🌊 A Farewell to Aid

As we emerge from a tub of Aloe Vera, some Fourth of July thoughts…

Our single greatest joy from the last year hasn’t been getting a follow from Ryan Reynolds or reaching 200k subscribers on YouTube. It hasn’t even been the return of the crispy chicken nuggets at Taco Bell. On the contrary, our greatest joy has been traveling the country — from Boston to Albuquerque, the Appalachian Mountains to the Upper Peninsula, and boomtown to ghost town — for our YouTube channel and We The 66 newsletter. More than the breathtaking beauty and riveting history we’ve encountered in each place, what’s amazed us most everywhere we’ve gone is the tremendous spirit and pride we’ve encountered. In every corner of the country, we’ve met heroic people — people like Carmen, an older woman in Philly’s drug-ridden Kensington neighborhood, who was picking up trash in the burning-hot sun to “do her part.” People like the volunteers at The Gathering Place in Wellsville, OH, who’ve seen their town go from prosperous community to a dilapidated Opioid den in their lifetimes yet still have mustered up the strength to fight back by creating a free cafe for townspeople to gather.

We met people like this everywhere we went. So when people ask us to share the “good news” from our travels, we tell them this: The people are the good news. And right now in Texas, after the devastating floods killed dozens, we know with certainty that everyday heroes are stepping up to find survivors, console victims’ families, and rebuild what’s been lost. They won’t have stories written about them, but they exist. And they are what make America great.

We are grateful to live in the US and are inspired by the everyday heroism of its citizens. Hope you had a great Fourth — now time to get the news out of the way…

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

USAID Formally Closes

USAID officially closed its doors

• In February, Trump gutted funding for USAID – founded by JFK in 1961 to deliver foreign assistance while advancing American security. By March, ~1,000 projects remained and were absorbed by the State Department

• Last week, USAID formally shut its doors. "This era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially come to an end," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said

• Humanitarian groups and former presidents blasted the move, while one study published in The Lancet estimated that the cuts could contribute to 14M deaths globally by 2030

Dig Deeper

• Critics have long said that USAID spent inefficiently and wasted money on projects whose outcomes were not significant or measurable. Many in the Trump Administration also alleged that USAID was part of the “Deep State,” and that funds were channeled through Democrat-controlled organizations to left-wing organizations around the world

• Humanitarian organizations and former presidents, meanwhile, released statements blasting USAID’s closure

• "Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it's a tragedy. Because it's some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world," said President Obama; "Is it in our national interests that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is, and so do you," said President Bush

KEY STORY

Texas Floods

82+ people are confirmed dead with dozens more missing after rapid flooding in Texas on the Fourth of July

• The floods followed a downpour in the Guadalupe River Basin, a popular summer destination crowded with families, campers, and summer camps on Independence Day

• The flooding began pre-dawn and wiped out homes, carried away vehicles, and destroyed RVs and cabins as water surged through the river valley around 5:30 AM Friday

• 27 people, mainly girls, remain missing from a Christian summer camp along the river

Dig Deeper

• Destroyed roads and bad weather initially impeded rescue missions, and families have been gathering at schools and churches in hopes of learning about the fate of their loved ones

• Authorities have found survivors clinging to trees along the river and urged families not to give up hope

• The flood’s pre-dawn timing appears to have complicated efforts to warn people of the incoming disaster, although many are asking as to whether other steps could have been taken to avoid the disaster

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KEY STORY

Big Beautiful Bill Passes

President Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill into law

• The House passed the bill on Thursday 218-214 after an all-night effort by the Republicans to corral the votes and advance the bill. Trump signed it into law on July 4

• In the end, all but two Republicans – Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania – voted for the bill, which all Democrats voted against

• The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group, has projected that the bill will add $4.1T to the deficit by 2034; Republicans have said that doesn’t adequately reflect how the bill will stimulate growth

Dig Deeper 

• Democrats immediately zeroed in on changes to Medicaid, SNAP (food stamps), and other social spending to label the bill the largest welfare cut in decades

• Among various measures, the bill imposes new work requirements for SNAP and Medicaid recipients, now requiring low-income childless adults to work, volunteer, or go to school at least 20 hours a week to obtain benefits, while cutting federal spending on both programs

• Republicans have countered by saying that the new requirements will root out fraud and abuse, while the tax cuts – including on tips and overtime – and other changes will put more money in the pockets of working Americans

• The bill dramatically increases spending on immigration enforcement, allocating ICE and border enforcement $100B to spend by September 2029. The legislation stands to make ICE – whose prior budget was $8B – the best-funded law enforcement agency in the country

