If you’re a reader in the Phoenix area, you have our sympathies. The “Valley of the Sun” — perhaps better nicknamed the “Surface of the Sun” — has experienced heat above 110 degrees for 31 days straight. Luckily, a “cold front” is coming in today that will bring a brisk high of 106 degrees and snap the streak. Enjoy the cool weather, Phoenix…

In today's edition:

• Trump hit with more charges

• Bronny James update

• Unrest in Niger

 🔑 Key Stories

Facebook’s Covid Posts

Facebook removed Covid-related posts due to pressure from the Biden administration, per emails seen by the Wall Street Journal

• The US House is investigating the Biden admin’s efforts to influence tech companies’ Covid policies. That investigation produced internal emails from Meta

• In one, dated July 2021, Facebook's head of global affairs wrote, “Can someone quickly remind me why we were removing…claims that Covid is man made.” An executive responded, “We were under pressure from the [Biden admin] and others to do more"

• Republicans say those texts and others indicate the Biden administration tried to suppress protected speech; Democrats say the administration was trying to save lives

Dig Deeper

• A Republican leading the investigation said the emails show the Biden administration pressured companies to “remove protected speech to appease the federal government”

• House Democrats released their own statement that said, “In 2021, in the darkest days of the pandemic, of course the Biden administration was working every possible angle to keep people alive”

Niger Coup Fallout

A West African economic organization threatened military action against Niger’s coup leaders

• Niger is a poor country in the Sahel, a region just south of the Sahara. It had a democratically-elected president, strong ties to the West, and was a major base for combating Islamic extremism in the Sahel

• Last week, Niger’s military orchestrated a coup, and a general has since named himself as leader

• On Saturday, ECOWAS, an African international organization, sanctioned Niger and said that if the military doesn't step down within a week, it would use “all measures necessary” – including potentially "force" – to restore Niger’s president

Dig Deeper

• On Sunday, the United States released a statement in support of ECOWAS' stance. The US has a base and over 1,000 troops stationed in Niger

• We break down the full story of Niger’s coup today’s Wrap

More Trump Charges

Prosecutors brought 3 more charges against former President Trump related to the classified documents case

• This June, federal prosecutors brought 37 criminal charges against Trump related to his alleged retention of classified docs and efforts to hide them

• Last Thursday, prosecutors added three charges to Trump’s indictment and added a new defendant, the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate

• The first two charges were related to Trump’s alleged efforts to get that manager to delete surveillance tapes; the third charge was related to classified war plans Trump allegedly showed people

Dig Deeper

• Trump’s campaign called the new charges “nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt” by the Biden administration “to harass President Trump and those around him.” The trial date for the case is currently set for May 2024, six months before the election

• In a radio interview on Friday, Trump said that he will run for president regardless of the outcomes of his criminal trials. Nothing in the Constitution prohibits imprisoned or convicted individuals from running for office

Son of Colombia’s President Arrested

Colombia’s president’s son was arrested on Saturday for allegedly accepting money from cartels in exchange for facilitating peace deals

• Colombia has many armed groups, including cartels and rebels. Its president, Gustavo Petro, has vowed to sign peace deals with the groups

• This year, the ex-wife of Petro’s son, Nicolas, alleged that Nicolas solicited donations from cartels to Petro’s presidential campaign, then pocketed them. In exchange, she said Nicolas offered to incorporate the cartels into peace talks

• On Saturday, Nicolas and his ex-wife were arrested in connection with that

Dig Deeper

• Petro denied taking any money from cartels. He tweeted that he would support the prosecutor’s office and added, “I wish my son luck and strength. May these events forge your character and may you reflect on your own errors”

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Bronny update: LeBron James shared an Instagram video of his 18-year-old son, Bronny James, playing piano just days after he went into cardiac arrest

• Barbenheimer update: Barbie and Oppenheimer continued to dominate the box office. Oppenheimer became the first R-rated film to gross $10M+ for 7 straight days, and Barbie led all movies with a $93M gross in North American theaters

• Backstroke update: 26-year-old American swimmer Katie Ledecky broke Michael Phelps’ record with her 16th individual world swimming title at the World Aquatic Championships

Wildcard

• I’m collie-ing the cops: A Japanese man spent $14K+ on a custom-made collie dog costume to fulfill his dream of becoming an animal. He recently ventured out in public as a dog for the first time

• Oh manatee… what’s happening? An autopsy found that a manatee died after “high-intensity sexual behavior” with his brother at a Florida aquarium in April

• That’s a red Card-i! Rapper Cardi B retaliated against a fan who threw a drink at her during a Las Vegas performance by hurling her microphone at them

👇 What do you think?

