If you enjoy the modern grocery store experience, you owe a big thank you to Piggly Wiggly. On September 6, 1916, a grocery store named Piggly Wiggly opened in Memphis, TN, with a revolutionary idea: Let people fetch their own groceries. Prior to that, a clerk would retrieve your groceries for you. The name “Piggly Wiggly” may not scream — or oink — innovation, but it’s the reason you don’t need to tell a clerk “three cases of Yoo-Hoo, bacon, and toilet paper.”

In today's edition:

• Manhunt in Pennsylvania continues

• Surveillance clothing in the works?

• War Drug

 🔑 Key Stories

Cable Business Model Broken?

Amid a rift with Disney, the CEO of the US' second-largest cable provider said the cable TV industry is broken

• Cable companies traditionally negotiate contracts with media companies like Disney – which owns ESPN and FX – for rights to their channels. Cable TV subscriptions have fallen 30%+ since 2011, though, leading cable companies to want to pay less

• Last Thursday, Charter – which owns Spectrum, the US’ second-largest cable provider – failed to reach terms to broadcast Disney channels, which then went dark

• On Friday, Charter’s CEO said the cable TV industry is broken and the company may have to pivot from it

Dig Deeper

• “Customers are leaving the traditional video ecosystem, and losses have accelerated,” Charter’s CEO told investors. He said that Charter either has to innovate on the old model or “move on” to other ventures

• Disney criticized that statement, saying that Charter was doing a disservice to its customers by demanding unreasonable things from it

• Both sides are reportedly still in talks but have made little progress

Killer on the Run

A manhunt for an escaped killer in Pennsylvania has entered its seventh day

• Last Thursday, a 34-year-old convicted murderer escaped a jail ~25 miles southwest of Philadelphia. Police consider him dangerous and warned locals to lock doors to homes, cars, and sheds

• He has been spotted several times since his escape, including once by a police officer and once by a local who claims the fugitive broke into his home at night

• On Tuesday, two school districts cancelled in-person classes after cameras spotted him nearby. Police are offering $10,000 for information leading to his arrest

Dig Deeper

• A state police official said that while they haven’t caught him, they have kept pressure on him, denying him the ability to rest or gather supplies and increasing the chance he makes a mistake

Freedom Convoy Trial

The criminal trial for two leaders of Canada’s “Freedom Convoy” protest began on Tuesday

• In January 2022, a convoy of hundreds of trucks – the “Freedom Convoy” – converged on Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, to protest a vaccine mandate for those crossing the US-Canada border

• They blocked roads in Ottawa and along the US-Canada border for three weeks before Canada's prime minister used emergency powers to disperse them. On Tuesday, criminal trials began for two leaders of that movement

• Prosecutors argue they committed “mischief,” or denying others the right to enjoy their property; both claim they practiced free speech. The trial is expected to last 19 days, and a verdict likely won’t be reached until October

Dig Deeper

• Both defendants face additional charges for obstructing police, intimidation, and more. Several cases related to the Freedom Convoy have already been litigated in court, but this one is widely seen as the biggest test of the protest’s legality

• The pair also face a $222M civil lawsuit brought by Ottawa residents over the protest

Spain Sacks Women’s Soccer Coach

Spain’s soccer federation (RFEF) fired its women’s head coach three weeks after winning the World Cup

• The RFEF hired Jorge Vilda in 2015. Last year, 15 players said they wouldn’t play for the team if he remained, citing his allegedly abusive leadership style; the RFEF defended Vilda, and he didn’t resign

• Spain won the Women’s World Cup last month. During celebrations, the RFEF’s president kissed a player on the mouth. He called the kiss “mutual”; the player said it was nonconsensual

• Vilda didn’t immediately denounce that and only did so later under pressure. On Tuesday, the RFEF fired Vilda. It didn’t give specific reasons and thanked him for his tenure

Dig Deeper

• The RFEF named a female former member of Vilda’s staff, Montse Tomé, as Vilda’s successor

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🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Messi 🤝 Tim Cook: MLS Season Pass – Apple’s soccer streaming package – experienced a 1,690% surge in sign-ups on the day Lionel Messi debuted for Inter Miami

• Cuckoo for Coco: 19-year-old Coco Gauff has reached the semifinals at the US Open, making her the first US women’s tennis player to make it that far as a teenager

• US Open Closed: Security ejected a fan from a US Open tennis match between Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner for allegedly singing a Nazi-era song. Zverev – who is German – called out the fan mid-match

Wildcard

• Naughty officer: A Maryland police department is investigating a viral video showing one of its officers embracing and kissing a woman, then entering a department SUV’s back seat with her

• One chip funeral: A Massachusetts 14-year-old died hours after participating in the “One Chip Challenge,” a viral social media trend that involves eating a super-spicy chip containing Carolina Reaper

• Big Wardrobe is watching: The US government is investing $22M+ in “SMART ePANTS,” an initiative to create surveillance and data-collecting clothing

👇 What do you think?

