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- 🌊 Some Promising Cancer News
🌊 Some Promising Cancer News
Plus: UK vs. Apple, Tate brothers flee Romania, & Steak 'n Shake goes full RFK
And the crowd goes mild.
Yesterday afternoon, the MAGA Avengers assembled at the White House for the long-awaited Epstein Files disclosure. They each had a binder with the “declassified” docs inside and waved it proudly in the air. Then the reveal happened, and it looked something like this…
☺️ Pancreatic cancer breakthrough
🇷🇴 Tate Brothers flee Romania
🍟 Steak 'n Shake goes full RFK
–Max and Max
KEY STORY
Pancreatic Cancer Breakthrough
A groundbreaking study found that personalized vaccines can generate long-lasting immune responses against pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancers, with a nearly 90% mortality rate and an 8% five-year survival rate. It kills roughly 52,000 Americans each year
Last week, researchers at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York found that a personalized mRNA vaccine may significantly delay cancer recurrence in patients
The vaccine stimulated the production of specialized immune cells that could potentially remain active for decades, significantly delaying cancer recurrence compared to patients receiving standard treatments
Dig Deeper
Unlike other cancer immunotherapies that work by boosting existing immune responses, this mRNA vaccine actually creates new cancer-fighting immune cells, or “T cells,” from scratch
This is particularly significant for pancreatic cancer, which typically has fewer mutations than other cancers and doesn't naturally trigger strong immune responses
The lead researcher, Dr. Vinod Balachandran, said, "What's remarkable is that these vaccine-induced T cells can persist for years, maintaining their cancer-fighting abilities…By generating long-lived, functional T cells that specifically target cancer mutations, we may be able to provide lasting protection against recurrence"
KEY STORY
UK vs. Apple
The UK made an unprecedented demand for Apple users’ data, sparking a dispute between the company, the UK government, and the US
Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that British officials secretly ordered Apple to provide “backdoor” access to users’ encrypted data – an unprecedented demand among democracies
Notably, the UK ordered Apple to allow them to retrieve all content Apple users worldwide have uploaded to the cloud – not just British citizens
Instead of complying with the demand, Apple stopped offering the iCloud encryption feature from British iPhones, meaning the UK could access its citizens data but not others
Dig Deeper
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has since ordered the CIA, NSA, and other intelligence agencies to investigate the UK’s demands from Apple
On February 25, two lawmakers and Gabbard warned the UK that the US is examining whether it violated the CLOUD Act, which prohibits the UK from demanding the data of US citizens and vice versa
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KEY STORY
Mystery Disease in DRC
An unknown illness has killed 50+ and infected 400+ in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Over the past five weeks, people in the DRC have fallen ill with an undetermined illness. The first cases were identified in three children who reportedly ate a bat
Outbreaks have occurred in at least two isolated villages that are separated by 120+ miles
Health officials are uncertain how the diseases – which may or may not be caused by the same infection – are spreading, including whether they are transmitting between people
Dig Deeper
The DRC has been the origin of several major infectious diseases, including Ebola and HIV, the first verified case of which was identified in the DRC’s capital
The symptoms of the new illness include fever, vomiting, and internal bleeding. Deaths have occurred within 48 hours of symptom onset
“The exact cause remains unknown,” the WHO said, adding, “The remote location and weak health care infrastructure increase the risk of further spread”
KEY STORY
Tates Become Florida Men
Andrew and Tristan Tate left Romania and landed in Florida on Thursday
The Tate brothers have amassed a huge social media following, often by posting misogynistic and right-wing content
Romania arrested the duo in 2022 over claims that they lured women to the country and coerced them into making porn. They face charges in the UK, too. They’ve recently been out on bail but unable to leave Romania. It’s worth noting that they’ve never been convicted of a crime
Romania lifted the travel ban at the request of the Trump Administration. On Thursday, they landed back in Florida. They have to return to Romania in March, although it’s unclear if they’ll comply
Dig Deeper
The news of the Tates’ pending arrival in Florida prompted Governor Ron DeSantis to say they were not welcome in the state
His attorney general, meanwhile, announced an inquiry into the brothers’ behavior
DeSantis suggested that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem could “rebuff” their entry into the US, however, that did not happen
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
🪖 After four decades of guerilla warfare against the Turkish government, the jailed leader of the PKK, an influential Kurdish militant group, called for the group to disarm and dissolve
🇷🇴 Romanian prosecutors filed criminal charges against Calin Georgescu, the anti-EU and anti-NATO politician whose first-round election win last November was overturned after allegations of Russian interference
📈 President Trump said that the 25% tariffs against Canada and Mexico he delayed last month will take effect on March 4, along with an additional 10% tariff on Chinese imports
🤱 New data revealed that in 2024, Japan recorded its fewest births since record-keeping began in 1899
🏛️ UK PM Keir Starmer visited President Trump at the White House on Thursday. During a joint press conference, Trump called Starmer “a very tough negotiator” and a “very, very special person”
What does Roca Nation think?
