🌊 One Small Pivot for Elon...
Plus: DOJ unredacts names, MN crackdown ending, & bizarre Olympic confession
Saved from a Texas beach.
Remember the quote we shared, “If you want to hate a country watch its news. If you want to love it meet its people”?
On Monday, our rental car got stuck on a Texas beach — yes, you can drive on Texas beaches — near the Mexico border. Apparently two-wheel drive on sand is about as effective as Spanish 2 in 10th grade for understanding Bad Bunny. Anyway, three strangers saw us and went above and beyond to help free our car and get us on our way. They didn’t hesitate one second to help us — in fact, Mike with the pickup truck seemed happy to do it. We encounter generosity like this everywhere. And you’re welcome to all the Boomer men enjoying the image of a soft Millennial male having a rental car stuck on the beach due to a complete lack of understanding of how an automobile works. 🌊
🚀 SpaceX pivots to moon
😳 DOJ unredacts names
🥇 Bizarre Olympic confession
–Max and Max
NEWS TRIVIA
Do you know the news?
These questions are related to the day’s news; the answers are at the end of the newsletter!
Who was the first person in space?
Which president founded ICE?
KEY STORY
SpaceX Pivots to the Moon
SpaceX announced it would prioritize building a city on the moon over its long-standing Mars settlement plans. For over 20 years, SpaceX founder Elon Musk has emphasized that Mars colonization is the company’s primary mission, calling the moon “a distraction” last year. On Sunday, Musk wrote on X that SpaceX had shifted its focus to building a “self-growing city” on the moon. He stated the lunar city could be achieved in half the time of a Mars city. Musk said SpaceX could launch missions to the moon every 10 days, compared to a 26-month wait time for Mars.
Dig Deeper
Musk said SpaceX still plans to begin work on a Mars city in five to seven years, but the moon would take priority for “securing the future of civilization.” SpaceX also holds a nearly $3B contract with NASA to build a lunar lander for the agency’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon by 2028. Roca Members can read the full story here.
KEY STORY
Walz Says Crackdown to End
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) said he expects the federal immigration enforcement operation in the state to end within days
Border czar Tom Homan assumed control of the Minnesota operation in late January following two fatal shootings by federal officers. He shifted the enforcement strategy toward cooperation with local officials rather than large-scale street operations
On Tuesday, Walz announced that he spoke with Homan and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles about reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota. Walz said the administration indicated the operation will conclude in “days, not weeks and months”
Dig Deeper
Also on Tuesday, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons testified before the House Homeland Security Committee, where lawmakers questioned him about the fatal shootings in Minneapolis and allegations of excessive force. Lyons defended the enforcement operations and said his agency had made 379,000 arrests last year
KEY STORY
TrumpRX Goes Live
President Trump launched TrumpRx.gov, a government website designed to help Americans find discounted prescription drugs. Trump signed an executive order last May directing his administration to bring down American drug prices, then demanded that major pharmaceutical companies create direct-to-consumer sales programs. Last week, he announced the launch of TrumpRx, a website featuring 43 medications, including insulin, asthma inhalers, weight-loss drugs, and fertility treatments. The site does not sell medications directly but directs users to pharmacies or manufacturers that do.
Dig Deeper
Health policy analysts said that most Americans might not save money using TrumpRx, as nearly all the featured drugs are already covered by insurance and approximately 85% of Americans have drug coverage. The discounts are only available to people paying out of pocket and cannot be combined with insurance. Roca Members can read the full story here.
KEY STORY
Justice Department Unredacts Some Names
The DoJ unredacted more names in files related to Jeffrey Epstein after lawmakers criticized heavy redactions in the latest document release
Following the criticism, the DoJ agreed to let select Congresspeople access the full documents in a reading room at the DoJ building in DC
Late Monday, Reps. Khanna (D-CA) and Massie (R-KY) said they found six names that seemed “likely incriminated.” They threatened to start naming the individuals if the DoJ didn’t unredact the files
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche claimed the DoJ has unredacted “all non-victim names,” though many names still remain hidden
Dig Deeper
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also testified during a Senate hearing on Tuesday that he visited Epstein’s island in 2012 with his wife, four children, and nannies. Lutnick’s testimony contradicted an interview last year where he said he decided in 2005 to never be in the same room as Epstein after touring his home that year
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
-Steve Jobs
WE THE 66
Will Epstein Cost Starmer His Job?
The latest Epstein files continue to expose connections between US elites and the pedophile financier. Yet the Epstein files haven’t just hit the US: Their contents may soon topple UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
The prime minister’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned last weekend over his role in appointing Peter Mandelson – who had close ties to Epstein – as the British Ambassador to the US in 2024
And now lawmakers – even from Starmer’s own Labour Party – are calling for him to step down
What’s the full story? What did Starmer know? And what did he ignore while appointing Mandelson? These are the questions we dive into in today’s WeThe66
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
🚶🏻➡️ Two dozen Buddhist monks reached Washington, DC, from Texas after a 2,300-mile “Walk for Peace” that began over three months ago.
📈 Paramount has increased its $108B hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery by offering shareholders an additional $0.25 per share in quarterly payments if regulators delay Warner’s potential deal past 2026.
🌉 President Trump threatened to block the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Michigan and Ontario, demanding that Canada compensate the US before it opens.
🇺🇸 The National Governors Association canceled its annual meeting with President Trump after the White House said it would invite only Republican governors to the event.
🖼️ The FBI released images of a masked person sought in connection with the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother eight days ago.
What does Roca Nation think?
🇺🇸 Yesterday’s Question: Would you describe yourself as pro- or anti-immigration? Or is it not that simple?
