We hear you on Happy Hour!
Yesterday, we debuted a new “Person of the Day” story, replacing Happy Hour with a longer deep-dive into a key figure in the day’s news. We did this after hearing from a number of readers that Happy Hour felt too similar to the Rundown, however, after making the change, an even larger group of people wrote in to say they wanted their light-hearted, entertaining happy hour stories, particularly given the doom-and-gloom of the news cycle.
So, like the McRib, Happy Hour will be back. After processing your responses, we couldn’t turn an edition around fast enough today, but rest assured, you’ll find it here tomorrow. Thank you for your emails. We wish we had friends like Happy Hour did.
On a separate note, attention, all Bay Area readers! Max T is in the Bay Area until Monday and is looking for on-the-ground experts/locals on the following topics:
San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood
Drugs/homelessness downtown
Silicon Valley history
AI industry
Real estate agents in Atherton area
94102 zip code
Farming towns near San Francisco
Send us an email if you can help with any of these (or other interesting local stories/topics). Thank you!
🏫 Trump goes after well-endowed colleges
🇺🇦 More weapons to Ukraine
😳 VC guy who's in trouble
–Max and Max
KEY STORY
Universities in Trouble
A series of moves by the Trump Administration may hit universities’ bottom lines
Trump has overseen a tightening of rules on universities’ ability to enroll foreign students. On top of this, the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) has implemented rules capping some graduate students’ ability to borrow and taxing university endowments
The combination of policies is expected to cost American universities over $1.5B, and potentially closer to $4B
Well-endowed universities with large foreign-student enrollments stand to face the greatest hit
Dig Deeper
The Big Beautiful Bill is projected to cost universities $761M over 10 years. Specifically, it modifies an existing flat 1.4% tax rate on university endowments to a multi-tiered rate of up to 8%, with larger endowments subject to the highest rate and schools with fewer than 3,000 tuition-paying students being exempt
The BBB also capped student federal borrowing at $100,000 or $200,000, depending on the program, potentially limiting universities’ ability to keep hiking tuition. It also modified student loan repayment programs, potentially making it costlier to take out large loans
Meanwhile, according to NAFSA, a network of international education and exchange organizations, 75% of universities also anticipate a drop of at least 10% in foreign student enrollment. Foreign students are more likely to pay full freight and constitute a major cash source for some universities
KEY STORY
British Baby Data
New UK data shows that four in 10 British babies born last year have foreign parents
Britain has seen a surge in support for the anti-immigrant Reform Party, led by Brexit leader Nigel Farage, with polls now showing Reform is the country’s single most popular party. Amid this trend, new official data show a record number of British live births were to families with at least one parent who is not from the UK
Per the data, 40.4% of births in Britain were to such families, up from 35.1% in 2021
A total of 4.4% of all live births were to Indian mothers – over twice the rate 10 years ago – followed by mothers from Pakistan (3.6%), Nigeria (2.5%), and Romania (2%)
Dig Deeper
The climbing numbers come after Brexit, which led the Conservative Party to loosen immigration rules. Despite restrictions on Europeans’ ability to freely live and work in the UK, a record 906,000 immigrated to Britain in the year ending June 2023
One Oxford University researcher commented, “The rise in births to migrant parents is largely due to more people moving to the UK. Since most new arrivals are young adults, more births to migrants are expected”
KEY STORY
Trump Flips on Weapons for Ukraine
President Trump announced the US would resume weapons deliveries to Ukraine
Last week, the US paused certain weapons shipments to Ukraine, citing concerns about its own dwindling stockpiles. The move caused concern among Ukraine’s backers, as it came as Russia launched consistent air attacks and amassed 50,000 troops near a major Ukrainian city
Speaking on Monday, though, Trump said Ukraine must receive weapons because "they have to be able to defend themselves"
Trump's decision followed a tense phone call with President Putin on Thursday, after which Trump said, “I’m not happy with President Putin at all”
Dig Deeper
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell subsequently confirmed that the Defense Department would send additional defensive weapons "to ensure the Ukrainians can defend themselves while we work to secure a lasting peace"
Trump held a conversation with Zelensky on Friday, with the Ukrainian president describing the conversation as "probably the best…we have had during this whole time, the most productive" Zelensky said they discussed "air defense issues" and emphasized that US-made Patriot systems were "precisely the key to protection against ballistic threats"
KEY STORY
No Gaza Breakthrough
President Trump and Israeli PM Netanyahu met at the White House as Israel, the US, and Hamas hold peace talks
Trump has resumed his attempts to secure a Gaza ceasefire since joining Israel’s campaign against Iran last month. This weekend, Hamas issued a “positive” response to a US-proposed framework for a 60-day ceasefire proposal
Ahead of the Monday dinner, there was speculation that the sides would unveil a ceasefire in Gaza, however, the meeting produced no concrete agreements on Gaza's future, Iran negotiations, or broader Middle East peace
Dig Deeper
Both leaders indicated progress on finding countries willing to accept Palestinians who want to leave Gaza: "If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave," Netanyahu said
Trump added that surrounding countries were providing "great cooperation." Earlier that day, Israel's defense minister announced plans for a "humanitarian city" in Rafah where displaced Gazans would be confined under Israeli military control
Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Qatar this week to join ongoing indirect talks between Israel and Hamas
Trump said negotiations were "going well" and expressed hope for a deal soon, however, Israeli leaders have expressed skepticism
QUOTE OF THE DAY
It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
🇺🇸 President Trump said he would not extend the tariff pause past August 1
🇧🇷 Brazil’s President Lula condemned Trump’s threat to tariff countries aligned with BRICS – a group led by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – saying, “The world has changed”
👞 The TSA will let US air travel customers keep their shoes on
🏅 California education officials rejected federal demands to bar transgender athletes from girls' sports, setting up a confrontation with the Trump Administration
🔫 A 27-year-old man was shot and killed Monday after opening fire at a US Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, with federal agents returning fire
What does Roca Nation think?
