🌊 Pete to Test Troops' Testosterone
Plus: "Kane is not able," SpaceX shares dip, & a $1 Trump coin
Happy Odyssey Day.
The Odyssey hits theaters today, and the critics are claiming it’s a masterpiece. The film currently has a 96% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the highest-rated Nolan film ever. Max T, however, is skeptical and will be hitting the theaters tonight to see if it really deserves to be rated higher than Jackass: Best and Last. I mean, sure the Trojan horse is cool, but Steve-O got launched off a cliff while stuck inside a portapotty.
But I guess not everyone’s a cinephile, and we’re glad the masses will get a nice little “bread and circus” experience from Mr. Nolan.
Pete to test troops’ Testosterone
SpaceX shares dip
“Kane is not able”
-Max and Max
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Pentagon to Test Testosterone?
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon will start screening for testosterone deficiency among troops
Hegseth said troops 30 and older will be tested annually to keep service members operating at their “absolute best,” while those under 30 can opt in. He didn’t specify what testosterone levels would trigger treatment or whether women would have access to screening. Treatment would be voluntary
The move follows efforts by other Trump officials, including Health Secretary RFK Jr., to expand access to testosterone therapies. Current guidelines generally advise against broad testing
Blanche Confirmation Begins
Todd Blanche – who’s been acting attorney general since Pam Bondi was ousted in April – faced his first Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday for the permanent attorney general role
Blanche, Trump's former lawyer, said the $1.776B "anti-weaponization fund" – meant to compensate people who claimed they were wrongly prosecuted by the federal government – was dead. A federal judge had nullified the deal this week and referred Blanche to state bar authorities over ethics concerns
On the Epstein files, Blanche took responsibility for redaction errors. The Judiciary Committee will vote next week on his nomination
Canada Smoke Sweeps US
Wildfire smoke from over 3,000 Canadian fires across 4.5M acres is drifting into the US, threatening dangerous air quality for millions of people in Canada and the American Midwest and Northeast
A dozen fires in Ontario have combined with a heat dome over northern Minnesota and southern Ontario, pushing smoke into US cities
Shifting weather will drive smoke down to ground level on Thursday, worsening air quality from the Upper Midwest through New England. The smoke carries particulate matter (PM2.5) that penetrates deep into lungs and bloodstreams, aggravating heart disease, diabetes, and respiratory illnesses
SpaceX Shares Dip
SpaceX shares fell below their $135 IPO price for the first time on Wednesday, dipping to a low of $132 before rebounding to $135, just over a month after the company's record-breaking IPO made Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire
The stock briefly pushed SpaceX's valuation above $2.6T last month, surpassing Microsoft and Amazon, but it has since fallen to around $1.75T. Analysts point to valuation concerns and the unwinding of bullish bets after the listing
The decline reflects broader worries about debt-funded AI spending and potential Federal Reserve rate hikes
Inside Big Bunker
“Saying you’re ‘buying a house in New Zealand’ is kind of a wink, wink, say no more,” LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman told The New Yorker in 2015.
What a billionaire really means when they say that, Hoffman said, is that they are buying a doomsday bunker: “They’ll be, like, ‘Oh, you know, I have a broker who sells old ICBM silos, and they’re nuclear-hardened, and they kind of look like they would be interesting to live in.’”
Eleven years later, it’s commonplace to hear about billionaires acquiring remote tracts of land in places like Hawaii and New Zealand, then reinforcing them to be apocalypse-resistant. In today’s deep-dive, we look at the billionaires who are building compounds, where they are building them, and what they are putting inside of them.
“Kane Is Not Able”
Argentina scored twice in the final five minutes to overcome England 2-1 in the World Cup semifinal, setting up a final against Spain on Sunday. The Daily Mail’s headline was, “Kane is not able,” referencing the England captain’s poor night.
$1 Trump Coin Announced
The US Mint will produce a new one-dollar coin featuring President Trump's face, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiling the design on Wednesday. The coin shows Trump's face alongside "In God We Trust" and a "1776-2026" inscription marking the nation's 250th birthday. The coin will be gold-colored but contain no actual gold.
Boat Capsizes Near Alcatraz
A pontoon boat carrying about 20 people, mostly family members at a memorial service, capsized roughly 600 yards from Alcatraz Island on Tuesday. The fire chief said one man pulled from the water in severe distress later died, while three others were hospitalized in stable condition; 13 people returned to shore uninjured. Three remain missing.
What Does Roca Nation Think?
💰 Yesterday’s Question: Do you believe that it’s much harder for young people to buy a home and live well than it was for their parents?
Yes, and this an objective fact, not just my opinion. If you track income per industry and average home prices over time, both adjusted for inflation, you will see a MASSIVE difference. Home prices have shot up, while income has increased only very steadily. Combine that with high interest rates and you now have a formula for the inability for young people to buy homes.
Josh from Florida
Yes, I think it’s much harder for young people to buy a home and live well than it was for their parents. On one hand, income opportunities have shrunk (at large companies with generous pay & benefits and small employers who are more directly feeling the squeeze themselves). On the other hand, housing costs have risen much more than wages, and many young people are carrying a lot of debt. There is still a lot of opportunity, just not as much as in the relatively recent past.
Curt in Kansas
In my personal experience, no. I’m 25, and I just bought my first house. Unmarried, single income, my parents gave me no starter cash, no inheritance. I went to trade school, got my electrical license, had my work pay for my schooling, never went to college. I know I’m a unicorn, and that for the vast majority of folks my age, it is vastly more difficult. But I don’t feel like I had any major advantage, or did anything super weird to get here. I got into a sought-after trade, worked my butt off, saved up, and am living very comfortably in a house that I own because of it.
Nate from Des Moines
🏀 Today’s Question: Promise this has nothing to do with England’s loss, but which fan base in sports (college and pro) has suffered the most over the last 25 years?
Reply to this email with your response!
Is Ain’t Coming Home
An England superfan got a foot-long tattoo declaring the Three Lions World Cup champions before the tournament even ended. He said he plans to add "only joking" if England loses and, after yesterday’s game, might have to book an appointment soon.
Cat-astrophic Heist
A man stole a kitten from a Maryland pet store and used her as a hostage to rob a nearby bank, but police caught him within minutes.
Rex Marks the Spot
A tyrannosaurus rex fossil named Gus sold for $50.1M, making it the most expensive dinosaur ever auctioned. Gus was excavated from private land in South Dakota starting in 2021.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
We can’t even imagine what it was like to wake up in Manchester today. An absolutely gut-wrenching loss for England fans. They had it! Up 1-0 in the 85th minute, they lost the match 2-1 in regulation. The Cup is officially not coming home, and we can’t help but feel for the Brits. Piers Morgan is clearly not rooting for Argentina on Sunday, as he wrote: “Classless pr*cks. I hope Spain beat them as badly in the Final as we beat them in the Falklands War.”
Have a great day!
–Max and Max
Om namah shivay A baba
Hegseth and his rickety distraction-from-crimes/bribery/money-crypto scams are both a joke with no laughter forthcoming. Why grant him space?