I very pro immigration, being a 1st generation Latvian. The thing is you must do it right, my grandparents and Mom did it correctly. They learned the language and blended in. They still had their own Latvian community, but were and are Americans.
-John from Ohio Living in Washington
As a child immigrant/refugee myself (in 1989) I am very much pro immigration, but LEGAL immigration. My family and I had to travel through 2 countries and endure multiple ambassy visits and hours of questions about why we are immigrating and why our choice was USA. When we finally got the red light and arrived at NYC we had to live in a homeless shelter and got very little monetary compensation, forget about health insurance. My parents promptly found whatever jobs they could and moved us kids out of there as soon as possible. In any event, we all had to endure bullying for not speaking English (or speaking with heavy accents), wearing second-hand clothes, having the wrong haircuts, etc. We did EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO FIT IN AND ASSIMILATE. And we became law abiding, English-speaking, hard working Americans. So yes, I expect same from those who come here seeking refuge/better life/better opportunities and better education. And it makes my skin crawl that those who’ve been here for decades don’t have the decency to speak English – it is not that hard, speaking from experience.
- Marina from NYC
It’s not that simple! I’m pro immigration if we have a working system which we do not.
USCIS can’t keep up with the requests so everyone has pending cases. In the past, a pending case granted a “period of authorized stay” but now there are quotes from ICE indicating otherwise. Also notable that those cases rarely grant work authorization so while people may be legally allowed to be here, they cannot work.
Unfortunately, the US immigration system has become bogged down with these “grey” situations where someone is here temporarily and has to request to be extended every 12-18 months.
I work for a University and assist with filing H1Bs and permanent residency cases. The timeline for permanent residency for faculty with PhDs has increased from an 18month expected process (as recent as 2019) to 5+ years. The longer it takes for these cases to be processed, the more “grey” we experience. People have changed employers, changed visas multiple times, etc.
It’s a problem that exponentially gets worse so while I support ending temporary programs that have no path to permanent residency or are hugely inundated with numbers, I do struggle with the reality that an adult woman who has been here since 6 years old and is working and successfully supporting herself could be sent back to Haiti with no family, simply because we’ve given up on them.
Immigration desperately needs an overhaul but we can’t abandon the people that have been here for 10+ years and have no ties to their home country. It’s an impossible task.
- Margaret from undisclosed, thanks for coming to my ted talk!
🍿 Today’s Question: Would you ever pay to watch a movie made by AI in theaters?
Reply to this email with your response!
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
🔫 Squirt Gun Showdown: A Swiss woman received a five-day suspended prison sentence for importing a pink water pistol she ordered online for a carnival police costume.
📺 Medal Culpa: Norwegian biathlete Sturla Holm Laegreid used his post-race interview after winning Olympic bronze to publicly confess he had cheated on his girlfriend three months ago.
🇨🇳 Pikachu Politics: China’s military news agency condemned Japanese shows Pokémon and Detective Conan for spreading “Japanese militarism,” prompting anime conventions across China to ban costumes and merchandise from both series.
⚛️ Atomic Youth: A 12-year-old Dallas student may become the youngest person ever to achieve nuclear fusion after completing a four-year science project that began when he was just 8 years old.
🐶 Ruff Copy: A Miami man cloned his Boston Terrier, Lucas, for $50,000 after the dog died of lymphoma, using somatic cell nuclear transfer technology that takes about 80 days to complete.
ROCA WRAP
The Mystical Poet
Rainer Maria Rilke
This key modernist poet chose his own epitaph about roses, only to reportedly die from a thorn prick while gathering one.
In 1875, Rilke was born in the Kingdom of Bohemia, now known as the Czech Republic. Rilke’s parents enrolled him first in a military academy, which he left due to illness, and then in a trade school, which he also left. Following his departure, Rilke returned to Prague to study literature, art history, and philosophy at university.
At 22, Rilke sparked up a romance with Lou Andreas-Salomé, a Russian-born author and narrator who took the young Rilke on multiple trips to Russia. It was there that Rilke acquainted himself with Leo Tolstoy and Russian culture, which influenced his work throughout his life. Though their romance ended in 1900, Salomé remained Rilke’s closest confidant for the rest of his life. In 1902, Rilke moved to Paris to write about sculptor Auguste Rodin. Working as Rodin’s secretary, Rilke was inspired by his approach to art and transitioned from ornate, romantic prose to a more precise writing style – a tone that represented a shift from typical European literature at the time.
Rilke settled in Switzerland in 1921, and in the following year completed the Duino Elegies – a collection of 10 elegies widely considered to be Rilke’s best work – during what he called “a savage creative storm.” While Rilke suffered health issues throughout his life, his health began to decline in 1923 from undiagnosed leukemia, which doctors only confirmed shortly before his death.
Rilke died in December 1926 at the age of 51, reportedly after gathering roses for a visitor and pricking his hand on a thorn, becoming infected. After his death, letters he had written advising an aspiring poet were collected and published in a book titled, Letters to a Young Poet, which has since become one of his most cherished works.
For a poet who wrote about angels and existential suffering, death by a rose seemed almost too perfectly symbolic.
NEWS TRIVIA ANSWERS
Yuri Gagarin
George W. Bush
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
The immigration responses were excellent. We truly consider ourselves lucky to get to read such high-quality and ideologically diverse responses each day. Most comment sections for news sites are angry, one-sided, and predictable. Our community hub is the opposite. Thank you to everyone who wrote in.
Plus, we’re experimenting with some formatting changes and are eager to get your input. Let us know which news style you prefer:
Happy Hump Day!
–Max and Max