🌊 Dire Wolf in Gray Wolf's Clothing?

Your honor, he was listening to the lyrics as the artist intended.

A Minnesota landlord was charged with first-degree arson after allegedly setting fire to his own apartment while blasting Billy Joel's “We Didn't Start the Fire.” It was allegedly his first case of arson so the landlord fortunately didn’t have to play, “Oops!… I Did It Again” in the courtroom. And no… his defense of “It was always burning since the world’s been turning” didn’t help either.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Dire Wolf Returns?

A company claimed it has resurrected the dire wolf

• Colossal Biosciences – a biotech firm that has pledged to “de-extinct” animals, including the dire wolf – now claims it created dire wolf pups by editing the genes of a gray wolf, its closest living relative, to mimic ancient dire wolf DNA

• Wired, which was invited to see the wolves, reported that the 5-month-old pups – named Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi – are already 80 pounds and expected to grow much larger than gray wolves

• Some have questioned if the animals are really dire wolves, with some arguing the pups are a “hybrid”

Dig Deeper 

• Colossal has raised at least $435M to de-extinct a range of animals, including the mammoth, Tasmanian tiger, and dodo bird

• Colossal’s CEO said of the dire wolf news, “This massive milestone is the first of many coming examples demonstrating that our end-to-end de-extinction technology stack works”

KEY STORY

US-Iran Nuke Talks

President Trump announced that US officials will hold direct talks with Iran on Saturday

• In late February, the UN reported that Iran had accelerated production of 60% enriched uranium, which a UN report called a “serious concern”

• Since taking office, Trump has pressured Iran to halt its nuclear program, telling NBC that “there will be bombing” if a deal to do so isn’t reached

• On Monday, Trump said “very high level” talks would begin and threatened “great danger” to Iran if they’re not successful. Iran’s foreign minister later called the talks “indirect,” contradicting Trump

Dig Deeper

• On Tuesday, Iran’s top diplomat said, “If the other side shows enough of the necessary willingness, a deal can be found... The ball is in America's court”

• He also contradicted Trump’s claim of “direct” talks, claiming that they will be “indirect”

• Iran’s statement comes after China and Russia met with Iranian officials in Moscow on Tuesday, after which Russia – a key ally of Iran – accepted the talks

• The Kremlin’s spokesperson said, “We know that certain contacts – direct and indirect – are planned…And, of course, this can only be welcomed because it can lead to de-escalation”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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KEY STORY

Deportation Ruling

The Supreme Court lifted a block on the government’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 (AEA) to carry out deportations

• The rarely-used act gives the president authority to detain and deport non-citizens without due process during times of “declared war” or invasion

• SCOTUS did not rule directly on the use of the act, but rather that Washington, DC was the wrong jurisdiction for the lawsuit

• However, the decision added, “Detainees subject to removal orders under the AEA are entitled to notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal”

Dig Deeper

• The ruling was a victory for the Trump Administration, which has issued a number of executive orders on immigration that have been challenged in court

• The ruling will allow the US to accelerate deportations under the act

• On Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The Supreme Court has upheld the Rule of Law in our Nation by allowing a President, whoever that may be, to be able to secure our Borders”

• Liberal justice Sonia Sotomayor, meanwhile, wrote that the ruling has no “regard for the government’s attempts to subvert the judicial process throughout this litigation”

KEY STORY

NCAA Settlement

A landmark antitrust settlement against the NCAA moved closer to approval, paving the way for the direct payment of college athletes

• The case alleges that NCAA rules limited athletes' earnings from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) prior to 2021. The NCAA has agreed to pay former athletes $2.8B and establish a revenue-sharing framework that would institute an annual “salary cap,” starting at $20.5M per year, that each school can pay its athletes

• The judge has indicated that she will approve the deal once minor changes are made. Once it’s finalized, schools can start paying players directly as soon as July

Dig Deeper

• The new ruling could force many teams to cut current athletes from their rosters to comply with the payment cap if the settlement is approved, sparking criticism from some athletes

• One swimmer at the University of Utah testified at the hearing, saying, “We're not here for money. We just want to play and compete. On paper, this settlement might look good...but thousands of people are losing their spots”

• Others said that the new rule is unfair to female athletes, as men – particularly in lucrative athletic programs – are expected to receive the bulk of the revenue-sharing and settlement

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🩺 The percent of US adults unable to afford or access quality healthcare has hit a new high, per a new Gallup study

🧑‍💼 Shopify’s CEO said employees will be required to prove why they “cannot get what they want done using AI” before requesting new hires or resources, per a memo posted on X

🇺🇦 Ukrainian President Zelensky stated that his military had “captured two Chinese citizens who were fighting as part of the Russian army” in Ukraine

💰 BlackRock’s plans to buy two key Panama Canal ports for $22.8B has been delayed due to “audit issues”

🇮🇱 During a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, President Trump announced plans to increase the defense budget to $1T

What does Roca Nation think?

