🌊 Belgium Waffles on Peace Deal?

Calm before the Spotify Wrapped storm…

Unless your only contact with the modern world is this newsletter, your social media feeds will soon be swimming in Spotify Wrapped’s. For the uninitiated, a Spotify Wrapped is basically your music report for the year: It lists your most listened-to artists and provides you with various analytics — cue the Moneyball theme — about your music habits.

We’re just glad society has normalized posting Spotify Wrapped’s and not screen time reports. It would be a shame if our friends had to see how much time we’ve spent on the weather app this year (we go to parties and never leave the corner — people must think we’re answering texts).

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Putin Blames Europe For Sabotaging Talks

Europe has emerged as a pivotal player in Ukraine-Russia talks, prompting warnings and threats from President Putin

• Last month, the US unveiled a 28-point Ukraine peace plan that drew criticism from Ukraine and the EU for allegedly favoring Russia. Days later, EU and Ukraine input produced a new plan that reduced demands on Ukraine, including for it to give up territory and cap the size of its military

• On Tuesday, with US envoys in Moscow, Putin accused Europe of obstructing the peace process, calling the changes “absolutely unacceptable” and claiming that they were trying to prevent a deal

Dig Deeper 

• Putin also threatened Europe, saying, "We do not plan to fight Europe, I've already said it a hundred times. But if Europe wants to fight us, and starts it, then we're ready right now"

• The US delegation, which included special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday. They then flew to Ukraine to brief officials there

• Roca’s We The 66 deep-dive this morning outlined the facts around Trump’s controversial peace plan. Read it here!

KEY STORY

India Mandates Smartphone App

India's telecoms ministry ordered smartphone makers to pre-install a government cybersecurity app on all new devices and prevent users from deleting it

• With more than 1.2B smartphone users, India has one of the world's largest mobile markets and has experienced a surge in cybercrime and hacking in recent months

• On Friday, India's telecoms ministry issued an order giving manufacturers 90 days to ensure the Sanchar Saathi app is pre-installed on new phones and that users cannot disable it. The app has access to a phone's call log, memory, and camera, and helps block, allegedly to track lost or stolen phones and identify fraudulent mobile connections. The order also required manufacturers to push the app to older devices through software updates

Dig Deeper 

• Many people criticized the directive as an erosion of user privacy and consent. One critic said the order removes user choice about what appears on their personal devices and expressed concern that it could set a precedent for future mandatory installations that might enable surveillance

• The order is likely to face resistance from companies whose internal policies prohibit pre-installing third-party apps on their devices, with Apple already expressing its intention to refuse the order

KEY STORY

Dells Donate to Child Investment Accounts

Dell computer co-founder Michael Dell and his wife Susan announced they would donate $6.25B to fund investment accounts for 25M American children

• Congress created tax-deferred “Trump Accounts” for children as part of the "Big Beautiful Bill," which passed in July. The accounts will have the Treasury Department contribute $1,000 to all American children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028

• The Dells announced they would donate an additional $250 per child for 25M American children in lower-income areas. Their investment will extend the accounts to children who were born before 2025 and do not qualify for the government's $1,000 contribution

Dig Deeper 

• Parents, relatives, employers, and charitable organizations can contribute up to $5,000 annually to the accounts, which must be invested in index funds tracking US stocks. Children can access the money at age 18, when the accounts convert to retirement accounts

• Dell Technologies and several other companies announced they would match the government's $1,000 contribution for their employees' children

• The Treasury plans to launch the account registration system in summer 2026, though many other operational details remain unclear. Once the system becomes active next year, parents and guardians must activate or register for the accounts

ROCA’S SPONSOR
Tim Cook Leaked the Next Big Thing – and These Investors Got in Early

Together with Elf Labs

Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “AR will be as big as smartphones – it’s a question of who builds the ecosystem.” Apple has poured billions into AR, but they won’t own every layer of the ecosystem. That’s where Elf Labs comes in. 

• Instead of building hardware, Elf Labs is turning their own IP – iconic characters like Cinderella & Snow White – into interactive, AI-driven 3D experiences that can live anywhere

• If AR becomes “as big as smartphones,” the companies that own the IP will be the biggest winners

• Elf Labs isn’t experimenting – they’re building the exact layer Tim Cook was talking about

• Early investors can still get in before this ecosystem is priced like the next smartphone boom

• Invest in Elf Labs before the price increases tonight!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

KEY STORY

OpenAI Declares “Code Red”

Sam Altman declared a “code red” at OpenAI in response to the success of Google Gemini

• Last month, Google released its Gemini 3 AI model. It outperformed the newest version of ChatGPT, displacing OpenAI as the market leader

• On Tuesday, the WSJ reported that Altman sent a staff memo declaring a “code red” in order to improve ChatGPT’s speed, reliability, and other features. Among various steps, OpenAI will cut work on other projects, including putting ads in ChatGPT

• The situation comes as OpenAI hemorrhages cash and repeatedly taps investors for capital

Dig Deeper 

• Both Google's Gemini 3 AI model and Anthropic's latest AI model surpassed OpenAI on certain industry benchmark tests

• Gemini’s monthly active users have grown from 450M in July to 650M as of October – before the release of Gemini 3. Data from web analytics companies showed that people now spend more time chatting with Gemini than ChatGPT, though OpenAI still maintains a dominant market share in overall chatbot usage

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

⚖️ Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández was released from a West Virginia prison on Tuesday after receiving a pardon from President Trump.

