🌊 From Mayday to Payday: Boeing's New Deal

No gerrymandering jokes… don’t want to cross any lines.

Today is the 213th anniversary of the term “gerrymandering.” The term originated from a Boston Gazette comic strip that mocked the new electoral district drawn by Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry for its resemblance to a salamander. Can’t believe that gerrymandering lives on but the first name “Elbridge” doesn’t. Imagine getting this email from “The Roca Elbridges” each day — way better.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Student Sues Administration

A Columbia student and permanent US resident sued the Trump Administration to prevent her deportation

• The White House has cracked down on non-citizen students who have taken part in anti-Israel protests

• On Monday, Yunseo Chung, a Columbia junior who moved to the US from South Korea as a child, sued the Administration over its efforts to deport her. Chung was arrested on March 5 during a protest at a campus library that the Administration said was “pro-Hamas”

• Chung’s lawyers have said she did not break any laws and is being targeted for voicing “political viewpoints” the administration “opposes,” while the Department of Homeland Security says she “engaged in concerning conduct”

• Her lawsuit could become a litmus test for future enforcement efforts

Dig Deeper

• Chung said that a federal official told her lawyer that her permanent resident status was “revoked” on March 10. Authorities executed search warrants at her dormitory days later

• The Department of Homeland Security said Chung “is being sought for removal proceedings under the immigration laws” and that she will be able to “present her case” before a judge

KEY STORY

Boeing’s New Fighter Jet

Boeing won a contract worth up to $50B to build the Air Force’s next generation fighter jet

• The contract is a major win for Boeing, which has reported six consecutive annual losses and faced investigations over safety issues with its 737 MAX passenger jet

• The planned F-47 is designed to be the “quarterback” for a fleet of drones and is maximized for stealth and long-range strikes. The Pentagon said it is also developing an autonomous version

• Several Trump insiders, including Elon Musk, have previously criticized the cost of advanced fighter jet programs. A previous jet, the F-35, is estimated to cost $1.7T+ over its lifespan

Dig Deeper

• The cost of next-generation fighter jets have been scrutinized, particularly Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program, which is far over budget. The F-47 contract, starting at $20B but worth up to $50B, covers the program’s initial development

• One procurement analyst told the AP that the $20B is “just seed money. The total costs coming down the road will be hundreds of billions of dollars”

• Elon Musk is among many who have been critical of advanced fighter jets. Last November, he said the F-35 program “was required to be too many things to too many people” and called it “broken” and “obsolete”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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KEY STORY

Trump Backs Waltz over Leaks

President Trump publicly defended National Security Adviser Mike Waltz over leaked military plans

• On Monday, the White House confirmed that Waltz had accidentally added The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg to a confidential chat in which the country’s top national security officials discussed upcoming missile strikes on Yemen. The chat has raised questions about the administration’s protocols and how Goldberg could have possibly been added

• Politico reported that Waltz was on the chopping block. On Tuesday, though, Trump backed him, saying, “Michael Waltz has learned a lesson, and he’s a good man…the only glitch in two months, and it turned out not to be a serious one”

Dig Deeper

• Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed on X that officials in the thread didn’t discuss “war plans”

• Goldberg disputed this, writing, “The information I received on this Signal chat included the full name of an active CIA officer; human targeting information that could affect an adversary’s understanding of U.S. intelligence sources and methods; the sequencing of upcoming attacks; the weapons used in forthcoming attacks; the exact times attacks were supposed to start (information I received before attacks were launched); and real-time damage assessments that, again, could compromise sources and methods”

KEY STORY

Palestinian Director Controversy

Hamdan Ballal, the Palestinian co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” was detained and later released by Israeli authorities after reportedly being beaten by Israeli settlers

• “No Other Land,” co-produced by Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, depicts the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary earlier this year

• On Monday, witnesses and Jewish-American activists in the West Bank said that masked settlers attacked Ballal and others “with stones and sticks”

• Israel’s military accused Ballal of being part of “a number of terrorists” that “threw stones at Israeli civilians,” leading to “violent friction, including mutual stone-throwing”

