Did you know August 24 is the “sickest” day of the year? A 5-year analysis of 300 companies with 10,000+ employees reveals that more people call in sick on August 24 than any other day of the year. It beat February 13, Super Bowl Monday, and July 5. We blame the highly contagious variant of Fantasy Draftitis. Symptoms include running back fever and breaking out into Colts sweats.

In today's edition:

• Spain’s kissing controversy

• Record cocaine banana seizure

• British Museum robbed blind

 🔑 Key Stories

Newsom Stepping on Toes

California Governor Gavin Newsom hopes to debate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, prompting anger among some on President Biden’s team

• Newsom – governor since 2019 – is widely seen as a future Democratic presidential candidate. He has publicly clashed with DeSantis, and the two have reportedly agreed to debate each other on Fox News in November

• Newsom campaigns for Biden and says he isn’t running in 2024. But sources in Biden’s camp told NBC the debate may boost Newsom’s credibility and hurt Biden’s. Vice President Harris’ staff is also reportedly angry, claiming it undercuts her expected 2028 campaign

Dig Deeper

• The governors have sought to paint their states in opposition to each other. In which would you rather live and why? Let us know in today’s poll!

Lahaina Aftermath

The FBI said that of 388 Lahaina residents it listed as missing on Thursday, 100+ were identified as alive

• On August 8, a wildfire burned down much of Lahaina, a seaside town of 12,000 on Maui. 1,000+ people were still missing last week with many feared dead

• On Thursday, Maui officials announced that 1,732 people initially reported as missing had since been found safe. They also released an FBI-curated list of 388 people who at that point were still missing

• On Friday, an FBI official said that 100+ people on it were confirmed alive within hours of its release. 115 people have been confirmed dead so far

Dig Deeper

• Also on Thursday, Maui’s government sued Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO), a company that provides 95% of Hawaii’s electricity, including Lahaina’s. The lawsuit claims HECO “inexcusably kept their power lines energized” despite a National Weather Service alert that day warning that high winds could knock down poles and cause fires

• HECO’s vice president said that while it did not have a “shut-off” procedure in place, it couldn’t have easily shut down the power because “electricity powers the pumps that provide the water needed for firefighting”

Fed: More Pain Ahead?

The Federal Reserve’s chairman suggested it may have to raise interest rates or keep them at high levels longer than expected

• The Fed is tasked at keeping inflation near 2%. It does so by raising interest rates, making borrowing more expensive and slowing growth and inflation

• The Fed has raised interest rates 11 times since March 2022. Despite that, July inflation was 3.2% and the economy is growing faster than expected

• On Friday, the Fed’s chairman said it may have to keep interest rates high for longer than expected, potentially increasing the risk of a recession

Dig Deeper

• “We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate, and intend to hold [rates] at a [high] level until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said

• Inflation “remains too high,” he said, adding, “It is the Fed’s job to bring inflation down to our 2% goal and we will do so”

Spain's Kissing Controversy

FIFA suspended the head of Spain’s soccer federation after he kissed a female player

• After Spain won the Women’s World Cup last weekend, the head of the Spanish soccer federation, Luis Rubiales, kissed a female player on the lips. She said, “I didn’t like it …But what could I do?”

• A backlash has followed, but Rubiales says the kiss was consensual and has refused to resign. The player denied that, and on Saturday, FIFA – soccer’s world governing body – suspended him

• Spain’s federation has defended Rubiales and his mother has locked herself in a church and declared a hunger strike in his defense

Dig Deeper

• “Kissgate” comes after a year-long controversy among Spain’s women’s national team, many of whose players have complained about their treatment relative to the men’s team

• On Sunday, the Spanish soccer federation announced that it had begun an internal sexual violence investigation that will operate independently of Rubiales

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• RIP, Bob Barker: Longtime “The Price is Right” host Bob Barker died on Saturday at 99. He won 19 Daytime Emmy Awards, including a record 14 for Outstanding Game Show Host

• El Primero in Williamsport: California’s El Segundo won the Little League World Series with a walk-off home run. The LA-based team beat the squad representing Curacao

• Russian whodunnit: A Sunday Times poll found that 8% of Russians hold Vladimir Putin accountable for mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death. 28.4% said the crash was staged; 28.3% blamed technical difficulties or pilot error

Wildcard

• Flippin’ good news: NASCAR driver Ryan Preece was released from the hospital after a violent race accident on Saturday night. A collision with another car caused his to flip 10 times

• Hive run! A swarm of bees briefly delayed Sunday’s MLB game between the Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies. They appeared to attack the left fielder before calming down

• Cocaine bananas: Spanish authorities seized a record 9.5 tons of cocaine in a refrigerated banana container from Ecuador destined for 30 European drug rings

👇 What do you think?

