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- 🌊 Hasta La Visa, Baby
🌊 Hasta La Visa, Baby
Plus: Bitcoin "wrench attacks," NBA YoungBoy pardoned, & beatboxing Brazilian nuns
The Fox News chair guy did Kash dirty…
FBI Director Kash Patel sat down — well, sorta — with Bret Baier for an exclusive interview last night, and it was a disaster for the “Kash Patel is taller than 5’9” crowd. Did Bret give him a lollipop after this interview? What a great photo.
And in a stunning coincidence, Bret Baier followed RocaNews on Instagram this morning. Hope he also subscribed to the newsletter and can give chair guy a raise.
🇺🇸 New student visas on hold
💸 Spree of Bitcoin "wrench attacks"
🎧 Beatboxing nuns in Brazil
–Max and Max
KEY STORY
Trump Freezes Student Visas
The Trump Administration ordered a halt to new student and exchange visitor visa interviews
Earlier this year, the government made several high-profile arrests of foreign students at some of the country’s top universities; last week, Trump tried to halt the enrollment of international students at Harvard
This week, he suspended the scheduling of student visa interview appointments while the US procures “every available resource to vet people applying,” and on Wednesday, Secretary of State Rubio said the US would “aggressively revoke” the visas of Chinese students
Critics are accusing Trump of punishing political dissent; the administration says it has a right to decide who can enter and study in the US
Dig Deeper
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an order stating, “Effective immediately, in preparation for an expansion of required social media screening and vetting, consulate sections should not add any additional student or exchange visitor visa appointment capacity”
The order put future interviews on pause, although students with scheduled interviews – which are necessary to receive visas to stay and study in the US – will reportedly get to keep their existing appointments
The proposed social media screening aims to identify applicants with potential ties to what the Trump Administration has described as extremist activities or anti-American sentiments
KEY STORY
Forks in Trump’s Road
President Trump faces forks in the road with relations toward both Iran and Russia
Regarding Iran, Republicans and Trump officials are demanding that Iran abandon all efforts to enrich uranium, or prepare it for nuclear power or bombs
Regarding Russia, Republicans and Democrats alike are calling on Trump to sanction Russia for its refusal to engage in peace talks
In both cases, Trump must decide whether to take the harder line that many in the Senate are calling for, or compromise
Dig Deeper
The US has demanded a complete halt to Iran’s enrichment program, with various Trump officials calling that a “red line.” Iran, meanwhile, has publicly refused to give up enrichment, which is both a sign of sovereignty and scientific and a tool to produce material for nuclear plants and bombs
Meanwhile, Trump must decide whether to tighten sanctions on Russia, as Democrats and many in his own party are demanding
After a spate of Russian attacks on Ukraine this weekend, Trump told Putin he is "playing with fire," an apparent threat of sanctions, however it’s unclear whether he will enact them
QUOTE OF THE DAY
The older you get, the more yourself you can be and the less worried you are about what other people think
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KEY STORY
Wrench Attacks On the Rise
There have been a spate of violent “wrench attacks” targeting cryptocurrency holders and their families
In one recent high-profile case, an Italian tourist was allegedly kidnapped and tortured for weeks in a Manhattan townhouse by two crypto investors seeking to access his bitcoin holdings. The man allegedly endured beatings and threats before escaping on Friday
In France, masked assailants recently attempted to abduct the daughter of a cryptocurrency CEO
These attacks have been dubbed “wrench attacks,” because they rely on brute-force physical coercion – such as threatening someone with a wrench – instead of digital hacking techniques to steal someone’s assets
Dig Deeper
The apparent uptick in these attacks has coincided with the rising value of cryptocurrencies, making holders lucrative targets. Bitcoin currently costs around $107,000, near record highs
Unlike other assets, the decentralized and anonymous nature of crypto transactions has complicated law enforcement investigations and made it difficult to trace stolen funds
KEY STORY
Failed SpaceX Launch
SpaceX’s ninth test launch of Starship ended unsuccessfully after the vehicle lost control and disintegrated
Starship is the centerpiece of Musk’s vision for making space travel more routine and is essential to NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to land astronauts on the moon for the first time since 1972. The rocket is designed to carry heavy payloads and be fully reusable, which would drastically reduce the cost of space travel
This week, a test flight failed for the third time in a row, after earlier ones in January and March failed
Dig Deeper
During the flight, a leak in the fuel system caused the spacecraft to lose control. SpaceX lost communication, and the rocket eventually fell into the Indian Ocean. No one was hurt, according to the Federal Aviation Administration
SpaceX said the spacecraft suffered an “unexpected disassembly,” but added, “Teams will continue to review data and work toward our next flight test”
Elon Musk posted, “Starship made it to the scheduled ship engine cutoff, so big improvement over last flight! Also, no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent”
The flight also reused a booster from a previous mission, another accomplishment
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
🛡️ President Trump offered to protect Canada under the “Golden Dome” missile defense system if they buy in or become the 51st state
🇺🇸 In an interview with CBS News, Elon Musk broke from the president to criticize Trump's “One Big Beautiful Bill”
🛦 Israeli warplanes struck Yemen's main international airport in retaliation for missile attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis
👮♂️ Grant Hardin, a former police chief and convicted killer, escaped from Arkansas' Calico Rock prison by impersonating a corrections officer
📺 President Trump announced that he will pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, as well as the rapper NBA Youngboy, who had been sentenced on gun charges
What does Roca Nation think?
