🌊 Drop the Boarding Pass, Just Your Face

Good morning and thank you.

Occasionally it hits us how lucky we are to have the community of readers we have. You all make our jobs deeply meaningful and have turned our dream of building a nonpartisan news outlet into a reality. Roca’s future is brighter than ever, and that’s thanks to you all. Thank you so much for trusting us with providing your daily news (and tolerating the “cringe” openings — as one of you eloquently described them this week). We don’t take our mission lightly; it means everything to us. 🌊🌊🌊

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

No More Boarding Passes?

Boarding passes and airport check-ins for international flights are set to be replaced by biometric identification under new airport rules

• The changes were announced by the International Civil Aviation Organization, a UN agency that sets air travel policy. A travel technology executive told The Times the changes are “the biggest in 50 years”

• Per the ICAO, within three years, passengers will be able to upload their passports to their phones and board flights using facial recognition technology

• Flyers will also no longer have to check in for flights, instead using a digital “journey pass” on their phones

Dig Deeper

• While the changes aren’t expected to be fully implemented until 2028, pilot programs are underway. In Finland, 91% of travelers reported that the system was easy to use, and 90% said they would want to use it in the future

• However, some have expressed privacy concerns, which the ICAO has sought to address by saying that passengers’ biometric data would be erased automatically after verification

• Some critics also argue that global adoption of the technology would require major investment

KEY STORY

Nuclear Talks

Nuclear talks between the US and Iran are moving forward after a “constructive” first meeting

• The US and its allies have long accused Iran of attempting to build a nuclear weapon; Iran has denied that, claiming its goal is nuclear energy

• On Saturday, US and Iranian officials met in Oman to begin new nuclear talks. Officials on both sides called the talks “constructive,” while the White House said it was “a step forward.” Both sides are scheduled to meet again this Saturday in Rome

• President Trump has said it will be a “very bad day for Iran” if the talks are not ultimately successful

Dig Deeper 

• The second round of talks are set to continue next Saturday in Rome, a location suggested by the US, per Axios

• The US is reportedly seeking to move Iran’s nuclear program further away from being able to produce a bomb, potentially through “downblending” Iran’s highly-enriched uranium to a lower grade of enrichment

• While the US and Iran conveyed optimism about a deal, Israel – Iran’s primary regional enemy – is reportedly skeptical of its promise and is pushing the US to pursue military action if talks fail

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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KEY STORY

Meta Antitrust Trial

An antitrust trial that could force Meta to break off Instagram and WhatsApp began on Monday

• The Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit alleges that Meta bought Instagram and WhatsApp to eliminate competition and create a social media monopoly

• The FTC argues Meta “systematically tracked … and acquired companies that it viewed as serious competitive threats.” Meta said, “Regulators should be supporting American innovation, rather than seeking to break up a great American company”

• If successful, the lawsuit could force Meta to sell or restructure holdings like WhatsApp and Instagram

Dig Deeper

• To prevent a potential breakup, Meta launched a lobbying blitz to curry favor with the administration, with Mark Zuckerberg reportedly pitching the White House on a settlement

• Earlier this month, the WSJ reported, Some of Trump’s aides have grown frustrated at the company’s lobbying strategy, believing it has been too aggressive”

• The lobbying surge is well-founded: Meta is estimated to generate roughly half of its US ad revenue from Instagram, while WhatsApp is the world’s largest messenger app

KEY STORY

Bukele Visits DC

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele met President Trump at the White House amid Bukele’s increasing role in Trump’s deportation campaign

• The US has deported hundreds of alleged gang members to a notorious megaprison in El Salvador, although most reportedly have no criminal record

• On Monday, Bukele told Trump, “We know that you have a crime problem…that you need help with. And we're a small country, but we can help”

• The visit comes as the Trump Admin. faces criticism for refusing to return a man mistakenly deported to El Salvador’s prison due to an “administrative error”

Dig Deeper

• The meeting followed a unanimous Supreme Court ruling that ordered the Trump Administration to “facilitate” the return of a mistakenly deported illegal migrant

• The administration told a judge on Sunday that it has no obligation to do so, arguing that the Supreme Court only required the US to admit him into the US if El Salvador releases him

• When asked about the case on Monday, Bukele said,“The question is preposterous,” adding, “How can I return him…? I smuggle him into the United States? Of course I’m not going to do it”

