Number 3 news app in the world. That’s what we woke up to today on the App Store, and it’s all thanks to the incredible Roca community. We are all united around the belief that news today is partisan, divisive, and alarmist — it makes us less happy and distorts our view of reality. We want to share our full story — and origin story of the app — in today’s Wrap. Love you, Roca Nation.

We would also like to make clear that we will not just continue this newsletter, but we will expand and improve it. We are working on an updated version that will have more stories, original content, and community engagement. If you like to get your news through email, fear not: We will only improve the way we do so!

In today's edition:

• Logan Paul under investigation

• Cricket sellout in…. the US?

• Our story begins

 🔑 Key Stories

The #3 News App!

The Roca app launched yesterday. It’s now the #3 news app on the app store!!!

• We were screaming on the train when we saw it. We’ve spent 18 months working on this and it’s hard to explain the feeling of seeing the reception

• We haven’t spent a dollar on marketing. If we build on this momentum and become #1, we won’t have to

• If you enjoy RocaNews, consider sharing the app link with friends. Thank you so much for your support!!!

• We didn’t have the resources to create an Android version out of the gate, but will work hard to bring you one soon – it’ll be even better than it is now

Prime Suspect?

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called on the FDA to investigate Logan Paul’s Prime Energy drink

• Last year, influencers Logan Paul and KSI launched Prime, an energy and sports drink line. Their first drink was Prime Hydration, a vegan and caffeine- and sugar-free sports drink

• That was wildly popular, and this year the company launched a caffeinated Prime Energy drink

• Prime Energy has 200mg of caffeine – equivalent to 2 Red Bulls and an unhealthy amount for kids. On Sunday, Schumer said the FDA should investigate Prime’s potential marketing to kids

Dig Deeper

• In response, Prime said it complies “with all FDA guidelines” and “states clearly” that it’s not meant for children. “As a brand, our top priority is consumer safety,” it added

NATO Updates

NATO began a major 2-day summit on Tuesday

• NATO has 31 members who are required to defend each other in case of attack. Ukraine has wanted to join for years, a major point of discussion in NATO

• On Sunday, Biden called Ukraine’s bid “premature” because it is “in the middle of a war.” He said if Ukraine joined, NATO would be at war with Russia

• Separately, on Monday, Turkey unexpectedly announced it would allow Sweden to join. Turkey had objected to Sweden’s joining for several political reasons. In exchange, Sweden will support Turkey joining the EU and give other economic and security benefits

Dig Deeper

• Weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, neutral Finland and Sweden both requested to join NATO. Finland officially joined in April and became NATO’s 31st member. Sweden would be its 32nd

Survivalist on the Run

A manhunt is underway for a “survivalist” who escaped prison using bedsheets tied into a rope

• The FBI arrested Michael Burham, 34, in May after a several-day manhunt. He was charged with kidnapping, burglary, and related charges, and is also a suspect in a murder case

• Last Thursday, Burham escaped from a Pennsylvania jail by climbing onto “exercise equipment” and then using bedsheets to escape the prison complex

• Police described Burham as a “survivalist” and said they found supply dumps and camps in nearby woods. A manhunt for him is ongoing

Dig Deeper

• Police said Burham is dangerous and “entirely likely” armed. They are warning locals to lock their doors and call 911 with any information. He was last seen wearing a blue denim coat, white and orange pants, and orange Crocs

Biden Loses His Temper

President Joe Biden has a quick temper and often lashes out at aides, staffers told Axios

• They said Biden has yelled at his staff, “God dammit, how the f**k don't you know this?!”, “Don't f**king bullsh*t me!”, and “You think I don’t know how f***ing old I am?”