Dig Deeper 

• On Tuesday, Ballal was released from detention in Israel. He subsequently went to a hospital and is in “moderate” condition, per Jewish-American activists working in the West Bank

• Yuval Abraham, the film's Israeli co-director, later wrote on X, “After being handcuffed all night and beaten in a military base, Hamdan Ballal is now free and is about to go home to his family”

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🥣 West Virginia became the first state to ban foods containing most artificial food dyes and two preservatives. The ban takes effect statewide by 2028 and in school lunches this year

🪖 After US-facilitated talks, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea

⚽ Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter and French soccer legend Michel Platini were cleared of corruption charges in Switzerland

🇨🇳 An emerging threats analyst uncovered a network of shadowy and possibly government-linked Chinese tech companies seeking to recruit recently laid-off federal employees

🇺🇸 A federal judge ruled that the Trump Administration can halt the approval of new refugee entries, although refugees accepted before the US refugee system’s suspension have to be let in

What does Roca Nation think?

🧠 Yesterday’s Question: With the Snow White remake getting blasted by critics and audiences alike, what’s your favorite Disney movie of all time?

🧐 Today’s Question: What’s your reaction to #groupchatgate? Is accidentally adding The Atlantic editor to a war discussion chat a fireable offense?

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🧑‍✈️ Pilot’s Passport Problems: A United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai, China, was forced to turn around and land in San Francisco after a pilot forgot to bring their passport

🚘 EZ Mistake to Make: A woman in New York was charged $144 in EZ-Pass fees for a state police car with an identical license plate

🏆 Buffet’s Bracket Bet: A Berkshire Hathaway employee won Warren Buffett’s $1M prize for the company’s March Madness bracket contest for the first time in nearly a decade

🐻 Paddington Gets Pummelled: Two British Air Force engineers were charged with vandalism and ordered to pay $3,500 each for drunkenly destroying a Paddington Bear statue in the character's creator’s hometown

⚱️ Iron Age Treasure Discovery: Over 800 Iron Age artifacts – including 2,000-year-old remains of wagons, ceremonial spears, and horse harnesses – were discovered in northern England

ROCA WRAP
No Future Here

Belarus

Upon being sworn in for a seventh term, this country’s leader told his opponents, “You have no future here.”

Belarus is a former Soviet Republic that has maintained close ties with Russia. The country has had the same president since 1994, Alexander Lukashenko, who has squashed any dissent and jailed or driven much of the opposition abroad. These actions have earned Belarus the nickname of “Europe’s last dictatorship.”

On Tuesday, Lukashenko was sworn in for a seventh term, solidifying his title as Europe’s longest-serving leader.

In a speech celebrating his victory in a rigged election, he said, “Half of the world is dreaming about our ‘dictatorship,’ the dictatorship of real business and interests of our people." Addressing those who criticize him, he said, “You don’t and won’t have public support, you have no future…We have more democracy than those who cast themselves as its models."

Per government statistics, Lukashenko won 87% in the recent election. His opponents were four token challengers, each of whom praised Lukashenko’s rule.

While past elections have prompted mass protests, all prominent Lukashenko critics have been jailed or forced abroad. So while dissidents marked Lukashenko’s swearing in with protests outside Belarus, inside it, little dissent was to be found.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Why Hollywood Is Leaving Hollywood

In recent years, Hollywood has quietly left California. The state that produced Star Wars, The Godfather, and Back to the Future now sees fewer 1 in 5 major movies actually filmed there. The rest? They’re moving thousands of miles away. Now it’s still home to the talent and studios, but even that’s changing — rapidly.

So, what happened? Why is Hollywood fleeing Hollywood? This video investigates.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

It blew us away to learn that just 1 in 5 movies are made in California today, and the biggest ones are animated. Georgia leads the pack, but now Texas is throwing its cowboy hat into the ring. A fascinating story to research.

We also appreciate all of you following along with our New Mexico videos. It’s one of the most fascinating trips we’ve done yet. Stay tuned for the upcoming Albuquerque war zone and border militia videos.

–Max and Max