🌊 Keeping Up With the Kennedy’s…

The diamond is…how big?

20 years ago to the day, a Harvard astronomer discovered a diamond that is unfathomably large. Whereas the largest diamond on Earth is 4 inches long, the diamond this guy discovered is about as long as the United States. The only downside is a logistical one: It’s located at the center of a white dwarf star 48 light years away. This guy really saw the carat and not the stick!

…anyone?

In today's edition:

And so much more!

–Max, Max, Jen, and Alex

KEY STORY
Ukraine: Russia Using Starlink

Ukraine’s government claimed Russian soldiers are using Starlink, SpaceX’s internet system

• SpaceX has provided Ukraine with thousands of Starlink terminals, enabling it to coordinate operations in areas with no internet service. SpaceX has “geofenced” those terminals so they can not be used inside Russia or for offensive operations

• Since last week, though, Ukrainian authorities have claimed that the use of Starlink is “systemic” among Russia’s military. SpaceX denied the allegations, saying, “SpaceX does not do business of any kind with the Russian Government or its military”

Dig Deeper

• It is unclear whether Russian forces are using Starlink terminals in Russia or in Russia-occupied regions of Ukraine

• SpaceX also denied allegations that Russia was purchasing the system by way of Dubai, writing, “Starlink cannot be purchased in Dubai nor does SpaceX ship there”

• In response, a Russian official claimed Starlink “is not certified [in Russia]” and isn’t being used there

KEY STORY
Marathon Champion Tragedy

Marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum died in a car crash on Sunday

• Kiptum, 23 or 24, was from a high-elevation region of Kenya known for producing great runners. Over his first three marathons, Kiptum ran three of the seven fastest marathon times ever and set course records for each one. During his third, at last year’s Chicago Marathon, he finished in a record time of 2 hours and 34 seconds

• On Sunday night, Kiptum – who had aspirations to break two hours – was driving with his coach in Kenya when he lost control of the car and hit a tree. He and the coach both died at the scene

Dig Deeper

• Kiptum was set to compete for Kenya at the Olympics and was expected to compete for gold

• Kenya’s prime minister wrote a tribute on X, mourning the “profound loss of a true hero”; the president of World Athletics sent his “deepest condolences” to his family, including two children

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KEY STORY
Secretary Austin Hospitalized

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalized again on Sunday

• Last month, Austin, 70, was hospitalized for complications related to treatment for prostate cancer. Despite being placed in intensive care, Austin waited days to inform the White House of his hospitalization, sparking a scandal

• On Sunday, Austin was again hospitalized for what doctors described as an “emergent bladder issue.” He subsequently notified the White House and transferred his duties to a deputy

• A day later, the Pentagon said Austin was expected to “resume his normal duties” on Tuesday

Dig Deeper

• Doctors treating Austin said in a statement that it is “not clear how long Secretary Austin will remain hospitalized,” but the issue “is not expected to change his anticipated full recovery”

KEY STORY
RFK Jr. Apologizes for Ad

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) apologized for a Super Bowl ad that resembled campaign material supporting John F. Kennedy (JFK), his uncle

• The ad borrowed themes, slogans, and images from JFK’s 1960 campaign, including the lyrics, “Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy…Kennedy for me”

• A pro-RFK political fundraising group, American Values 2024, was behind the ad. Laws prevent such groups from working directly with candidates, thus RFK theoretically had nothing to do with the ad. Yet it sparked a backlash from Kennedy family members who said their late relatives would be “appalled” by RFK’s views 

Dig Deeper

• RFK’s cousin wrote on X, “My cousin’s Super Bowl ad used our uncle’s faces- and my Mother’s. She would be appalled by his deadly health care views,” a reference to RFK’s vaccine skepticism

• Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee called it “fitting” that the “first national ad promoting [RFK] was bought and paid for by Donald Trump’s largest donor,” alluding to the fact that a major Republican donor who gave $10M to Trump also donated $15M to American Values

• RFK apologized for any “family pain” the ad caused but added that it was “created and aired…without my involvement or approval”

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🇳🇱 A Dutch court ordered the government to halt shipments of jet parts to Israel, citing the “clear risk” they will be used to violate international humanitarian law

