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- 🌊 New Oldest Painting Just Dropped
🌊 New Oldest Painting Just Dropped
Plus: Now presenting... the Barron of Mar-a-Lago
Happy 7-Eleven Day to all who celebrate.
In honor of 7/11, 7-Eleven is offering free small Slurpees to customers nationwide. This is not to be confused with their “Bring Your Own Cup” Day when you can fill up your own container for a discounted price. Unfortunately, we’re still banned from our local 7-Eleven for trying to smuggle in an above-ground pool on BYOC Day. Freakin’ communists.
🍿 The dawn of the Barron Trump era
⚽️ England beats the Dutch!
💔 Las Vegas dancer swindles Arkansas man
–Max and Max
KEY STORY
Barron Appears
Barron Trump debuted on Trump’s campaign
18-year-old Barron – Donald Trump’s youngest son – is a recent high school graduate. Standing 6’7” (201 cm), he’s four inches taller than his father. On Tuesday, he made his first on-stage appearance at a Florida rally
The crowd erupted at his presence, prompting his father to say, “This is a young man. He just turned 18 — oh, look at this…A very young man who is now going to college — got into every college he wanted to and he made his choice…He’s a very good guy”
“Welcome to the scene, Barron!” Trump said. “He had such a nice, easy life – now it’s…changed”
Dig Deeper
The Republican Party had asked Barron in May to serve as one of the Florida delegates at the Republican Convention, yet his mother – Trump’s wife Melania – intervened and blocked that, citing prior commitments
That same month, Trump claimed that Barron “does like politics”
“It’s sort of funny. He’ll tell me sometimes, ‘Dad, this is what you have to do,’” Trump claimed
KEY STORY
Big Dems v. Biden
Influential Democrats are publicly pushing Biden to step down
On Wednesday, Nancy Pelosi – the retired House speaker who remains influential – said during an MSNBC interview that “it’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run. We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short”
Also Wednesday, actor George Clooney – a major Democratic backer – published a piece in The New York Times that said, “The one battle [Biden] cannot win is the fight against time”
Still, no leading active Democratic Congressmembers have forcefully called for Biden to quit
Dig Deeper
On Monday, another major Democratic donor and Hollywood bigshot – Ari Emanuel, who is the CEO of Endeavor, the top talent agency that owns the WWE and UFC – published an article in the Economist that accused Biden of turning the Democratic party into a “Trumpian” one, whose loyalty he alleged is not to the country but to one man
Meanwhile, a group of Senate Democrats are scheduled to meet with the Biden campaign’s chair on Thursday
STARTUP SPOTLIGHT
A Green Concrete-Based Tech Company
One of the coolest startups we’ve come across at Roca is AquiPor, a company that is solving the problem of urban flooding
Traditional concrete doesn’t absorb water – that’s why rain often causes cities to flood
AquiPor has solved that by creating porous concrete that captures stormwater where it falls. It then filters that water and allows it to return to the ground naturally
Dig Deeper
Based in the Pacific NW, AquiPor’s patented distributed water system is game-changing in scope and potential – especially given the US’ massive investments in making cities more resilient to climate change
AquiPor is currently fundraising, but the window to invest is closing!
KEY STORY
US to Send 500 Pounders
The US restarted shipments of 500-pound bombs to Israel
In May, the US had suspended shipments of 500- and 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, citing their risk – especially the 2,000-pounders’ – to civilians in Rafah
The decision widened a rift between the governments of the US and Israel, which said it needed the bombs to destroy Hamas’ tunnels and other reinforced infrastructure
On Wednesday, the US restarted shipments of 500-pounders, claiming that it had only ever intended to suspend the 2,000-pound shipments, which are not restarting
Dig Deeper
Separately, on Wednesday, Israel ordered the complete evacuation of Gaza City, sending hundreds of thousands of people on the move
Israel completed its offensive in Gaza City months ago. However, there – as elsewhere in Gaza – it has found itself repeatedly drawn back in
KEY STORY
World’s Oldest Painting Found
The oldest recorded painting was discovered
In a study published in the journal Nature, a group of Australian researchers described a painting they dated to “at least 51,200 years ago,” which would make it the oldest painting ever discovered
The painting – found in a cave on the tropical Indonesian island of Sulawesi – ”depicts human-like figures interacting with a pig.” The painting is not the oldest recorded artwork – that would be rock drawings found in a cave in southern Africa that date to between 75,000 and 100,000 years ago – but it is the oldest to tell a narrative story
Dig Deeper
This painting appears to tell a story of three men holding rod-like items, potentially using them to attack a pig
The study’s authors called it the “oldest evidence of storytelling,” and said it’s yet to be determined whether such art began in Southeast Asia, Africa, or elsewhere
The researchers pioneered a new technique to date the painting and said it could enable the dating of even older art: “Humans have probably been telling stories for much longer than 51,200 years,” they wrote
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
🏛️ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) introduced articles of impeachment against conservative Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, accusing them of repeatedly having conflicts of interest while on the court
⛏️ Hawaii banned deep-sea mining in its territorial waters. The industry is increasingly divided along partisan lines, leading the state’s Democratic governor to sign a bill that bans such mining on Monday
🏆 England scored a 90th-minute goal to defeat the Netherlands 2-1 and advance to the UEFA Euro 2024 final. They’ll face Spain in Berlin on Sunday
⚽️ The US Men’s National Team fired coach Gregg Berhalter. US men’s soccer hired him in 2018, but an early and embarrassing exit at the 2024 Copa América led to his dismissal
🇺🇦 At NATO’s summit in Washington, DC, the alliance’s secretary general said that Ukraine’s membership is “not a question of if, but when.” “The work we are doing together now will ensure that when the time is right, Ukraine can join without delay,” he said
COMMUNITY
🤔 Yesterday’s Question: Do you think the media has covered Biden’s cognitive state honestly over the last few years?
