In a week of SNL-worthy news coverage of the Titanic submarine — in which one channel had an oxygen countdown tracker and another outlet published the OceanGate CEO’s political giving history — the gold medal has to go to the NY Post. It published a piece with the headline: “Titanic sub crew likely experiencing ‘mood swings,’ ex-Navy psychologist says.”

Considering that I had “mood swings” eating a Rice Krispie bar yesterday, it makes sense that a crammed-in crew of strangers 2 miles under sea with a dwindling oxygen supply might have had some ups and downs. Hope you have a great weekend. Grateful for you all!

In today's edition:

• The unsinkable submersible

• Island in Europe with no phones

• 20 Questions!

 🔑 Key Stories

Zuck vs. Elon in Vegas

Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk agreed to fight each other in a Las Vegas “cage match”

• Meta recently said it is building a new platform to rival Twitter. On Tuesday, Musk responded to a post about that, saying: “I’m sure Earth can’t wait to be… under Zuck’s thumb with no other options”

• Another user said, “Better be careful @elonmusk I heard [Zuck] does the ju jitsu now,” to which Musk replied, “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol”

• “Send Me Location,” Zuckerberg replied on his Instagram story; “Vegas Octagon,” Musk said

Dig Deeper

• Company officials have since appeared to confirm that the fight is on. “The story speaks for itself,” a Meta spokesperson said, referring to Zuckerberg’s Instragram story

Census: US Population Aging

The Census Bureau released data showing that the US’ median age hit a record-high 38.9 years in 2022

• The US’ median age has risen for decades: In 1970, it was 28.1 years; in 2000, 35.3. Demographers say that’s in large part due to people having fewer kids

• Per Census data, over the year to July 2022, the median US age was 38.9. That’s a record high, up .2 from the previous year

• Maine has the US’ highest median age (44.8 years), followed by New Hampshire (​​43.3); Utah has the lowest (31.9), followed by Texas (35.5). No states saw their median age fall, although 4 didn’t change

Dig Deeper

• Many developed countries have higher median ages than the US. Monaco has the world's highest median age, followed by Japan (48.6) and Germany (47.8)

US Coast Guard: Submersible Likely Imploded

OceanGate said it believes all 5 people aboard its Titan submersible “have sadly been lost”

• Titan went missing on Sunday. The US Coast Guard (USCG) and partners launched a search and rescue mission and said Titan had 96 hours of oxygen

• That 96 hours elapsed Thursday morning. The search continued, but later that day, a remote-operated vehicle found a “debris field” near the Titanic

• A USCG official said Titan likely had a “catastrophic implosion,” meaning it collapsed in on itself due to extreme pressure. The USCG and its partners will now begin investigating what caused the implosion

Dig Deeper

• OceanGate’s co-founder said the implosion would’ve been “instantaneous,” possibly so quick that nobody aboard would’ve comprehended what was happening

• Per the WSJ, a top secret military system designed to spot enemy submarines first heard what the US Navy suspected was the implosion hours after Titan began its dive

East Palestine Docs

The decision to burn toxic chemicals after the East Palestine train derailment was based on faulty information, newly-released documents showed

• On February 3, a train transporting hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Fearing an explosion, authorities burned 5 cars’ worth of vinyl chloride, releasing huge amounts of toxic gases that were subsequently linked to negative health effects

• Per newly-released documents, the manufacturer of the vinyl chloride aboard the train said in the weeks after the crash that the vinyl chloride didn’t actually pose an explosion risk

• A representative for that company said Norfolk Southern’s fears of such an explosion were based on a misunderstanding of how the chemicals were stored

Dig Deeper

• During a related hearing on Thursday, East Palestine’s fire chief – who made the decision to burn the chemicals – said Norfolk Southern officials told him burning the chemicals was the “only option.” He said they gave him just 13 minutes to make a decision and said there was no other choice

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Please Ausar our prayers, Amen: Twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson were both drafted in the top 5 of last night’s NBA Draft, becoming the first brothers to do so