Today's Question:

With regards to the question above: Why?

Reply to this email with your answers!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🌯 Roca Wrap

The British Museum received a warning in 2021.

The museum – the world’s fourth most visited – contains millions of priceless artifacts, including the Rosetta Stone. In 2021, a Danish gem trader had reached out to say that three of the museum’s gems were available on eBay. He suggested someone inside the museum was a thief and warned the gems were likely “the tip of a much larger iceberg.”

After the investigation, the museum reassured him that the “objects concerned are all accounted for and with no suggestion of any wrongdoing on behalf of any member of museum staff.” The trader said the museum treated him like the “village idiot.”

It has become known this month, though, that the museum launched a “full audit” in 2022 that “revealed a bigger problem” and resulted in the firing of a staff member last month for theft. More details have emerged in the last two weeks, with the museum confirming that over 1,500 “priceless” artifacts dating back to 1500 BC have been stolen since 2016. It’s one of the most embarrassing heists in the museum’s history.

The museum says Peter Higgs, a 56-year-old father of two, is responsible. Higgs had grown up visiting the museum, which inspired him to get a PhD and become an expert in ancient artifacts. He joined the museum staff in 1993, eventually becoming a curator who organized the museum’s Mediterranean culture exhibits. He was working on an exhibition of Greek artifacts when he was fired.

Higgs and his family say he is innocent.

His 21-year-old son said Higgs “loved his job for so long, he was amazing at it…And then one day everything changed.”

“He’s lost all faith in the museum,” he said. “His name has been completely dragged through the mud and demonized.” He added, “[Higgs] hasn’t been doing great since it happened. It’s been really sad to watch him be so upset all the time about it. I had never seen him cry before this. He’s devastated.”

Higgs’ son, a lifeguard, said the family was never wealthy: “I saw [Higgs] struggling with money his whole life.”

But the British Museum says he stole millions of dollars worth of artifacts and sold them on marketplaces like eBay, where at least one ancient Roman artifact valued at $63,000+ was offered for $50.

The seller of that particular piece used the name “sultan1966,” which was also Higgs’ Twitter handle. When contacted, the seller denied being Higgs.

In 2002, Higgs had also complained to an undercover journalist that the museum’s vaults were a mess: “It’s chaos down here,” he said.

But many are blaming the museum for failing to spot what was happening even after it was tipped off.

Some curators have said the museum failed to document its full collection which likely made record-keeping and investigations more difficult. On Friday, the museum’s director resigned, saying it was “evident” that he had failed to “comprehensively” react to the theft warnings in 2021.

A resignation and an apology may not suffice to repair the museum’s devastated image. Art analysts have said that while a single stolen jewel suggests a theft, thousands suggest incompetence. The British Museum was one of the world’s most prestigious museums because, in part, it was trusted to protect artifacts. Now, artifacts may be sent elsewhere.

The British Museum contains over 8M artifacts, just 1% of which are typically on display. The museum’s vaults contain vast collections that are far less noticeable or impressive than those most people who visit the museum see. Some have suggested the museum may not have even known that it had all the stolen artifacts.

Regardless, the artifacts are missing, and the reputations of the British Museum, its director, and Peter Higgs are now in tatters.

If you have thoughts, let us know at [email protected]!

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Better US coast

West: 43.5%
East: 56.5%

Yesterday's Question:

Just 20 Qs!

🧠 Final Thoughts

We hope you all had great weekends. While DeSantis and Newsom may be debating the future of two of the US’ most populous states, the Maxes have been having an arguably more consequential debate: What’s a better movie, Inception or the Dark Knight?

Hope you have nice Mondays. See you tomorrow.

—Max and Max