• “No one is safe,” one staffer said. Staffers said they bring colleagues to briefings to have a “shield” against Biden’s temper

• Some described Biden’s temper as a sign of respect, i.e. Biden yells at those in his inner circle. Others described it as excessive

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Utopian Pyramids: Rapper Travis Scott will reveal his new album “Utopia” during a live-streamed performance at Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza on July 28

• Larry the Stabbed Guy: A fellow inmate stabbed Larry Nassar 10 times. Nassar pleaded guilty in 2017 to sexual abuse crimes he committed while a doctor for Michigan State and USA Gymnastics

• All of the Lights: Americans in 17 states will be able to see the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, on Thursday. The states range from Oregon to Maryland

Wildcard

• CourtGPT: Comedian and author Sarah Silverman is suing ChatGPT developer OpenAI for allegedly training on her literary work without permission

• Sold Out Dates: Major League Cricket’s opening match sold out. On Thursday, the Texas Super Kings will host the Los Angeles Knight Riders in front of 7k+ fans near Dallas, TX

• Chiefs-A-Caught-Lic: A Kansas City Chiefs superfan known as “ChiefsAholic,” was arrested after spending 4 months as a fugitive. He will be charged with bank theft

👇 What do you think?

Today's Question:

Do you drink caffeine daily?

Reply to this email with your answers!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🌯 Roca Wrap

Our story begins on a phone call in April 2020.

Max Frost had just gotten off a rough phone call with his ex. He called Max Towey, a friend and coworker.

The conversation turned to how depressing the news had become. That led to the idea for Roca: Factual, fun news. Towey brought on his college roommate and best friend, Billy Carney, to help.

We put together business plans and tried to get meetings with people in media. Those went horribly. We pitched factual, fun, and engaging news; they said people didn’t want that.

We knew they were wrong. After several months of failed meetings and turning over every stone, a call with a family friend led to our first investment in June 2020.

We literally jumped up and down when we heard the news. “Guys this is actually happening,” Carney said.

We quit our jobs and launched Roca out of a Washington, DC apartment in August 2020. After 4 months, we were averaging 5 hours of nightly sleep and 30 website visits a day. Something needed to change.

We decided to focus on Instagram, where our recipe for enjoyable news was a hit. It grew quickly, but we realized a problem…

The algorithm was suppressing posts that weren’t viral or that contained prohibited words. Beyond that, posts were only words on a page. News should be more engaging than that.

We were thankful Instagram gave us a platform to grow, but we knew that news had to evolve. We decided to build an app that would be factual, fun, and free from algorithms.

To design it, we asked ourselves what Fox and CNN would never do.

Then, we did just that.

That app came out yesterday. Without you, we would be nothing. Thank you for helping us get here. We hope you’ll give the app a try. We think you'll love the app and hope you’ll give it a try.

Thank you for helping us get here. And thank you for riding the WAVE!

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

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Do you know the basic tenets of Scientology?
Yes: 16%
No: 84%

Yesterday's Question:

What is the best concert you’ve been to and why?

Kevin: "I caught Tom Petty in Boston (with my niece and nephew) just before his unexpected death. It reinforced my goal to be intentional about catching any performer when the opportunity presents itself because you never know if an opportunity will present itself again."

Greg from Hawaii: “I saw Prince perform live 4 times, Honolulu being the last. Being from Hawai’i it is exciting to have stars perform on the islands. They seem to add the Aloha Spirit during performances. (If you know, you know). My father was visiting so I took him to his 1st concert. Because he was in a wheelchair they positioned us in the front row. It was a Wow experience that we shared together. Back in 1978 before earbuds he did not approve of me listening to Prince while doing house chores. RIP Gregorio.”

Ashley: “When I was in second grade, my mom took me out of school in the middle of the week and drove me to Houston to see Billy Joel and Elton John in concert. It was my first concert, and, yes, even then I knew all the songs/lyrics!"

🧠 Final Thoughts

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Roca Nation. It means so much to us to have so many people who support our mission. Like we said above, download the app – or don't. If you want to keep getting news over email, we are going to launch a revamped version of this newsletter soon, too.

—Max and Max