Gold medal for sportsmanship…
After losing the gold medal match in women’s hockey to the US (peep this amazing Megan Keller GW), Canada’s official Olympic account posted: “Silver shines just as bright ❤️.” Some are calling it the “most Canadian tweet ever,” but we admire the positivity from our northern neighbors.
Now let’s get a rematch on Sunday in the men’s final.
🇬🇧 Prince Andrew’s investigation
💰 Roundup weedkiller settlement
🚔 Shia LaBeouf arrested
– Max and Max
News Trivia
These questions are related to the day’s news; the answers are at the end of the newsletter!
What was the name of the first Mars rover?
Is Gaza predominantly Sunni or Shia Muslim?
KEY STORY
Former Prince Andrew Arrested
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, was arrested on charges related to his ties with Jeffrey Epstein
Mountbatten-Windsor served as a trade envoy for the British government from 2001 to 2011. He gave up his royal duties in 2019 due to his connections with Epstein, and his brother King Charles stripped him of his remaining titles, including "prince," in 2025
On Thursday, police arrested him on suspicion of misconduct in public office, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under British law
In other Epstein news, Bill Gates withdrew from a keynote address at India's AI Impact Summit amid increased scrutiny of his ties to Epstein
Dig Deeper
The latest release of the Epstein files showed that Mountbatten-Windsor allegedly shared confidential government reports with Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy
The emails revealed that the two maintained contact through a business associate until a year before Epstein's death, contradicting Mountbatten-Windsor's previous claims that he cut off contact in late 2010
KEY STORY
Roundup Weedkiller Settlement
The owner of Roundup proposed a plan to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits that claim its weedkiller caused cancer
Germany-based Bayer acquired Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, in 2018 and took on Monsanto's legal liabilities, which stem from claims that Roundup users developed cancer from using the weedkiller
On Tuesday, Bayer filed a $7.25B settlement in a Missouri state court, creating a claims program that would be funded through payments up to 21 years
Bayer said it would pay around $6B in 2026 alone and would lose money this year
Dig Deeper
The deal covers both existing and future claims, allowing anyone exposed to Roundup before the filing date and diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma within 16 years to receive a payment
The proposal comes as the Supreme Court prepares to hear Bayer's appeal in a separate case scheduled for oral arguments in late April
KEY STORY
US To Launch Freedom.gov
The US State Department plans to launch an online portal that allows people to access content banned by their governments, Reuters reported
European governments have enacted regulations that require the removal of certain online content, including the EU's Digital Services Act and the UK's Online Safety Act. These laws mandate that platforms like Facebook and X remove illegal hate speech, terrorist material, and disinformation
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that the State Department is developing Freedom.gov, an online portal to counter what it views as government censorship, particularly in Europe, and to promote free speech
Dig Deeper
The portal will allow users to browse as if they were located in the US, and officials told Reuters that user activity on the site will not be tracked
The project could strain relations between the Trump Administration and US allies in Europe, which are already facing disputes over trade, the war in Ukraine, and Trump's efforts to gain control of Greenland
KEY STORY
US Commits $10B to Board of Peace
President Trump inaugurated his Board of Peace, announcing over $17B in commitments for Gaza reconstruction and relief efforts
Earlier this week, Trump announced that members of his Board of Peace had already pledged $5B toward rebuilding Gaza and committed thousands of troops for stabilization efforts
On Thursday, the Board of Peace held their first meeting at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC
Trump said the US would commit $10B in Gaza relief funds, while Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait pledged an additional $7B
Dig Deeper
Many US allies – including leaders from Canada, the UK, Australia, and France – did not attend the meeting
Trump said Egypt and Jordan would prepare a new Palestinian police force to provide security in Gaza, while Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, and Albania committed to sending thousands of troops if necessary
QUOTE OF THE DAY
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
-Mark Twain
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
⛺ New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) said the city will begin clearing homeless encampments again after 20 people died during a recent cold front.
🇰🇷 A Seoul court gave former President Yoon Suk Yeol a life sentence for his role in an insurrection following his December 2024 martial law declaration.
🏛️ The Commission of Fine Arts approved design plans for President Trump's White House ballroom project.
🦭 New research found that seal pups communicate in ways comparable to humans, including developing similar vocalizations, akin to regional accents.
🚀 NASA made a second attempt on Thursday to fill its moon rocket with fuel after hydrogen leaks stopped the first test two weeks ago.
What does Roca Nation think?
🤔 Yesterday’s Question: What’s your favorite part of this newsletter? Your least favorite?
Okay my favorite part is the intros/outros truly. I live for the wit.
But overall I appreciate having a news source that I trust is not indoctrinating me!!
Least fav is probably the roca wraps summarizing historical figures- not because they are poorly done I’m just not interested in them as I’m trying to get a quick grasp on the day’s main headlines. Just feels a little random maybe. Probably just personal preference!!
Regarding your conclusion - don’t let the haters get you down!! You don’t control what stories are out there to share. Some people will always be a bit glum and hypercritical.
Have a blessed weekend!!
SK from Tennessee
My favorite part of my Roca newsletter is that I feel more educated and aware of the world around me after reading it. I also feel I’m reading a fair point of view from all sides on the big stories. Your information is factual, not judgemental. I truly appreciate getting my news in a way that allows me to make up my own mind as to what I think or agree/disagree with. You guys are the best out there!