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🌯 Roca Wrap

For 3,360 miles (5,400 km) along the southern edge of the Sahara desert runs the Sahel.

The Sahel – a strip of dry land where the Sahara desert meets the savannah – is the poorest region of the world. Mostly Muslim and French-speaking, it contains parts of 14 countries that are all among the world’s poorest. One of them is Niger, pronounced knee-zher, which the UN ranks the third least-developed country on Earth.

Niger’s average annual income is well below $600, although up to 80% of the population lives outside cities in places where money is rarely used. 35% of the country is literate and 65% of children don’t attend school. 25%+ of girls marry before age 15, and 75% before 18.

Niger is home to 25M people. The average Nigerien woman has 7 kids – more than anywhere else in the world – which is causing the population to grow 4% a year. It’s projected there will be 70M Nigeriens by 2050.

Yet despite the country’s challenges, it had emerged as a bright spot in the region. Since 2011, when nearby Libya fell into civil war, weapons have come pouring through the Sahel and terrorist and rebel groups have spread throughout neighboring countries.

The resulting chaos has displaced millions and killed tens of thousands. Fears that conflicts in the area – many of which involve Islamist extremists – could spread have drawn in American and French troops, as well as billions of foreign aid.

Complicating matters is international politics.

Many of the region’s countries were once French colonies and have maintained close ties with France, which oversees a currency used by several West African countries. In recent years, though, tides have turned against France and the West more broadly.

Since 2020, coups in two other poor and violent Sahelian countries – Mali and Burkina Faso – put pro-Russia and anti-France governments in power. As those companies became less accessible to the West, Niger became increasingly important.

By earlier this year, Niger was the region’s most stable country. The US and France had both opened bases in the country and stationed over 1,000 troops there. Last year, one Western general said the West had to “help Niger survive in a neighborhood that is crumbling”. Niger was also the only country with a democratically-elected leader.

When that leader – Mohamed Bazoum – was elected in 2021, it was the first time in the country’s history that two democratically-elected leaders peacefully passed power.

A former teacher, Bazoum developed close ties with the West and said his priorities were to improve education, make the government function, and fight terrorism.

By this summer, the US had 1,100 soldiers in Niger and was conducting all surveillance of the Sahel from the country. The country – despite its poverty – had become vitally important.

But on Wednesday, the head of Niger’s presidential guard – a military unit tasked with defending the president – ordered Bazoum into the basement of the presidential residence and warned the military that the president and his family would be killed if anyone fired a shot.

Bazoum kept his phone, though, and was able to tweet that, “hard-won achievements will be safeguarded.” The army swore allegiance to Bazoum, raising the prospect of war between the pro- and anti-Bazoum factions.

By the end of the day, though, a group of special forces went on TV to declare that they were taking power and suspending the constitution. A day later, the army’s chief of staff said the army would join the coup “to avoid a deadly confrontation between the various forces and a consequent potential bloodbath threatening the security of the population.”

By Thursday night, the army had used gunfire to disperse protesters and declare the country’s borders sealed. On Friday, a Nigerian general appeared on state TV and identified himself as Niger’s new leader. A TV banner called him “President of the national council for the preservation of the homeland.”

The deposed president, Mohamed Bazoum, remains under arrest. The leader of Niger’s presidential guard, General Abdourahmane Tchiani, has since suspended Niger’s constitution and declared himself its ruler.

This weekend, ECOWAS – an organization of 15 nations including Niger that seeks to create an EU-esque African trade bloc – threatened to take “all measures necessary” to “restore constitutional order” if Niger's military leaders don't step down within a week.

Niger's military rejected that, setting up a standoff with ECOWAS.

Has the US already lost its key partner in the Sahel?

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

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🧠 Final Thoughts

We hope you all had better weekends than Niger's president. Hopefully you found that Wrap interesting and learned something new. That's our goal!

See you tomorrow-

Max and Max