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

⚖ Top law firms have pledged nearly $1B in free (“pro bono”) legal work to avoid executive orders targeting them

🌎 Per international human rights group Amnesty International, global executions hit a 10-year high last year, with 1,500 people executed in 15 countries, 1,380 of which occurred in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Iraq

🇪🇨 President Daniel Noboa won re-election in Ecuador on an anti-crime platform focused on cracking down on gangs responsible for drug trafficking into the US

🏥 An Israeli airstrike hit the last functioning hospital in Gaza on Sunday. Israel claims no civilian lives were taken and that Hamas was using the building as an operating center

🛩 A drone startup announced an expansion into Texas in partnership with Walmart, whose customers will be able to receive orders via drones within 30 minutes

What does Roca Nation think?

🧠 Yesterday’s Question: Are tourist trips to space a waste of money?

🧐 Today’s Question: Do you support RFK’s plan to ban pharma ads on TV? (Watch this new Roca video for more details...)

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🇪🇬 Ancient Egyptian Town Unearthed: Archaeologists discovered a major ancient Egyptian town near Alexandria that dates back to 1550 BC, likely to the reign of Tutankhamun’s (King Tut’s) father

🚀 Space Influencers: Katy Perry joined five other women on Blue Origin's 10-minute-long space mission on Monday, which the Jeff Bezos-owned company promoted as the “first all-woman spaceflight”

🚁 Flightless Bird Crashes Flight: A helicopter crashed in South Africa after an unsecured penguin in a cardboard box slid off a passenger's lap and knocked the pilot's controls

🏛 ESPN To The White House?: ESPN host Stephen A. Smith is “leaving the door open” for a potential 2028 presidential run

🔬 Microscopic Marathon: A startup raised $1M to launch the world's first competitive sperm race in Los Angeles, complete with betting, stats, and play-by-play commentary

ROCA WRAP
Greek Guerillas

A previously unknown group of urban guerilla fighters claimed responsibility for several recent bombings in Greece.

Greece has a long history of political violence, largely committed by left-wing or anarchist groups. Although fatalities are relatively rare, Greek authorities report hundreds of attacks each year.  

Many of these attacks are driven by economic crises, high unemployment rates, and distrust in government institutions. While these crises have led to a rise in both left and right-wing political extremism and anti-establishment anger, anarchist groups have been behind most of the attacks in recent years.

Last Friday, a bomb went off at the offices of a railway operator in response to a train crash that killed 57 people in 2023. No one was injured in the attack.

The bombing adds to a list of unsolved attacks in recent years: In early 2024, a bomb exploded outside Greece's labor ministry in Athens, and in late 2018 and early 2019, two bombings hit major Greek TV stations. Prior to the attacks, authorities were warned that a bomb had been planted, resulting in no fatalities.

The perpetrators of the attacks have largely been unknown – until now. After last week’s bombing at a train company office, a previously unknown guerilla group claimed responsibility for the attack and last year’s explosion at the labor ministry.

The group, called the Revolutionary Class Self-Defense, posted a statement saying they carried out the attack as “collective defense as a class” and as a response to safety issues and underinvestment at the railway, which was privatized amid Greece’s prolonged debt crisis.

Greek counterterrorism authorities are now investigating the group’s links to past guerilla attacks, including on two TV stations several years ago. Another group claimed responsibility for those, accusing the media companies of helping preserve a “rotting economic and political system” in a statement. 

While the bombings have not yet caused major fatalities, particularly relative to terror attacks in years past, they highlight the growing issue of anarchist political violence in the birthplace of democracy.

ROCA VIDEO
If Big Pharma Ads Vanished Overnight...

RFK Jr. wants to ban pharmaceutical ads on TV. If he does, the consequences would be enormous — not simply for Big Pharma but for Big News.

Big Pharma funds news companies at a higher level than any other sector. So what would actually happen if RFK Jr. banned pharma ads? Why is the US the only major country to allow them? Can he even ban them given US free speech laws? This video investigates these questions and more.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Max F is currently on a 15-hour, A/C-less, and breathing-room-less train ride in Pakistan. Video guy Drew is with him, and he’s pulling off his own Michael Jordan flu game (stomach turbulence is high). Needless to say, we work hard for that original reporting. Shoutout to Max F and Drew!

Hope you all have a great day. Also, the NYC weather gods must’ve been reading our closing about the lackluster spring weather cause yesterday was a beauty!

–Max and Max