🧠 Yesterday’s Question: Is watching porn unhealthy? If so, why?

🧐 Today’s Question: Should young people “follow their passion” for work or is that bad advice?

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

💳 Budget Priorities: Three UK police officers escorted a woman off a Ryanair flight after she ate Pringles she couldn't pay for after her card got declined

🐯 Emotional Support Tigers: A Nevada man was arrested after officials seized seven tigers from his property, which he claimed were his “emotional support animals”

🇺🇸 Sibling Rivalry: Two siblings are running against each other in a Florida state senate race, causing a public falling-out

🔥 Who Started The Fire?: A Minnesota landlord was charged with first-degree arson after allegedly setting fire to his own apartment while blasting Billy Joel's “We Didn't Start the Fire”

🧑‍🔬 Pacemaker Breakthrough: Scientists at Northwestern University have developed the world's smallest pacemaker – smaller than a grain of rice – that can be injected via syringe

ROCA WRAP
Syria’s Uyghurs

Over the last decade, a growing number of Uyghurs have traveled thousands of miles from China to Syria.

Uyghurs, a Turkic and predominantly Muslim ethnic group, originate primarily from the Xinjiang province in Northwest China. In the 10th century, they gradually became Islamized, with most identifying as Muslim by the 16th century. In more modern times, some Uyghurs began calling for independence from China

In 2014, the Chinese government launched a “people’s war on terror” in Xinjiang, alleging that Uyghur separatism is rooted in Islamic extremism. However, many have accused China of using the global focus on counterterrorism as a cover for human rights abuses. Since then, China has allegedly interned over 1M Uyghurs in indoctrination and labor camps to forcibly assimilate them.

After China launched the “people’s war on terror” against the Uyghurs, a growing number have traveled from China to Syria – a distance of roughly 5,000 miles. The difference between Xinjiang’s rugged mountains and Syria’s arid desert could not be more different, but many Uyghurs have been drawn to Syria for one major reason: To fight.

When Syria’s former dictator Bashar Al-Assad was ousted late last year by rebel forces, many of the fighters storming across the country looked different from the rest. After rebel forces seized control of Syria’s Idlib province in the early 2010s, the area became a haven for Uyghurs. Most arrived as civilians, but by 2017, Assad’s ambassador to China said that 5,000 were fighting against the Assad regime in Syria.

Many of these Uyghurs joined the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), which seeks to establish an Islamic state in Xinjiang. After Assad fell, the TIP’s leader said, “The Chinese disbelievers will soon taste the same torment that the disbelievers in [Syria] have tasted.”

Syria’s rebel forces now govern the country, providing a haven for the country’s roughly 20,000 Uyghurs. In the capital of Damascus, they have become increasingly visible. They own businesses, attend university, and are included in the interim government’s military. The TIP’s success in helping to topple Assad has caused many in the Uyghur diaspora to hope that their fight can be replicated in Xinjiang against China.

China, by its own account, could have much to fear from this. Its foreign minister recently called on other countries to “crack down on” and “recognize the violent nature” of the TIP, but many countries may not have the same motivation to do so.

As Sean Roberts, a George Washington University professor who has studied the Uyghur movement extensively, told The Economist, “The TIP has no real interest in global jihad, nor gripes against the West. Their focus is the independence of their homeland.” However, they might not find much support in Syria. As Syria’s rebel leader and current president said, “I sympathize with them, but their struggle against China is not ours.”

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Well, this morning is already off to a hot start! At 9:33 AM, President Trump posted on Truth Social, “BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!” The market jumped after the post.

We wonder if “BE COOL!” is also what the Minnesota landlord said when the firefighters showed up at his apartment.

–Max and Max