🌊 California Steamin'

Dr. Phil, we need you in DC not LA!

“Dr. Phil was embedded with ICE for recent immigration raids” was not a headline we expected to see yesterday. Someone needs to tell Dr. Phil that we don’t need him in LA; we need him in DC! We need Dr. Phil to mediate a truce between Elon Musk and President Trump or at least decide who gets custody of JD Vance. Now is not the time for a “deport me outside, how bout dat?” moment.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

California in Crisis

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) said he will sue President Trump and Marines were deployed as protests and riots escalated in the state

• Over the weekend, President Trump deployed over 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles without the governor’s consent after protests over ICE raids turned violent

• Law enforcement declared the protests unlawful and clashes ensued as authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets, with some protesters setting vehicles ablaze and blocking highways

• Newsom has since said he will file a lawsuit against the federal government, while Marines were stationed in LA to protect federal property, however, officials said that they “won’t engage with protesters”

Dig Deeper

• On Sunday evening, the Los Angeles police declared several of the demonstrations "unlawful assemblies"

• In one protest, California Highway Patrol officers pushed protesters off Highway 101 – which they had blocked – using flash-bang stun grenades and tactical positioning after hundreds of people spilled onto one of the city’s main thoroughfares. Demonstrators threw tree branches, scooters, fireworks, and debris from a freeway overpass onto police vehicles below

• On Monday afternoon, the federal government deployed 500 Marines to protect federal buildings and personnel in LA, although officials said that they “won’t engage with protesters”

• Trump, meanwhile, suggested that Border Tzar Tom Homan arrest Newsom, saying, “It would be a great thing”

• Newsom replied: "The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor…This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism"

KEY STORY

Big Beautiful Bill Senate Holdouts

Senate Republicans face mounting internal disagreement over President Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill"

• The bill, which narrowly passed the House in May, extends Trump-era tax cuts, boosts defense and immigration funding, and enacts Medicaid and clean-energy spending cuts. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that it would increase the national deficit by roughly $2.4T over a decade

• Several senators have warned that Medicaid cuts would harm their constituents and cost the GOP political support, while others have argued the bill does not do enough to stop spending

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune said they’ll “get it done one way or the other,” though the GOP can only afford to lose 3 votes

Dig Deeper

• Some Senate Republicans have expressed concerns over cuts to Medicaid, worrying that new proposed work requirements, shorter enrollment periods, and tighter eligibility rules could lead to 10M+ Americans losing coverage

• Senator Hawley (R-MO) recently wrote an article arguing that cuts to Medicaid would hurt working-class Americans and would cost the Republican Party political support

• Other Republicans want further cuts and claim that the bill would inflate the deficit too much

• Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) have been among the biggest proponents of deeper spending cuts to offset the tax cuts. Johnson reportedly told Trump that he is not able to say “yes” to the bill in its current

• Senators have also voiced concerns about other provisions in the bill, including its effects on Food Stamp and electric vehicle spending, and tax deductions

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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KEY STORY

Israel Seizes Activist Ship

Israeli naval forces intercepted a vessel en route to Gaza on Monday, detaining 12 activists – including climate advocate Greta Thunberg

• The boat was launched by the non-profit Freedom Float Coalition (FFC), which aims to end Israel’s “blockade” of Gaza. The crew consisted of activists from different countries and carried symbolic supplies like baby formula, rice, and medical kits

• Israel said the ship was violating a legal blockade and detained its passengers; the FFC labeled the move as “unlawful boarding” and claimed that Israel had “kidnapped” civilians

• Israeli officials said the activists would be returned to their home countries after being shown footage of the October 7 attacks

Dig Deeper 

• FFC released a pre-recorded video of Thunberg saying, “I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible”

• One Israeli official responded by saying, “The ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities’ is safely making its way to the shores of Israel”

KEY STORY

China’s Navy Approaches Japan

A Chinese aircraft carrier conducted drills within Japanese waters for the first time

• China has the world’s largest navy by fleet size, fueling concerns that its expanding operational capabilities could pose a security threat to neighboring countries

• On Monday, Japanese officials claimed that a carrier entered Japanese waters and that Chinese jets and helicopters launched and landed from the carrier during drills

• The move adds to growing concern over China’s military buildup in the Pacific, particularly as it aims to acquire the ability to take Taiwan by force, a move US officials have called “potentially imminent”

• Japan responded to the drills by deploying a ship to monitor the activity

Dig Deeper 

• Japanese defense officials reported that the “Liaoning” – one of China’s active aircraft carriers – entered waters near Iwo Jima and Minamitorishima, inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which stretches for 230 miles past Japan's sea border.