💳 Visa, Mastercard, and American Express plan to comply with a new California law requiring banks to assign a unique merchant code to guns stores by 2025, allowing banks to monitor suspicious gun purchases

🐘 With the support of 18 Republicans, the Senate approved a $95B spending package that would allocate funds to Ukraine, Israel, and border security. The bill now goes to the US House, where Republicans oppose it

🇺🇸 President Biden’s personal lawyer called a report questioning the president’s memory “shabby.” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the independent prosecutor – a Republican – made “gratuitous, unnecessary and inaccurate personal remarks” in it

🏛️ Former President Trump’s lawyers requested the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) block a lower court’s ruling denying his claim to presidential immunity

💰 Bitcoin surged above $50,000. Financial firms have started trading crypto ETFs, a type of tradable asset, for the first time, bringing money into cryptos and pushing Bitcoin’s price to near-record levels

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COMMUNITY
Weekly Debate

Most news companies repress ideas they don’t agree with. We are different. To prove it, we’re making this a place where people can have a free and open debate. Each week we lay out a debate on Monday — read this week’s Roca Votes here — and feature responses here, replies to those the following day, and so on.

This week’s topic:

Do you think there is anyone — past or present — who should inherently be “off limits” from a media interview? 

Austin from Utah: “There’s no manual to life. We’re all writing it bit by bit as we live. Each piece of info we gather from the other person helps us gain knowledge and develop. Why wouldn’t anyone want to gather as much knowledge as possible from anyone and everyone?”

Joe from Athens, Georgia: “Yes.  Private citizens and private businesses do not have to answer to the public.  We have to get out of this "democracy" mentality (which is a posse).  There is the rule of law - the public opinion is not usually the law.  We are a Republic with democratic processes and a rule of law.  Innocent until proven guilty.”

B from Boston: “I think children, especially those who have witnessed horrendous crimes like murder, rape, abuse, etc., should not be interviewed. Someone’s news story isn’t worth forcing a child to re-live a traumatic event. I also hate child celebrity interviews, because they often get so misconstrued and rewritten in the authors words and not the child’s.”

Do you agree or disagree with the responses above? Have more thoughts? Let us know and respond by replying to this email!

Answers to Friday’s poll and question are below the Wrap.  

COMMUNITY
Treasure Hunt

Today marks the return of the weekly Roca treasure hunt, brought back by popular demand. The rules are simple:

• Every day we give a hint. You get one guess, which you submit by replying to a newsletter with a Google street view screenshot

• Unlock an extra hint each Thursday once you refer 5 friends

• The first person to guess the answer wins this week’s prize: A free year of Roca premium!

Clue 1: Bill opened his window for the first time

Clue 2: But it wasn't his window that got the diagnosis

Know the answer? Send a street view screenshot to [email protected]!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🏈 I left my (rulebook) in San Francisco: Some San Francisco 49ers players reported not knowing about the new postseason overtime rules that guaranteed both teams a possession

🪄 You’re a prisoner, Harry! UK police investigated a hotel after reports of a man with a large knife, only to find a Harry Potter fan wielding a wand. Police joked that there was “no sign of Voldemort”

🎾 Surgeons in a pickle: Pickleball-related bone fractures have risen 200% over the past 20 years, according to researchers at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ annual meeting

🌮 Señor Jobs, that you? At its “Live Más LIVE” event in Las Vegas, Taco Bell announced updates to its 2024 menu. Upcoming items include a triple-decker taco, a horchata latte, and a Baja Blast pie

🐕 Lost and found: A dog named Patches that went missing in 2020 reappeared four years later near the Mexican border, almost 600 miles away from its Colorado home

🚨 California shakin’: More than a dozen earthquakes struck southern California on Monday, with 13 occurring within 25 minutes. The series of quakes lasted until 1:01 AM

ON-THE-GROUND
Roca in Liberland

We send our co-founder Max Frost to investigate topics around the world and he writes about them here. He’s currently writing from Liberland. Subscribers receive the full stories.

“Who wants this self-governed entity?”

Dorian, my Liberland guide whom I got to know the best, rhetorically posed that question to me. He then answered it.

Dorian said there are four camps: “One wants research without bureaucracy. Second is crypto people. Third is general libertarians. And fourth, adventurous people.” Dorian belongs to all four camps, but especially the first.