🧠 Yesterday’s Question: Why do you think the growth in atheism has slowed and Gen Z is more religious?
I think Gen Z is becoming more religious because growing up in a high tech age has led to a lot of emptiness and loneliness. Staring at a screen all day isn’t exactly fulfilling. People find fulfillment and community through religion.
I think a lot of Gen Xers grew up under controlling Baby Boomer parents. They had a coercive experience with religion. It was less about having a relationship with God, and more about doing as you were told, so when they grew up, they were like, "yeah no thanks." Hence, the growth of atheism.
For Gen Z, having grown up in the Wild West of smart phones/tablets/constant connection, the world is overwhelming in a whole new way. Becoming an adult was always scary and intimitdating, but doing it in the 2020s? Yeesh!
Religion offers structure. It gives you a wise old dude (or woman, sometimes) who claims to know how to get through it all the right way. There is a lot of black and white thinking that is comforting in a world with so much nuance.
Christian Gen-Z here! Personally, the rise of satanism in the media is horrifying and made me hardcore question religion (or a belief in a lack thereof) My parents grew up catholic (similar to most people I know my age) and hardcore criticized it, didn't really teach much religion to me or my siblings at all. Now that I'm an adult, I've found myself really curious about religion, since it's something that wasn't really taught to me in school or by my family. I've started going to church with my husband and I've found that it really speaks to me! I also love having something so inspiring, something that instills hope and faith amidst the fear and horrors that social media and the news expose us to every day.
As a Gen z adult I can say that from my view point it is people looking for solid answers. I think part of what is going on here has to do with the mental health crisis for my generation and they are finding more support, hope, and healing in the Church. Secondly, I think that we are finding that atheism can't answer our questions or give us the society which we want. In my moral philosophy class last year we discussed how almost every important moral philosopher from comes from Christianity and how Christianity has shaped the formation of western society. Atheism can't tell people how to live a fulfilling life but Christianity can.
20 Questions!
In other "crowd goes mild" news, the Oscars are this weekend! We're not sure about you, but we absolutely love watching multimillionaires hand each other golden statuettes for their work in movies we didn't watch. But in all seriousness, we are excited to see Conan O'Brien host this year!
In its honor, are going to do a Roca IMDB movie ratings edition of 20 Questions. We're going to give you some classics (some new and some old), and you rate them 1-10. If you haven't seen the movie, please skip. Let's see how we do!
Last Week’s Responses
Selected responses from last week’s patriotism-themed 20 Questions.
NOT counting the national anthem, what's the most patriotic song?
Born in the USA, The Boss
Lee Greenwood - God Bless the USA - NO CONTEST
Childish Gambino - This Is America
Greatest US sporting moment
Miracle on ice
1992 Dream Team
Whitney Houston singing The Natl Anthem after 9/11
The time you felt least patriotic
January 6th, 2021
Watching Oppenheimer Movie
2020 city burnings or capitol riot
The time you felt most patriotic
After 9/11*
Being in Paris on the 4th of July while studying abroad
Anytime I see a "soldier surprises family coming home" video
*most common answer by far
What's the toughest bar (best lyric) from the national anthem?
And the rockets red glare
Our flag was still there
When Creighton students belt out JAYS to complete the 'home of the' lyric at home basketball games.
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
🍟 Steak n’ Shake Tallow Fries: Burger chain Steak 'n Shake declared that its “Fries will be RFK’d!” after announcing a switch from seed oils to beef tallow for frying in five states
💰 Mr. Billionaire?: MrBeast, the world's most-followed YouTuber, is in investment talks that would value his company at approximately $5B
🥋 UFC: The Next Three-Letter Agency?: FBI Director Kash Patel is exploring bringing in UFC trainers to enhance agents' martial arts skills
🎓 Reading Between the Legal Lines: A 19-year-old high school graduate in Connecticut is suing her school district for $3M, claiming she was allowed to graduate despite being unable to read or write
🥚 Cracking Down on Egg Smuggling: US Customs and Border Protection agents in Texas have intercepted 90+ people attempting to smuggle eggs from Mexico since January
⚰️ Gene Hackman Dead at 95: Legendary actor Gene Hackman was found dead alongside his wife and dog at their New Mexico home on Thursday. He was 95 years old
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful email responses this week. To some of our more partisan readers, we respect your desire to consume nonpartisan news. It’s easy to exist in an echo chamber. In fact, the internet is designed that way. Your choice to read Roca is a healthy one — although maybe we’re slightly biased there.
Have a great weekend!
–Max and Max