To celebrate National Cheeseburger Day, Wendy’s will be selling Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers for a penny from September 18-22. The deal only applies to orders made through the Wendy’s app. So for a four-day period, if you hear me say “I’m stuck in traffic,” it will likely mean that I’m in the Wendy’s drive-thru. 

In today's edition:

• Hunter Biden gets charged

• TSA caught stealing in Florida

• 20 Questions!

 🔑 Key Stories

Nigeria Power Grid Collapses

Nigeria experienced a nationwide blackout on Thursday

• Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country. It also has Africa’s largest economy and is its largest oil exporter

• Yet it has a poorly developed power grid: Last year, 14% of Nigerians living in urban areas and 66% in rural areas lacked access to electricity, and the country experienced four total nationwide blackouts

• Nigeria recently celebrated 400 straight days without a major blackout. Then on Thursday morning, a fire at a transmission line caused the entire grid to trip. Power slowly returned all Thursday

Fourth Opioid Wave

The combination of fentanyl with stimulants like cocaine and meth has become a major driver of overdose deaths, a new study finds

• Public health officials classify the opioid crisis into three “waves.” The first began with prescription drug abuse in the 1990s, the second with heroin in the early 2000s, and the third with fentanyl in 2014

• Some fentanyl users mix it with stimulants to boost energy levels during highs. A new study claims that in 2021, fentanyl-stimulant mixtures accounted for 32.3% of all overdose deaths, up from .6% in 2010

• Its authors called that the fourth wave of the opioid crisis

Dig Deeper

• To conduct the study, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles reviewed death certificate data from all US overdose deaths between 2010 and 2021. They noted some limitations in their findings, including the fact that autopsies can only determine which drugs are in somebody’s system, not whether they took them at the same time

Hunter Biden Indicted

Federal prosecutors indicted Hunter Biden for illegally purchasing and owning a firearm

• Since 2018, David Weiss, a Trump-appointed prosecutor, has investigated Hunter. In recent months, scrutiny focused on his alleged 2018 purchase of a .38-caliber Colt Cobra Special gun in Delaware while he was addicted to crack cocaine

• In August, a plea deal Weiss struck with Hunter to drop a gun charge fell apart in court

• On Thursday, Weiss indicted Hunter on three charges alleging he lied about being addicted to drugs to buy and then illegally own the firearm. Those carry a max 25-year penalty

Dig Deeper

• “Hunter Biden possessed a firearm while knowing he was an unlawful user of or addicted to any [drug], in violation of federal law,” prosecutors said in the filing

• Hunter’s lawyer implied the charges were political. “As expected, prosecutors filed charges today that they deemed were not warranted just six weeks ago following a five-year investigation into this case,” she said following his indictment

Auto Workers Striking

A union representing thousands of Detroit auto workers called a limited strike on Friday

• United Auto Workers (UAW) represents 145,000 workers at the “Detroit Three” – General Motors (GM), Ford, and Stellantis (Chrysler). It negotiates a new contract every 4.5 years

• This year, it demanded new benefits for its workers and 40% raises over four years; the automakers offered less than half that

• On Friday, UAW called a limited strike against all three automakers. That means only 12,700 workers at specific factories walked off the job. UAW’s president said that strategy will increase its leverage

Dig Deeper

• Analysts predict that the strike will greatly disrupt the automakers’ supply chains, harming their output and costing them potentially hundreds of millions of dollars per week. President Biden has reportedly offered automakers financial assistance, such as loans

• Some analysts speculated the strike could backfire, giving the auto companies the ability to permanently replace striking workers piecemeal instead of having to do it all at once

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🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Seizing Caesars: Days before a cyberattack took down MGM’s computer systems, casino operator Caesars reportedly paid a $15M ransom to the same cybercrime group

• Big Green Union: Dartmouth College’s men’s basketball team is attempting to unionize, potentially becoming the first in Division One college athletics to do so

• Transportation Stealing Administration: Surveillance footage shows two TSA officers stealing $600+ in cash and other items from passengers’ luggage at Miami International Airport

Wildcard

• Riding under the influence: Police arrested a California man for riding a horse while under the influence with an open container of alcohol. They arrested him for DUI

• Back to the Future: The NBA’s Phoenix Suns are providing free antennas to fans who don’t have cable or TV subscriptions. Fans will be able to watch 70 regular-season Suns games

• No more Gucci with 3 c’s: The NYPD seized ~$35M in counterfeit designer goods and arrested 18 people for trademark counterfeiting in Lower Manhattan

👇🏻 What do you think?

