New York therapists are going to have a busy week. Three plays into his first game with the New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers went down with what appears to be a season-ending — and perhaps career-ending — injury. MetLife hadn’t seen so many tears since Taylor Swift’s 10-minute performance of “All Too Well.” Stay strong, Jets nation ♥

In today's edition:

• UK bans dog breed for violence?

• Red wine river in Portugal

• TSA’s origin story

 🔑 Key Stories

UK to Ban XL Bullies

The UK’s government is considering outlawing the ​​American Bully following a spike in dog attacks

• American bullies are a cross between American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, and other dog breeds. Some consider them friendly and loving; others say they’re aggressive and violent

• Bullies have been linked to an increase in dog attacks in the UK, where they’re becoming more popular. This week, a video went viral of an XL bully chasing and biting an 11-year-old girl and two others

• The UK’s Home Secretary called the video “appalling” and urged the government to ban them

Dig Deeper

• The UK government has previously outlawed four dog breeds, including the American pit bull terrier, under a 1991 law allowing it to ban dogs “bred for fighting” or similar purposes

US vs. Google

A lawsuit against Google goes to trial today

• Google Search controls 90% of the US search engine market. Last year, ads on it accounted for 58% of Google’s revenue

• In 2020, the US government sued Google for antitrust violations, alleging it paid phone makers like Apple billions to make Google Search the default search engine on their phones, giving it a monopoly

• Google denies that, arguing its search engine is dominant because it is superior to its competitors. A Google spokesperson called the case “deeply flawed” and predicted it will easily win at trial. The case is considered the largest antitrust lawsuit against a Big Tech company in 25 years

Dig Deeper

• The DoJ must prove that Google’s specific actions – ie., individual, identifiable decisions, not a collection of decisions – violated antitrust laws

• Google is widely expected to ask some customers, such as Apple executives, to testify at trial as to why they chose to work with Google’s search engine over those of competitors

Twinkie Takeover

Jelly maker J.M. Smucker is buying Hostess Brands, maker of the Twinkie, for $5.6B

• Hostess is a Kansas-based food company that makes Twinkies, HoHos, Snoballs, and other snacks. It went bankrupt and temporarily stopped operations in 2012 but was quickly bought out and revived. It went public in 2016, and its revenue has almost doubled since 2017

• Late last month, reports emerged that other food companies were bidding to buy Hostess

• On Monday, Smucker — which owns Jif peanut butter, Smucker’s jelly, and more — announced it will buy Hostess for $5.6B

Dig Deeper

• Smucker’s purchase is expected to close by January 2024. Smucker’s CEO said the company has the resources to grow Hostess’s sales and invest in further product innovation. Shares of Hostess jumped 18.8% following the news; Smucker’s shares fell 7.3%

Alien Meteorite Found — Or Not?

Scientists are debating a Harvard professor’s claims that he found meteorites that originated from outside our Solar System

• Interstellar objects are objects that travel between solar systems. In 2014, a meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere. The US government announced in 2022 it believed that meteor was of interstellar origin

• Professor Abraham Loeb, a Harvard professor, claims to have found fragments from that meteor in the Pacific Ocean and says their chemical compositions prove they are interstellar

• Others have cast doubt on his claims, though, calling them irresponsible or unsubstantiated

Dig Deeper

• Loeb professor has brushed off the criticism, arguing that the marbles’ chemical compositions indicate they are of interstellar origin. He also said those who criticize him are putting their opinions ahead of the science

• Late June, Loeb released a draft of a study publicizing his findings, although those findings have not been peer-reviewed – analyzed by outside scientists – or published yet

The LMNT Story

Sponsored by LMNT

LMNT co-founder Robb Wolf is a former research biochemist and 2x NYTimes best-selling author who discovered the vital role salt plays through Jiu Jitsu

• Robb was on a low-carb, whole food diet for years, but felt that something was holding his performance back in Jiu Jitsu

• His coaches said that he probably needed more electrolytes, specifically salt

• After experimenting with DIY electrolyte mixes, he landed on one that worked for him and posted it to a blog where it was subsequently downloaded thousands of times

• Many people asked if he could create premade electrolyte packs and LMNT was born

Dig Deeper

• LMNT is an electrolyte mix that you can stir into water to help replace both the water AND salt lost through exercise

• Right now LMNT is offering Roca Riders 8 single servings FREE with any LMNT order. Plus, they have a no-questions-asked refund policy. This is a great way to try all 8 flavors or share LMNT with a salty friend

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• A Musk read: Renowned biographer Walter Isaacson’s Elon Musk biography was released today. Isaacson spent two years studying Musk, the world’s richest person

• Football heals all: Charter Communications – which owns Spectrum, a cable provider with ~15M subscribers – resolved a week-long blackout of its Disney channels just ahead of Monday Night Football

• Never forget this parlay: DraftKings created then removed a “Never Forget” parlay promotion for 9/11 involving the New York Mets, Yankees, and Jets

Wildcard

• Red wine river: A Portuguese distillery’s two tanks – holding 600K gallons of red wine – burst in a small town, causing an environmental alert. A red wine river flowed in the streets

• Turkish delight: Rescuers pulled American spelunker Mark Dickey out of a Turkish cave over a week after he fell ill 3,000+ feet underground. They carried him out on a stretcher

• Houston, we have a record: NASA astronaut Frank Rubio unintentionally set a new US record for longest spaceflight, surpassing the 355-day record set last year. Technical issues extended his mission

👇 What do you think?

