You know how the saying goes… an Apple a day keeps the world’s greatest news app away. Well, if you don’t, it was invented this morning and unfortunately inspired by true events. Our new least favorite Big Tech company Apple is delaying the launch we promised today, but fear not: It is coming soon, and we will keep you posted with updates. Now, let’s read some news!
In today's edition:
Elton John hangs up the glittery jacket
Book returned to library… a century late
Who is Tom Cruise?
🔑 Key Stories
Roca Vs. App Store
The Roca app was supposed to come today
Apple had approved it for public launch a month ago – or so we thought…
This weekend, Apple raised an issue with a core component of our app, saying they had never seen it before in a news app. We said something like, “No sh*t, our news app is nothing like other news apps”
“You can hold us back and face the wrath of Roca Nation,” we warned
For now our appeal is pending. If we win, we will launch the app on today as promised. If Big Tech wins, we will be slightly delayed. Stay tuned…
US to Send Ukraine Cluster Munitions
The Biden administration said it will send cluster munitions to Ukraine
Cluster munitions are artillery-fired canisters that break apart midair and disperse many smaller “bomblets.” The munitions are powerful but many countries ban their use because some bomblets don’t explode and pose hazards to civilians after wars
Russia and Ukraine have used them extensively, but Ukraine is reportedly running low on them
On Friday, the US said it will send cluster munitions to Ukraine. The US said it will send relatively safe ones and Ukraine says it won’t use them in civilian areas
Dig Deeper
The move drew support from Ukraine and many of its supporters within the US. “[Cluster munitions] would be a game changer in [Ukraine’s] counteroffensive,” said the Republican representative who oversees the House’s foreign affairs committee
The move also sparked criticism, though, including within the Democratic party. “The decision by the Biden administration to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine is…a terrible mistake,” one Democratic representative who oversees defense spending said
Tennessee Trans Law
A court allowed a Tennessee law banning transition-related medical procedures for minors to take effect
Tennessee passed a law in March banning surgeries, hormone blockers, and other procedures for minors. It also required existing procedures to end by March 2024
A coalition of LGBT groups sued, and just before the law was set to take effect, a judge temporarily blocked it from taking effect
On Saturday, a 3-judge appeals court ruled 2-1 to let the law take effect until a final ruling is reached, which will likely happen later this year. The court said the law is likely constitutional
Dig Deeper
“The case is far from over, but this is a big win,” Tennessee’s attorney general said following the news
A coalition of LGBT groups called the ruling “beyond disappointing.” “We want all the transgender youth of Tennessee to know this fight is far from over,” they said
Biden: Parts of Israel Government are “Extreme”
Amid rising Israel-Palestine tensions, President Biden called parts of Israel’s government “extreme”
Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967. ~500k Israelis have since moved to “settlements” there, which are towns and cities in Palestinian areas
Last year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed a government with several pro-settler parties and named a settler as a minister. The government has since authorized more Israelis to live there, sparking Palestinian anger
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Biden said that government contains some of the “most extreme members of cabinets that I’ve seen,” a rare criticism of Israel by a US president
Dig Deeper
The settler minister responded to Biden’s comments on Twitter, saying that Biden “needs to realize that we are no longer a star on the American flag”
Retirement Man
Elton John’s years-long farewell tour ended on Saturday night, capping off 50+ years of touring
Elton John is a British musician and one of the world’s best-selling artists. His songs include “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” and “Your Song”
Elton John’s first official tour was in 1970; he has since performed live 4,600+ times in 80+ countries
In 2018, he announced a 3-year farewell concert tour. That was postponed because of the pandemic and then resumed in 2022. It ended on Saturday after 330 shows, having become the best-selling concert tour in history
Dig Deeper
John played his final show in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday. He said he would “never be touring again” but will still make music and will now spend more time with his “family, my sons, my husband, everything”
The Healthy Alternative to Sugary Sports Drinks
Together with LMNT
Healthy hydration isn’t just about drinking water. It’s about water AND electrolytes
It makes sense—you lose both water and sodium when you sweat. Both need to be replaced
Most people only replace the water. Why? Because since the 1940s, we’ve been told to drink 8 glasses of water per day, thirsty or not
Drinking beyond thirst can be a bad idea. It dilutes blood electrolyte levels (especially sodium levels), which leads to headaches, low energy, cramps, confusion, or worse
The solution isn’t to stop drinking water, though. It’s to drink water plus electrolytes. That is where LMNT is great! Just mix it with water and it’s perfect for hydrating, be it after a workout or night out. It comes in great flavors, like the grapefruit fan-favorite, and contains no sugar
You can try it totally risk-free. If you don’t like it, they’ll give you your money back – no questions asked
Dig Deeper
Right now LMNT is offering Roca Riders a FREE sample pack with any purchase. That’s 8 single servings FREE with any LMNT order. This is a great way to try all 8 flavors or share LMNT with a salty friend
🍿 Popcorn
ICYMI
Superbad behavior? Actor Jonah Hill’s ex-girlfriend accused him of emotional abuse. In a screenshot she shared, Hill said that if she needs “surfing with men,” “to model,” “to post pictures of yourself in a bathing suit,” “to post sexual pictures,” or “friendships with women who are in unstable places…I am not the right partner for you”
Some wild cats: Northwestern University suspended its head football coach amid a hazing investigation. An anonymous player accused the team of hazing activities, including sexual acts
He’s baaaack: ElonJet – the Elon Musk private-jet tracking account – is now on Threads. Twitter suspended the account, which is run by a college student, in December
Wildcard
Dronenado: Drones are patrolling Long Island, NY’s coastal waters after a series of shark encounters. Last week, sharks bit five people at Long Island beaches within two days
Never sausage a threat! Officials in Alexandria, VA, are searching for someone who is leaving fish hook-stuffed sausages around the city. A dog owner recently had his dog choke on one such sausage
Just a bit overdue: A Massachusetts library received a book that was 119 years overdue. A rare book curator in West Virginia found the book and returned it in “excellent condition”
👇 What do you think?
