🌊 Leo Season for Catholic Church

Message to mom.

Mom, if you’re reading this, I hope you enjoyed the card I sent you yesterday. Writing those 14 haikus was surprisingly easy; it all came from the heart. My one request is that you ignore the “You Are Out of Free ChatGPT Credits” note at the bottom. No clue how that got there — and please don’t Google that.

In all seriousness, we hope all the moms in the Roca community — and those outside it, despite their worse taste in news outlets — had a wonderful day ❤️.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Pope Leo vs. Atheism

Pope Leo XIV delivered his first mass as pope

• In it, he declared that much of the world is living “in a state of de facto atheism,” adding, “There are many settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman”

• He continued: “There are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure”

• Catholics closely watched the mass for clues on the direction that Leo may take the Church

Dig Deeper 

• Leo becomes the pope at a time when the church is divided between more modernizing and conservative branches, which are split on issues ranging from Latin masses and the emphasis of social justice to the Church’s overall appearance and direction

• Pope Francis was firmly in the modernizing camp, having called for an open church that was more focused on social justice, held inter-faith dialogues, lived outside of the typical papal residence, and avoided using the “popemobile”

• It remains to be seen where Leo will fit in this divide, although he did give his first address as pope wearing traditional garb, including a velvet cape, that Francis declined to wear

KEY STORY

Landmark Trade Deal?

Details about the US-UK trade deal became clear, revealing a plan that targets China

• Last Thursday, the US announced its first post-tariff trade deal, an agreement with the UK to increase access for US exports in exchange for the US dropping tariffs on some UK goods

• The deal also makes tariff relief contingent on the UK ensuring that supply chains and ownership of certain assets meet “US requirements,” an apparent effort by the US to restrict Chinese exports and ownership of critical goods, services, and assets

• The deal suggests the US will use tariffs to limit Chinese economic relations with other countries, something it has sought to do since the first Trump Administration

Dig Deeper 

• The US has long expressed concern to third countries about China’s role in their economies, from everything to port ownership and 5G network construction, and the US has pressured countries, including the UK, to reject Chinese offers

• Critics of the UK’s current Labour government described the deal as giving the US a veto over Chinese investment and exports

• Another British official told the FT that the US was concerned that China could use the UK, because it will be subject to lower tariffs, to circumvent tariffs or restrictions on other countries

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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KEY STORY

Gaza Aid Standoff

The Trump Administration is in a standoff with the UN over Gaza aid deliveries

• Israel has stopped allowing aid into Gaza, alleging that it is being taken and administered by Hamas

• The US and Israel recently proposed a new aid system in which a US-backed NGO would deliver aid under the protection of US private military contractors (mercenaries). The UN has blasted the plan as violating the principle of neutrality in aid delivery

• On Friday, it emerged that the US has threatened to withhold funding from the UN’s World Food Program, 40% of whose budget it provides, unless the UN agrees to the plan

• This weekend, it emerged that the US was negotiating directly with Hamas and that the militant group would release the last living Israeli-American hostage

Dig Deeper

• The UN has said that the US-Israel aid proposal would violate the “core fundamental humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, and independent delivery of aid”

• US officials, meanwhile, have maintained that American contractors and Israeli soldiers would only be involved with securing aid deliveries but the actual delivery of it

KEY STORY

India-Pakistan Ceasefire

Pakistan and India reached a ceasefire deal, ending what appeared to be an escalating conflict

• President Trump claimed that the US facilitated the deal and would “substantially” increase trade with the countries because of their willingness to negotiate. Pakistan acknowledged the US’ role while India did not

• Early Saturday, the sides had launched missiles at each other’s military installments, fueling fears that the conflict was at risk of spiraling. By the afternoon, though, the sides had reached a truce

• The ceasefire has mostly held since, and both Pakistan and India claimed victory

Dig Deeper

• See our next bonus story

BONUS STORY

The New Northrop?

