Happy first day of primary season! The journey to the 2024 White House begins tonight with the first Republican primary debate. The drinking game rules are simple: Take a sip every time a candidate says “Biden crime family,” “Ron DiSaster” (or some variation), “right here in Wisconsin,” and “three-letter agency.” Finish your drink for any and all “My pronouns are U/S/A.”

In today's edition:

• Tonight’s Trump-less debate

• Fyre Festival 2 tix sold out?

• Person of the Week: Lizzo

 🔑 Key Stories

GOP Debate Outlook

Eight Republicans – but not Trump – will participate in the first Republican debate today

• The debate will take place at 9 PM EST Wednesday on Fox News

• To qualify, candidates had to poll at least 1% among likely Republican voters, acquire 40,000 donors, and pledge to support the future nominee

• Last weekend, Trump announced he wouldn’t join the debate, citing his lead in the polls. Eight candidates will participate: Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Chris Christie, Doug Burgum, and Asa Hutchinson

Dig Deeper

• At least three candidates – businessman Perry Johnson, Miami mayor Francis Suarez, and talk-show host Larry Elder – didn’t make the debate. Johnson and Elder called the qualification process rigged

China’s Economy Struggles

US officials accused China of withholding key economic data as its economy struggles

• From April to June, China’s economy grew .8%, well below its growth targets. Its exports have also fallen, its currency has dropped in value, and its youth unemployment rate reached a record 21.3%

• In recent months, several companies have said China has pressured them not to disclose certain economic data. Then last week, China unexpectedly said it would not disclose new youth unemployment data

• On Tuesday, a US official criticized China for that amid concerns it could bring down the world economy

Dig Deeper

• US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said he has seen a “reduction in [China’s] level of transparency and openness with respect to recording basic things”

• He said those are not “responsible steps” and may undermine trust in the Chinese economy

Pakistan’s Cable Car Rescue

Pakistani authorities rescued eight people from a stranded cable car

• Around 8:30 AM on Tuesday in northwest Pakistan, eight people – 6 or 7 children aged 10-16 and 1 or 2 teachers – were taking a privately-owned cable car across a ravine when several cables supporting it snapped. The cable car connected a village to a school

• The car was stuck hanging ~900 feet above the ground. A military helicopter rescued one of the children, but the sun set and there were fears the helicopter could cause the cables to break. Hours later, rescuers used floodlights and a chairlift to save the remaining 7

Dig Deeper

• Doctors were reportedly on standby to provide aid to the children, one of whom had a heart condition and lost consciousness during the ordeal

Traditional Medicine Summit

Last week, the WHO held its first summit dedicated to traditional medicine

• Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) refers to healthcare practices that fall outside of conventional healthcare. Some, like acupuncture, have clinically proven health benefits; others, like some types of herbal medicines, do not

• Last week, the WHO held its first TCIM summit. It called that a platform to advance “evidence-based” forms of TCIMs. Advocates said it helped normalize and destigmatize TCIM practices; critics said it blurred the line between science and pseudoscience

Dig Deeper

• One WHO post on X that listed several unproven TCIMs was tagged with a “context” notice warning that many of the treatments “show…little to no efficacy”

• The WHO later released a statement saying the post “could have been better articulated”

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• You got 30 minutes to close: All 142 Domino’s Pizza stores in Russia are closing. Domino’s cut off financial support for its Russian stores in December 2022

• Thank u, next: Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato split from superstar music manager — and mortal enemy of Taylor Swift — Scooter Braun. Grande signed with Braun in 2013; Lovato in 2019

• Tickets on Fyre: Billy McFarland claims the first batch of Fyre Festival II tickets sold out within a day. The first Fyre Festival was a disaster that landed him in jail

Wildcard

• Is Mayonnaise an instrument (of income)? Tennessee Titans rookie QB Will Levis signed the first-ever lifetime contract with Hellmann’s Mayonnaise after going viral for putting it in his coffee

• Sam Breadman-Fried: Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer said he’s living on bread, water, and peanut butter because his jail won’t accommodate his vegan diet

• Accused of Wander-lust: MLB has placed All-Star Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco on administrative leave. He is accused of having relationships with underage girls

👇 What do you think?

Today's Question:

If every person on Earth had to have a job based on their unique skills, what do you think yours would be?

Reply to this email with your answers!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🌯 Roca Wrap

Melissa Viviane Jefferson was born in Detroit, Michigan on April 27, 1988.

Her mother loved gospel music and her father loved rockstars like Elton John and Billy Joel. When she was ten, her family relocated to Houston, Texas. There she found a new talent: The flute.

