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š RFK Jr. Puts HHS on Ozempic
Plus: Just Stop Oil stops, Hamas protests in Gaza, & 20 Questions!
Today is the 46th anniversary of Three Mile island.
Perhaps the craziest part about the Three Mile island incident ā the worst nuclear disaster in US history ā is that a movie starring Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon had just come out that eerily foreshadowed it. The China Syndrome, which premiered on March 16th, 1979, told the story of a narrowly-avoided disaster at a US nuclear energy plant, the ramifications of which couldāve reached China.
12 days later, the worst nuclear disaster in US history unfolded ā Hanoi Jane was unfortunately unavailable to stop it. The moral of the story is you may laugh at the plot lines in theaters, but you never know which ones will come true. You may be laughing at The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie now butā¦
š¢ļø End of the Just Stop Oil protests
š° Return of USAID?
š March Madness gambling record
āMax and Max
KEY STORY
Just Stop Oil Stops
UK-based activist group Just Stop Oil announced it is ending its high-profile climate protests
Just Stop Oil gained prominence disruptive protests, such as blocking roads, throwing paint at masterpieces, and vandalizing Stoneenge. Members have faced legal troubles, with some jailed
On Thursday, Just Stop Oil said it will stop its disruptive protests, citing the UK governmentās decision to pause new oil and gas drilling
However, the group implied it will continue its activism in other ways: āThis is not the end of civil resistanceā¦Nothing short of a revolution is going to protect us from the coming storms,ā it said
Dig Deeper
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer denied that Just Stop Oil had successfully affected government policy, saying, āWe have been very clear when it comes to oil and gas that it has a future for decades to come in our energy mixā
He added, āI'm sure...plenty of members of the public will be happy to hear that they may be causing less disruption in the futureā
KEY STORY
10,000 HHS Jobs Cut
Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced major cuts to the Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS)
On Thursday, HHS announced it will cut roughly 10,000 jobs, primarily at the FDA and CDC. It will also ācentralize core functionsā and reduce āredundant units,ā claiming that will save ā$1.8B per yearā
RFK wrote on X, āWeāre going to eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments and agenciesā
The HHS also announced a new division called the āAdministration for a Healthy America,ā (AHA) which will consolidate numerous divisions focused on substance abuse, toxic substances, and more
Dig Deeper
Per HHS documents, the department will cut 3,500 employees at the FDA and 2,400 at the CDC, accounting for 19% and 18% of those agenciesā workforces. HHS will also cut 1,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health, or 6% of its workforce
While the agency added that CDC divisions focused on infectious disease would be spared, Democrats blasted the cuts, claiming they will undermine public health and disease prevention
QUOTE OF THE DAY
What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it
ROCAāS SPONSOR
The Science City You Didnāt Know You Needed to Visit
Did you know that the World Wide Web was born in Geneva, Switzerland? Indeed, the first version of the Internet cropped up at CERN in 1989. Today the world-renowned center is home to the largest particle accelerator and to the CERN Science Gateway ā a must-see hub for science enthusiasts that features hands-on exhibits, immersive virtual reality experiences, and live demonstrations
Dig Deeper
KEY STORY
Gaza Protests
Gazans have launched the largest anti-Hamas protests since the war began
Hamas has controlled Gaza since 2007. Although opinion polling there is rare and often contested, a nonprofit Palestinian-run polling agency found last September that 35% of Gazans support Hamas
Beginning on Monday and continuing through Wednesday, Gazans have publicly protested against Hamas, with some using slogans like āHamas outā
Hamas has accused the media of overblowing the size and significance of the protests and claimed that the protests are actually anti-Israel, not Hamas
Dig Deeper
Sources vary about how large the protests have been. Some outlets have claimed hundreds of people participated; others, such as The Times of Israel, put the number in the thousands
Although Hamas has not publicly cracked down on the protests, it has issued a series of statements criticizing the protesters and claiming that the real focus of their anger is Israel
ā[Protestors] persist in blaming the resistance and absolving the occupation, ignoring that the Zionist extermination machine operates nonstop,ā one statement said. In another, made to Qatari outlet Al-Araby, a senior Hamas official accused Israel of ādiverting the spontaneous protestsā to serve Israelās agenda and ātrying to portray it as if the demonstrators are against [Hamas]ā
KEY STORY
House GOP In Trouble?
President Trump withdrew Rep. Elise Stefanikās (R-NY) nomination for UN ambassador, reflecting a growing concern that the GOP will lose control of the House
Republicans hold a narrow 218-213 majority in the House, with two formerly Republican-controlled seats currently vacant and awaiting special elections
The GOP is concerned that the race to replace national security advisor Mike Waltz could be close in a Florida district Trump won by 30 points last year
On Thursday, Trump said, āI have asked Eliseā¦to remain in Congress...With a very tight [House] Majority, I don't want to take a chance on anyone else runningā
Dig Deeper
The move suggests the Republicans are polling poorly: In November, Stefanik won re-election by 25 points. Now, her seat could be in jeopardy
It comes days after a shock result in Pennsylvania, where a Democrat won a state senate special election in a district that no Democrat had won since 1979
While the Pennsylvania special election didnāt have any national impact, it was closely watched on both sides of the aisle as a litmus test of Republican popularity
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
š„ Wildfires in the Carolinas have burned nearly 19,000 acres, with some doubling in size on Wednesday
šµ President Trump said he would be open to reducing tariffs on China in order to reach an agreement on TikTokās sale
š· Chinese researchers announced a successful transplant of a pig kidney into a living human, marking the third successful transplant of its kind
āļø The Justice Department is considering merging the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), per a memo reported by Reuters
š President Trump announced that 25% tariffs on car imports will take effect on April 3, sparking criticism from major trading partners
What does Roca Nation think?
