🌊 Bad Day to Be a Seed Oil

Happy Valentine's Day, Roca Nation.

Here are a few V-Day facts you can drop to set the mood tonight: 1) Florists make 30% of their annual sales today; 2) King Henry VIII, who had 6 wives, made it a national holiday; 3) Roughly 10% of US adults give gifts to their pets today.

So there you go. Now, if you’ll allow me, I must prepare for my solo evening plans of watching Madagascar 2 and building my LEGO Millennium Falcon blindfolded.

Link to 20 Questions: Nostalgia Edition

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Hostage Agreement

Hamas announced it would proceed with releasing three Israeli hostages on Saturday, helping move past a dispute that threatened the Gaza ceasefire

• Hamas previously threatened to indefinitely postpone further hostage exchanges, alleging that Israel blocked civilians from returning and humanitarian aid from entering

• Egypt and Qatar successfully mediated the dispute. The two Arab countries have been key mediators with Hamas and helped broker the ceasefire

• While the ceasefire holds for now, the second phase of the agreement – set to begin in March – has not been negotiated, making a permanent ceasefire uncertain

Dig Deeper

• While President Trump had stated his approval for Israel to resume fighting in Gaza if all hostages were not released, Hamas said that it would only release the three originally scheduled to be freed, not all 76 who remain

• Netanyahu echoed Trump’s demands, but Israeli officials were not certain whether this meant all 76 had to be freed to prevent the war’s resumption

KEY STORY

Terror Attack in Germany

An Afghan national ran his car into a crowd in Munich, wounding 30+

• It’s the third attack by an immigrant in Germany in 2 months: In December, a Saudi doctor killed 5 and injured 200+ in a car attack at a Christmas market; last month, an Afghan asylum seeker stabbed and killed two Germans, including a child, in a park

• The attacks come with an election on Feb. 23 and support for the anti-immigration AFD at all-time highs. Still, the center-right CDU is projected to win

• Regarding the attack, the CDU’s Friedrich Merz stated, “Something has to change in Germany”

Dig Deeper

• The attacks have elevated the importance of immigration and safety in elections that are scheduled for February 23. The anti-immigration AFD is now polling at its best-ever numbers, causing alarm among many Germans

• While the AFD has no obvious path to win the election, its growing popularity has already led the center-right CDU to indicate willingness to cooperate with it on immigration reform – something the CDU had formerly ruled out

ROCA’S SPONSOR

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KEY STORY

Federal Buyout Proceeds

A Clinton-appointed federal judge ruled in favor of the Trump Administration’s “buyouts” of federal workers, lifting a previous freeze

• In January, the Trump administration launched a “buyout” program offering federal workers pay and benefits through September if they resigned. The program faced several lawsuits initiated by federal worker unions over the legality of the offer and was temporarily suspended last week

• On Thursday, the judge ruled that the plan could proceed. As of Tuesday, only 65,000 federal employees had taken the offer – short of the 200,000 target set by the White House

Dig Deeper 

• Federal workers and their unions expressed uncertainty about the buyout program, with many arguing the terms were unclear and that the administration could rescind the promised pay and benefits at any time

• Beyond the buyouts, the Trump Administration initiated mass-layoff plans on Thursday, sending termination notices to employees in the Department of Education, Small Business Administration, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and others

KEY STORY

GOP’s Budget Bill

Senate and House Republicans released competing budget bills, setting up a clash between Republicans over how to enact Trump’s legislative agenda

• Trump has called for “one, beautiful” bill to pass his legislative priorities, including extending the 2017 tax cuts, eliminating taxes on tips, and boosting border funding. Alternatively, Republicans could pass a series of bills containing the various provisions

• On Thursday, House Republicans advanced one bill containing everything, while senators advanced a two-bill approach

• The Republicans have to move quickly to enact tax cuts before they expire and while they still have majorities in the House and Senate

Dig Deeper

• Senate Republicans have pushed for a two-bill strategy that separates border, defense, and energy measures from tax cuts, arguing it would give Trump quick victories on issues with broad support

• The Senate’s budget bill includes $4.5T+ in tax cuts and $1.5T+ in spending cuts over the coming decade, as well as a $150B increase in defense spending and a $175B increase in border security

• The House budget resolution – in line with Trump’s vision of “one powerful bill” ethos – combines tax cuts with defense, border, and energy measures. It also seeks to achieve $4.5T in tax cuts and $1.5T in spending cuts

• Getting legislation through the House could prove difficult, given the slim three-vote majority and the presence of “deficit hawks” who oppose any increases to the deficit

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🧑‍⚖️ Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor resigned days after the Justice Department ordered her district to drop its charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams

🇺🇸 The Senate confirmed RFK Jr. in a 52-48 near-party line vote, with Senator McConnell (R-KY) the only Republican to dissent

⚖️ The Justice Department (DoJ) has sued Illinois and New York state officials over laws that prevent the states from sharing information about illegal immigrants with federal authorities

📈 The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) announced plans to relocate its Chicago branch to Dallas

🪖 After news broke of Presidents Trump and Putin’s phone call about ending the Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow’s stock market jumped more than 6%

COMMUNITY
What does Roca Nation think?