🤨 Yesterday’s Question: What's something that's “not a cult” but feels like a cult?
Definitely the obsession with Buc-ees. I love them, their giant stores, hundreds of gas pumps, and clean restrooms, but if they start handing out Kool-aid I'm out.
Texas A&M “Cult”ure: (google it, I swear)
We all joke in Texas about the Aggies being a cult. There are SO many traditions it is hard to keep up with them but the students know them all. We call it drinking the Kool-Aid. The ones who don’t drink the Kool-Aid are referred to as the 2 percenters because 98% of the students join the cult. I tell you this lovingly as a parent of a die hard Aggie Kool-Aid drinker.
Reddit Thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/texas/comments/u2dutx/why_do_people_jokingly_call_aggies_a_cult/
Gig ‘em!
Political parties…. If you won’t drink the kool-aid, you’re out. It seems unacceptable to identify as a supporter of a political party if you don’t agree with every single ideology it represents. It’s sad, really.
MLM's. Diet fads, fitness programs, scents/candles, parenting products, etc. They sort of rely on it to be a community (read: cult) to instill loyalty, produce shame/guilt, etc. And sort of like cults, there's no forgiveness if you're not 100% dedicated or productive, you're treated kinda badly if you're not all in. Instagram and Facebook are the pulpit for it all.
🤔 Today’s Question: Which state has the most state pride? Is it obnoxious?
ROCA WRAP
A Tweet Too Far?
Shaun Maguire is considered one of the brightest minds in tech.
Now, though, the quantum physics PhD and SpaceX investor is facing down 900+ startup founders who are demanding consequences after a series of tweets.
Maguire's path defied convention: He dropped out of high school in Orange County, California, after becoming "disillusioned with school" in eighth grade. Despite this unconventional start, he earned degrees from USC and Caltech, completing a PhD in quantum physics that later helped him invest in quantum hardware companies.
He eventually landed a job at Google’s venture capital arm, where he invested in Stripe, one of the most successful-ever startups. When other firms tried to recruit him, Stripe founder Patrick Collison told Sequoia Capital that they should hire Maguire instead.
That paved the way to his becoming a partner at Sequoia, one of Silicon Valley’s most influential VCs. At Sequoia, Maguire's portfolio includes prominent companies like Elon Musk's SpaceX and xAI.
Beyond his investing, though, he's known for outspoken political views, publicly donating $300,000 to Donald Trump's campaign, and frequently posting controversial opinions.
The current controversy began over July 4th weekend when Maguire posted about Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. In the post, which garnered over 5.5M views, Maguire wrote that Mamdani "comes from a culture that lies about everything" and claimed he was willing to lie "if it advances his Islamist agenda."
Maguire also targeted Mamdani's father, Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani, whom he accused of practicing "radical left-wing Islamism." After facing criticism, Maguire posted a 30-minute video in which he apologized for offending anyone and attempted to clarify that Islamism is "a political ideology, not a race or religion."
An open letter to Sequoia Capital has since gathered nearly 600 signatures from startup executives worldwide, representing an unprecedented protest against a major VC firm. Signatories include CEOs of prominent companies like Careem, the Middle Eastern Uber, along with some of Sequoia's own portfolio companies.
"His tweet was not only a sweeping and harmful generalization of Muslims, but part of a broader pattern of Islamophobic rhetoric that has no place in our industry," said Hisham Al-Falih, CEO of Saudi fintech startup Lean Technologies. The letter demands Sequoia issue a public apology, commission an independent investigation into Maguire's conduct, publish a zero-tolerance hate speech policy, and establish a confidential reporting system for discrimination. The signatories have set a July 14 deadline, threatening broader public action if demands aren't met.
Both Sequoia Capital and Maguire declined to comment beyond his video response. Maguire responded defiantly on X, posting: "You can try everything you want to silence me, but it will just embolden me."
The controversy highlights Sequoia's complex political dynamics: The firm has historically accommodated diverse viewpoints, with current partners ranging from Republican Trump supporter Doug Leone to Democratic megadonor Mike Moritz. Lead partner Roelof Botha has attempted neutrality, saying Sequoia doesn't "take a political point of view."
The organized response from founders marks a notable shift in venture capital power dynamics, where entrepreneurs often avoid challenging their investors. For Sequoia, one of the industry's most prestigious firms, the controversy has raised questions about balancing partner autonomy with institutional reputation, along with the most basic questions of decency and free speech.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
Thank you for not including Notre Dame or the Bills in your list of cults today. We are disappointed, however, that Roca didn’t make the list. It is clear that we are failing as founders.
We’re looking forward to seeing your responses to today’s question. Will the winner be Texas? How about a sneaky Michigan win? Can we please get one Delaware answer?!
–Max and Max
