🌊 G'day, Meta! Australia's Social Media Ban

Roca heads down south.

We are coming to Arkansas and Mississippi next week and are looking for a few readers to help us understand the area. Specifically, we’re looking for anyone who can show us around the Arkansas or Mississippi Deltas; Oxford, MS; or Jackson, MS. If you are there, please get in touch!

Also, no, these Roca fall pics aren’t AI-generated — they’re just that good.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Australia Expands Youth Social Media Ban

A pending youth social media ban in Australia will prevent kids from accessing sites like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, and Kik

• Australia passed legislation in 2024 that will prohibit children under 16 from holding accounts on major social media platforms. The law, set to take effect on December 10, 2025, requires tech companies to take "reasonable steps" to prevent minors from accessing their services

• On Wednesday, Australia's communications minister announced that Reddit and Kik now join Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, and YouTube as banned in the country for kids under 16. Messaging services like WhatsApp and Discord, as well as Roblox and YouTube Kids, are not included in the ban

• Companies that fail to comply face fines of up to 50M Australian dollars ($33M)

Dig Deeper 

• The government selected these nine platforms because their main function is to connect users with each other for online-centered social interaction, which officials believe poses particular risks to young people

• Critics have raised concerns about user privacy, warning that age verification requirements could affect all users who must prove they are over 16. Some critics also worry the ban could push young people to less-regulated parts of the internet

• Other countries are closely watching Australia's approach. The European Commission's President told a United Nations forum in September that she was inspired by Australia's move to legislate the age restriction

KEY STORY

Anti-Woke University Receives Record Donation

Billionaire trader Jeff Yass donated $100M to the University of Austin, per The Wall Street Journal

• The University of Austin was established in 2021 by venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale and journalist Bari Weiss. The school emerged from frustration over what they perceived as political polarization and suppression of unpopular ideas at elite universities

• Yass' donation represented the largest contribution to the school to date and will jump-start a new fund with a goal of raising $300M total. The university has already received half of Yass’ donation, while the remaining $50M will be spread out over the next four years

• The University of Austin describes itself as nonpartisan with a mission centered on "the fearless pursuit of truth"

Dig Deeper 

• The donation will allow the university to remain both tuition-free and without government funding, relying entirely on donations from supporters. The university plans to pursue accreditation by spring 2028

• The institution has approximately 150 students across its inaugural freshman and sophomore classes. Carlos Carvalho, who became the university's president in June, said the funding would allow the school to increase the student body to between 400 and 500 students

KEY STORY

Genocide Underway in Sudan?

Paramilitary forces killed hundreds of civilians in Sudan's El Fasher, with survivors describing execution-style killings and ransom demands at checkpoints

• The RSF seized El Fasher last week after an 18-month siege, marking the fall of the military's last stronghold in the Darfur region. As many as 200,000 people remained trapped in El Fasher, where the number of people killed in the past week may have exceeded the 70,000 deaths recorded over two years in Gaza

• Survivors described a gauntlet of violence as they fled the city, with RSF fighters demanding ransoms worth more than £2,000 per person at checkpoints. One survivor said: "Only four of us managed to pay. The rest were killed. They killed children, the elderly, and women"

Dig Deeper 

• Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health said satellite images showed evidence suggesting "a velocity of killing that can only be compared with the Rwandan genocide." One researcher described the current killings as part of "the final battle of the Darfur genocide that began 20 years ago"

• The RSF rampaged through a hospital after capturing the city, killing more than 450 people. Witnesses described fighters going door to door, killing and sexually assaulting civilians

• The International Criminal Court said it was collecting evidence of mass killings and rapes, while the US State Department officially determined in January that members of the RSF had committed genocide in Sudan

QUOTE OF THE DAY

KEY STORY

SCOTUS Hears Legality on Tariffs

The Supreme Court heard arguments over President Trump's authority to impose sweeping tariffs

• The Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the power to levy tariffs. However, Trump has claimed that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) gives him the power to impose tariffs, though the law does not specifically mention the word "tariff"

• On Wednesday, both liberal and conservative justices questioned whether Trump had overstepped his authority. Chief Justice John Roberts expressed doubt that Trump's interpretation of IEEPA could pass legal scrutiny. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, "This is not a presidential power. It's a congressional power"

• If the court rules against Trump, the administration said it would need to refund tens of billions of dollars already collected in tariffs

Dig Deeper 

• The administration's lawyer argued that the nation faced crises that were "country-killing and not sustainable" and required emergency action by the president. However, lawyers for the states and small businesses challenging the tariffs argued that trade deficits, which have existed for decades, do not meet the definition of an emergency

• The court heard the case on an expedited basis, meaning a decision could come in the coming weeks or months

• Trump could still use other federal statutes to reimpose some tariffs, though those laws impose stricter procedural requirements

WE THE 66
What Can Zohran Actually Do?