Tracey from California
My favorite part about the newsletter is 20Q’s and anything associated with an interactive survey (love that you have recently added that!). I love to see the results and how my thinking aligns with others.
Pam from Wisconsin
20 Questions!
I saw a photo showing the interiors of old fast food restaurants (McDonald’s used to genuinely be Louvre-esque) and it made me very nostalgic. So, in that spirit, we’re doing a “Rate this: Nostalgia Edition” of 20 questions where you will rate each of the choices listed on a scale of 1-10!
Last week’s results for “this or that.”
Public school - 54.8%
Private school - 45.2%
Go in - 52.8%
Drive thru - 47.2%
Stay home - 75.6%
Go out - 24.4%
Dress up - 33.9%
Dress down - 66.1%
Home remedy - 45.2%
Medication - 54.8%
Early bird - 51.3%
Night owl - 48.7%
Driver’s seat - 68.7%
Passenger seat - 31.3%
Morning shower - 61.4%
Evening shower - 38.6%
Think before doing - 88.1%
Do before thinking - 11.9%
Confrontational - 24.9%
Non-confrontational - 75.1%
Secular wedding - 40.7%
Religious wedding - 59.3%
Introvert - 63.4%
Extrovert - 36.6%
Tipping at coffee shops - 47.2%
No tipping at coffee shops - 52.8%
Risk taker - 31%
Play it safe - 69%
Wear your heart on your sleeve - 34.1%
Keep things to yourself - 65.9%
The Masters - 48.7%
Coldplay concert - 51.3%
Talker - 31.4%
Listener - 68.6%
Animals allowed on the bed - 56.3%
No animals on the bed - 43.7%
Do it yourself - 73.7%
Ask for help - 26.3%
Large group of acquaintances - 11.4%
Small circle of close friends - 88.6%
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
🐩 Cross-Country Crossbreed: A Czech wolfdog named Nazgul crashed the women’s cross-country team sprint at the Winter Olympics in Italy, sprinting across the finish line alongside Croatian skier Tena Hadzic
💵 Checking In, Cashing Out: A New York City man pleaded guilty to fraud after paying $200 for one night at the New Yorker Hotel in 2018, then attempting to claim ownership of the entire building through forged property records.
🪨 Stacking Up Ancient History: Archaeologists hauled 22 massive granite blocks from the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria out of the water where earthquakes sent it crashing over a millennium ago.
👩🏻🏫 Art Class Honors: Mumbai artist Rouble Nagi won the $1M Global Teacher Prize for establishing over 800 free learning centers across India that reach communities in slums and underserved villages.
🚨 Lawless in Louisiana: Actor Shia LaBeouf was arrested in New Orleans after an alleged altercation outside a French Quarter bar during Mardi Gras celebrations shortly after midnight.
ROCA WRAP
The Reclusive Author
Harper Lee
This author wrote one of America’s most beloved novels, then virtually disappeared from public life for over fifty years.
Born in Monroeville, Alabama, in 1926, Nelle Harper Lee grew up the youngest of four children in a small Southern town that would later inspire the setting of her masterpiece. Her father was a lawyer and former state legislator who once defended two black men accused of murder – both were hanged despite his efforts. This failed defense would echo through her fiction decades later. As a child, Lee befriended a boy named Truman Capote, who spent summers in Monroeville. The two became lifelong friends, each eventually modeling characters after the other in their respective novels.
After abandoning law school one semester before graduation – devastating her father – Lee moved to New York City in 1949. She worked at a bookstore and then as an airline reservation agent, writing in whatever spare time she could find. In 1956, friends gave her an extraordinary Christmas gift: A year’s salary with a note telling her to write whatever she pleased. She delivered a manuscript the following spring, but her editor deemed it unpublishable. For two years, Lee rewrote the book through countless revisions, once throwing the entire manuscript into the snow during a tearful breakdown before her editor ordered her to retrieve it immediately.
Published in 1960 as “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the novel became an immediate bestseller and won the Pulitzer Prize. Lee had expected critical failure but instead received overwhelming acclaim. She helped Capote research what became “In Cold Blood,” spending months in Kansas investigating a quadruple murder, though their friendship later deteriorated as Capote struggled with jealousy over her success.
After the book’s publication, Lee granted almost no interviews and published virtually nothing for 55 years. She worked on other manuscripts but filed them away unfinished. When “Go Set a Watchman” – essentially a first draft of “Mockingbird” – was published in 2015, controversy erupted over whether the elderly, nearly blind and deaf Lee had truly consented to its release.
She died the following year, in 2016, at 89, having spent most of her life as a literary ghost, famous for both writing a masterpiece and for refusing to write another.
NEWS TRIVIA ANSWERS
Sojourner
Sunni Islam
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
As Max F returns from the Middle East, yesterday Max T and our other Roca cofounder Billy gave a talk to students at Princeton University. We’re used to not being the brightest in the room but coming in dead last felt special in a way. In all seriousness, it was great to meet college students who love Roca and pick their brains on changing news consumption.
We are so lucky to have the audience we have. Every time we meet a Roca Rider, we feel flattered. Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to do 20 Questions!
–Max and Max
Thank you for your interesting article about Harper Lee. I loved “To Kill a Mockingbird” first read in High School over 50 hrs ago and just reread. It’s so good!
Roca News, one of my favorite newsletters!
Love the 20 questions. Love the Roca daily news. Love the onsite city deep dives! Happy for Roca successes!