History never ceases to... creep you out. 45 years ago, 2 grave diggers exhumed the corpse of Charlie Chaplin in Switzerland and tried to extort his widow — stay classy, Switzerland — for $600k to get it back. Police eventually tracked them down and returned the corpse. This has to be one of the dumbest "get rich quick" schemes of all time.

In today's edition:

• Arrest warrant for #1 NFL prospect

• It was an Ponzi Ozy Scheme

• Mystery syndrome

🔑 Key Stories

Bad Day to be a Cow in New Mexico

A US government team conducted an “aerial slaughter” of wild cows, killing 19 of them in New Mexico

• An estimated 150 wild cows live in an area of New Mexico known as the Gila Wilderness. Their number has increased in recent years, due to abandonment and less maintenance of rural cattle fences

• Environmental groups complained that the cows were damaging streams, riverbanks, and water quality. In response, the US Forest Service used helicopters and thermal imaging to kill 19 of them

• The Forest Service called it “the most efficient and humane way to deal with this issue”

Dig Deeper

• Critics, including local ranchers and New Mexico officials, called the plan "cruel and inhumane." They also claimed that culling should be the last resort, only after no-kill options – such as herding or drugging them – have already been tried

Potential Abortion Pill Ban

A court in Texas is considering whether to rescind federal approval of a drug used in most US abortions

• In 2000, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone, a drug taken alongside another drug, misoprostol, to induce an abortion

• An anti-abortion group has asked a federal court to rescind FDA approval of mifepristone, saying it didn’t properly study the drug’s safety and exceeded its authority by approving it. Abortion rights groups, providers, and the FDA disagree with that

• The decision of the judge will determine whether the pill remains available

Dig Deeper

• “We think that when the court will look at the law and the facts of what the FDA has done that it will agree that FDA has failed in its job to protect America’s women and girls,” the organization that filed the suit said

• Abortion rights groups and providers say it’s a rightfully-passed, safe, and effective medication, while the FDA has said overturning it would be “unprecedented” and open up all of its approvals to court scrutiny

Arrest Warrant for #1 Prospect

An arrest warrant was issued for the NFL’s potential #1 draft pick, Jalen Carter

• University of Georgia (UGA) offensive lineman Devin Willock and a team staffer died in a January car crash hours after a parade celebrating UGA’s second consecutive college football championship

• Police now allege that those who died were street racing against Carter, a defensive lineman at UGA. He’s now wanted for misdemeanor reckless driving and racing connected to the crash

• Carter is a 2-time national champion predicted by many to be a top pick in this year’s NFL draft

Dig Deeper

• Carter turned himself in to Athens, GA police on Wednesday night, only to post $4,000 bail, be released hours later, and return to the NFL Combine

Nigerian Elections

Nigeria’s government declared a winner in its election, but both opposition parties are demanding a redo

• Nigeria is Africa’s most-populous country and largest economy. It’s divided between its mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south

• 3 main candidates contested elections held over the weekend, which were tainted by allegations of violence and intimidation

• On Wednesday, Nigeria’s electoral commission declared the incumbent party’s candidate the winner. Both opposition candidates have demanded a redo, with one calling the election “irretrievably compromised”

Dig Deeper

• Nigeria’s election commission said​​, “Results… point to a free, fair and credible process." In his acceptance speech, the winner, Bola Tinubu, said election issues "were relatively few in number and were immaterial to affect the outcome of this election"

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• Sign up for a “Sprint,” an intensive project where users work to solve a simulated business problem with the help of mentors and teammates

• The mentors in these projects work at companies like Doordash, TikTok, Netflix, Uber, Google, and more

• After completing the project, you will have accumulated a network that has seen your work and picked up relevant skills in your desired field

Dig Deeper

• The Commons just opened up spots for their March cohort, but seats are limited. When you join you get access to their exclusive job board, introductions to hiring managers, and a network of 1,000+ ambitious individuals in business and tech

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Too late now to say refund? Justin Bieber announced that he's canceling all of his 2023 tour dates due to his face paralysis and other health issues

