🌊 New Details on the NYC Shooting

How about a birthday shoutout to Christopher Nolan?

We know it’s much trendier to say your favorite director is an obscure black-and-white Romanian filmmaker from the 1930s, but we’d like to take a moment to acknowledge Christopher Nolan. The British director tuns 55 today, and he’s one of the few cultural figures that people can rally behind together. Granted, by “people” we disproportionately mean young men who sprained their wrists after trying one set of Batman pushups in 2008 (they still hurt), but still! Even the big bad NYT put four of his films — Interstellar, The Dark Knight, Oppenheimer, and Inception — in the top 25 of its “100 Best Movies of the 21st Century List.” So shoutout to Christopher Nolan, and we can’t wait to grow Roca to the point that we can afford IMAX tickets to The Odyssey next summer.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

NYC’s CTE Shooter?

Details emerged about the NYC gunman

• On Monday, Shane Tamura, 27, opened fire at an office tower in Midtown Manhattan, killing four people with an M4 rifle before turning the gun on himself

• Tamura left a three-page note that blamed the NFL for his condition and referenced CTE, a brain disease caused by head trauma

• "Terry Long football gave me CTE and it caused me to drink a gallon of antifreeze," Tamura wrote. Long was an NFL player who killed himself by drinking antifreeze in 2005

• The note also stated, "You can't go against the NFL, they'll squash you"

• “Study my brain please,” the note ended. “I’m sorry.” Tamura shot himself in the chest, rather than in the head

Dig Deeper

• On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams sat down for an interview with Roca about the shooting. You can read that full conversation here

• You can also watch it in the below video

Eric Adams Interview

Here is our sitdown interview with the Mayor. We will do a longer-form interview with him soon on other topics, but this was just focused on the shooting.

Also, PSA: Our We The 66 channel tragically got deleted (story for another day), so we’re rebooting it on this channel where we used to post Shorts. Bear with us as we try to find our way back to the algorithm — YouTube doesn’t like all this shifting. Please help us by liking the video and subscribing!

We will re-post old videos on the channel soon.

KEY STORY

Transit Denied

The Trump Administration denied Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te permission to make a transit stop in New York

• Taiwan's leaders traditionally make unofficial stops in the US when traveling to countries that recognize Taiwan diplomatically

• On Monday, though, Trump officials informed Lai he would not be permitted to visit New York on his way to Central America

• The announcement came during US-China trade negotiations, suggesting that US-Taiwan relations are being used as a bargaining chip

Dig Deeper

• China consistently objects to any Taiwanese leader visiting the US, viewing such stops as violations of the "One China" policy

• The decision coincides with high-stakes US-China trade negotiations that took place on Tuesday in Sweden, where officials agreed to seek a 90-day tariff truce, pending Trump’s approval

• As part of those talks, the Trump Administration reportedly frozen planned export controls against China and approved sales of advanced AI chips to Beijing

QUOTE OF THE DAY

ROCA’S SPONSOR

Don’t Miss What’s Hiding in Plain Sight

Together With Raisin

Better savings rates won't always be advertised to you. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

• Raisin helps you find them: over 75 FDIC- and NCUA-insured banks and credit unions offering high-yield accounts – like 4.35% APY¹ on a high-yield savings account from Western Alliance Bank

• Open with just $1. Move your money when better offers appear

• Use code BOOST for up to a $500 bonus². Offer ends tomorrow

Disclaimer: ​​¹APY means Annual Percentage Yield. APY is accurate as of July 29, 2025. Interest rate and APY may change after initial deposit depending on the terms of the specific product selected. Minimum opening deposit is $1.00. National average comparison is based on current FDIC U.S. national average for banks and NCUA U.S. national average for credit unions.

²New customers only. Earn a cash bonus when you deposit and maintain funds with partner banks on the Raisin platform. Customers will receive $75 for depositing between $10,000 and $24,499, $250 for depositing between $25,000 and $49,999, and $500 for depositing $50,000 or more. To qualify for the bonus, your first deposit must be initiated by July 31, 2025, by 11:59 PM ET, and the promo code BOOST must be entered at the time of sign-up. Only funds deposited within 14 days of the initial deposit date and maintained with partner banks on the Raisin platform for 90 days will be eligible for this bonus. Bonus cash will be deposited by Raisin into the customer’s linked external bank account within 30 days of meeting all qualifying terms. This offer is available to new customers only and may not be combined with any other bonus offers. Raisin reserves the right to modify or terminate this offer at any time.

