🌊 Hunter, We Have a Pardon

Don’t call it a comeback.

23 years ago today, Enron filed for bankruptcy — the biggest fraud-induced bankruptcy in US history. Well, this morning, it announced it's returning to help "solve the global energy crisis." Folks, this is not a joke: A company with the old Enron logo, @enron social media handles, and the www.enron.com website domain is live. This is either a really expensive prank or we should soon expect the return of Hindenburg balloon rides.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Biden Pardons Hunter

President Biden pardoned his son Hunter

• Hunter was awaiting sentencing after convictions on federal tax and gun charges. Biden had repeatedly said that he would respect the jury’s conviction and would not pardon him

• Biden said he changed his mind this weekend after celebrating Thanksgiving with Hunter, whom he said was “singled out [by the Justice Department] only because he is my son – and that is wrong”

• “There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been 5.5 years sober,” Biden said. “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough”

Dig Deeper

• When asked about a potential pardon last month, Biden’s press secretary said, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times…Our answer stands, which is no”

• Legal analysts have described the pardon Biden issued as the broadest since President Ford’s for Nixon. Biden granted his son a “full and unconditional pardon” covering all “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in” between 2014 and 2024

• President-elect Trump reacted to the news on Truth Social: "Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 [January 6] Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!"

KEY STORY

Syrian War Resumes

Syrian rebels captured Aleppo, the country’s second-largest city, breaking a stalemate in the country’s civil war

• The war – ongoing since 2011 – has been somewhat dormant in recent years, with Bashar al-Assad’s government controlling ~70% of the country and rebels controlling the rest. Some rebels are jihadists; others are friendly toward the West

• Between Wednesday and Sunday, Islamist-led rebels swept into Aleppo while Assad’s troops fled. The move reignited a conflict that for years has been relatively dormant

Dig Deeper

• It took the government four years to take control over Aleppo back from the rebels, a task Assad's troops completed in 2016. In this latest offensive, it took the rebels just four days to take it back

• Syria’s government described the offensive as a “large-scale terrorist attack” and said it was working with its allies – Russia and Iran – to counter it. What happens next could determine whether Syria’s civil war enters a new period of hot conflict

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KEY STORY

The Board Game Boom

The board game industry is booming and expected to nearly triple over the next several years

• Board games experienced a resurgence during Covid: Hasbro’s gaming division – whose games include Operation, Life, and Clue – grew 15% in 2020

• The industry’s surge has continued since: Among various success stories, the creator of Warhammer generated $526M this year, doubling 2020 sales, while Magic: The Gathering made $1B+ in 2024, up over last year and more than double its 2019 sales

• Fortune Business Insights says the tabletop industry, which was worth ~$13B in 2023, is poised to grow to $32B by 2032

Dig Deeper

• Yet the industry may also face headwinds: Nearly 70% of board games are manufactured in China and the US lacks the infrastructure for mass game production. It could take years to build the factories needed to bring game creation state-side

   

KEY STORY

Bible Sales Boom

Bible sales are up 22% through October this year, compared to just 1% for overall book sales, per data from Circana BookScan

• Bible sales have jumped in recent years, despite a continuing decline in religious affiliation in the US. Booksellers sold 14.2M Bibles in 2023, up from 9.7M in 2019. Through October this year, Bible sales have surpassed 13.7M

• First-time Bible buyers are driving the trend. Theories about what’s driving the trend include rising anxiety, new Bible designs, and increasing religiosity among young Americans

Dig Deeper

• On the anxiety front, Jeff Crosby, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, said, “The rise in Bible sales reflects a collective need for assurance and the rediscovery of faith amidst anxiety over issues like artificial intelligence, social divides, and global instability”

• On Amazon’s “Christian Bibles” bestsellers list, many of the top selections feature illustrations, more colorful designs, and room for note-taking

COMMUNITY

🧠 Today’s question: Should we remove fluoride from our water? (See Wrap below for more…)

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

ROCA WRAP

Roca Votes: Remove Fluoride from Water?

News outlets should provide you with information – not tell you what to think. That inspires Roca Votes, where we cover contentious stories and then ask you for your thoughts. Today’s is on putting fluoride in water. 

RFK Jr., Trump’s nominee for Health & Human Services (HHS) secretary, wants the government to remove fluoride from our drinking water. Should it?

In 1945, Grand Rapids, MI, became the first US city to add fluoride to its water to reduce tooth decay. After 11 years, a study found that the rate of tooth decay among children born after fluoride was added to the water supply dropped by more than 60%.

Fluoride is a mineral found in water, soil, and air. It works by strengthening the outer surface of teeth, the enamel, by making it more resistant to the bacteria that cause tooth decay. Following Grand Rapids' success, the American Dental Association recommended it for US water systems nationwide. Today roughly 73% of Americans drink fluoridated water, based on studies that suggest it reduces the prevalence of cavities.

In recent years, however, concerns about the safety of fluoridated water have grown. It's not a partisan concern: Portland, OR, is the only major city in the US without fluoride in its water and Florida's surgeon general advises communities against adding it.

Most of Europe doesn’t add fluoride to its water: Only Ireland and parts of the UK and Spain do. Of the EU, 14 countries never had the practice while 11 used to but stopped. There are various reasons for this: Some countries had qualms about “mass medication,” some were unable to pass laws that were necessary to add it, and others believed that people already received sufficient fluoride through toothpaste or naturally occurring sources.

American concerns about fluoride have centered around potential negative health impacts, including "neuropsychiatric risk." Some studies, though disputed, have found that high levels of fluoride exposure can lead to lower IQ, thyroid disease, and other medical issues. A 2019 study published in JAMA Pediatrics that found that mothers who drank fluoridated water while they were pregnant were more likely to have children with lower IQ levels.

In August, the US National Institutes of Health released a long-awaited study that examined the impacts of relatively high levels of fluoride exposure on IQ. Specifically, it looked at whether people exposed to 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water suffered any neurological consequences. 1.5 mg/l is twice the level added to typical American drinking water but an amount to which 2M+ Americans are regularly exposed.

Concerns among the dental community led the study’s release to be delayed for years. The final version concluded with “moderate confidence” that higher levels of fluoride are associated with lower IQ in children. It didn’t address the impact of lower fluoride levels. While many scientists said more evidence was needed to consider removing fluoride from water, fluoride critics found this to be a smoking gun.

If confirmed as HHS secretary, RFK Jr. plans to ban fluoride from drinking water or at least recommend against it. He calls it an "industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease."

So today we ask: Do you support banning fluoride from drinking water? Let us know by replying to this email!

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Well, it looks like the news cycle decided to hit the ground running this week!

As always, thank you for reading our newsletter. We’re looking forward to reading your answers on the fluoride question. Have a great day!

–Max and Max