Zohran Mamdani has made many ambitious promises

• On the campaign trail, he called for a $30 minimum wage, government grocery stores, arresting Benjamin Netanyahu, free buses, a Department of Public Safety, a rent freeze, and much more

• In today’s We the 66 premium deep dive, we broke down what Zohran can actually do as mayor. You can read it here

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

📈 Private employers added 42,000 jobs in October according to independent data from payroll processor ADP (Automatic Data Processing), marking the first increase since July.

🛫 A UPS cargo plane crashed and exploded shortly after takeoff from Louisville's airport on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people, with the death toll expected to rise.

🪆 France began the process to temporarily suspend Shein's website after authorities discovered child-like sex dolls being sold on its marketplace platform by third-party vendors.

💰 President Trump renominated billionaire Jared Isaacman to lead NASA, five months after withdrawing his initial nomination following what Trump called a "thorough review of prior associations."

⚖️ California Republicans filed a lawsuit challenging new congressional maps hours after voters approved a redistricting measure that could flip five House seats to Democrats.

Fall Photo Showcase - Day 3

The third batch of our favorite fall photos you submitted

Send in your best fall photos to [email protected]!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🇲🇽 Pageant Protest: Multiple Miss Universe 2025 contestants walked out of a pre-pageant event in Thailand after an official publicly berated Miss Mexico, calling her "dumb" and threatening her with security.

🚭 Generation Smoke-Free: The Maldives became the first country to implement a permanent generational tobacco ban, prohibiting anyone born on or after January 1, 2007, from ever legally buying or using cigarettes.

🏋️ Pump Up the Youth: Malta expanded its free six-month gym membership program to include teenagers aged 16 to 21, covering those born between 2004 and 2009.

🖼️ Summer Returns Early: A 20th-century Danish painting missing for 70 years has been donated to Poland after appearing at auction in Denmark, where it was discovered by an unsuspecting couple.

🦮 Mane Attraction: Irish police investigating reports of a lion roaming in the woods in County Clare discovered the "big cat" was actually a Newfoundland dog named Mouse sporting a fresh haircut.

ROCA WRAP
The Richest Man in History

Mansa Musa

This 14th-century ruler's pilgrimage to Mecca was so extravagant that it disrupted Egypt's economy for over a decade.

Mansa Musa ruled the Mali Empire from roughly 1312 to 1337, presiding over a territory that stretched across modern-day Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, and the Gambia. His wealth came from Mali's control of gold mines in the south and salt trade from the north, accumulated over generations. His predecessor reportedly launched two massive naval expeditions into the Atlantic Ocean and never returned, leaving Musa to claim the throne under circumstances that remain disputed by historians.

In 1324, Musa departed for Mecca with a caravan that included over 12,000 slaves, 80 camels carrying gold dust, and countless attendants. He fed the entire procession throughout the 2,700-mile journey and reportedly built a mosque every Friday along the route. When he arrived in Cairo that July, the Mamluk sultan expected him to bow in submission. Musa initially refused but finally bowed and declared he did so only for God. The two rulers eventually became friendly, and Musa spent three months in the city distributing gold so freely that its value dropped and didn't recover for over a decade.

After completing his pilgrimage, Musa's return journey nearly ended in disaster. Traveling separately from the main caravan, his group was struck by cold, starvation, and bandit raids. By the time they reached Suez, many pilgrims had died and Musa had run out of money, forcing him to borrow from Egyptian merchants at high interest rates. On his way back through the Sahara, the cities of Gao and Timbuktu submitted to his rule, though historians debate whether pilgrims could have conquered these wealthy cities by force.

Musa recruited scholars during his travels and brought architects from Spain and Egypt to Mali. He launched extensive construction projects, building mosques and madrasas throughout his empire. The Sankoré University in Timbuktu was established during his reign, transforming the city into a major center of Islamic learning and trade that attracted merchants from Venice, Granada, and Genoa. When the kingdom of Mossi invaded and captured Timbuktu in 1330, Musa's forces quickly retook it and built fortifications to prevent future attacks.

Musa died sometime between 1332 and 1337. Surprisingly, Mandinka oral tradition gives him less attention than earlier rulers and sometimes criticizes him for abandoning tradition and squandering Mali's wealth. Modern claims that he was the richest person in history are impossible to verify, since distinguishing a medieval king's personal fortune from his empire's treasury and comparing wealth across different eras defies measurement.

For a man whose journey to Mecca temporarily crashed a foreign economy, his true legacy may be harder to measure than the gold he carried.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Another insanely good batch of fall pics. Also, who uses a purple foldable phone?

As you may have noticed, we are starting to promote our daily We The 66 deep dive. We appreciate our members so, so much — they allow us to do all of our original reporting. Have an amazing Thursday — almost there!

–Max and Max