Today's Question:

Should a country’s government have the power to ban certain dog breeds?

Reply to this email with your answers!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🌯 Roca Wrap

Until September 11, 2001, going to the airport was easy.

Passengers could carry up-to-four-inch blades, box cutters, and scissors; they didn’t need an ID; and their family members could walk them to the gate. Airport security consisted of a single metal detector, although a computer system flagged high-risk passengers – like those who bought one-way tickets or paid cash – for extra security.

Airlines and airports hired private companies to provide security. The largest such company provided security at 40% of US airports and in 2000 paid a $1M fine for hiring ex-convicts as screeners. On 9/11, it and others failed to stop the 19 hijackers from boarding their planes.

Despite several hijackers being flagged for extra security checks, none were questioned. The US responded to 9/11 by taking over airport security.

After grounding flights until September 14, it banned sharp objects from planes and had airport screeners begin patting down passengers and searching their carry-ons. Then in November 2001, it decided to take over airport security altogether.

That month, President Bush signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. The law required 100% checked baggage screening and reinforced cockpit doors. It also expanded the Federal Air Marshals Service – undercover armed federal agents on airplanes – from dozens to thousands. Finally, it created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to oversee security on all modes of transport.

Within a year, the TSA had taken over security.

After screening 1.7M applicants within 12 months – an effort comparable only to military recruitment during World War 2 – it hired 55,000 federal agents and began installing thousands of explosive-detection devices at airports.

The TSA continued to expand, as did security regulations.

Between 2001 and 2006, failed attempts to attack airplanes with bombs in electronics, gels, liquids, and shoes led the TSA to restrict liquids and check shoes. TSA began scanning 100% of checked luggage, then doubled down, using dogs to check them again.

In the 2010s, TSA introduced full-body scans for all passengers, programs to identify 100% of US airline passengers as high- or low-risk, and enhanced screening at overseas airports. As TSA grew, so did its budget: From $1.3B in 2002 to $9.7B this year. Today, the TSA employs 65,000 people, including 50,000 security officers.

Greater security has led to many critics.

Some say the agency violates passengers’ privacy; others say it’s become a business by selling services like TSA Precheck, which lets qualified passengers pay to skip the TSA line.

TSA says that service lets them devote resources to higher-risk passengers.

Critics also say the TSA has spent billions of dollars to create an illusion of security. Studies in 2015 and 2017 found that undercover federal agents smuggled mock explosives and weapons onto planes in 95% of attempts.

Others say the TSA exaggerates the terrorist threat to justify its existence. One former TSA head wrote in 2012, "It's simply no longer the case that killing a few people on board a plane could lead to a hijacking. Never again will a terrorist be able to breach the cockpit simply with a box cutter or a knife. The cockpit doors have been reinforced, and passengers, flight crews, and air marshals would intervene."

But the government and the TSA say the proof is clear: TSA was created to prevent another 9/11, and it’s succeeded. Others say less privacy and greater wait times are a small price to pay for feeling safe on an airplane.

What do you think?

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

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Should your state or region recognize a trans history month?
Yes: 18%
No: 82%

Yesterday's Question:

Yesterday’s question was related to yesterday’s Wrap. Should KSM and other 9/11 plotters be given the death penalty?

Sandi from Virginia Beach, Virginia: “He deserves and should get the death penalty. He should already have been killed. No leniency, no pardon, no bargain. He didn’t give any care to the men, women and children he murdered, the families left behind to try and put their lives together. Death now!”

Heather from Vacaville, California: “They should not be given the death penalty because that's an easy out to all the terror, death and destruction they caused. They should live their lives in solitary confinement for the rest of their lives.”

Mike from Texas "No but only because I oppose the death penalty.”

Ken from Arizona: “The justice system is too slow nowadays!! If a person is found guilty of a crime I think only one appeal should be allowed and if found guilty of murder that person should be given the death sentence and that sentence should be carried out in less than a year!!!!”

🧠 Final Thoughts

It’s not every day a football game leaves both teams feeling like losers. Yet for Roca — whose staff is largely divided between Bills and Jets fans — that was certainly the case today after the Monday Night Football season opener ended with a brutal loss for the Bills and a devastating injury for the Jets. The good news is, the season can only go up from here!

—Max and Max