💊 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he gave Admiral Frank Bradley the authority to order a second strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean, but he did not directly authorize it and only learned about it an hour or two later.

⚕️ Federal vaccine advisers appointed by Health Secretary RFK Jr. plan to vote on Thursday on ending the recommendation that all newborns receive hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth if their mothers test negative for the virus.

💂🏻‍♀️ The Afghan national who shot two National Guard members, killing one, has been charged with murder and other felonies in connection with the November 26 shooting near the White House.

🇸🇴 The Trump Administration is launching an immigration enforcement operation targeting undocumented Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

🎖️ President Trump signed the Medal of Honor Act into law, directing the Department of Veterans Affairs to increase the special monthly pension for living Medal of Honor recipients.

What does Roca Nation think?

🏈 Yesterday’s Question: Any hot takes on the college football playoff? Or Lane Kiffin?

🇺🇸 Today’s Question: Do you believe that America’s “diversity is our strength”?

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

📺 Demogorgeous Ratings: "Stranger Things" made Netflix history by becoming the first series to have four seasons simultaneously charting in the platform's Top 10, ahead of Season 5's premiere.

💵 Sole Protectors: A UK grocery chain abandoned plans to open a corporate shoe repair shop after 1,000 residents signed a petition protecting their local cobbler.

🌮 Taco 'Bout a Pop-Up: Dua Lipa opened a temporary taqueria in Mexico City called La Dua, offering specialty tacos named after her songs ahead of her three concerts in the capital.

🍾 Bottle Royale: Romania achieved a 94% collection rate for recyclable beverage containers in just two years, surpassing recycling leaders like Scandinavia and Germany.

🛝 License to Restore: A man restored his rusted 1960s Aston Martin DB5 after it spent decades deteriorating on his driveway, where neighborhood children used it as a playground.

ROCA WRAP
The People's Princess

Diana Spencer

A shy kindergarten teacher became the world's most photographed woman and changed royal charity work forever.

Diana Frances Spencer was born on July 1, 1961, at Park House on the Sandringham estate, where her family lived as tenants of Queen Elizabeth II. She grew up playing with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward during royal holidays. Her parents divorced when she was seven, and Diana later described her childhood as "very unhappy" and "very unstable." She failed her secondary education tests twice, left school at sixteen, and eventually worked as a nursery teacher's assistant in London.

Diana met Charles, the heir to the British throne, when she was sixteen, while he dated her older sister. Their romance developed during a 1980 sailing weekend, and he proposed at Windsor Castle in February 1981. On July 29, 1981, 20-year-old Diana married 32-year-old Charles at St Paul's Cathedral before 750M television viewers worldwide. At the altar, she nervously reversed his first two names and refused to promise she would "obey" him, breaking royal tradition.

Diana transformed royal charity work through physical contact with stigmatized patients. In 1987, she held hands with an AIDS patient when many believed the disease spread through casual touch. She visited leprosy hospitals across India, Nepal, and Zimbabwe, touching patients whom other dignitaries avoided. In 1989, she spontaneously hugged a seven-year-old child with AIDS at Harlem Hospital, generating worldwide headlines.

By 1986, her marriage had fractured. Charles resumed his relationship with a former girlfriend while Diana began an affair with her riding instructor. In 1992, a biography revealed Diana's bulimia, depression, and suicidal thoughts. During a 1995 BBC Panorama interview, she discussed Charles’ affairs and said of his mistress, "Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded." They officially divorced in August 1996.

Diana focused on removing landmines after her divorce. In January 1997, she walked through an Angolan minefield wearing a ballistic helmet, generating global attention. British officials called her a "loose cannon," but her campaign helped build momentum for an international ban on anti-personnel landmines.

Diana died on August 31, 1997, in a Paris car tunnel when her driver, fleeing paparazzi, crashed. 2.5B people watched her funeral. She was buried on an island at Althorp Park, the Spencer family estate.

For someone who once failed her exams and worked as a nanny, Diana proved that compassion could be more powerful than protocol.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

This is our first-ever video from West Virginia. We visited the center of its National Radio Quiet Zone to look for people who live off-the-grid and understand why this zone exists. We hope you enjoy it.

–Max and Max