🌊 No Country for Flag Burning

Hollywood’s most exclusive club.

More exclusive than the 100% club on Rotten Tomatoes is the 0% club. ~45 films — including distinguished titles like Simon Sez, The Nutcracker in 3D, and Police Academy 4 — rep 0% ratings on the film review site. The newest inductee to the 0% club is the 2025 film Alarum. Sylvester Stallone stars in the movie, but let’s just say it’s a far cry from Rocky — the theme for this one is “Gonna Cry Now” and Adrian was nowhere to be found.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

No Country for Flag Burning

President Trump signed one executive order directing federal prosecutors to pursue charges against people who burn American flags and another targeting cashless bail policies

• The Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that flag burning constitutes protected political speech under the First Amendment, striking down flag-burning laws in 48 states

• Monday's executive order instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute flag-burning cases using alternative charges, such as disturbing the peace, environmental violations, or inciting violence

• The order also directed immigration officials to deny visas and seek the removal of foreign nationals who engage in flag desecration

Dig Deeper

• Trump stated that people who burn flags would receive "one year in jail," though the executive order itself did not specify sentencing details

• Trump also signed an executive order targeting cashless bail systems, directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to identify federal funds that could be suspended in states with cashless bail policies, with a specific focus on Washington, DC

KEY STORY

Commercial Truck Visas Paused

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US would immediately stop issuing worker visas for commercial truck drivers to review driver screening and vetting protocols

• Last week, Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old who entered the US illegally, was accused of causing a deadly accident on the Florida Turnpike. Authorities said Singh lacked legal authorization to be in the US and did not speak English

• On Thursday, Rubio said, “The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers”

Dig Deeper

• The American Trucking Associations supported the visa suspension despite the industry facing a shortage of approximately 60,000 drivers

• The government issued 1,400 H-2B visas for truckers last year and has already issued another 1,490 in the current budget year

• The Trump Administration also announced Thursday it was reviewing more than 55M people with valid US visas for potential violations that could lead to deportation

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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KEY STORY

Israel Strikes Gaza, Yemen

IDF missiles hit targets in Gaza – including a hospital that reportedly killed at least 20 people – and Yemen

• Israel recently launched a military operation to occupy Gaza City, the territory's most populated area with hundreds of thousands of residents. Two weeks ago, Israeli forces killed a prominent Al Jazeera correspondent and four other journalists in a strike in Gaza City

• On Monday, Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza's Khan Younis killed five media workers, including Reuters and Associated Press journalists who had been using the hospital's upper floors as a base for broadcasts

• Israel also conducted strikes on Yemen on Sunday in response to Houthi missile attacks on Israeli territory over the weekend

Dig Deeper 

• The IDF acknowledged striking the hospital and said its chief of general staff ordered an inquiry into the incident

• “The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and does not target journalists as such,” the military said in a statement

• In Yemen, Israel’s air strikes on Sana'a – the country’s capital – targeted a military compound, two power plants, and a fuel storage site, reportedly killing six people and injuring 86

KEY STORY

Abrego Garcia Detained

Immigration authorities detained Kilmar Abrego Garcia at an ICE facility on Monday, three days after his release from federal custody in Tennessee

• Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March despite a 2019 court order that barred his removal due to well-founded fears of gang persecution. The Trump Administration acknowledged the deportation was an "administrative error" and brought him back to the US in June, where federal prosecutors charged him with human smuggling conspiracy

• Abrego Garcia arrived at the Baltimore ICE field office on Monday for what his attorneys said was supposed to be a check-in meeting, but ICE officers took him into custody without explanation

• The Department of Homeland Security announced it was processing him for removal to Uganda, despite him having no known ties to that country

Dig Deeper 

• His attorneys said the government had offered him a plea deal that would result in deportation to Costa Rica if he pleaded guilty to the criminal charges, but threatened deportation to Uganda if he refused

