🌊 Smear the Keir
Plus: SF teacher strike, Savannah Guthrie hostage video, & fake ramen theft
This guy is really in hot water…
The manager of a ramen shop in Japan got arrested after punching himself in the face to fake a robbery. He called the cops after the “robbery,” claiming that thieves broke in, stole thousands of dollars, and beat him up. But his story quickly fell apart after cops searched the surveillance footage and discovered that he recently made searches on his phone like “staged robbery victim,” and sent texts to coworkers like “send noods.”
We’re kidding on the second text, but suffice it to say: This guy was really not a souperior thief.
🇬🇧 UK prime minister’s Epstein fallout
🎥 Savannah Guthrie hostage video
🥇 Medals falling apart in Milan
–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!
Following WWI, which organization served as the precursor to the UN?
Which San Francisco landmark was originally supposed to be painted black and yellow?
KEY STORY
Keir Starmer’s Epstein Fallout Continues
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney, resigned amid Epstein-related controversy. McSweeney appointed Peter Mandelson as British Ambassador to the US in December 2024, but Starmer fired Mandelson last September over sympathetic emails he had sent to Epstein while Epstein faced sex offense charges. On Sunday, McSweeney resigned and said appointing Mandelson "was wrong" and "damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself." Multiple members of parliament called for Starmer's resignation, while other Labour members defended him.
Dig Deeper
The Metropolitan Police opened an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office and searched two of Mandelson's properties on Friday. Mandelson has not been arrested or charged but has resigned from the House of Lords. The US DoJ's latest release of Epstein emails suggested Mandelson shared sensitive government information with Epstein during the 2008 financial crisis. Roca Members can read the full story here.
KEY STORY
Board of Peace to Meet
President Trump's Board of Peace announced that it will hold its first meeting next week in Washington, DC. Trump created the Board of Peace as part of his 20-point plan to end the Gaza war, and the UN Security Council authorized the board to monitor the ceasefire, manage rebuilding efforts, and help form a new government in Gaza, but the board has since expanded to address global conflicts. Last Friday, the Trump Administration sent out invitations to world leaders for the meeting to discuss Gaza's ceasefire and raise funds to help rebuild. The White House will host it at the Institute of Peace on February 19.
Dig Deeper
The second phase of the Gaza ceasefire began last month but is moving slowly: Israel reopened the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt last week, but allowed only a small number of Palestinians through. The US and other mediators are working on a demilitarization agreement with Hamas, which Israel says is necessary before it will withdraw forces or allow reconstruction. Roca Members can read the full story here.
KEY STORY
San Francisco Teachers Strike
Roughly 6,000 San Francisco public school teachers went on strike Monday, marking the city's first teacher walkout in nearly 50 years
The United Educators of San Francisco represents about 6,000 teachers, librarians, social workers, and nurses who work across more than 100 schools in the district. The union and San Francisco Unified School District had been negotiating a new contract for nearly a year, but failed to reach an agreement
The strike canceled classes for roughly 50,000 students on both Monday and Tuesday, with teachers demanding higher wages and better health care coverage
Dig Deeper
Health care premiums are the biggest point of disagreement between the two sides. Teachers with family coverage currently pay about $1,200 per month in premiums, which could soon rise to $1,500
The strike is part of a wider trend across California, where teachers in Los Angeles, San Diego, and two Sacramento-area districts have voted to authorize strikes if negotiations fail
KEY STORY
Cuba Halts Airline Fuel Sales
Cuba told international airlines it will stop supplying jet fuel as the island faces a worsening energy crisis
Cuba relies on oil imports from Venezuela and Mexico, but both countries stopped or reduced shipments after President Trump threatened tariffs on nations selling oil to Cuba
Cuba informed airlines that jet fuel would be unavailable at nine airports, including Havana's main international airport, from Tuesday through March 11. Air Canada suspended all flights to Cuba on Monday, affecting roughly 16 weekly flights
Cuba also announced fuel rationing, a four-day work week for state employees, and canceled university classes and cultural events to conserve energy
Dig Deeper
The fuel shortage dealt another blow to Cuba's tourism sector, which generates critical foreign currency for the island – tourism dropped 18% last year compared to 2024
President Miguel Díaz-Canel compared the crisis to the 1990s economic collapse following the fall of the USSR
QUOTE OF THE DAY
The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
-Oscar Wilde
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WE THE 66
Breaking Down Viral Claims About Epstein: Pt. 2
Is Jeffrey Epstein alive and gaming in Israel? Did Bill Gates really contract STDs from a Russian hooker? Was Epstein working for Mossad?
We investigate these claims while legacy media looks the other way
What do the files actually say? In today’s WeThe66 deep-dive, we fact-check the most viral Epstein claims to see what’s bizarre-but-true vs. what’s pure internet delirium
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
🇭🇰 Hong Kong sentenced newspaper publisher and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison for colluding with foreign forces under the city's national security law.
🔬 Researchers at the University of Stuttgart published a study in Nature Nanotechnology that identified a way to store digital information more densely using ultra-thin materials.
⚖️ Ghislaine Maxwell testified before Congress about the government's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case but didn’t answer questions, instead citing her Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.
📺 Savannah Guthrie released a video on Monday appealing for help finding her missing mother as a purported ransom deadline set by abductors approached on Monday evening.