KEY STORY

Continental Freight Rail Merger

A major merger will give the US its first coast-to-coast freight railroad

• The US has four major freight railroads – two west of the Mississippi River and two east – that handle 90%+ of US rail traffic

• On Tuesday, two of those companies – Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern – agreed to merge, creating an $85B railroad giant. Last year, the two companies handled a combined 43% of all US freight rail movement

• The merger will combine Union Pacific's western network with Norfolk Southern's 19,500-mile eastern system, thereby creating one integrated transcontinental rail system

Dig Deeper 

• The merger hopes to stem the industry’s losses to trucking: In recent decades, shippers have increasingly opted for trucks because they are quicker, more reliable, and don’t need to be switched between networks. The existing infrastructure creates bottlenecks in major freight hubs where systems connect

• The US’ largest rail union already vowed to fight the merger, which it has said will lead to layoffs and lower standards, and the deal has to secure approval from the federal government

KEY STORY

UK to Recognize Palestine

The UK will formally recognize Palestine as a state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and commits to a two-state solution

• Last week, France announced its intent to recognize a Palestinian state, marking a significant shift among Israel’s allies

• On Tuesday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK would do the same in September unless Israel takes "substantive steps" to end the conflict in Gaza, agrees to a ceasefire, allows UN aid deliveries to resume, and commits to preventing West Bank annexation

• Starmer emphasized that Britain would assess progress on these conditions in September but stated "no one should have a veto over our decision"

Dig Deeper 

• The announcement follows intense domestic pressure on Starmer's government, with over 250 of 650 lawmakers in the House of Commons signing a letter urging recognition of Palestinian statehood

• The British decision came after Starmer met with President Trump in Scotland on Monday. Starmer told reporters the move aims “to protect the viability of the two-state solution"

• Trump said he and Starmer didn’t discuss the UK’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state but said the US "is not in that camp"

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🏝️ President Trump stated Monday that he “never had the privilege” of visiting Epstein's private island, calling the decision "one of [his] very good moments"

🧑‍⚖️ A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of a provision in President Trump's tax and spending bill that would cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood facilities

💰 Sean “Diddy” Combs' lawyers requested his release on $50M bond after he was convicted of federal prostitution charges but acquitted of more serious sex trafficking and racketeering counts

👶 China announced its first nationwide child subsidy program, offering parents 3,600 yuan ($500) annually for each child under age three in an effort to reverse declining birth rates

⚖️ Ghislaine Maxwell said through her attorney that she would testify to Congress about Jeffrey Epstein if granted immunity, given questions in advance, and allowed to delay until after her Supreme Court appeal

What does Roca Nation think?

🤔 Yesterday’s Question: What kind of stories get too much news coverage?

🧐 Today’s Question: What kind of stories get too little media coverage?

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

☕️ Brewed, Boiled, and Breached: The women-only app Tea, which lets users anonymously vet dates, has taken its direct messaging offline after a major security breach exposed images and private messages

✋ Afterlife High-Five: Researchers uncovered a 4,000-year-old handprint on an ancient Egyptian tomb offering

👨‍⚕️ Dr. Long Distance: A Florida surgeon just removed a man’s prostate from over 6,000 miles away using a robot

👖 Sweeney Sweats: Sydney Sweeney’s new American Eagle campaign – built around the pun “Great Genes”/“Great Jeans” – has sparked accusations of racist and eugenic overtones

✍ Truly Hands Free: Meta has developed a wristband that turns hand movements into computer commands, no keyboard, mouse, or screen taps needed

ROCA WRAP
Dictator Drama

North Korea

This country’s leader is using TV dramas to manage public expectations about government failures.

North Korea remains one of the world's most closed societies, where state propaganda typically paints the country as a socialist paradise under the wise leadership of the Kim family. Citizens have historically been fed a steady diet of unrealistic portrayals that glorify the regime while condemning foreign enemies, particularly the United States and South Korea. As smuggled foreign content gains popularity, though, the country has had to adopt an unexpected strategy.

Kim Jong Un’s regime now produces television shows that openly acknowledge corruption, bureaucratic failures, and social problems that have long plagued the country. One new series, "A New Spring in Paekhak Plain," is the first new domestic drama since 2023 and features storylines previously unthinkable in North Korean media: Among them, party officials embezzle grain supplies, farmers struggle to meet impossible quotas, and citizens resort to bribery to navigate daily life.

Beyond the politics, the 22-episode program portrays family conflicts and romantic complications, themes that are normal in most countries but unheard of in North Korea. Characters also express disappointment about living conditions, discuss limited university opportunities, and navigate class-based romantic tensions.

Despite acknowledging problems, though, the series also paints North Korea as a modern nation where food is plentiful and new construction projects flourish. In reality, food shortages and economic failures are features of the country’s system.

Yet even in the communist state, competition matters: After making foreign media consumption punishable by death, the regime is now competing for domestic attention.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

We would really appreciate you all subscribing to the new channel and liking the new Eric Adams video. As we reboot We The 66, we need to get in the algo’s good graces, so all the engagement helps.

Also, we are posting our first video from Kentucky on our main channel super soon. We can’t wait for you all to see it!

–Max and Max