• His attorneys filed a habeas petition Monday in federal court seeking to block any deportation, and a Maryland judge issued a temporary order preventing the government from removing him from the continental United States until at least Wednesday afternoon

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🇺🇸 President Trump announced Monday he wants to rename the Department of Defense back to its pre-1949 title, the “Department of War,” saying the current name sounds too passive

🔫 National Guard troops in Washington, DC, are now authorized to carry weapons and conduct detentions that could lead to arrests

⚖️ Elon Musk's xAI filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, claiming their partnership violates competition laws by giving ChatGPT exclusive integration into Apple devices. The move represents an escalation in Musk’s ongoing feud with former OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman that began when Musk left the company's board in 2018

🪖 Russia and Ukraine exchanged 146 prisoners of war from each side on Sunday, with the United Arab Emirates mediating the swap

🫘 Keurig Dr Pepper announced an $18B acquisition of Dutch coffee company JDE Peet's, seeking to strengthen its position amid challenging market conditions, including new tariffs on Brazilian coffee beans

What does Roca Nation think?

🌊 Yesterday’s Question: We’re curious: How did you find out about Roca?

🇺🇸 Today’s Question: What’s a positive trend in the US today? What’s moving in the right direction?

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

👛 Attenzione Pickpocket!: A US tourist in Venice used Apple's Find My Friends feature to track down teenage pickpockets who stole her purse, leading to a viral confrontation where she held one suspect by the ponytail until police arrived

🛀 Spa Day SOS: Two women in their 80s were rescued from a Kentucky cabin hot tub last week after becoming trapped and developing hyperthermia during an unintentionally extended soak

🏌️ 164th Time's the Charm: English golfer Tommy Fleetwood finally broke his winless streak after 163 PGA Tour events, capturing both his first career victory and the FedEx Cup at the Tour Championship

🐋 Free Willy: Trainers at a closed French marine park have been sexually stimulating a male orca to prevent him from inbreeding with his mother, while officials debate their relocation

🏈 Soar Losers: Ospreys nesting atop a stadium light pole at Apple Valley High School in Minnesota forced the football team to switch from night games to day games this season

ROCA WRAP
Typhoon Terror

Vietnam

One of the most powerful typhoons in decades slammed into this Southeast Asian nation. 

Vietnam's coast has long been vulnerable to tropical storms that sweep across the South China Sea. The region stretches along a 250-mile corridor that houses millions of people alongside critical infrastructure including oil refineries, steel complexes, and deep-sea ports. This week, that vulnerability was tested by one of the most powerful storms in decades.

Typhoon Kajiki made landfall north of Da Nang on Monday with winds exceeding 120mph, prompting authorities to issue their second-highest disaster warning. The slow-moving storm brought devastating gusts that uprooted trees, destroyed homes, and shuttered airports across the fishing villages and tourist areas of central Vietnam. Even as torrential rains began pounding the coastline, police continued going door-to-door to evacuate more than 325,000 residents to emergency shelters.

The typhoon's path posed particular risks to the region's extensive reservoir system, raising fears of catastrophic downstream flooding. Officials began releasing water from multiple dams to increase holding capacity, though it remained unclear whether these precautions would protect vulnerable low-lying communities. “The greatest risk is that seawater could breach sea dikes, causing widespread flooding,” warned Deputy Agriculture Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep.

At least one fatality was confirmed before the storm's full impact: A man in Nghe An Province was electrocuted while attempting to reinforce his roof. The government mobilized tens of thousands of soldiers for evacuation and emergency relief operations. When nature unleashes its fury on Vietnam's coast, even the strongest preparations can feel fragile.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Thank you to all of you for the happy five-year anniversary wishes. We also loved learning how you discovered Roca. Many of you said a family member recommended Roca; some of you came to us through Instagram ads; and some of you evidently found us through shiny rocks on the beach (will give our ex-rock intern a special bonus — fired him long ago).

We are so grateful to have you in the Roca community. Here's to many more years!

–Max and Max