Dorian first became involved with Liberland during the pandemic, when he tried to import some PPE into Croatia and got caught up in a web of bureaucracy. He already lacked faith in the government and what he experienced then strengthened his libertarian views.

But Dorian claims he is really in it for science: On his wrist is a bracelet with a phone number. If he dies, someone is supposed to dial the number, which will prompt a company in Switzerland to send a helicopter to pick him up and save his organs. He is a cryonicist – someone who has signed up to have their organs frozen upon death and revitalized at a later date.

Cryogenics is a nascent technology. It not only requires the ability to freeze someone’s organs, but to cure whatever killed that person, heal the organs, and then awaken them.

“This is the second reason I joined Liberland,” he said. “I am the only registered cryonicist in Croatia. I want to choose when I want to die and I don’t want biology to choose when I do. And the number two obstacle to that, after physics, is regulation.”

Dorian told me that his “ideal scenario” is that he dies on an operating table – “because it's really important to start the process very quickly.”

Theoretically, as soon as Dorian dies, a “vitrification” process will begin, in which a combination of freezing temperatures and chemicals can essentially freeze his organs without damaging his cells. This can already be done on many organs, Dorian said, although the technology to do so to the brain is iffy. Once frozen, the “human popsicles are stored in Switzerland.”

From there, Dorian will await reanimation. That requires the technology to both safely reanimate his organs, as well as to cure whatever destroyed his body.

As an example, if he dies of cancer and they preserve him, they will need to both cure him of his cancer and revitalize his organs before they can bring him back to life.

“It's not a 100% chance,” Dorian said. “Maybe it's 70%, maybe it's 50%, maybe it's 30%, but it's not zero.”

He continued: “Nobody that's into cryonics wants to be cryopreserved, but we have a saying: It's the second worst thing that can happen to you. The worst being that you die”

Dorian said the main expense here is around $200,000 for “indefinite cryo-storage,” and he acknowledged that he is essentially paying that money and hoping that the company he gives it to is actually going to use it to save him.

He has that faith, though, which means the main obstacle to his life after death is technology, something he says modern countries’ regulations are inhibiting.

Therefore, Liberland is not just a libertarian project to Dorian.

“The question of states like Liberland might literally be a question of life and death for me,” he said.

ROCA WRAP
Person of the Week

Everyday we take a deep dive into an interesting story, place, or person. Subscribers get full access.

Is the “world’s coolest dictator” also its most popular leader?

Nayib Bukele was born in 1981 in San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital. His father – of Palestinian descent – wore many hats: He opened the country’s first McDonald’s franchise, ran a textile company, helped build four mosques, and owned a public-relations firm. He was also a polygamist with six wives, giving Bukele three brothers and seven half-siblings.

A year after Bukele’s birth, civil war erupted between the Salvadoran government and the FMLN, a coalition of left-wing guerrilla groups.

Much of the fighting occurred outside the capital, and Bukele enjoyed a privileged upbringing, becoming the president of his senior class and dropping out of college at 18 to manage a nightclub and help run the family PR business.

The 1992 peace treaty that ended the civil war integrated the FMLN into the Salvadoran political system. Bukele’s father had been a supporter of them, and they became clients of the family’s PR business. Bukele thus found himself at the heart of the FMLN's rise to power, learning which messages resonated – and which didn’t – with the Salvadoran people.

In 2012, Bukele used those learnings to make his first foray into politics, running for mayor under the FMLN in a city near the capital.

While his politics were leftist – progressive taxes, increased public spending – he distanced himself from the FMLN’s revolution rhetoric and changed the party’s trademark colors.

“I did not live the war,” he said during his campaign. “I’m of the postwar generation, a generation that has new ideas.” He told an advisor at the time: “I have friends who are conservative, and they’d never vote for the FMLN.”

Bukele barely won – his victory margin was under 2% – yet his popularity quickly grew as he spent widely. While critics accused him of being inexperienced, impulsive, and financially irresponsible, he used social media to cast himself as an innovator and the voice of the post-war generation.