Absolutely not. Most of the time the media has been trying to gaslight people that have seen Biden’s decline these last few years in video’s and speeches and often making excuses for the gaffe’s; the president was tired, the teleprompter had a problem, ect. The debate brought into focus just how much he has declined. Although Trump was his usual narcissistic self, Biden looked weak and unsure of himself. I truly felt bad for him, because he should not be running for another term. The next debate will be more of the same, unless the media changes the rules.
I don't personally believe the media honestly portrays ANY high profile figure's mental state. One can have their words twisted and their blunders amplified to appear totally insane if it fits their narrative. One can also have everything downplayed too, with only the good highlighted. I think Biden has probably declined more rapidly than anyone close to him anticipated, and to prevent wider upset or concern about the leader of our nation, it was probably downplayed in the media.
At least he's not a felon or compulsive liar (and the list goes on...), I say. I'd wheel ol Joe around the damn White House if I had to.
They have been gaslighting us since January 2021. The White House officials and the press have been perpetuating a great lie on the American people. Now that we know, they are trying to find excuses to deny what we have been seeing and hearing for 3.5 years.
First the great Vaccine lie, now the President doesn't have dementia lie, I will not ever believe these buffoons again. Seems the conspiracy theories are true after all.
🧠 Today’s Question: What is the most quintessentially American city? Explain.
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
💰 Mr300: Jimmy Donaldson, 26 – aka “MrBeast” – became the first YouTuber to surpass 300M subscribers. He’s gained 75M+ subscribers in 2024 alone
🌭 #GlizzyGate: Nick Wehry, the 4th-place finisher in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, was accused of stealing from another competitor’s plates to inflate his total dogs eaten in 10 minutes from 46.75 to 51.75
Does this look like the face of a man who would cheat in a hot dog eating contest?
🚔 Brick breakers: Police recovered $200,000+ worth of stolen Legos from an Oregon toy store that they say the store’s management knowingly purchased from thieves
💔 I’m in court with a stripper: An Arkansas man is suing a Las Vegas dancer for $38.5M over a decade-long fraud scheme in which she allegedly convinced the man that they were in an exclusive, romantic relationship and accepted multiple trips, a home, and over $3M cash
🌮 The Live Más Hub: Taco Bell is opening a social community in San Diego next month that will offer golf tee times, afternoon aerobics, and pickleball matches
ROCA WRAP
Border Patrol
“Do you have medications?”
Mamadou – my Senegalese driver – had been angry at me for days, but this question was particularly harsh.
“Painkillers? Narcotics?” he demanded.
We were approaching the Senegal-Gambia border, and Mamadou had done this enough times to anticipate trouble. While I told him repeatedly that I didn’t have any drugs, he knew tourists often discarded his warnings, only to find themselves detained by the Gambian border police.
We signed out of Senegal as if it were the 1950s: A man sitting behind a counter asked me two questions – “Job?” “Where are you going?” – then jotted down my replies in a massive, faded notebook and stamped me out of the country.
Nearby, money changers were trying to trade me Gambian Dalasi – “Good rate! Good rate!” – while women loitered, trying to sell eggs and cookies.
We climbed back in the car and drove down the pot-holed road toward The Gambia.
No physical border separated the countries. 50 yards or so further down, though, dozens of Gambian troops – covered head-to-toe in fatigues and touting machine guns with under-barrel grenade launchers – waited in the middle of the road. We pulled over at a nearby cement-walled building where a group of people waited outside a barred window. I went there and turned over $100 and my passport to procure a Gambian visa.
Typically, visa payments go to the government treasury. Here, it’s being stolen before then.
As I waited, Mamadou entered the building to give the supervisor a “gift” and make our passage smooth.
Minutes later, the supervisor called me back and handed me my passport with a Gambian visa.
Mamadou later told me that the border patrol had once shaken down one of his clients, demanding a large bribe to let her into the country.
Mamadou brokered a deal, and since then, the supervisor has loved him – because whenever Mamadou comes it means he’s getting paid.
Slightly further up the road, the Gambian “narcotics unit” stopped chasing a donkey to flag us down. They took us into a cell-like room, donned gloves, and ordered us to open our bags.
Refusing to leave a single compartment untouched, they took out every kind of medicine, pill, charger, and container in my bag.
They were searching for medicines – not to actually seize them, but to demand a bribe not to seize them. Mamadou told me he had once seen them take blood pressure medicine from an elderly woman and refused to give it back until she paid hundreds of dollars.
Thankfully, I had nothing of value. So we got back in the car and headed into what Mamadou called the “problem country.”
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
Inside Out 2 is officially the highest-grossing Pixar movie of all time. Our childhoods feel slighted. How does it beat the likes of Toy Story, Up, Finding Nemo, Monster Inc., and The Incredibles? Granted, we haven’t seen the movie — we have enough voices in our heads to deal with — but we remain outraged!
Have a great Thursday.
–Max and Max