š§ Yesterdayās Question: Whatās your reaction to #groupchatgate? Is accidentally adding The Atlantic editor to a war discussion chat a fireable offense?
Accidentally adding The Atlantic editor to a war discussion is 100% a fireable offense. The people on this group chat should be held to the highest standards when it comes to security. If a similar accident took place by members of the opposite party this administration would never let it go. I find it to be wild that people are so easily brushing this off. Every member of that group chat should be counting their lucky stars that the person who was accidentally added wasn't someone with ill intent towards the USA and could disrupt these plans, potentially endangering the lives of our military members and intelligence assets. Also, there has to be a better, more secure communication channel for these types of discussions.
Itās comical to me that such important matters are being discussed over a group chat in the first place. I always imagine those kinds of talks in fancy government offices around a comedically enormous table. I also would have assumed that our highest government officials would have their own messaging platform, even more secure and encrypted than Signal, but I guess not. And I know the media is all pushing the story that the Atlantic editor was added to the group chat on accident, but I must believe thatās not the case. I think the leaks got out because they wanted them to get out. I think theyāre playing 3-D chess here.
No doubt it is a fireable offense. The main issue is to use a commercial app to discuss highly confidential/classified information. I know that the government is saying that the content of the conversation was not classified, but the information that The Atlantic is providing make it very clear that this information should be classified. If the discussion had been kept in the proper channels, the mistake of adding the wrong person to the chat would never have happened.
You cannot minimize the importance of this just because ānothing has happenedā. The lives of American soldiers have been put at risk, because just as an American journalist who behaved responsibly was added, any other person with less responsible behavior could have been added. Not to mention the fact that top administration personnel are using these applications to discuss these issues, no need to add anyone to the chat, I'm sure we already have foreign intelligent agencies trying to get into these chats that do not have the proper level of security.
20 Questions!
Sorry for no trigger warning, but this is what we look like.
It's been a while since our last trivia round, so weāre bringing it back today. We thought it would be good timing for a return to trivia especially since Bill Gates says AI will take all of our jobs. Oh yeah, you think AI can write a daily newsletter with meme covers, bad puns, too many typos, and nonpartisan news? Good luck, HAL 9000. Enjoy this edition and have a great weekend!
Last Weekās Responses
Average ratings from last weekās funny movie quotes edition, on a scale of 1-10.
"You sit on a throne of lies." ā Elf 6.8
"You shut your mouth when youāre talking to me!" ā Wedding Crashers 6.2
"Chancho, when you are a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room. It's for fun." - Nacho Libre 5.2
"You know how I know youāre gay? You like Coldplay." ā The 40-Year-Old Virgin 5.5
"Is butter a carb?" ā Mean Girls 5.5
"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue." ā Airplane! 7.2
"It's not a man-purse. Itās called a satchel. Indiana Jones wears one." ā The Hangover 6.9
"I have nipples, Greg. Could you milk me?" ā Meet the Parents 5.3
"I'm kind of a big deal. People know me." ā Anchorman 6.3
"This is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules." ā The Big Lebowski 6.5
"I don't hate you. I'm just not necessarily excited about your existence." ā Scott Pilgrim vs. The World 5.8
"Tina, you fat lard, come get some dinner!" ā Napoleon Dynamite 6.1
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!" ā Dr. Strangelove 6.2
"Do you have any idea how many anonymous henchmen I've killed over the years? And look at you. You haven't even got a name tag." ā Austin Powers 5.9
"You canāt handle the tooth!" ā Tooth Fairy 4.5
"Iām just one stomach flu away from my goal weight." ā The Devil Wears Prada 6.2
"I've been going to this high school for seven and a half years. I'm no dummy." ā Tommy Boy 6.6
"I have the voice of an angel. I sound like a combination of Fergie and Jesus." ā Step Brothers 5.5
"If Iām not back in five minutesā¦ just wait longer." ā Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 6.6
"It's called fashion, look it up." ā Zoolander 5.9
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
š§ Tiny Trespasser: A toddler slipped through the White House fence on Wednesday before being quickly intercepted by Secret Service officers
š® Crossing The (Thin Blue) Line: Five New Jersey police officers are suing a police chief, alleging workplace misconduct ranging from pranks to criminal behavior, including spiking office coffee with Viagra and Adderall
š„ļø AI Art Melts Servers: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the viral use of ChatGPT's new image-generation feature has overwhelmed the company's servers, forcing temporary usage limits
šØš³ Speedrunning Diplomacy: Twitch and YouTube streaming star IShowSpeed is on tour in China, receiving a shoutout from the Chinese embassy in Washington
š¦¦ Otters' Snow Day Escapade: Two river otters escaped from a Wisconsin zoo during a winter storm, triggering a search operation
EDITORāS NOTE
Inside Americaās Most Toxic Town
We traveled to Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, the largest pueblo in the world. It was once home to the largest open-pit uranium mine in the world, supplying material for nuclear weapons and power plants. At first, the mine brought wealth. But soon, it brought cancer and sickness. Now, the people of Laguna Pueblo are fighting to be acknowledged, saying their land and health were harmed without proper accountability. We went to hear their story.
EDITORāS NOTE
Final Thoughts
First of all, our apologies for accidentally including the same Question of the Day two days in a row ā our update failed to save. We promise we were satisfied with your first set of answers.
Second of all, we hope you have a great weekend. Max F is in the beautiful Savannah, GA, for a wedding with a day-one Roca reader and dear friend Hank (returning to the South always feels great!), and Max T is wallowing in despair after seeing Arizona and Arkansas lose heartbreakers last night. Big slate ahead tonight featuring Kentucky-Tennessee and Purdue-Houston. Have a great weekend!
āMax and Max