🌊 Judgment Day for TikTok

2025: The year of the return of the value meal?

Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Burger King have recently announced new value meals for 2025. Taco Bell, for example, is offering a $5 Classic Luxe Cravings Box, which will contain a Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, Crunchy Taco, Cinnamon Twists and a medium fountain drink. Wow… does this mean the glory days of economical gluttony are returning?

Meanwhile, Five Guys is offering a really special deal: With financing starting at just $15 per month, you can buy a little cheeseburger.

Link to 20 Questions.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Lebanon’s Big Shift

After two years without one, Lebanon elected a president

• Lebanon’s system requires the country to have a Christian president. Since the last one’s term ended in 2022, though, the country’s parliamentarians have refused to elect a new one, in part because Hezbollah – with Iranian backing – obstructed efforts to do so

• With Hezbollah and Iran weakened, though, the US, Saudi Arabia, and France have sought to exert their influence, promising reconstruction funds if the country elected a president they supported. On Thursday, it did, selecting the current head of Lebanon’s army to lead the country

Dig Deeper

• The election marks a shift away from Iranian influence in Lebanon, although it remains to be seen what will actually change

• The new president, Joseph Aoun, must now work with lawmakers to select a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a complicated process

• All of this comes as the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire remains tenuous and the country reels from an estimated $8.5B in damage caused by the war

KEY STORY

TikTok’s Big Day

On Friday, TikTok is arguing its case in front of the Supreme Court

• The TikTok ban takes effect on January 19. A law passed by Congress, there’s little Trump can do to stop it, despite his promises to “save” the app

• On Friday, TikTok is arguing its case to the Supreme Court, which it hopes will deem the ban a violation of TikTok’s right to free expression. The Court’s ruling – due by January 19, the day the ban takes effect – could decide the app’s fate

• If it takes effect, the ban will prohibit app stores and internet service companies from supporting it. The app will therefore remain on phones but wither, with decreased functionality and no new updates or users

Dig Deeper

• TikTok has argued that the ban violates its First Amendment right to free expression, arguing that the platform is a version of expression

• The US government has argued that China’s access to the app presents an intolerable national security risk, and that even with years of warning, ByteDance hasn’t isolated the app from the influence of China’s government

• If the ban takes effect, the US would become the first Western democracy to enact one. Other countries to have done so include Afghanistan, Iran, India, and China, which makes users use a censored local version

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KEY STORY

Struggling to Return

Per The Hustle, many companies are experiencing significant hiccups in their return-to-office (RTO) mandates, including shortages of desks, conferences rooms, parking space, and working elevators

• Several workers at AT&T’s Atlanta office told Business Insider they believe the company is purposely trying to weed out some employees, hoping they will quit out of frustration. Meanwhile, a study found 73% of Amazon corporate workers may consider quitting due to RTO policies

• Senior executives – many of whom moved their families out of cities, where HQs often are, during the pandemic – are reportedly the most likely to quit over RTO policies

Dig Deeper 

• A University of Pittsburgh study saw “abnormally high turnover” at companies with strict office mandates, especially among senior female employees

• Despite research showing employees are generally around 15% less productive at home, the findings could represent a new era of work involving less face-time and more home-time

• Per Forbes, 62% of employees are now full-time in-office, 27% are fully hybrid, and 11% are fully remote

KEY STORY

LA Fires Rage On

Fires raged in Los Angeles County for the third straight day, with the death toll reaching ten and the tens of billions of dollars worth of damage making them among the costliest fires in history

• “This is absolutely an unprecedented, historic firestorm,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Thursday. “But we are all hands on deck”

• The two major fires – the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire – remain uncontained. One JPMorgan analyst estimates total economic losses will be close to $50B. Analysts expect the scale of damage could have far-reaching implications on housing insurance costs and accessibility

• The causes of the fires remain under investigation, according to Cal Fire

Dig Deeper

• Bass is facing heat for being absent for the start of the fires and issuing the first press release about the fire risk after the Palisades Fire broke out on Tuesday morning

