🌊 Hamas Leader Assassinated

It’s days like today where we miss the Titanic submersible crew…

We are never going to ask for a light news cycle again. This month, we’ve seen Trump get shot, Biden drop out, and Kamala replace Biden. But July still decided to go out with a bang: Last night, Owen, a Roca team member, sent us a text that the Hamas leader was maybe just killed. As facts emerged — see below — we learned it was more than a maybe.

So here’s to August! Please be full of Bed Bath & Beyond financial restructurings and Florida men getting their pet alligators drunk. We need normalcy again.

–Max, Max, and Owen

KEY STORY

Hamas Leader Killed

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran

• Haniyeh – Hamas’ top political leader and widely perceived to be the organization’s leader – was in Iran for the swearing-in of Iran’s new president

• He was photographed Tuesday afternoon in a meeting with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini

• Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Haniyeh and an Iranian security guard were targeted while at their place of residence

• Hamas confirmed the assassination, saying that Haniyeh was killed in a “deceitful Zionist raid”

Dig Deeper

• The killing comes hours after Israel said it killed Hezbollah’s senior-most military commander in Beirut, Lebanon’s capital. Hezbollah, like Hamas, is an Iran-backed militia

• Hezbollah has not commented on that strike

KEY STORY

US: Unprepared for War?

A bipartisan commission found that the current US strategy leaves the US unprepared for a major war

• Every four years, the president lays out a national security vision; the Defense Department then creates a strategy to achieve it, and Congress orders a bipartisan committee to assess that strategy in a report

• That report was released this week

• It found the current strategy will leave the US ill-prepared for a major war; that the risk of major war is the highest it’s been since 1945; and that the US industrial base is “grossly inadequate” and “the US public…largely unaware of the dangers [and costs] the US faces”

Dig Deeper

• The commission warned that China’s military is approaching the US’ “capability,” that its space and cyber capabilities are on par with the US, and that China appears on track to meet its goal of being able to invade Taiwan by 2027

• It also warned that American strategy had misinterpreted the threat posed by Russia, considering it “acute” rather than “chronic”

• And it warned that the growing ties between China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran increase the odds that a major war wouldn’t be contained to any one region

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KEY STORY

Kamala Preps VP Tour

Kamala Harris will tour key battleground states next week with her VP nominee, per Reuters

• Five contenders have emerged as her potential running mate: Sen. Mark Kelly (AZ), Gov. Josh Shapiro (PA), Gov. Tim Walz (MN), Sec. of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, and Gv. Andy Beshear (KY)

• Right now, betting odds have Kelly and Shapiro as the favorites. Both are seen as moderate Democrats who could help her win their key battleground states

• The Dems will hold a virtual delegate roll call on August 7, and the DNC begins on August 19

Dig Deeper

• Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has risen the ranks in recent days. Although he may not offer the inside track to winning a battleground state – Minnesota is considered solidly blue – he has seen a surge on social media for his unapologetic progressivism and mockery of JD Vance. He also currently chairs the Democratic Governors Association, which posted a record-breaking fundraising haul this year

• Pete Buttigieg and Andy Beshear - both of a similar age and region as JD Vance - have tried to draw a contrast to Trump’s VP pick. They’ve criticized Vance as being opportunistic and phony

KEY STORY

Project 2025 Head Quits

Project 2025’s director resigned

• Project 2025 is a set of proposals for a Trump Admin published by the Heritage Institute, Washington, DC’s primary pro-Trump think tank

• Think tanks conduct research to guide policy. They regularly draft plans for candidates to give them a roadmap for how to pursue policies once elected

• Project 2025 calls for many conservative policies, including laying off gov’t staff, deporting illegal immigrants, deregulation, and restricting abortion

• It’s drawn the ire of Trump, who has called it “severe right” and “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal”

Dig Deeper

• Heritage has defended Project 2025 and said, “The Left has spent millions fearmongering about Project 2025 because they’re terrified of losing their power.” On Tuesday, though, Project 2025’s director announced he would step down

• Trump’s campaign advisors said, “Reports of Project 2025’s demise would be greatly welcomed and should serve as notice to anyone or any group trying to misrepresent their influence with President Trump and his campaign – it will not end well for you”

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🏅 Led by Simone Biles, Team USA women’s gymnastics won gold in the team final, making Biles the most decorated US Olympic gymnast in history. Meanwhile, the US women’s rugby sevens team earned its first-ever Olympic medal, dramatically securing bronze against Australia

💸 Over 200,000 people contributed $4M+ during a “White Dudes for Harris” Zoom call with actors Mark Hamill, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and “The Dude,” Jeff Bridges. The event’s organizer said, “The left has been ceding white men to the MAGA right for way, way too long. That’s going to stop tonight”

💥 Israel conducted an airstrike on Beirut, targeting the mastermind of an attack that killed 12 people in northern Israel on Saturday. The strike was Israel’s first on Beirut since October when Hezbollah and Israel began trading daily fire

☕ Starbucks warned of a 3% decline in Q2 sales due to a “cautious consumer environment.” It comes as numerous other companies, including McDonald’s and Chipotle, warn that inflation is eroding consumers’ spending power

🔓 Bad security policies let hackers access up to 40M UK voters’ personal details. The UK government blamed China for the hack, which China called “malicious slander”

COMMUNITY

🧠 Yesterday’s question: If you had to compete in the Olympics, what sport/task would you choose? Could be anything…

🤔 Today’s Question: In your lifetime, what celebrity death hit you the hardest?

Reply to this email to let us know what you think!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🌯 Gotta keep a tight ship: A Georgia Chipotle worker claims his manager chased him at gunpoint and threatened his life for forgetting to take out all the trash before clocking out

🍿 Doctor Downey: Actor Robert Downey Jr. will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the supervillain Doctor Doom in two upcoming movies, ”Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars”

🇺🇸 Big Flag’s big day: Congress passed the “All American Flag Act,” mandating the federal government to purchase only American flags entirely manufactured in the US

🧠 Built different: A 14-year-old from India is among a handful of people worldwide to survive Naegleria fowleri, a rare brain-eating amoeba with a 97% mortality rate

🚗 Quite the threesome: A speeding car in India collided with a divider while drunk passengers had a threesome. This is a family-friendly newsletter, so we’ll leave the details there

ROCA WRAP

“I’m Alive”

Baburam Bhil just wanted to live.

For reasons that are unclear, the Indian government had recently issued Bhil, an Indian villager, a death certificate.

Bhil tried to get the government’s attention but was repeatedly unsuccessful, either unable to get the government’s attention or unable to get government workers to care about his plight. 
So, on July 19, Bhil decided to take matters into his own hands.

Armed with a gasoline container and a knife, Bhil went on a rampage, going to a school, attacking two teachers and a parent, and holding a group of students hostage. By the time police arrived and arrested Bhil, three adults had sustained serious injuries.

Upon interrogation, Bhil confessed to the crime. He said he wanted to be arrested so the government would admit that he was alive and accused the government of intentionally wrongly considering him dead so it could take his property.

It’s not the first such incident in India: Last November, a 70-year-old man was spotted roaming around a city with a sign that read, “I’m alive.”

He subsequently appeared in front of a court and was found to be, in fact, alive.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Lots of enjoyable answers to yesterday’s QOTD. Surprised that nobody proposed an office rolling chair race. Or, maybe for my upstairs neighbors, a stomping contest set for 3 AM.

Many of you instead proposed eating, drinking, or sleeping contests. Fair enough — sometimes you gotta stick to the basics.

–Max and Max