🌊 FAA: Catch Feelings, Not Flights

Happy “Roca Called It Day” to all who celebrate.

Ahead of last year’s election, Max F had the radical idea to travel the country to talk to voters ahead of the election. We figured that we’d learn more if we talked with people instead of at them, and remembered that the main job of journalists is to listen. Unfortunately, most journalists today prefer to lecture than listen; and they prefer their cubicles to the real world. The few that do venture out of their coastal enclaves to inner cities or Appalachia assume the air of a zoologist, studying these species of human as if they’re Jane Goodall in Tanzania.

But we chose the listen route and logged over a thousand miles on rental cars in August and September, interviewing voters everywhere — rural towns, rich towns, hoods, and American Beauty-style suburbs. In addition to consuming way too much red-40 from gas station snacks, we learned a lot. In fact, it was one of the most eye-opening experiences we’ve ever had. Our takeaway was that Trump would win every swing state, and we documented that prediction, defying polls, pundits, and prediction markets. We knew what we saw and heard, and stuck with our guns.

Since then, our mission has been to really get out there, and we have. This week, Max T was in West Virginia and Virginia, and next week Max F will be in Arkansas and Mississippi. Our job is to hold a mirror to the country, and do a better job of covering it than any other outlet in the world. Thank you for following along, and to all of you who support our journalism with your subscription.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Flight Reductions Ordered at Major US Airports

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered flight reductions at 40 major US airports due to staffing shortages caused by the government shutdown

• The shutdown – which began on October 1 and became the longest in US history this week – has forced approximately 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 security screeners to work without pay for weeks

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced on Wednesday that the FAA would order steep flight cuts, citing air traffic control safety risks. The reductions are set to begin Friday, starting at 4% of scheduled flights and gradually increasing to 10% by the following week if the shutdown persists

• The 40 affected airports include some of the nation's busiest hubs, such as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, Dallas Fort Worth, and Chicago O'Hare

Dig Deeper 

• The FAA administrator said the agency found evidence of fatigue building among air traffic controllers, and while the aviation system remained safe, officials stressed the cuts were necessary to maintain safety standards

• Staffing shortages had already caused tens of thousands of flight delays nationwide before the cuts were announced, with airlines estimating that at least 3.2M travelers had been affected

• The timing raised particular concerns for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, when millions of Americans typically travel

KEY STORY

mRNA Covid Vaccines May Fight Cancer

A new study showed that cancer patients who received Covid mRNA vaccines while starting immunotherapy survived nearly twice as long as unvaccinated patients

• Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center analyzed records from nearly 1,100 patients with advanced lung or skin cancer who received immune checkpoint inhibitors – a form of cancer treatment – between 2019 and 2023. Due to the pandemic, approximately 20% of those patients also received Covid mRNA vaccines within 100 days of starting their cancer immunotherapy

• Three-year survival rates for lung cancer patients who received an mRNA vaccine were 55.8% compared to 30.6% for unvaccinated patients

• The Covid mRNA vaccines stimulated a surge of immune-activating molecules that prompted immune cells to identify cancer and alert specialized T cells, which can target and destroy tumors

Dig Deeper 

• The researchers found that pneumonia or influenza vaccines did not affect survival, and Covid vaccines did not improve survival among patients receiving cancer treatments other than immune checkpoint inhibitors

• The team is planning a clinical trial to test whether adding Covid mRNA vaccines to standard immunotherapy improves outcomes for lung cancer patients. The trial could open by the end of this year

KEY STORY

Pelosi Announces Retirement

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would not seek reelection, ending nearly 40 years in Congress

• Pelosi, 85, first won a special election to represent San Francisco in 1987. She rose through the Democratic ranks to become, in 2007, the first woman elected House speaker, serving in that role from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023

• During her tenure, she shepherded major legislation through Congress, including the Affordable Care Act in 2010 and the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, and led two impeachment efforts against President Trump

• She remained influential in party decisions even after stepping down as speaker in 2023, including playing a key role in the effort that led President Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race

Dig Deeper 

• Her announcement came two days after California voters approved Proposition 50, a redistricting initiative she supported that could create up to five additional Democratic seats in the state

• Pelosi became a target of political violence when her office was ransacked during the January 6 protests and an assailant attacked her husband with a hammer at their San Francisco home in 2022

• Her retirement creates an open seat in a solidly Democratic district, with State Senator Scott Wiener (D) and progressive activist Saikat Chakrabarti already announcing campaigns

QUOTE OF THE DAY

KEY STORY

UN: World Will Miss 1.5°C Climate Target

The UN's annual Emissions Gap Report found that the world will likely surpass the 1.5°C warming threshold within the next decade

• The 2015 Paris Agreement committed countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global temperature rise to 2°C above pre-industrial levels, with an aspirational goal of staying below 1.5°C. On Tuesday, the UN projected that under current policies, global temperatures would rise by approximately 2.8°C this century

• The report found that by 2035, countries must cut annual emissions by 35% compared to 2019 levels to align with a 2°C pathway, or by 55% for a 1.5°C pathway. Global greenhouse gas emissions instead increased by 2.3% in 2024

