🌊 Brazil's Crude Awakening

Spotted in Minnesota.

If you’re a cop and you see this car with a broken taillight, be honest… would you have the guts to pull them over? The anticipation on the walk to the driver’s window would be overwhelming: Is the driver an actual furry? Is this furry armed? Is it a CIA agent? Or is it simply my Uncle Gary on a joy ride?

This might be the first person to have portraits of RuPaul, anime, Robert E Lee, and Ted Kaczynski in their living room. Eyes on the road, folks!

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

BP Finds Oil

BP announced its largest oil and gas discovery in 25 years

• In 2000, BP adopted the “Beyond Petroleum” tagline, and in 2020, it implemented an aggressive green energy strategy. That failed, though, causing its market value to drop and making it a potential takeover target

• On Monday, however, BP announced the discovery of a huge oil field off the coast of Brazil, marking its largest find since 1999

• The discovery marks BP's tenth oil find this year and represents a key part of the company's strategic pivot back to fossil fuels

Dig Deeper

• In February, CEO Murray Auchincloss announced plans to invest $10B annually in oil and gas production, 20% more than previously planned

• The figures are a major departure from the company, which in 2000 adopted the tagline, “Beyond Petroleum”

KEY STORY

Texas Showdown

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) ordered the arrest of House Democrats after they left the state to block a vote

• President Trump had requested that Abbott call a special session to redraw Texas' congressional districts. This mid-decade redistricting was unusual, as states typically redraw maps once per decade after the census

• On Sunday, at least 51 of 62 Democratic House members fled Texas, traveling to Illinois, New York, and Massachusetts, thereby preventing Republicans from achieving the two-thirds quorum needed to conduct business

• The Texas House voted to order the members’ arrests, while Abbott threatened felony charges

Dig Deeper 

• House rules require $500 daily fines for unauthorized absences

• "We didn't start this fight – Donald Trump started it," Representative Ramon Romero Jr. (D) said from an airport tarmac. Democratic governors provided support, with Illinois' governor calling it a "righteous act of courage"

• Abbott threatened to remove absent Democrats entirely, citing "abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office." He also warned that accepting donations to cover fines could bring felony charges

• "Democrats hatched a deliberate plan not to show up for work," Abbott wrote in a statement

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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KEY STORY

Trump vs. Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi refused to halt Russian oil purchases despite President Trump's 25% tariff threat and demand to cut ties with Moscow

• Until last week, Modi and Trump had cultivated a close relationship, with Trump hosting Modi at the White House and Modi vowing to "make India great again"

• Last week, though, the US applied a 25% tariff on all Indian imports, followed on Monday with an announcement by Trump that he would “substantially” raise the US tariff on India, citing its trade barriers and continued purchases of Russian energy

• Modi, who leads a nationalist party, has so far been defiant, "Whatever we buy, there should be only one scale: We will buy those things which have been made by the sweat of an Indian"

Dig Deeper

• Trump also threatened an additional unspecified "penalty" if India continued buying Russian oil and criticized India for becoming a member of the BRICS economic alliance, threatening an additional 10% tariff for BRICS members

• India's foreign ministry spokesperson said India's "bilateral relationships with various countries stand on their own merit and should not be seen from the prism of a third country"

• Indian officials made clear they had no intention of changing course, with two senior government officials saying no policy changes were planned regarding Russian oil purchases

KEY STORY

DHS Reverses Israel Pledge

The Trump Administration rescinded wording on a DHS notice that would’ve conditioned FEMA disaster-relief funds on not boycotting Israel

• In March, the DHS updated its 2025 terms and conditions to require states to certify that they would not sever “commercial relations specifically with Israeli companies.” The move targeted the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which calls for institutions and governments to sever economic ties with Israel and Israeli companies

• On Monday, the demand went viral, garnering widespread attention. It had applied to at least $1.9B in FEMA funding for search-and-rescue equipment, emergency manager salaries, and backup power systems. Major cities would have also had to agree to the policy to receive portions of the ~$550M designated for terrorism prevention in urban areas