• “We have to resist any, any effort to pull us apart,” Bass said of the criticisms.“I took the fastest route back, which included being on a military plane”

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🇸🇩 The US declared a genocide in Sudan, accusing the RSF – an Arab paramilitary group fighting the country’s official military – of massacring black Africans

🇵🇦 Panama’s president said that President-elect Donald Trump’s claims that “China’s running the Panama Canal” are “unfounded.” He also rejected the idea that American ships could pay less to transit the canal

🇮🇱 Despite arms embargoes, Israeli defense companies recorded record arms sales last year as countries sought to buy their battle-tested equipment

📈 A Bloomberg study published Thursday found that global banks expect to cut 3% of jobs due to AI in the next 3-5 years

🇻🇪 Venezuelan authorities arrested the country’s popular opposition leader, María Corina Machado, during an antigovernment protest

COMMUNITY
What does Roca Nation think?

🧠 Yesterday’s question: You’re at a sports bar and you’re tasked with ordering two appetizers. What are you getting?

Community
20 Questions!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Weeknd.

Reading your answers to the sports bar appetizer question yesterday made us hungry. And for that reason we're doing the first-ever (may have to check with the Roca 20 Q historians) food-themed 20 Questions. Not everyone gets to live through landmark moments of history, but you're lucky to get one today. We'll cover everything from your favorite celebrity chef to the worst cook you know (hopefully your Aunt Linda isn't a subscriber, too). Have a great weekend!

Here is the link.

Last Week’s Responses

Selected responses from last week’s holiday edition of 20 Questions.

What's the best holiday party appetizer?
Pigs in a blanket
Charcuterie
Buffalo chicken dip

What was the highlight of your week?
Singing old carols (in a quartet to seniors)
Taking my wife to go see Wicked at the Pantages Theater
Long story "short"; My aunt was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer in September. Wasn't sure if she would make it to Christmas. We were all able to celebrate with her on the 22nd and she has one last Christmas Eve with her family at her home. She passed away just before midnight on the 25th. I'm so happy she was able to pull through the holidays and have some of her last memories be with her loved ones on such a special holiday.

Why do you think the NBA's TV ratings are down?
I'm not sure, but maybe because they are switching to a more subscription-based system? Honestly, I don't watch NBA unless it's March Madness
I haven't watched a full NBA game in years. too much solo ball & too many fouls
Lack of interesting storylines. There is no Lebron vs Curry, Cleveland chasing a championship, KD being a snake. Everyone is just friends.
Too Woke!

How can the US reverse its birth rate?
Make it actually feasible to have a kid (paid parental leave, free daycare, preschool for all, free school lunches)
It will take a spiritual revolution. Only when people understand they aren’t just highly evolved animals they can value themselves and others.
Re-instill the values of stay-at-home moms. My parents scraped by through the recession on one income even after losing our house, so I know it can be done

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🏘️ The Hottest Market is Freezing: Zillow ranked Buffalo, New York as the hottest housing market in America

🦴 Shaftception: Archaeologists in England discovered a painted Roman-era dog penis bone in an ancient mine shaft

🇺🇸 This Tat is Your Tat: An Arizona tattoo artist has gone viral for giving an American flag tattoo to a nine-year-old Turkish immigrant girl. The girl – seeking to express gratitude for their new life in America – had initially asked for a Donald Trump portrait on her neck

🔥 Sad Day with Good Memories: In a news briefing with California Governor Gavin Newsom about the LA fires, President Biden transitioned from talking about the disaster by saying, “The good news is, as of today, I’m a great-grandfather”

💊 Do As I Say, Not As I Do: A 25-year-old Louisiana mayor who pledged to “clean up” his city has been charged with trafficking drugs and soliciting prostitutes

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

What an unbelievable game last night. We offer our condolences to all Penn State fans, but we’d be lying to say that one of the Maxes doesn’t have an extra pep in his step today. Another big one tonight, Buckeye and Longhorn nations!

While Max T blasts the ND fight song through the streets of New York, Max F is doing something a little more meaningful: Moving. Would be nice for Max T to help him out, but the people just have to hear that tune today.

–Max and Max