A rising star, the FMLN encouraged Bukele to run for mayor of San Salvador, a job widely seen as a stepping stone to the presidency. Yet Bukele had outgrown the party, and after years of tension, it expelled him. Bukele responded by forming his own “Nuevas Ideas” (“New Ideas”) party.

In 2019, Bukele was elected president with 53% of the vote.

Living up to his “new ideas” name, Bukele – then 37 – wore backwards hats and leather jackets while claiming to take steps to modernize the country. Chief among those was his decision in 2021 to make El Salvador the first country to adopt Bitcoin as its official currency. But it was in taking on Ecuador’s gangs where Bukele would truly make a name for himself.

When Bukele became president, El Salvador was divided between gangs whose attacks on each other and civilians gave the country one of the world’s highest murder rates.

El Salvador’s congress granted Bukele extraordinary powers to fight the gangs, allowing police to detain anyone whom they suspected of gang ties without proper trial. Under Bukele, 74,000+ people — 8% of the young male population — have been arrested. To accommodate them, Bukele inaugurated a new “megaprison” last year – North America’s largest – with room for 40,000 prisoners and from which he says escape is “impossible.”

The crackdown has led to widespread criticism from human rights groups and many governments, which accuse him of violating the Salvadoran people’s civil rights and using his powers to attack his critics.

Bukele has also filled the country’s constitutional court with loyalists, allowing him to govern as he wishes and circumvent a ban on presidents holding office longer than one term.

Yet Bukele’s strategy has worked: El Salvador’s murder rate has fallen from 51 per 100,000 people to three, earning him some of the highest approval ratings of any world leader. At the same time, his investment in Bitcoin –once widely mocked when bitcoin’s price crashed – has paid off, with the crypto’s price now well above the price he bought it at.

Some polls have found that he may actually be the world’s most popular leader – in addition to its “coolest dictator,” the title he half-jokingly gave himself in 2021.

Last Sunday, Bukele won the country’s presidential election with nearly 90% of the vote.

Yet now that crime is down, Bukele must keep it there, answer questions about the country’s democracy, and improve the country’s economy, which remains one of the poorest in the Americas.

For how long can Bukele keep his new ideas coming?

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

ROCA WRAP
Person of the Week

Everyday we take a deep dive into an interesting story, place, or person. Subscribers get full access.

Is the “world’s coolest dictator” also its most popular leader?

Nayib Bukele was born in 1981 in San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital. His father – of Palestinian descent – wore many hats: He opened the country’s first McDonald’s franchise, ran a textile company, helped build four mosques, and owned a public-relations firm. He was also a polygamist with six wives, giving Bukele three brothers and seven half-siblings.

A year after Bukele’s birth, civil war erupted between the Salvadoran government and the FMLN, a coalition of left-wing guerrilla groups.

Much of the fighting occurred outside the capital, and Bukele enjoyed a privileged upbringing, becoming the president of his senior class and dropping out of college at 18 to manage a nightclub and help run the family PR business.

The 1992 peace treaty that ended the civil war integrated the FMLN into the Salvadoran political system. Bukele’s father had been a supporter of them, and they became clients of the family’s PR business. Bukele thus found himself at the heart of the FMLN's rise to power, learning which messages resonated – and which didn’t – with the Salvadoran people.

In 2012, Bukele used those learnings to make his first foray into politics, running for mayor under the FMLN in a city near the capital.

While his politics were leftist – progressive taxes, increased public spending – he distanced himself from the FMLN’s revolution rhetoric and changed the party’s trademark colors.

“I did not live the war,” he said during his campaign. “I’m of the postwar generation, a generation that has new ideas.” He told an advisor at the time: “I have friends who are conservative, and they’d never vote for the FMLN.”

Bukele barely won – his victory margin was under 2% – yet his popularity quickly grew as he spent widely. While critics accused him of being inexperienced, impulsive, and financially irresponsible, he used social media to cast himself as an innovator and the voice of the post-war generation.

A rising star, the FMLN encouraged Bukele to run for mayor of San Salvador, a job widely seen as a stepping stone to the presidency. Yet Bukele had outgrown the party, and after years of tension, it expelled him. Bukele responded by forming his own “Nuevas Ideas” (“New Ideas”) party.

In 2019, Bukele was elected president with 53% of the vote.