🧠 Yesterday’s Question: What movie makes you cry every time you watch it?
About Time. Gosh, that first watch you think you’re just watching a standard chick flick but then BAM you get clobbered by a poignant movie scene on the inescapable progression of life and relationships. Gets me (and my husband!) every time.
Avengers: Endgame! If you’re a Marvel fan you get it. I saw the movie in theater on opening night and was consistently crying for the entire last hour. So many beautiful and heartbreaking moments and a huge shift in the Marvel universe. It gets me every time!
Fellowship of the Ring. Boromir redeeming himself after trying to take the ring from Frodo, running to save Merry and Pippin when you've kinda forgotten about him at that point in the battle - and then continuing to fight after he's pierced with three arrows! nothing beats that.
🧐 Today’s Question: Who is the best standup comedian from the last 20 years? Any honorable mentions?
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
👶 Toddler Leaders: A new Russian propaganda cartoon featured baby-faced versions of President Trump and Elon Musk in a geopolitics-themed kids’ show
🛬 Pigeon Takes Flight: A pigeon caused chaos aboard a Delta flight in Minneapolis, flying around the cabin and delaying takeoff by an hour
💃 Beatboxing Nuns: Two Brazilian nuns went viral after beatboxing and dancing live on a Catholic TV show
🩻 Mystery Space Object: Astronomers discovered a bizarre new object in our galaxy that emits X-rays and radio waves in a 44-minute cycle
🦆 Florida Duck Terrorizes Residents: A duck terrorized residents in Cape Coral, Florida, biting and chasing residents
ROCA WRAP
Under Pressure
Hungary
European countries are calling for the EU to crack down on this country over its Pride ban.
Hungary, a landlocked Central European nation of nearly 10M people, has been governed by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party since 2010. Under Orbán's leadership, the country has increasingly clashed with European Union values on issues ranging from press freedom to LGBTQ+ rights.
The EU has already withheld €18B in funds from Hungary over rule-of-law violations, but pressure is mounting for stronger action. 16 EU countries have backed a joint statement calling on the EU to "expeditiously make full use of the rule of law toolbox" to make Budapest relent on its ban of upcoming Pride celebrations.
The statement, coordinated by the Dutch foreign ministry and signed by France and Germany among others, expresses alarm at Hungarian laws threatening fines against LGBTQ+ event organizers and participants. These measures, ostensibly enacted for child protection, "run contrary to the fundamental values to human dignity, freedom, equality and respect for human rights," according to the statement.
EU officials have expressed a growing willingness to use the "nuclear option," which would strip Hungary of its EU voting rights. Per Politico, at least 19 countries currently support moving forward with these proceedings, three short of the number necessary to take the first step and seven short of the 26 countries who will have to make the final “nuclear” vote.
The current situation comes with many in the EU already angry about Hungary’s opposition to aiding Ukraine. For a country that joined the EU in 2004 seeking prosperity and security, Hungary now finds itself increasingly isolated by a growing European pressure campaign.
ROCA VIDEO
Inside America’s Most Extreme Wealth Gap
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
One thing we learned from our last two Connecticut videos is that having a Roca reader serve as a guide for their area makes an enormous difference. Norwalk native and longtime Roca reader John O’Neill was incredibly helpful in each of the last two videos. The rich one has over 325k views! Thank you again to John.
Hope you all have a great day. Almost there!
–Max and Max