Today's Question:
What is the best concert you’ve been to and why?
Reply to this email with your answers!
See yesterday's results below the Wrap!
🌯 Roca Wrap
Before Tom Cruise looked like a movie star, he looked like his mother.
Cruise was born in Syracuse, New York in 1962. He had a striking appearance even as a kid: Dark hair, a defined jaw, blue eyes, and a constant smile. He had 3 sisters and was the family’s only boy.
Cruise has said he had an interest in acting since at least age 4, potentially because of his family’s frequent trips to the drive-ins. He often played with a G.I. Joe and once, in an attempt to imitate it, jumped off his roof, knocking himself unconscious.
Cruise’s father was an electrician and his mother a special education teacher. The family moved frequently and Cruise attended schools in Canada, New Jersey, Ohio, and elsewhere. At one of those schools, Cruise was diagnosed with dyslexia.
Cruise’s parents’ marriage wasn’t happy and Cruise later recalled that his dad was abusive: “It was a great lesson in my life – how he'd lull you in, make you feel safe and then, bang!” They divorced when Cruise was 13; 2 weeks later, Cruise’s father had already remarried.
Cruise went years without hearing from his father and claims his father’s departure left the family in poverty, which led him to attend a free traditional Catholic school. While there, he wanted to become a priest – but then claims to have realized, “I love women too much.”
Cruise’s family next moved to New Jersey, where he enrolled in a public high school. He played football, partied, and starred in school drama productions. After graduating, Cruise decided to pursue an acting career.
In 1980, at age 18, Cruise moved to New York City and then to Los Angeles, where he secured his first small role in 1981. He immediately secured several other roles, including a lead in 1983’s Risky Business.
Cruise was then cast for Top Gun.
While filming that, he met the actress Mimi Rogers. Cruise says it was at a dinner party; Rogers said mutual friends introduced them. Either way, they started dating and quickly married.
Rogers and her father were Scientologists and they introduced Cruise to the organization. Defectors from the Church have said that it saw Cruise as presenting a huge opportunity for money and legitimacy: They tried to rope him in, indoctrinate him, and keep him happy. But Cruise’s marriage soon fell apart, and he moved on from the Church.
In 1990 he and Rogers divorced; less than a year later, Cruise married actress Nicole Kidman. Rogers has said they divorced because "Tom was seriously thinking of becoming a monk…And he thought he had to be celibate to maintain the purity of his instrument."
Cruise was married to Kidman and worked on numerous hit movies during the 1990s. But in 1999, Church insiders have said, a charismatic member was sent to “retrieve” Cruise.
His marriage was struggling and he agreed. By the early 2000s, he had replaced his publicist with a Scientologist; his 3 sisters, and later his mother, all joined the group. Cruise became an ardent public advocate for Scientology, which he said cured his dyslexia.
In a 2004 Rolling Stone interview, Cruise said Scientology is “the sh*t.” “Some people, well, if they don't like Scientology, well, then f**k you. Really, f**k you. Period,” he said. That year, he filmed a Scientology conversion video.
“We are the authorities on getting people off drugs, we are the authorities of the mind, we are the authorities on improving conditions…we can rehabilitate criminals, the way to happiness, we can bring peace, and unite cultures,” he said.“ Once you know these tools and you know that they work, it’s not good enough that I’m just doing ok.”
Cruise often publicly spoke of how madly in love he was with actress Katie Holmes, his new girlfriend. In 2005, he famously jumped on Oprah’s couch, prompting her to say, “I’ve never seen you like this.”
Around that time, Holmes did an interview with W Magazine, during which a “Scientologist Chaperone” guided her through all of her answers.
At the start of 2006, numerous lists ranked Cruise as Hollywood’s most powerful actor. His behavior led to a public backlash, though, and in 2006 Paramount ended its 14-year deal with him. Cruise’s “recent conduct has not been acceptable,” the chairman of Paramount’s owner said.
Subsequent books and docuseries, including one by HBO, alleged that the Church of Scientology groomed partners for Cruise and provided him with free – potentially slave – labor. Ex-Scientologists have said the Church organized auditions for women to date Cruise; others have said Cruise had the Church wiretap Nicole Kidman.
Cruise denies the charges.
After Cruise’s career took a hit, he hired a non-Scientologist publicist and began to rehabilitate his image. In 2011, he returned to Paramount, where he proceeded to produce and star in 3 Mission: Impossible movies that became the then-three highest-grossing films of his career.
Like in all of his movies, Cruise did his own stunts in those hits – including flying a 360-degree corkscrew in a helicopter; holding his breath underwater for 6 minutes; climbing the world’s tallest building; and holding onto an airplane as it took off.
Cruise has said he does his stunts “to give everything. To have that experience…It's different. There's stakes, there's real stakes.” His stunts led to blockbusters that cemented his reputation as one of the world’s top action stars.
In 2022, Cruise starred in Top Gun: Maverick, which became the highest-grossing movie of his career, earning $1.5B. Many attributed the movie to returning movie theaters to normalcy after the pandemic.
This week, Cruise’s latest film – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 – opens.
With an early 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, can Cruise pull another record-breaker out of his hat?
If you have thoughts, let us know at [email protected]!
🌊 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Do you still use coins?
Yes: 72%
No: 28%
Yesterday's Question:
Just 20 Qs!
🧠 Final Thoughts
As we anxiously await our App Store approval, we hope you all are having calm and pleasant starts to your week. We will be back tomorrow with more – and hopefully good! – news.
—Max and Max