Living up to his “new ideas” name, Bukele – then 37 – wore backwards hats and leather jackets while claiming to take steps to modernize the country. Chief among those was his decision in 2021 to make El Salvador the first country to adopt Bitcoin as its official currency. But it was in taking on Ecuador’s gangs where Bukele would truly make a name for himself.

When Bukele became president, El Salvador was divided between gangs whose attacks on each other and civilians gave the country one of the world’s highest murder rates.

El Salvador’s congress granted Bukele extraordinary powers to fight the gangs, allowing police to detain anyone whom they suspected of gang ties without proper trial. Under Bukele, 74,000+ people — 8% of the young male population — have been arrested. To accommodate them, Bukele inaugurated a new “megaprison” last year – North America’s largest – with room for 40,000 prisoners and from which he says escape is “impossible.”

The crackdown has led to widespread criticism from human rights groups and many governments, which accuse him of violating the Salvadoran people’s civil rights and using his powers to attack his critics.

Bukele has also filled the country’s constitutional court with loyalists, allowing him to govern as he wishes and circumvent a ban on presidents holding office longer than one term.

Yet Bukele’s strategy has worked: El Salvador’s murder rate has fallen from 51 per 100,000 people to three, earning him some of the highest approval ratings of any world leader. At the same time, his investment in Bitcoin –once widely mocked when bitcoin’s price crashed – has paid off, with the crypto’s price now well above the price he bought it at.

Some polls have found that he may actually be the world’s most popular leader – in addition to its “coolest dictator,” the title he half-jokingly gave himself in 2021.

Last Sunday, Bukele won the country’s presidential election with nearly 90% of the vote.

Yet now that crime is down, Bukele must keep it there, answer questions about the country’s democracy, and improve the country’s economy, which remains one of the poorest in the Americas.

For how long can Bukele keep his new ideas coming?

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

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• And so much more!

COMMUNITY
Roca Reader Takes

On Monday we asked: Do you think there is anyone — past or present — who should inherently be “off limits” from a media interview? 

Amelia from Spain: “We recently faced this issue in our country, as a recent Netflix documentary was based around an interview with local ex-terrorist leader Josu Ternera (from ETA). I'm not against journalists gathering information and preserving all sides of a story, but I do worry about platforming and excusing terrorist behavior. It's not even that I don't believe in forgiveness or legal pardons, but there is real risk involved when spreading messages. We must avoid glamorizing evil.”

Jane from Slab City, Califonia: “To me, it’s a given, if there is a probability, even a possibility, of the “Columbine Effect”, no interview.”

Emma from London: “It's difficult because I think there is a real risk of elevating people to hero status by airing their views in a way that legitimates it. So I think part of the ethics of it comes down to the person conducting the interview - is their aim to get the truth out there and show the world this person's genuine views, including ones that most people might find repulsive and that might only come to light through good questioning? Or is their aim just to cause a stir, instead of doing real investigative type journalism?”

Jake from Tacoma, Washington: “I believe that one group that should never be interviewed is those that have been deemed by the medical system to be mentally unable to take care of them selves or to be mentally unaware of what they are saying. As an example, it would be immoral to interview a famous person who now has dementia, as they are unable to formulate consistent thoughts and messaging according to their own values. To not interview is in service of their own health, in that media could easily twist and use works of the mentally unwell to paint a negative image of them. This could destroy years of public opinion of said person, despite all the good they may have done in their life.”

We also polled Roca to see if people have watched the interview that inspired this week’s topic. Here are the responses:

Yes, watched it: 30%
No, didn’t watch: 50%
Probably won’t: 13%
Probably will: 7%

Roca readers shared explanations for each perspective:

Yes: “There's no reason not to. I find it fascinating, and think everyone should watch it and make their own observations.”

No: “I do not respect either man. Would not to give either air time.”

Probably won’t: “I rather eat a live pig”

Probably will: “probably one of the more important interview of our time. Not in anyway controlled by our govt.”

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

We’re thrilled to have the Treasure Hunt back in this newsletter. Yesterday’s single hint was enough to attract dozens of responses. Keep them coming today!

Remember, you get ONE guess. To win, email us a Google screenshot of the correct answer.

See you tomorrow!

—Max and Max