• After intense social media criticism, though, the administration quietly removed the demand from the FEMA documentation by Monday evening

• "FEMA grants remain governed by existing law and policy and not political litmus tests," said a DHS spokeswoman

Dig Deeper 

• New York City stood to receive $92M from the terrorism prevention program, the largest allocation based on FEMA's analysis, however, leading mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has been a supporter of BDS

• The Trump Administration has connected federal funding to Israel-related policies through various channels, including universities, which have had to address allegedly anti-Semitic policies in order to receive funding

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

💰 Tesla granted CEO Elon Musk a $29B interim stock compensation package to retain his leadership while legal challenges to a previous pay deal continue

📰 The New York Post will launch The California Post in early 2026, expanding the self-described “nation’s most popular tabloid” to Los Angeles

🔊 In an attempt to reduce tensions with Pyongyang, South Korea dismantled loudspeakers on Monday that broadcasted anti-North Korea propaganda along the border

📈 Switzerland announced it will present a more attractive trade offer to the US following Trump’s shock implementation of 39% tariffs on Swiss exports

🪧 Over 3,000 Boeing defense workers went on strike at facilities in Missouri and Illinois on Monday after rejecting the company's contract offer

What does Roca Nation think?

🧐 Yesterday’s Question: What’s your take on the Sydney Sweeney American Eagle ad campaign controversy? Overblown or not?

🎥 Today’s Question: Which Disney movie has the best soundtrack?

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🐀 Rats Rule: What may be the UK’s largest rat, measuring nearly two feet long, was discovered in a Normanby home, shocking locals and pest experts alike

🌨️ Snow Down Under: Parts of eastern Australia were blanketed with up to 16 inches of snow – the heaviest in decades across northern New South Wales and southern Queensland

🥰 Trump Loves Sweeney: President Trump praised American Eagle’s new campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney, calling the ad “fantastic” after learning she is a registered Republican voter

💵 Love Is A Scam: A 39-year-old man from Whittier, California, has been federally indicted for allegedly scamming more than $2M from victims he met on dating apps, including Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble

🏕️ Song Sparks Search: A solo camper singing his heart out in British Columbia, Canada, triggered a full search and rescue operation after hikers mistook his loud performance for distress calls

ROCA WRAP
Political Conviction

Colombia

This nation's former president received an eight-year prison sentence for attempting to sabotage a political investigation.

Colombia has endured decades of internal conflict between leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, and government forces, with violence peaking in the 1990s and 2000s. Former President Álvaro Uribe, who served from 2002 to 2010, launched aggressive military campaigns that significantly weakened the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Though a longtime US ally, Uribe's legacy remains controversial due to alleged human rights abuses and his recent conviction.

Last week, a Colombian judge sentenced the 73-year-old conservative to eight years in prison for bribery and abuse of process. The conviction stems from Uribe's attempts to undermine a legislative investigation into his alleged connections with paramilitary death squads. The judge found that Uribe's lawyer tried to flip witnesses who had testified about the former president's paramilitary ties. Uribe maintains his innocence and claimed his legal team was merely verifying information.

The conviction reshapes Colombia's political landscape ahead of May's presidential elections. American officials who worked closely with Uribe during his presidency swiftly criticized the verdict, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended him on social media, declaring, "Uribe's only crime has been to tirelessly fight and defend his homeland."

The war against FARC may be over, but the battle for Uribe's legacy has just begun.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Given that our newsletter audience is almost perfectly bipartisan, it’s fascinating to see that virtually nobody had an issue with the Sydney Sweeney campaign. A few of you said there were dog whistles, but it’s clear that this controversy is overblown. Social media can be deeply misleading with issues like this American Eagle campaign. Normal people aren’t represented on your TikTok algorithms and on your X feed! Never forget that when you use social media.

–Max and Max