🧠 Yesterday’s Question: If you could have chosen your name, what would you have picked?

20 Questions!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Weeknd.

We spend a lot of time reminiscing about our childhoods. Psychologists tell us it's got something to do with existential dread and trauma; we just think it's fun. Regardless, if you do the same, you'll love this week's 20 Questions: NOSTALGIA – Ratings Edition!

We’ve got 20 prompts, which you will rate on a 1-10 scale. 1 is strong dislike; 10 is love. We will average your scores, and include them here next week. Be prepared to unlock ~playful~ memories!

Here is the link.

Last Week’s Responses

Answer responses to last week’s “This or That” edition of 20 Questions.

BBQ in the south or seafood in the northeast? - BBQ 61.8%, Seafood 38.2%
Philadelphia Eagles or Kansas City Chiefs? - Eagles 38.6%, Chiefs 28.5%, Boycott - 33%
Sushi or tacos? - Sushi 29.5%, Tacos 70.5%
Philly cheese steak or New York pizza slice? - Philly cheesesteak 35.2%, New York slice 64.8%
Coffee or tea? - Coffee 64.2%, Tea 35.8%
Australian accent or Scottish accent? - Australian 51%, Scottish 49%
The Dark Knight trilogy or the Lord of the Rings Trilogy? - Dark Knight 33.2%, LOTR 66.8%
The Devil Wears Prada or Mean Girls? - The Devil Wears Prada 51.4%, Mean Girls 48.6%
Raw milk or pasteurized milk? - Raw milk 16.1%, Pasteurized milk 59.2%, Neither 24.7%
20 degrees and snowing or 50 degrees and clear skies? - Snowing 24.2%, Clear skies 75.8%
Febreze or scented candle? - Febreze 18.4%, Scented candle 81.6%
Blake Lively or Justin Baldoni? - Blake Lively 14.6%, Justin Baldoni 8.9%, I have a life 76.5%
Waffle fries or shoestring fries? - Waffle fries 55.1%, Shoestring fries 44.9%
Diet Coke or La Croix? - Diet Coke 44.6%, La Croix 55.4%
Beyoncé as a country artist or Adam Sandler as a dramatic actor? - Beyoncé 22.6%, Adam Sandler 77.4%
Dolly Parton or Oprah? - Dolly Parton 94.6%, Oprah 5.4%
Better voice: Morgan Freeman or David Attenborough (Planet Earth guy)? - Morgan Freeman 77.4%, David Attenborough 22.6%
Swimming in the pool or swimming in the ocean? - Pool 60.9%, Ocean 39.1%
Dwight in The Office or George in Seinfeld? - Dwight 52.3%, George 47.7%
Bronny James or Barron Trump in a game of 1v1? - Bronny 60.6%, Barron 39.4%
Better comedic prime: Chris Farley or Jack Black? - Chris Farley 59.4%, Jack Black 40.6%

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

💊 Make Athletes Juice Again: Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm invested in the "Enhanced Games," an Olympics-style competition that allows athletes to use nearly any legally available performance-enhancing drug

🗺️ Google vs. Gulf: Google disabled reviews for the (formerly) Gulf of Mexico map location after it changed the name to "Gulf of America,” sparking a wave of digital protests

🐋 Whale of a Tale: A humpback whale briefly swallowed a kayaker off the coast of Chile, engulfing him and his yellow kayak before releasing him unharmed

🇦🇷 Red Alert: Residents of Buenos Aires, Argentina woke up recently to find a canal in the city had turned bright red

💑 Tough Day for Ye: Days after Kanye West called himself a Nazi in an X tirade, TMZ reported that he and wife Bianca Censori were filing for divorce – only to have the Hollywood Reporter report that the news was false

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

One of our favorite things to hear on the road and read in our inbox is that couples read Roca together. We believe news should occupy a small part of people’s lives, and our goal with Roca is to make sure that piece doesn’t infect other areas — relationships, mental health, etc. In fact, we prefer that small part to elevate those areas. So to all the couples reading this: We love you and hope you have a great day. And to all the single people reading this: One half of the Maxes remains in solidarity with you. Have a great weekend.

–Max and Max