Today's Question:

If you could pick any fictional world to live in for a year, which one would it be and why?

Reply to this email with your answers!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🌯 Roca Wrap

O

Videos showed police sawing through metal cylinders, out of which poured thousands of while pills marked “Captagon.”

Captagon is the brand name for fenethylline, an amphetamine-type stimulant that boosts energy levels and produces feelings of euphoria.

First produced in the 1960s, it was marketed as a treatment for ADHD and narcolepsy. Subsequent research suggested it was highly addictive and had few medical benefits, though, and in the 1980s, the US and most other countries outlawed its production and sale.

The 2020 Italy bust – which was worth $1.1B and was one of the world’s largest-ever drug busts – fueled speculation about who was producing Captagon. Fingers were pointed at ISIS and other militant groups, before settling on someone else: The cousin of Syria’s dictator, Bashar al-Assad. As it turned out, Syria’s government had become the world’s biggest Captagon producer.

Assad has ruled Syria since 2000, when he succeeded his father, who had ruled since 1971. The reason he entered the Captagon business dates to 2011, when the Arab Spring reached Syria and sparked anti-government protests. When Assad responded with force and parts of Syria’s army defected, Syria fell into civil war.

The war and resulting sanctions caused Syria’s economy to collapse.

With few ways to earn money legitimately, many Syrians turned to the black market. Captagon provided an especially lucrative opportunity: It was cheap, easy to make, and sold for up to $20 a pill in Saudi Arabia and other nearby markets. Fighters began selling the drug to fund their war efforts – or taking it themselves to help them stay awake and fight effectively.

Around 2014, Syria’s government entered the Captagon market.

Well-connected businessmen and politicians, including several of Assad’s relatives, opened factories, from which they exported pills through Syrian ports or foreign groups. One such group – Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which the US considers a terrorist organization – is believed to be heavily involved in trafficking Captagon.

Captagon production soared in the 2010s, with foreign police seizing 102,931 pounds of Syria-origin Captagon in 2020 compared to 4,850 pounds in 2011. Most of those drugs were shipped to wealthy countries in the Arabian Gulf, North Africa, and Europe.

Syria’s government-backed Captagon industry is believed to bring in billions of dollars annually, which fuels the government's war effort and enriches Assad's inner circle.

The Syrian Civil War is now virtually over.

With Russia’s help, Assad’s government has retaken much of Syria, and many countries have acknowledged that Assad’s rule is no longer threatened.

In May, the Arab League – the main body for Arab countries – readmitted Syria after a 12-year suspension. A day later, jets from Jordan, a neighboring country, bombed southern Syria, killing a notorious Captagon dealer and destroying a factory linked to Hezbollah.

Jordan didn’t officially take credit for the strike but released a statement calling “the surge in drug smuggling…a huge threat to the kingdom [and] the region.” Analysts believe Syria approved the airstrike as part of its deal to reenter the Arab League.

The US and its allies have sanctioned several of Assad’s family members over the drug trade, including a cousin who is thought to have run Captagon facilities and been behind the Italian shipment seized in 2020.

Assad is now reportedly using Captagon as a bargaining chip to win concessions from other countries in exchange for a crackdown on the industry.

But with the demand established and the money flowing in, is Captagon here to stay?

If you have thoughts, let us know at [email protected]!

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Most iconic Buffett song?

Margaritaville: 65%
It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere: 15%
Cheeseburger in Paradise: 10%
Fins: 5%
Volcano: 4%
Other: 1%

Yesterday's Question:

What are you most excited about this Fall?

Claire: “I’m getting married at the end of September!”

Roxanne: “I’m going to Fall Color Week, a week long plein air painting trip in the Adirondacks!”

Eric: “Hunting season. Just like every fall since 1980ish!”

Bill: “Same as every fall, College Football! Greatest sport in America.

Macole from Memphis: “If we ever get them, cooler temps. 94º in September is NOT fun.”

Yesterday's Wrap Replies:

Jesse from Los Angeles: “The fact that streaming is still so fragmented makes the piracy continue. I can’t access local games for Dodgers or LAFC on MLB all access and MLS all access respectively if I live in LA. Local blackouts on teams that sell out their stadiums is bullish!t and the masses won’t pay for it when we can’t get the local team we would be signing up to watch. the leagues need to offer affordable options and remove the blackout rules.”

🧠 Final Thoughts

Not the lightest Wrap of all time today, but we hope you learned something new. We'll be back with something a bit less narcotic and dark tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy your Wednesdays!

—Max and Max