In Texas, she trained for eight years under one of the most famous classical flutists. “I want to be the best f*cking flute player ever,” she has said of how she thought at the time. “I was 12, but I wanted to take it all the way.”

In high school, she also started rapping.

She still loved rock music, an influence of her father, but hid that side of her, because her peers told her that made her seem like a “white girl.” At age 14, she formed a rap musical group with her friends, called the Cornrow Clique. Melissa also took on a new nickname: Combining her name "Lissa" with Jay-Z's 2001 song "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," she called herself Lizzo.

Lizzo studied classical music with a focus on flute at the University of Houston. Then at age 21, she dropped out of college and unexpectedly lost her father. She ended up living out of her car for a year before moving to Minneapolis in 2011 with the hopes of pursuing a music career.

Lizzo joined several musical groups that combined rock with rap and built a name for herself as an artist with a unique blend of genres. In 2013, she released her debut solo album, “Lizzobangers.” The album earned her a spot opening for the singer Har Mar Superstar on his North American tour.

In 2014, she participated in a video series where women sit on stools and talk about their relationships with their bodies. That led her to write a song called "My Skin,” with the lyrics: “I woke up in this / In my skin…I can't wash it away, so you can't take it from me…My brown skin / Real world, big girl meets world.“

She called the song "the thesis statement" of her next album, “Big Grrrl Small World,” which was released in 2015. That album championed “self-love” and appreciating your body, helping her develop a cult following while making her a lightning rod for criticism.

Lizzo’s third album – “Cuz I Love You” – marked a turning point in her career. The 2019 album debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 and peaked at number four on the chart. She became the third female rapper to top the Hot 100 without a featured artist, Time named Lizzo 2019’s "Entertainer of the Year" and she received the most nominations of any artist at that year’s Grammys.

As Lizzo’s fame grew, she became an increasingly vocal advocate for celebrating one’s body. Her group of backup dancers, the Big Grrrls, consisted of all plus-size dancers and she called for representation of “full figured dancers and models” across media and brands. Her advocacy sometimes led to problems, though, such as when fans attacked her on social media for posting about a detox diet in 2020.

Lizzo released her fourth album “Special,” last year, which peaked at number two on the charts.

The album again emphasized self-love and acceptance. “It's bad b*tch o'clock, yeah, it's thick-thirty / I've been through a lot but I'm still flirty (okay),” she sings in one song.

Another says: “Beauty is a gift but curses everyone that chase it / I wish we could live without no body expectations.” In the album’s title song, she sings: “In case nobody told you today, you’re special.”

But the positivity evaporated earlier this month, when three of Lizzo’s former dancers sued her for allegedly sexually harassing and fat-shaming them. At least six performers have since made similar allegations.

The initial allegations involve a night out in Amsterdam’s Red Light District this February.

The dancers claimed in their lawsuit that Lizzo took them out to a raunchy club, where “things quickly got out of hand.”

“Lizzo began inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers, catching d*ldos launched from the performers’ v*ginas, and eating bananas protruding from the performers’ v*ginas,” the lawsuit says.

They allege that Lizzo “pressured” and “goaded” them into participating, and made fun of one dancer who had an eating disorder.

Their attorney said, “The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are … absolutely demoralizing.” Further allegations include that Lizzo or her colleagues mocked dancers for their religion, relationships, and more.

Lizzo responded by saying, “Usually I choose not to respond to false allegations but these are unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous not to be addressed.”

“These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”

“I am not here to be looked at as a victim, but I also know that I am not the villain that people and the media have portrayed me to be be these last few days.”

Since the allegations emerged, organizers canceled the Made in America music festival, in which Lizzo was a headliner, and Lizzo has lost hundreds of thousands of followers. It has also been reported that Lizzo is no longer under consideration to be a performer at next year’s Super Bowl halftime show.

Is Lizzo’s time at the top over?

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

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Better as a pet:
Fish: 68.9%
Bird: 31.1%

Yesterday's Question:

If you could invent a new holiday that everyone would celebrate, what would it be about and how would people celebrate it?

Kelley from Ohio: “Kindness Day. To celebrate people would go out of their way to be nice and do nice things for others.”

Danielle from Michigan: “Danielle Day. It’d be about driving fast. You’d have to go minimum 10 over everywhere. No one would get tickets. That’s the celebration.”

Seth from California: “I think we need to have Feb 29th declared as a national holiday because it only comes once every 4 years. It is the ONLY day of the year like that. So since we have an extra day, why treat it like a normal day? Get out and use it to do something memorable!”

🧠 Final Thoughts

We don’t have much to add today, besides the usual: Big News wants to scare you, Big News wants to tell you how to think, etc, etc. See you tomorrow.

—Max and Max