KEY STORY

Dalai Lama: I’m Coming Back

The Dalai Lama announced he will have a successor after his death

• The Dalai Lama is the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. According to tradition, Dalai Lamas are reincarnated after death. However, the current Dalai Lama leader has wavered on whether the position should continue. China, meanwhile, has said it will pick the Dalai Lama’s successor

• Last week on his 90th birthday, though, the Dalai Lama said that he would be reincarnated

• Beijing – which claims the right to appoint the Dalai Lama’s successor – immediately rejected the announcement, setting up a showdown between China and the Dalai Lama

Dig Deeper 

• China maintains the reincarnation must comply with Chinese laws and "religious rituals and historical conventions," despite the Dalai Lama's insistence that his successor be born outside China

• Tibet-focused analysts anticipate that Beijing will name its own Dalai Lama, meaning there may be two people competing for the title

• Tibetans in exile have said a China-picked successor will not be recognized as legitimate: Parliament-in-exile member Youdon Aukatsang told the BBC that a Chinese-chosen successor "will not be recognized, not only by the Tibetans but the world will not recognize it because China doesn't have the legitimacy"

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🇻🇳 Vietnam became the second country to reach a post-“Liberation Day” trade deal with the US. Like the first one, with the UK, it appears to target China

🛠️ The US economy added 147,000 jobs in June, per new federal data, smashing expectations and exceeding the 144,000 added in May

🇷🇺 After speaking with Vladimir Putin on Thursday, Trump said, “I didn’t make any progress with him today at all”

🇺🇸 Elon Musk said Saturday that he formed a new political party, the “America Party”

🔥 California authorities began evacuating people from San Luis Obispo County, north of LA, as the state faces its worst wildfire of the year

📣 Tucker Carlson announced that he has interviewed Iran’s President

What does Roca Nation think?

🇺🇸 Today’s Question: Tell us the highlight of your Fourth!

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🦌 Rein-dog: A baby reindeer named Lars has been living like a pup in a UK home – sleeping in dog beds and tagging along with spaniels

🇺🇸 1776 (Live-Action Remake): Nearly 200 Pennsylvania voters of different political beliefs gathered for four days in what researchers call “America in One Room: Pennsylvania” – and emerged having shifted their positions on key issues

🐦 Woodpecker Homecoming: An endangered red-cockaded woodpecker has returned to its home state of South Carolina for the first time in 50 years

🏞️ Shade for All: Denver’s East Colfax neighborhood just got a cool new $300,000 sunshade and table area at New Freedom Park – thanks to the city’s participatory budgeting program

🐢 Shell-ebrating Freedom: The Gulfarium CARE Center released eight rehabilitated sea turtles back into the Gulf at Florida’s Topsail Hill Preserve – its largest release of the season

ROCA WRAP
Tax Haven Heaven

Italy

In this country, 3,600 millionaires are expected to relocate in 2025, making it the world's third-most popular destination for wealthy migrants.

Italy has transformed itself into a magnet for the ultra-wealthy through strategic tax policies and lifestyle appeal. According to a new report, the Mediterranean nation now ranks behind only the United Arab Emirates and United States in attracting millionaire relocations, surpassing traditional havens like Switzerland.

Italy’s climb as a tax haven comes as geopolitical tensions and global tax competition drive more high-net-worth individuals to seek new homes. Since 2017, Italy has offered what's known as the "CR7 rule" – named for footballer Cristiano Ronaldo – allowing non-domiciled residents to pay a flat €200,000 annual tax on foreign income for 15 years, with family members allowed to opt in for just €25,000.

This regime covers income from investments, image rights, capital gains, and foreign inheritances, while Italian income remains subject to regular taxation. Recent tax changes in the UK have been a major driver of millionaires to Italy, with Britons – including prominent Unilever and Goldman Sachs executives – recently choosing to relocate to Milan, citing its tax advantages, quality of life, and quick access to European markets.

The relocations are helping Milan to experience a luxury boom, with new exclusive clubs, high-end hotels, and international law firms expanding operations in the city.

Italy now hosts approximately 517,000 millionaires and 2,600 ultra-wealthy individuals with assets exceeding $100M, per Henley & Partners, a firm which helps the ultra-wealthy relocate. The country's total investable wealth now sits at $6.9T, with projections suggesting it could reach $9.5T by 2029.

The arrival of millionaires in Italy has prompted both support and condemnation: backers say millionaire migration boosts consumption and investment, while critics warn of downward tax pressure and real estate inflation. To the millionaires, though, Italy is the place to be.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

We’re praying for the Texas flood victims and their families today. What an awful situation, and the fact that it was on the Fourth makes it even sadder. We will keep our eyes peeled for worthy causes — if you live there and have one, let us know.

Have an amazing week, Roca Nation. You have our full and total blessing to drink that third cup of coffee today.

–Max and Max