Dig Deeper 

• According to the UN, the world can only emit another 80B to 130B tonnes of carbon dioxide before crossing the 1.5°C threshold, which at current emission rates of roughly 40B tonnes per year, would be reached by the end of the decade

• Once the world exceeds a 1.5°C increase, bringing temperatures back down will require removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, for example by storing it in forests or underground reservoirs. According to a 2021 study by researchers of Imperial College London published in Nature, reversing each 0.1°C of warming would require removing 220B tonnes of carbon dioxide – roughly five years' worth of current global emissions

WE THE 66
What Else America Voted For

It wasn’t just Zohran: On Tuesday, Americans voted in a range of elections with major implications for their states and the country

• From California’s redistricting initiative to gubernatorial elections in Jersey and Virginia, and Supreme Court elections in swing states, in today’s We the 66 premium deep dive, we broke down the other elections the US held on Tuesday and look at how they may shape the country moving forward

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

⚰️ Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Marshawn Kneeland died on Thursday morning at the age of 24. The team did not provide a cause of death.

📽️ ESPN is ending its sports betting partnership with PENN Entertainment and switching to DraftKings around December 1.

🧑‍⚖️ A federal judge imposed strict limits on immigration agents' tactics in Chicago, rejecting government claims that chemical weapons and force were necessary to handle "rioters."

💊 The White House announced a deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk on Thursday to dramatically reduce prices for obesity drugs through a new platform called TrumpRx.

💵 Tesla shareholders approved a $1T compensation package for CEO Elon Musk with over 75% support, potentially making it the largest corporate payout in history if performance goals are met.

Fall Photo Showcase - Day 4

The final batch of our favorite fall photos you submitted

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

👑 Crown Jewel: A 137-carat yellow diamond, once owned by Europe's Habsburg dynasty and long believed lost or stolen, has been found safe in a Canadian bank vault.

🛣️ All Roads Lead to More Roads: A new digital atlas reveals the Roman Empire's road network stretched nearly 186,000 miles – 50% longer than previously documented.

🎮 Dance Dance Revolution-ary: A Hungarian gamer broke the world record for longest video game marathon by playing Dance Dance Revolution for 144 hours straight.

🥪 Sub-versive Protest: A DC jury acquitted an Air Force veteran who threw a salami sandwich at a federal agent during Trump's law enforcement crackdown in the capital.

🖥️ Grand Theft Delay-O: Grand Theft Auto VI has been pushed back again, now set for a November 19, 2026 release.

ROCA WRAP
Lady Death

Lyudmila Pavlichenko

This Soviet sniper became one of history's deadliest marksmen with 309 confirmed kills during World War II.

Born in 1916 in Bila Tserkva, Pavlichenko grew up a self-described tomboy who competed fiercely in athletics. She joined a shooting club as a teenager in Kiev, earning her marksman certificate before enrolling at Kiev University in 1937 to study history. She competed on the university's track team and completed military sniper training through the Red Army, planning a quiet career as a scholar and teacher.

When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Pavlichenko was 25 and in her fourth year at university. She volunteered immediately at the Odessa recruiting office, requesting infantry duty. The registrar tried pushing her toward nursing, but she refused. After reviewing her training certificates, officials accepted her as a sniper and assigned her to the 25th Rifle Division. She initially dug trenches with only a grenade due to weapons shortages. In August 1941, an injured comrade handed her his rifle, and she killed two Nazi officers at 400 meters.

Pavlichenko fought for two and a half months during the siege of Odessa, killing 187 enemy soldiers. She was promoted to senior sergeant after reaching 100 confirmed kills and married fellow sniper Alexei Kitsenko at 25. Days after their wedding, a mortar shell killed him. When Odessa fell in October 1941, her unit evacuated by sea to Sevastopol, where she trained other snipers who killed over 100 Axis soldiers. By May 1942, newly promoted Lieutenant Pavlichenko had killed 257 enemy combatants, including 36 enemy snipers. In June 1942, shrapnel from a mortar shell struck her face, and the Soviet High Command evacuated her.

After recovering in 1942, rather than returning to combat, she toured Canada and the US to encourage opening a second front against Germany. She became the first Soviet citizen to be received by a US president when Franklin Roosevelt welcomed her to the White House. Eleanor Roosevelt then invited her to tour America. In Chicago, she addressed a large crowd: "I am 25 years old and I have killed 309 fascist invaders by now. Don't you think, gentlemen, that you have been hiding behind my back for too long?"

Pavlichenko never returned to combat, instead training snipers until the war ended in 1945. She received the Hero of the Soviet Union award and the Order of Lenin twice. She finished her history degree at Kiev University and worked as a research assistant at Soviet Navy headquarters from 1945 to 1953. She died from a stroke in 1974 at age 58. 

The shy history student who killed 309 enemy soldiers proved that hiding behind anyone's back was never necessary.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Gotta say…. if you told us to guess the name of a woman sniper who killed 309 people during World War 2, our first guess would’ve been Lyudmila.

Have an amazing weekend. We’ll be back with our regularly scheduled 20 Questions programming next week. Thank you for all of the fall pics — wish we could’ve featured more of them.

–Max and Max