• “Kids, meet Uncle Jesse”: Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston revealed that he’s been working on a script for a Malcom in the Middle reunion “show or movie.” He is confident it will happen

• Not so sweet news: More than 1.3B people will have diabetes by 2050, according to new research. Global aging and rising body weight are the main factors behind the trend

Wildcard

• Charge me if you can: A guest reportedly spent 603 nights at a 5-star Indian hotel without paying. Indian police are investigating the freeloader and hotel staff who may have helped him

• Phone time Finnished: An island in Finland will be a phone-free zone this summer. An island official says it wants vacationers to “stop and genuinely enjoy the islands”

• To the other side of the bars: Tiger King character “Doc” Antle was convicted of animal trafficking in Virginia. He was accused of creating a “[lion] cub pipeline” from Virginia to South Carolina

👇🏻 What do you think?

Today's Question:

Just 20 Questions!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🗣 20 Questions

Every Friday, we ask the Roca readers 20 questions, then feature our favorite answers the following week.

Given that it's been a busy week and there's nothing we'd like to do more on this Friday night than watch a movie, please allow us to bring you into our shoebox living rooms WITH....

20 Questions: Movies Edition

We’ve got 20 movies, and we need to know your thoughts on them. Each has a 1-10 scale – 1 being trash, 10 being a masterpiece – and we need you to share your thoughts. If you haven't seen it, leave it blank.

We'll average your responses and include them next Friday. Enjoy!

Here's the link. Have an AMAZING WEEKEND!

If you have thoughts, let us know at [email protected]!

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Can you drive a stick shift car?

Yes: 79%

No: 21%

Yesterday's Question:

What is the most useful skill a person can have? 

Christine from Chipley, Florida: "The ability to grow your own food”

Ella from Richmond, Virginia: "The most useful skill a person can have is being a redneck. I'd rather live next door to someone who is a redneck rather than someone with a Ph.D. in history during a crisis."

Craig from New York City: "The ability to laugh at themselves. A sense of humor is not only indispensable, but every romantic relationship I've ever had has been the result of my sense of humor!"

Julie from Maryland: “Making "do" with whatever materials you have on hand.”

Jessi from Ohio: “Knowing when to shut up. A skill everyone needs to learn for the benefit of themselves and others.”

Tracey from Santee, California: “The most useful skill a person can have is to be able to gather a group of others and get them to work as a team successfully. Few things in this life are accomplished in solitude.”

Last Week's 20 Qs Responses:

1. Beach: 82%

   City: 18%

2. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 25%

   Sydney, Australia: 75%

3. Barcelona, Spain: 78%

   Cape Town, South Africa: 22%

4. Maui, Hawaii, USA: 88%

   Cancun, Mexico: 12%

5. Anywhere east coast: 50%

   Anywhere west coast: 50%

6. Lakeside in Texas: 43%

   Lakeside in Michigan: 57%

7. Stay-cation: 33%

   Anywhere but home: 67%

8. Tokyo, Japan: 63%

   New York City, USA: 37%

9. Atlantic ocean: 45%

   Pacific ocean: 55%

10. Chicago: 47%

    Las Vegas: 53%

11. Lisbon, Portugal: 23%

    Amalfi Coast, Italy: 77%

12. Disney world: 42%

    Universal studios: 58%

13. Austin: 59%

    Nashville: 41%

14. Jersey shore: 11%

    Pacific coast highway: 89%

15. Cape Town, South Africa: 13%

    Queenstown, New Zealand: 87%

16. Vienna, Austria: 56%

    Florence, Italy: 44%

17. Kyoto, Japan: 30%

    Reykjavik, Iceland: 70%

18. Miami: 46%

    San Francisco: 54%

19. Jamaica: 35%

    Aruba: 65%

20. London: 54%

    Paris: 46%

🧠 Final Thoughts

We hope you all have had great weeks. Please fill out that movie-themed set of 20 Questions, because without your input, we won't even watch a movie – we'll just spend 3 hours scrolling through Netflix and then go to sleep.

Hope you all have happy and relaxing weekends!

—Max and Max