for stealing $34,000 worth of Lego sets from Target locations across the US, replacing the pieces inside the boxes with dried pasta.

Police traced at least 70 nationwide threats back to 28-year-old Jarrelle Augustine, whom authorities charged with grand theft and took into custody.

The department warned any would-be copycats that any plan involving swapping Legos for linguine would be “cooked al dente.”

Highway to Hive
A truck carrying roughly 1M bees crashed on Interstate 40 in Knoxville, Tennessee, shutting down an exit ramp and sending drivers scrambling.

No injuries were reported, and crews eventually cleared both the bees and the wrecked truck – though Tennessee’s Department of Transportation spokesperson said the truck was “destroyed.”

Catherine de’ Medici

This Florentine noblewoman left Italy as a teenage bride and ended up running France.

Born in Florence in 1519 to one of Europe’s most powerful families, Catherine de’ Medici lost both parents within weeks of her birth and spent her childhood caught between rival political factions. At 14, she was shipped off to France to marry the king’s second son – a match arranged by her cousin, Pope Clement VII. She arrived with little influence, a husband who ignored her, and a court that viewed her as an outsider.

For nearly two decades, Catherine had almost no formal power. Her husband, King Henry II, openly favored his mistress over her, and Catherine struggled for years to produce an heir. That all changed in 1559, when Henry took a lance to the face during a jousting tournament and died ten days later. Catherine, now a widow with young children and a fractured kingdom, stepped into the void.

Three of her sons became the King of France in succession. The first died at 15. The second, Charles IX, was only ten when he took the throne – Catherine served as regent and effectively ran the country. The third, Henry III, relied on her counsel until her final weeks. She outlived all but one of her ten children.

Her reputation never recovered from the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 1572. France had been mired in religious war between Catholics and Protestant Huguenots for years. After an assassination attempt on a Huguenot leader went wrong, Catherine reportedly helped authorize a strike against Huguenot leaders gathered in Paris. The killing spread city-wide, then across France, lasting weeks and claiming thousands of lives. Catherine was blamed, and that reputation followed her to her grave.

Historians still debate how much real control she had – civil war hemmed in her options at every turn. She spent her later years traveling across France, negotiating with warlords, and propping up her sons’ faltering authority.

She died in January 1589 at the age of 69. Her last surviving son was assassinated seven months later, ending nearly three centuries of Valois rule.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

This James Fishback piece is one of the most interesting ones we’ve published in the history of We The 66. We hope you enjoy reading it. We’re shocked this piece

–Max and Max

How a few California teens made “4/20” a thing.

One of the first Roca Wraps we ever did was on the origin of 4/20. So, you might ask, how did a random day in April become the blaze-it holiday? Well, it all started with a group of friends at a California high school who would meet up at 4:20 after school to enjoy some ~groovy~ plants they had recently stumbled upon. It soon became a daily ritual, and they used “420” as shorthand for the meetup. After that, the term seeped into Grateful Dead fan culture — one of the kids was a big-time Deadhead — and eventually infiltrated the mainstream. Now, decades later, that highschool meetup is the reason my Uncle Gary is watching “Invader Zim” re-runs waiting for the cheese to melt on the nachos he put in a safe that he confused for a microwave.

• Psychedelics great again?

• Zohran’s new tax for NYC rich

• America’s most conservative county

– Max and Max

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Trump’s Very Big 4/20

President Trump kicked off 4/20 with a bang on Friday.

That afternoon, he joined Joe Rogan, former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell (inspiration of the Mark Wahlberg film “Lone Survivor”), and various health-related officials to sign an executive order directing the FDA to expedite its review of psychedelics that have been categorized as “breakthrough therapies.”

Standing behind Trump, Rogan recounted how he had recently discussed psychedelics, including ibogaine, a West African shrub that some use to treat addiction and PTSD, on an episode with Rick Perry, the former Texas governor and Trump’s first-term energy secretary.

“I want to tell everybody how this happened,” Rogan said. “I sent President Trump some information” – apparently data showing ibogaine’s efficacy – and Trump replied, “Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it.”

Now, the FDA is poised to issue national priority vouchers for certain psychedelics, allowing them to be approved within weeks. Such approvals can typically take a year or longer.

While the order applies to psychedelic substances broadly – including LSD, psilocybin (found in magic mushrooms), and MDMA – it earmarked $50M for federal research into ibogaine. A growing number of veterans and opioid addicts have traveled to Mexico to undergo treatment with the shrub, which is outlawed in America. Ibogaine has cardiac risks; however, a recent Stanford study found that veterans treated with it experienced improvements in symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

Luttrell, the “lone survivor,” has been open about his taking of ibogaine to treat PTSD. In the Friday order-signing ceremony, he told the president, “You’re going to save a lot of lives through it…It absolutely changed my life for the better.”