Today's Question:

Just 20 Questions!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🗣 20 Questions

Every Friday, we ask the Roca readers 20 questions, then feature our favorite answers the following week.

Today, we bring you a throwback "Ratings" edition of 20 Questions. We give you a list of people, things, places, and abstract concepts (20 Questions does not get enough credit for its intellectual stimulation), and you rate that thing on a scale of 1 to 10.

1 is the worst; 10 is the best. And no, this has nothing to do with looks. Although if you do find your 4th grade chemistry teacher attractive (prompt #18), feel free to get that off your chest.

Here's the link. Have an AMAZING WEEKEND!

If you have thoughts, let us know at [email protected]!

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Have you followed news about Aaron Rodgers’ injury?

Yes: 43%
No: 57%

Yesterday's Question:

Was pandemic spending in your country… justified? Justified, yet poorly implemented? Or not justified?

Jonathan from Houston, Texas: "Lockdowns shouldn't have been longer than 2-3 weeks, a month at max. All this spending was a result of the government putting people and businesses out of work and them trying to make amends for it. All this could have been avoided but it wasn't and now we're suffering in inflation Hell because of it.."

Kia from New Zealand: "It is my belief that our then Labour Government, acted both appropriately and in a timely manner, in their response to the initial Covid-19 outbreak. They exercised caution and the need for urgency backed with scientific advice that they trusted. They managed the needs of our already stressed and stretched health system and provided clear advice that at times required adjustment but overall they led us on a clear path.”

Keri from Iowa: ”Partially justified but abhorrently mismanaged! It was all flung out too quickly and without safeguards. Some people worried so much about the vaccine being out out too quickly to be safe, but no one showed concern about the amount of money being sent out with minimal thought and oversight.”

Yesterday’s Wrap Replies:

Yesterday’s Wrap was on Jimmy Buffett.

David from Bolton, New York: “US of A needs less Trump's and less Biden's and more Buffet's! Join the MAFA movement! Let's Make America Fun Again!”

Jennifer from Maryland: “Rarely have I seen and personally felt a loss of a celebrity such as Jimmy Buffet. I’m not sure why I identified with his songs. It’s not like I was a sailor or a pirate but I really wanted to be one if they felt the way he sang about them. His music was relaxed and fun and it’s sad to see that laissez-faire enjoyment leave us.”

Ken from Kingman, Arizona: “I live in Kingman Arizona and between 1997-1999 there was a Mexican restaurant called Margaritaville and Jimmy Buffett sued them to remove the name or pay a bunch of money. They just closed their doors! It was the best Mexican restaurant in town and we miss it so much!! I have disliked Jimmy Buffett ever since!”

Last Week's 20 Qs Responses:

Last week we did "This or That" – Fall Edition. We have 20 options, and you have to pick the one you prefer. Below we bolded the top choice.

1. Watching football
   Not watching football

2. NFL
   College Football

3. Pumpkin patch
   Haunted House

4. Campfire
   Corn maze

5. Labor Day
   Columbus Day

6. Pumpkin spice
   Not pumpkin spice

7. Playing football
   Going for a hike

8. Giving candy out at Halloween
   Turning out the lights

9. Foliage
   Football

10. Watching MLB playoffs
    Apple picking

11. Horror movies
    Not horror movies

12. Caramel apple
    Cider donut

13. Pumpkins
    Leaves

14. Brisk air
    Cold nights

15. Hoodies

    Quarter-zips

16. Red leaves
    Orange leaves

17. Apple cider
    Hot chocolate

18. Pumpkin Carving...
    Smiley face
    Complex design

19. Favorite spooky theme
    Ghost
    Witch

20. Candy corn

    Yes
    No

🧠 Final Thoughts

That's all we've got for this week.

Happy Fall, have an amazing weekend, do the 20 Questions, and see you on Monday!

—Max and Max