• The activity took place just beyond the “first island chain” – a strategic arc of islands stretching from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines. The zone acts as a natural buffer between China and the wider Pacific and would be central to any conflict over Taiwan

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🤝 US officials met a Chinese delegation in London on Monday to restart trade negotiations aimed at easing tensions between the two countries

🎞️ Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it will split into two companies, separating its cable networks from its streaming, movie, and TV production arms

🖥️ YouTube relaxed its content-moderation policy for videos deemed in the “public interest,” according to a New York Times report

💰 Democrats unveiled a multimillion-dollar “Blue Texas” campaign to make the state competitive

💲 Amazon announced it will invest at least $20B in Pennsylvania to build two major data centers, strengthening infrastructure for generative AI and cloud services

💉 Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee

What does Roca Nation think?

🧠 Yesterday’s Question: Will Trump and Musk make up? Could the Left like Elon again?

🧐 Today’s Question: Who was your favorite high school teacher? Why?

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🪪 Costco Cards Aren’t REAL IDs: TSA urged travelers to stop trying to use their Costco membership card as a REAL ID at airport security

🌽 Corn, Cauli-ty & Carved Celebs: London’s Brockwell Park hosted its annual Lambeth Country Show, featuring vegetable sculptures of famous figures alongside sheep-shearing, livestock competitions, food stalls, and live music

🥀 Orchards: We’re so Back: The UK’s rare lady’s slipper orchid – once thought to be extinct – has successfully germinated for the first time since 1930

👣 Snap a Sasquatch, Score a Deal: A cannabis dispensary in Monroe Michigan is offering customers a discount if they can provide photographic proof of Bigfoot

🥶 Buried Alive in Ice: A Swiss man set a Guinness World Record by spending over two hours completely buried in snow while wearing nothing but swimming trunks

ROCA WRAP
Patriots Gathering

France

Europe's right-wing leaders gathered in a tiny village in this country to celebrate Marine Le Pen.

The National Rally, once a fringe ultra-nationalist party, has become France’s major right-wing political force, regularly reaching the final round of France’s presidential elections. In April, though, party leader Marine le Pen was convicted of corruption and barred from running. Despite that blow, more than 6,000 people descended on the tiny village of Mormant-sur-Vernisson, population 133, this weekend to celebrate Le Pen.

Those in attendance included Hungary's Viktor Orbán, Italy's Matteo Salvini, Czechia's Andrej Babiš, and Spain's Santiago Abascal, all of whom were marking one year since their Patriots for Europe group scored major wins in European elections. Beyond a right-wing rally, the event served as a show of support for Le Pen, who faces potential political exile after being found guilty of embezzlement – a conviction that could ban her from running for president in 2027.

The various leaders paid their respects to Le Pen one after another. "Each passing day brings you closer to Marine Le Pen being president," said one Spanish politician. "France must be a very rich country if it can afford not to have Marine Le Pen as president," said Hungary’s Orban, who travelled 1,200 kilometers for the event.

Those in attendance voted to unanimously name Le Pen honorary president of the Patriots group, a largely symbolic gesture that reaffirms her leadership of France's right wing. Yet the title may mark the twilight rather than the peak of her political career. Facing legal troubles and with her 29-year-old protégé Jordan Bardella increasingly looking like a potential successor, perhaps the honorary queen has already lost her throne.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

On this day in 1809, the first steamboat to navigate the open seas took 13 days to sail from New York City to Philly — and that was without any Wawa stops. We’re grateful that we’ve cut that down from 13 days to just a couple hours.

We’re actually planning a Philly trip soon (by car hopefully), so let us know if you have any story ideas, Philly Nation! We’re doing a sequel to our “Inside an Ivy League Hood” Yale video on Penn. But the more, the merrier!

–Max and Max