Trump, meanwhile, said, “Today’s order will ensure that people suffering from debilitating symptoms might finally have a chance to reclaim their lives and lead a happier life…If these turn out to be as good as people are saying, it’s going to have a tremendous impact.”

He added, “Can I have some, please? I’ll take some…I don’t have time to be depressed. You know, if you stay busy enough, maybe that works, too. That’s what I do.”

Is Marijuana Dangerous?

In 1996, California became the first state to legalize marijuana for medical use.

Now, some 38 states have now legalized medical marijuana, while 24, plus DC, have legalized pot for recreational use.

And in December, President Trump signed an executive order to move marijuana from a federal classification of Schedule I – drugs with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse – to Schedule III, drugs with a moderate potential for abuse and accepted medical use.

Then in February, a group of California researchers published a study challenging the assumption that consuming cannabis causes little-to-no harm.

THC concentrations have increased from between 1% to 4% in the 1970s to an average of 17% by 2017. Nowadays, cannabis concentration levels average to the mid-20s, with some strains reaching north of 30% – a nearly tenfold increase from the “Woodstock weed” of the 1970s.

So how did pot get out of control? And what are the risks of modern marijuana? Get the full picture in today’s deep-dive — read it here.

Kingpin Arrested
Dubai police arrested Daniel Kinahan, an Irishman whom various authorities accuse of leading one of the world’s largest drug cartels, the Kinahan Organised Crime Group.

The arrest follows the issuance of an Irish arrest warrant and charges related to various organized crime offences. Kinahan is also a boxing promoter who has worked with fighters including Tyson Fury.

The UAE will likely extradite Kinahan to Ireland. Analysts said the arrest suggests a UAE crackdown on the organized crime groups that have frequently resided in the country or exploited its financial system.

Patel Hits the Bottle?
FBI Director Kash Patel threatened to sue The Atlantic after the magazine published a report on Friday alleging that Patel has been drinking excessively.

In the article, members of Patel’s security detail claimed that they had struggled to wake him multiple times over the past year because he had drunk too much. On one occasion, they reportedly had to use “breaching equipment” because Patel couldn’t be reached in a room.

The FBI said the report was “all false.” Patel added, “I’ll see you in court — bring your check book.”

French Peacekeeper Killed in Lebanon
French President Emmanuel Macron accused Hezbollah of killing a French UN peacekeeper in Lebanon.

The death came a day after a ceasefire took effect between Israel and Lebanon. Per Macron, members of the militant group opened fire on a group of peacekeepers, killing one. Hezbollah denied responsibility.

Also this weekend, an Israeli drone struck a motorcycle, killing one person. That came shortly after Trump declared that Israel was “PROHIBITED” from bombing Lebanon; however, the ceasefire lets Israel strike Hezbollah to prevent “planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”

Gunman Kills Eight in Louisiana
A gunman killed at least eight children between the ages of 1 and 14 in a domestic violence shooting that spanned at least three locations in Shreveport, Louisiana, on Sunday morning.

Police killed the gunman – believed to be the only person who fired shots – after they pursued him into a neighboring parish following a carjacking. Some of the children were descendants of the shooter.

Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux (R) called it “maybe the worst tragic situation we’ve ever had.”

Strait Opened; Closed

One hour it’s open; the next it’s closed. Such is life in the Strait of Hormuz.

On Friday afternoon, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that the Strait of Hormuz was “completely open.” The announcement – by a longtime diplomat – was widely seen as an attempt to signal an openness amid talks with the US. Trump affirmed it, calling the strait “FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR FULL PASSAGE” and calling Friday “A Great and Brilliant Day.” Oil prices fell as low as $86/barrel – down from as high as $109 earlier this month.

Trump subsequently said Iran had “agreed to everything,” including surrendering its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and suspending its nuclear program indefinitely. Still, Trump said the US would keep its blockade of Iranian shipping in place until a deal was signed.

On Saturday, though, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reversed course, re-closing the strait until the US lifts its blockade. The IRGC warned ships not to approach and reportedly fired on at least two tankers attempting passage – the first time it’s done so since the ceasefire began.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a message broadcast by the IRGC on a shipping radio near the strait said, “We will open it by the order of our leader, Imam Khamenei, not by the tweets of some idiot.”

So the strait is, again, closed; the US blockade continues; and who is calling the shots in Iran remains unclear.

Tax Me If You Can

Last week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) announced the city’s first-ever pied-à-terre tax – an annual levy on properties worth over $5M whose owners don’t live in NYC full-time. Mamdani announced the proposal, which still requires approval from the state legislature, outside Citadel CEO Ken Griffin’s $238M penthouse.

The tax would apply to one-to-three family homes, condos, and co-ops. The city estimates it would raise at least $500M annually, with revenue going toward free childcare, street cleaning, and neighborhood safety.