• #TwitterDown: Twitter experienced a brief global outage early Wednesday morning followed by an extended period of non-functionality for many users

• It was an Ozy Scheme: Former media darling Ozy Media has officially shut down days after its founder and CEO Carlos Watson was charged with fraud

Wildcard

• K9 KGB? Business is booming for high-end security dogs in the LA market. Training or buying them can cost north of $100,000

• Save money, rare bugs, Walmart: An extremely rare bug a man found at an Arkansas Walmart is a confirmed giant lacewing, which comes from the Jurassic Era

• Survivor Amazon: A Bolivian man who was allegedly lost in the Amazon for a month claims that he ate insects and drank his own urine to stay alive

👇 What do you think?

Today's Question:

Where are you dreaming of traveling to next? Why?

Reply to this email with your answers!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🌯 Roca Wrap

In December 2016, a US CIA officer visited the American embassy’s health office in Havana, Cuba.

An experienced spy, the man was used to surveillance, house break-ins, and having his belongings tampered with by Cuban intelligence. But this time, he was experiencing something new: Unexplained strange sounds, pressures on his head, headaches, and dizziness.

Other Americans in Havana soon began registering similar complaints, with symptoms ranging from memory loss and fatigue to stabbing pains, hearing horrible noises, and losing balance.

The condition became known as Havana syndrome.

Havana syndrome quickly spread beyond Cuba. Hundreds of Americans in over a dozen countries soon reported suffering from it, and in 2021, reports of it delayed a trip by VP Kamala Harris to Vietnam. Soon after, the Biden administration said understanding it was a “top priority.” Congress unanimously passed the Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA) Act to assist victims.

Yet there was never a consensus on the cause.

Those in the government blamed Cuba, Russia, China, or other US adversaries. Initially, many scientists agreed the symptoms were from directed energy pulses. Others in US intelligence suspected the attacks resulted from adversaries trying to steal data from people’s computers and phones.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found evidence of brain damage among Havana victims, whose brains they likened to trauma survivors. One doctor described it as a “concussion without a concussion,” although critics said there were insufficient data to draw conclusions.

For years since, the government has tried to figure out what exactly was happening.

On Wednesday, the Washington Post obtained a report by the US intelligence community that concludes no foreign country is behind Havana syndrome.

The report was the product of a study by 7 US intelligence agencies who reviewed around 1,000 cases of “anomalous health incidents.” 5 of the agencies determined it “very unlikely” that a foreign adversary was causing the symptoms; one agency found it “unlikely”; and one agency abstained from issuing a conclusion.

No agency challenged the conclusion that a foreign actor didn’t cause the symptoms.

The analysis found no pattern linking individual cases, and no evidence to suggest that radio waves, ultrasonic beams, or any another form of energy attack had taken place.

One intelligence official told the Post, “There was nothing” to suggest attacks.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who overseas US embassies and their employees, has said he has “no doubt” that the symptoms people have experienced are real. He’s called the stories he’s heard “gut wrenching.”

But for now, no one knows what’s actually happened or whom to blame.

Have thoughts? Click here to let us know what you think. We love hearing from you!

🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Do you experience a "mid-day slump"?

Yes: 75%No: 25%

Yesterday's Question:

What is the most motivating factor in your life?

Jake from San Fransisco: "My wife and kids. You'll probably get a million of this answer. But I do everything for them. Get up when I don't want to. Give them the food from my plate. Make me want to lead by example rather than words. Everything is for them."

Chris from Oklahoma City: "MoneyI hate that this is my answer but being comfortable financially makes the rest of life easier to deal with."

Malorie from Asheville: "That I can potentially make a positive impact on another person, and that could start a ripple effect in society from now and well into the future."

🧠 Final Thoughts

Happy almost Friday, all. We’re sorry to those of you who got teased with the beta email yesterday, only to find out it had filled up already. We’ll open the list back up soon, so stay tuned.

Thanks all, and see you tomorrow.

–Max and Max