The India-Pakistan conflict was closely watched as a battle between Western and Chinese arms

• China provides around 80% of Pakistan’s arms, while India is increasingly reliant on Western ones. The conflict therefore marked the first time that cutting-edge Chinese and Western equipment faced off

• Last week, a China-made jet saw combat for the first time and shot down a cutting-edge French one, causing the Chinese company’s stock to jump 40%

• Diplomats, analysts, and traders all examining data from the conflict to reach new conclusions about various companies, countries, and their strengths

Dig Deeper

• Within hours of Pakistan claiming to have shot down the jets, Chinese diplomats were reportedly at Pakistan’s foreign ministry, analyzing the data from the battle to draw conclusions about their own military

• The Chinese jet, a J-10 Vigorous Dragon, was first made 30 years ago but didn't see combat until last week. It's the first fighter jet made by China’s Chengdu Aircraft Company to see combat

• That company’s stock led an industry-wide jump in Chinese defense stocks

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

📈 The first round of negotiations between the US and China produced a deal under which the countries will dramatically reduce tariffs while they continue talks. The news sent markets climbing; we’ll have the full story tomorrow

👩‍⚖️ President Trump appointed Judge Jeanine Pirro, a Fox News host, to serve as interim US Attorney in DC

⬆️ President Trump reiterated his support for potentially increasing taxes on the highest-earners, posting on Truth Social that he would “graciously accept” higher taxes “in order to help the lower and middle income workers”

🇺🇦 President Zelensky said that he was ready to meet President Putin, a departure from his longstanding vow to only meet with Putin once a ceasefire was in effect

What does Roca Nation think?

🧠 Today’s Question: What’s been the best thing that Trump has done so far? We want to hear from both those who like and dislike him.

Reply to this email with your thoughts!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🔥 Blaze Backfires: Police in Turkey burned over 20 tons of seized cannabis worth $261M, unintentionally exposing thousands of residents to the smoke and causing widespread illness

🇻🇦 Vatican to Viral: In a viral segment, a CBS anchor used the slang term “rawdogging” during a segment about the papal conclave, referencing cardinals being without their phones

📵 No Phones, No Peace: Students in Quebec are planning walkouts to protest plans to ban cellphone use in elementary and high schools during the entire school day starting this fall

✈️ Runway Reboot: A British Airways flight from London to Canada aborted take-off after the pilot got his left and right-hands mixed up, mistakenly moving the wrong lever and causing a fire in the engine

💰 Holy Gamble: Bettors wagered over $40M during the papal conclave, with one winning over $52,000 on long-shot candidate Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago

ROCA WRAP
Presidential Connection

Kenya

A son of this country’s former president was implicated in the murder of a British tourist.

Kenya, an East African nation that gained independence from Britain in 1963, was ruled by President Daniel arap Moi from 1978 to 2002. The country has long been an important UK ally in Africa, hosting a British military training grounds and receiving significant aid.

These positive relations threatened to be derailed in 1988, when a British tourist was brutally murdered there.

Julie Ward, a 28-year-old British woman, was killed in Kenya’s Maasai Mara reservation in September 1988, with her remains found partially burned. Kenyan officials initially suggested that her death had been an accident or suicide, though it quickly became clear that she had been murdered.

Ward’s father, a wealthy businessman, spent millions of dollars and decades of his life to figure out the truth of what happened. In the process, he exposed numerous failures by both Kenyan and British authorities, however, the case remains one of Britain’s most notorious unsolved murders.

Newly uncovered evidence shows that the London police spoke to a witness in 2011 who placed Jonathan Moi, son of then-President Daniel arap Moi, near the scene of the crime. According to testimony from a former safari camp official, Mr. Moi and his group stayed at their camp around the time Julie went missing, contradicting his previous statement that he was nowhere near the area.

This evidence remained hidden until after Jonathan Moi's death from cancer in 2019, with documents stating the witness statements were reserved "strictly for the use of British police."

The Ward family has alleged that the British Foreign Office orchestrated a cover-up to preserve good relations with Kenya, and in 2004, the Kenyan government that succeeded President Moi said there was “evidence of deliberate obstruction" in the case.

After more than three decades, the quest for justice continues – as does speculation that the Kenyan and British governments are the reason that the truth hasn’t yet been reached.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

After a few days of peace, relaxation, and absurdly high levels of saturated fat consumption, we are back to civilization. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Basye, VA, and left the retreat even more fired up about Roca’s future.

Thank you all so much for reading Roca. We feel a debt to you all — especially those of you who’ve been with us for years now. We are building the future of news together. The days of fear-mongering partisan news will soon be behind us.

–Max and Max