🌊 A Cruise from Hell
Plus: Wall Street's tech dependence, insider trade on oil, & 10 Questions!
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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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.
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.
What does Roca Nation think?
🇺🇸 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.
Do you have kids? If so, how many?
If you have kids, why did you choose to? If not, why not?
What do you think is the biggest reason people are having fewer kids today?
Fewer people are choosing to get married. Why? If you’re among them, what’s your reasoning?
Why are more people referring to their significant other as their “partner”?
When should kids get access to cell phones? Why?
What do you think is the biggest reason people are having fewer kids today?
Do you think anything could reverse declining birth rates?
Is fixing declining birth rates a problem for government or society?
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
I'm not sure if anyone else was able to see the location named in the third response, but I wasn't able to. I believe Telluride, Colorado was the place being referred to, though