🇰🇷 A South Korean county official was expelled from his party after suggesting the country "import young women" from Vietnam or Sri Lanka to address the nation's falling birth rate.
What does Roca Nation think?
🏈 Yesterday’s Question: Okay thoughts on the Super Bowl? The game? Bad Bunny’s performance? The ads?
Super Bowl 60:
Game: I thought a tactical defense heavy game was kind of refreshing. I’m really happy for Sam Darnold. In a previous post-game interview this season he was asked about the people that doubted him and said something like, “I don’t care about any of that.” I love that! I find carrying around grudges and resentment to be a waste of energy and toxic for myself, so I was happy to have the example of someone else choosing to try to live resentment-free
Ads: Meh. My “fave” (sarcasm) was when a bunch of celebs told America it’s great to take weight loss drugs. Reminded me of the year or two prior when a bunch of celebs told America to go crypto crazy.
Bad Bunny: I’m not that familiar with his music, but it seemed like he did a good job. Here’s what I loved: The camera work and production! Shooting small scenes and movements, as opposed to a single bit stage, makes the experience for at-home viewers so much better. The first year I noticed this, was during the Pandemic (I think the act was The Wknd). To film a whole performance live like that—amazing. It’s like when moviemakers do those long one-shot scenes. The choreography to make that happen must be high-level.
Rachel from Houston
I think all of the public debate and discourse around the game and halftime show pushed me away from the whole product in general. Add in not knowing what ads will be seen and with little kids in the house, we chose to watch the Olympics instead. Worked to our favor as we watched (potential spoilers) TEAM USA win the Team Figure Skating Medal.
Jared in Arkansas
Huge Bad Bunny fan here. I’ve been following him since early on in his career back in 2016. To see how far he’s made it is nothing short of inspirational, and whether you like his music or not, I believe the message he conveyed at his show is one that we desperately need right now. We are all one America, and this divisiveness plaguing our country right now is killing us slowly. “Juntos somos América!”
Alex from Undisclosed
🇺🇸 Today’s Question: Would you describe yourself as pro- or anti-immigration? Or is it not that simple?
Reply to this email with your response!
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
👮🏻 Wheelie Illegal: Police in Commerce City, Colorado, told a fire-juggling unicyclist to stop his illegal stoplight performances, saying his act was “both quite good and quite illegal,” though they chose not to issue a ticket.
🥊 In Hot Water: A ramen shop manager in Japan was arrested after punching himself in the face to fake a robbery and embezzle the shop’s funds.
🏅 Medal Breakdown: Multiple Olympic medals broke within hours at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, prompting organizers to investigate the quality control issues.
🐐 Lawn and Order: The city of Dallas, Texas, hired around 300 goats to clear invasive vegetation along White Rock Lake, targeting invasive shrubs that crowd out native plants.
🧑🏻🚀 Phone Home: NASA astronauts can now bring smartphones to space, with SpaceX Crew-12 to become the first mission allowing iPhones and Androids when they launch on February 12.
ROCA WRAP
Keith Haring
This artist turned New York subway stations into an underground gallery, creating thousands of chalk drawings on blank advertising boards.
Born in Reading, PA, in 1958, Haring grew up in Kutztown, where his father, an amateur cartoonist, introduced him to drawing. His early influences included Walt Disney, Dr. Seuss, and Looney Tunes characters. He attended Pittsburgh’s Ivy School of Professional Art to study commercial design but dropped out after reading Robert Henri’s The Art Spirit, deciding to pursue his own creative vision instead. In 1978, he moved to New York’s Lower East Side to study painting while working nights as a busboy at the nightclub Danceteria.
Haring discovered his canvas in 1980 when he noticed black paper covering unused subway advertisement spaces. He began creating white chalk drawings during his daily commute, treating the subway system as a lab for his unique art style. His simple, bold figures – crawling babies emitting rays of light, barking dogs, flying saucers – spread across hundreds of stations. The Radiant Baby became his signature symbol and unofficial tag. He worked rapidly, often completing dozens of drawings before transit police could catch him, though he was occasionally arrested for vandalism.
As Haring’s subway work gained recognition, galleries began pursuing him. Despite skyrocketing prices for his gallery work, he continued drawing in subways and giving away free buttons and posters, believing art should be accessible to everyone. In 1986, he opened the Pop Shop in Soho, selling affordable merchandise featuring his designs. Critics accused him of commercializing his art, but Haring defended the shop as an extension of his subway work, breaking down barriers between high and low art. In 1987, he returned home to paint a mural in Philadelphia’s Point Breeze neighborhood titled “We the Youth” to commemorate the bicentennial of the Constitution – it remains his longest-standing public mural at its original location.
Haring was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988 and began using his instantly recognizable imagery to raise awareness about the epidemic. He painted “Crack Is Wack” on a Harlem handball court, created safe sex posters, and designed anti-apartheid materials. When he died in 1990 at the age of 31, he had created over 50 public artworks and established a foundation to support AIDS organizations and children’s programs.
The artist who turned subway platforms into galleries set out to prove that art belongs everywhere, not just locked behind museum walls.
NEWS TRIVIA ANSWERS
League of Nations
The Golden Gate Bridge
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the stories in today’s newsletter looked a little different. Do you prefer the stories as paragraphs or bullets? We’re experimenting with some formatting changes now and are eager to get your input.
Make sure to wear an “I voted” pin after you make your choice. The people need to know!
–Max and Max