Governor Kathy Hochul (D) backed the proposal, calling it fair to ask the ultra-wealthy – including foreign buyers who use NYC properties as investments rather than residence – to contribute more. Critics said the proposal could cost construction jobs, lower property values for full-time residents, and drive up costs as capital flows elsewhere.

The proposal comes as NYC faces a $5.4B budget deficit, potentially requiring significant new taxes, and with the state legislature yet to pass a budget that is now more than two weeks overdue.

To Surveil or not to Surveil…

That is the question Congress can’t answer.

Fresh off the back of a two-week recess, Congress found itself in a late-night scramble on Thursday over Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which was set to expire on Monday. The law lets US intel agencies intercept electronic communications of foreign nationals abroad without a warrant, potentially sweeping up messages of US citizens in the process.

First enacted in 2008, Section 702 comes up for reauthorization every few years, and each round triggers the same fight: National security hawks pushing to preserve it, privacy-minded lawmakers (and an unusual left-right coalition) pushing for reforms to protect Americans caught in its dragnet.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had been trying to pass a five-year renewal at President Trump’s request, but roughly 20 conservatives refused to back it without changes to protect Americans’ data. Many Republicans blamed the White House, arguing that the administration failed to engage with the holdouts.

Shortly after 2 AM Friday, the House passed a 10-day patch extending the program through April 30, with the Senate approving it later that morning. The passage plugs the short-term hole but leaves the broader question unresolved.

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A Titanic Leak
Rains flooded a Titanic exhibit at a museum outside Chicago on the exact anniversary of the ship’s sinking.

Thunderstorms swept through the area on April 14 – 114 years to the day after the Titanic went down – inundating the exhibit at the Volo Museum, which houses over $6M in vehicles once owned by passengers.

Horse Pursuit
An NYPD horse mounted officer galloped through the Upper West Side to catch a woman accused of snatching a purse from an elderly woman’s lap.

Felicia Field, 44, ducked under scaffolding and between parked cars as the officer shouted “Stop running!” – until a pedestrian bystander intercepted Field.

Field was charged with larceny and providing false information to police; a background check revealed she had served time for a 2001 murder conviction tied to an attempted robbery.

Byte of Fame
A $25,000 Chinese-made humanoid robot named Edek has become a big celebrity in Poland after going viral for chasing wild boars through the streets of Warsaw.

Two Polish entrepreneurs bought the 132cm bot and built custom software on top of it, turning Edek into the country’s first robotic social media influencer, garnering 1.5B views in 45 days.

Edek has debated MPs in parliament, been mobbed by kids at a football stadium, and landed a Rolex deal – with its owners eyeing expansion to the US next.

Bob Marley

He grew up in one of Kingston’s toughest neighborhoods and became the most recognized voice in the history of reggae.

Born in the rural parish of Saint Ann in 1945, Robert Nesta Marley left his village at 12 and moved to Trenchtown, Kingston, where poverty and music shaped him in equal measure. He formed a harmony group with childhood friends Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer, and the rest belongs to history.

The group – eventually known as the Wailers – spent the 1960s grinding through Jamaica’s music scene before signing with Island Records in 1972. The deal gave them access to a proper studio for the first time, and the albums that followed, Catch a Fire (1973) and Burnin’ (1973), introduced reggae to rock audiences worldwide. When Eric Clapton covered Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” in 1974, it hit No. 1 in the US, and suddenly everyone wanted to know who wrote it.

In December 1976, two days before a free concert in Kingston intended to ease political tensions, gunmen broke into Marley’s home and shot him, his wife Rita, and his manager. All three survived. Marley performed the concert anyway, showing up on stage wounded. He then left Jamaica and spent two years in London, where he recorded Exodus (1977) – an album that stayed on the British charts for 56 consecutive weeks.

In 1977, doctors found melanoma beneath the nail of his right big toe. Marley refused amputation, citing his faith, and had the nail bed removed instead. He kept touring. By 1980, his cancer had spread to his brain, lungs, and liver. He collapsed while jogging in New York’s Central Park that September. His final concert was weeks later in Pittsburgh.

Marley died in Miami on May 11, 1981, at 36, while trying to make it home to Jamaica. He received a state funeral. His greatest hits album, Legend, released three years later, became the best-selling reggae album ever. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, and Rolling Stone later ranked him among the 100 greatest artists of all time.

His final words to his son Ziggy: “On your way up, take me up. On your way down, don’t let me down.”

He never made it home. But his music never left.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Final Thoughts

We visited Borden County, TX, the most conservative county in America. It’s one of Texas’s four “dry” counties — you can’t buy alcohol there — and has a population of just over 600. We didn’t go there to talk about politics, though. Instead, we focused on learning about life there.

The people we met were decent and showed us a side of life that we hadn’t yet seen.

–Max and Max