🌊 Pentagon Ends Bulk, Begins Cut

Oh yeah… how many SEC Championships do you have, Canada?

Like many of you, we got really into the NHL’s “Four Nations” tournament, which culminated last night with a US-Canada rematch in the final. Canada won an OT thriller 3-2, with the best player in the world, Connor McDavid, netting the game winner. To shake off the loss, we are doing a patriotism-themed 20 Questions. 

Congrats to our Canadian readers on the win. We are definitely happy for you, and definitely not playing a funereal acoustic cover of Free Bird while writing this.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Defense Spending Review

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered Pentagon officials to produce plans to cut the defense budget 8% over each of the next five years

• The order marks a major turn from the Republican orthodoxy of consistently increasing military spending – a position that has intensified amid senators’ concerns about China and Russia

• A memo suggests the Pentagon would cut its bureaucracy and military commands in the Middle East and Europe while prioritizing funding to nuclear readiness, the border, and drones

• Cuts are likely to face pushback in Congress, where Republicans recently introduced legislation to boost defense spending by $150B

Dig Deeper

• Hegseth’s memo received differing reactions, with many establishment Senators saying the decision will impede the military’s ability to wage war

• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), meanwhile, posted, “Every once in a while, I DO agree with Trump. He's right: when the Pentagon cannot complete an independent audit, we should cut military spending. These savings should go to increasing Social Security benefits & strengthening VA health”

KEY STORY

GOP Split on Zelensky

Like the defense cuts, President Trump’s criticisms of Ukraine and Zelensky have split the Republican Party

• Earlier this week, Trump blasted Zelensky, calling him a “dictator” and blaming him for starting the war with Russia

• Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, “When it comes to blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, I blame Putin above all others,” while Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) added, “Russia is the aggressor here, there’s no question about that”

• MAGA hardliners, meanwhile, backed Trump: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) posted on X, “I love his message to the Ukrainian warmongers,” while MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk wrote, “Trump knows the truth about Zelensky. He’s a puppet of the CIA who marched his own people into a needless slaughter”

Dig Deeper

• Trump’s comments were universally criticized by Democrats in Congress, who described them as “embarrassing,” “insulting” and “shameful.”

• Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said, “President Trump is doing nothing more than parroting Kremlin propaganda and spreading the lies that Putin whispers into his ear,” while Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) stated, “For some reason [Trump] is again trying to cozy up to Vladimir Putin”

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KEY STORY

DOGE Dividends?

President Trump signaled interest in using DOGE savings to fund payouts to taxpayers, calling it a “DOGE dividend”

• Trump said he is considering “a new concept where we give 20% of the DOGE savings to American citizens, and 20% goes to paying down debt,” which could amount to $5,000 per household if DOGE cuts $2T

• DOGE has suggested it has saved $55B, though an analysis of data published so far adds up to roughly $8.5B after accounting for terminated contracts already paid out

• DOGE says it’s now seeking bigger targets, including the Pentagon, which – with an $800B budget and 3.4M workforce – is the largest federal agency

Dig Deeper 

• DOGE has said its goal is to balance the budget, while Musk has said DOGE is aiming to save between $1T and $2T

• Among many ongoing cuts, the IRS is currently laying off 6,000 workers

KEY STORY

Quantum Development

Microsoft announced that its efforts to create a quantum computer created a new state of matter

• Quantum computers can solve complex problems exponentially faster than traditional computers by running many processes simultaneously. Engineers have been trying to build them since the 1980s

• On Thursday, Microsoft announced it created a new state of matter called a "topological qubit” that will facilitate the development of the computers

• Microsoft's quantum approach involves creating a unique chip that operates at extremely cold temperatures (-400°F/-240°C) with far more stability than other quantum computing experiments

Dig Deeper

• Earlier this year, Google revealed an experimental quantum computer completed a calculation in five minutes that other supercomputers could not finish in 10 septillion years – longer than the universe has existed

• Microsoft’s development could potentially surpass Google’s supercomputer breakthrough, ramping up the competition between the tech giants to develop a quantum computer

• Still, many quantum skeptics remain, believing that the technology is unfeasible or will take longer to develop or be less important than its backers believe

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🧬 President Trump signed an executive order requesting policy recommendations to protect In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) access and reduce costs

🇺🇸 Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced he won’t seek reelection in 2026

🏛️ President Trump suggested the federal government “should take over the governance of DC.” He said there are too many homeless tents and too much crime

✌️ The Senate confirmed Kash Patel as FBI director in a 51-49 vote, with all Democrats and two Republicans voting against him

⚰️ Hamas staged a public handover of four coffins containing remains of Israeli hostages, displaying them theatrically in Gaza amid armed gunmen and music

COMMUNITY
What does Roca Nation think?

🧠 Yesterday’s Question: Do you trust Elon Musk to cut waste in the government? Will he do more good than harm?

20 Questions!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Weeknd.

If you're like us and went from never watching NHL All-Star Weekend to wanting to enlist at the local Army station after the Four Nations tournament, then you might enjoy this patriotism-themed 20 Questions. The internet vibes have been incredible. It goes to show that no matter how down you may feel about the direction of the country, the Free Bird solo will heal all. Nothing will get you to shed your Che Guevara t-shirt as fast as Lynyrd Skynyrd. If you're not American, we apologize, but forgetting that you exist is the most American thing we could think of.

Here is the link.

Last Week’s Responses

Average ratings to last week’s “NOSTALGIA: Ratings” edition of 20 Questions.

Blockbuster - 7.4
Rainforest Cafe - 5.5
School lunch chocolate milk - 7.8
Pencil grips - 4.6
Flintstone vitamins - 6.1
Bop It! game - 5.5
No social media - 8.3
Webkinz - 4.4
Arcade tickets - 6.8
Sunny D - 5.2
Yo-Yo’s - 6.9
Slinkies - 7.2
Scholastic book fairs - 8.8
Red cups at pizza parlor - 6.1
Memorizing your friends’ phone numbers - 6.7
Kickball - 6.4
Dodgeball - 7.7
Candy necklaces - 6.8
Magic Tree House books - 6.2
Mr. Sketch scented highlighters - 6.7

Bonus: What else makes you nostalgic for your childhood?
Some answers you submitted…
Playing whiffle ball, silly putty, silly bandz, Gilligan’s Island, looking for frogs, Oregon Trail, snow days, Jimmy Neutron, CCD classes, Gushers, and so much more

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🎰 Betting Bonanza: The sports betting industry broke records in 2024, raking in $13.71B in profit as Americans wagered nearly $150B – a 22% increase from 2023

🩴 Court Steps On Birkenstocks: Germany's top court ruled that Birkenstock sandals aren't works of art after the company attempted to use copyright law to deter copycats

🔫 Reading, Writing, and Rifles: The Utah House passed a bill requiring mandatory gun safety education starting as early as kindergarten, with elementary students getting at least three lessons before sixth grade

🎬 Bezos as the New Bond?: Amazon gained the intellectual property rights to the James Bond franchise from the family that has owned the franchise for 60 years

☃️ Detroit's Deep Freeze: A major water main break in Detroit has left residents dealing with frozen, totaled vehicles after water flooded and froze inside their cars

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

The news cycle has been exhausting lately. One of you emailed us yesterday asking for advice on handling it. We certainly don’t have the answers, but we do know that so much of the news cycle is noise. We often open old editions of the newsletter and many stories/narratives seemed scary at the time, but in retrospect they’re meaningless — mere distractions. We want you to be informed, but so much of what we cover is just noise. Have a great weekend!

–Max and Max