🌊 Epstein Files Live to Hide Another Day

Candace gets sued!

France’s president Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte are suing Candace Owens for her “Becoming Brigitte” documentary. For the unaware — and, boy, do we envy you! — Owens has been proselytizing for months that the First Lady of France was born a man. Candace has seemingly staked her journalistic reputation (insert laugh track) on this claim, devoting more time to it than her other causes which include defending Harvey Weinstein, Andrew Tate, and Kanye West.

Well, discovery should be interesting!

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Judge Denies Unsealing Epstein Docs

A federal judge in Florida denied the Trump Administration's request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein investigations

• Amid the uproar prompted by the Trump Justice Department’s (DoJ) finding that no further investigation of Epstein’s crimes was needed, the DoJ asked the court to unseal grand jury transcripts from federal investigations into Epstein in 2005 and 2007

• On Wednesday, the federal judge denied the request, saying that her court's "hands are tied" because the government's request did not meet the narrow exceptions that allow grand jury materials to be released

• The DoJ had argued that disclosure of the secret transcripts was necessary because of the “strong public interest in the historical investigation into Jeffrey Epstein,” and said that “many of the rationales supporting grand jury secrecy…no longer apply” because Epstein died in 2019

Dig Deeper

• The judge said the government's request did not meet any of the narrow exceptions that allow grand jury materials to be released, noting that district courts are generally prohibited from unsealing such testimony except in very specific circumstances

• The Florida ruling represents the first decision in the Trump Administration's effort to release more information about the Epstein case

• The DoJ still has pending requests to unseal transcripts in Manhattan federal court related to Epstein's later indictment that resulted in his 2019 death by suicide while awaiting trial

KEY STORY

US Strikes Deals in the Pacific

The US reached trade agreements with Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines

• Trump had threatened tariffs on trading partners worldwide as part of his "reciprocal tariff" strategy, set to take effect starting August 1

• On Tuesday, Japan secured a 15% tariff rate on its exports to the US, down from the threatened 25%, in exchange for pledging $550B in US investments. Notably, the deal will lower the tariff on Japanese cars from 25% to 15%

• The US also reached deals to establish 19% tariffs on both Indonesian and Filipino goods entering America, below the threatened 32% rate on Indonesia and 20% rate on the Philippines

Dig Deeper 

• The three countries engaged in negotiations to reduce Trump’s threatened tariffs

• Trump announced that America would receive 90% of the profits from Japan’s investments, and that the US and Japan are nearing a joint venture to develop a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, though the details on both components are unclear

• In return for its deal, the Philippines agreed to open its markets with zero tariffs on US products, including automobiles, on which the country previously imposed duties

• Indonesia promised to remove tariffs on over 99% of US goods, remove export restrictions on critical minerals, and purchase $3.2B in US aircraft, $4.5B in agricultural products, and $15B in energy products

QUOTE OF THE DAY

KEY STORY

US Bans Trans Women From Olympics

Transgender women will no longer be eligible to compete for the US in women's Olympic events

• The International Olympic Committee delegates guidelines on transgender athletes to sporting bodies and national committees. Previously, the US Olympic Committee (USOPC) had delegated the policy further to the national governing bodies of each sport. To date, no transgender athlete has competed for the US in any Olympic Games

• On Monday, the USOPC modified its policy to require compliance with Trump's February executive order titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports"

• All 50+ national governing bodies under USOPC oversight must now align their policies with the new rules

Dig Deeper

• USA Fencing was among the first to update its guidelines, effective August 1, allowing only "athletes who are of the female sex" in women's competitions while opening men's events to transgender women, transgender men, nonbinary, and intersex athletes

• The policy changes will affect competitions from youth sports to elite Olympic-level events, potentially requiring rule modifications at local sports clubs

KEY STORY

Zelensky’s Anti-Corruption Moves

Ukrainian President Zelensky signed legislation placing the country's two main anti-corruption bodies under government control

• Ukraine established two anti-corruption units – NABU and SAPO – in 2014 following the ousting of pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych

• On Tuesday, Zelensky signed into law a bill giving the president's office more control over the anti-corruption bodies. It grants Ukraine's prosecutor general – a presidential appointee – sweeping powers over NABU and SAPO

• While Zelensky justified the law as necessary to eliminate "Russian influence," it prompted Ukraine’s first large anti-government protests of the war

Dig Deeper 

• NABU had opened a criminal case against Zelensky’s former deputy prime minister, a close ally of the president, charging him with abuse of power and illegal enrichment

• Ukrainian security services raided NABU offices on Monday, claiming the agency had been infiltrated by Russian agents

• More than 2,000 protesters gathered outside Zelensky's office in Kyiv on Tuesday evening in the first major anti-government demonstrations since Russia's invasion

• EU officials expressed concern about the legislation's impact on Ukraine's EU membership bid, with EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos calling it a "serious step back"

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

👾 Chinese state-backed hacking groups exploited security flaws in Microsoft SharePoint servers to breach around 400 organizations worldwide, including government agencies and businesses

🏫 Columbia University expelled and suspended over 70 students involved in a pro-Palestinian demonstration that shut down the main campus library this May

📊 Stock trading has sparked dramatic rallies in a new set of meme stocks, including Kohl's, Opendoor, GoPro, Krispy Kreme, and Beyond Meat. The companies have jumped up to 400% despite experiencing no fundamental business changes

⚖️ University of Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger received four consecutive life sentences without parole for murdering four University of Idaho students in November 2022

🧑‍⚖️ A federal judge in Tennessee ordered the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran migrant who was deported by the Trump Administration and later brought back to face human smuggling charges, while he awaits trial

What does Roca Nation think?

📸 Yesterday’s Question: Who’s more famous in the US right now: Billie Eilish or Barry Bonds? How about Clint Eastwood vs Zendaya?

📝 Today’s Question: What’s the most valuable thing/skill you learned in high school? Why?

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🚣‍♂️ Rowing to Recovery: A UK Special Forces vet and his 18-year-old son have become the first father-son duo to row from San Francisco to Hawaii

🐰 The Python and The Hare: Florida scientists are releasing robotic rabbits to capture invasive Burmese pythons in the Everglades

🥒 Squirting Cucumbers: New research has revealed that the Mediterranean squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium) doesn’t just explode – it aims first

🦛 Hippo Havoc: Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo staged an emergency escape drill using a staff member dressed in their viral pygmy hippo mascot suit

☀️ Self-Healing Concrete: Scientists have created a new kind of concrete that can heal its own cracks using sunlight

ROCA WRAP
Luxury Laundering

Netherlands

Dutch prosecutors are investigating luxury brand shops in this country for allegedly enabling a massive money laundering scheme.

The Netherlands has established itself as a global hub for international business and finance, and has strict anti-money laundering regulations. The country's Financial Intelligence Unit expects businesses to report unusual activity even when it falls below mandatory reporting thresholds, which led authorities to one woman’s unusual laundering tactic.

Over an 18-month period, authorities say a single customer spent millions of euros at Louis Vuitton stores across the country. The woman, identified only as Bei W. under Dutch law, allegedly laundered nearly €3M ($3.5M), always paying in cash and never exceeding the €10k reporting threshold.

At a preliminary hearing this month, prosecutors argued that Bei W. received illicit funds from an individual already convicted in connection with the scheme, then used the money to ship luxury goods to Hong Kong and China. She allegedly received assistance from a Louis Vuitton employee who alerted her when new items arrived within their target price range.

Law enforcement officials argue that the consistent pattern of cash payments just under reporting limits should have triggered alerts at the luxury retailer. The scheme reflects broader patterns identified by security officials: An enormous market that criminals can exploit as a weak link in the financial system.

Designer bags can be a great disguise for dirty money, but not forever.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Anyone else a little Epstein’ed out? What happened to interest rate changes and Titanic submersibles exploding?

Hopefully the news cycle becomes a little less toxic in the weeks ahead. But here’s some good news: It’s Thursday. Hope it’s a great one, and see you tomorrow.

–Max and Max