🌊 One Big Beautiful Blowup

The Michigan scandals are really getting out of hand…

The FBI has accused two Chinese nationals of smuggling a biological pathogen into a University of Michigan lab. Their “potential agroterrorism weapon” destroys wheat, barley, and maize crops, and can cause vomiting and reproductive defects in humans and livestock. This is the second scandal involving Chinese nationals with ties to the University of Michigan in recent days: Last week, a Chinese national studying at Michigan was charged with illegally voting in the 2024 election.

Guess Connor Stallions wasn’t the only spy in Ann Arbor, huh? Coming up next: Does Jim Harbaugh have CCP ties?

Note: Max T being a Notre Dame grad has nothing to do with the tone of this intro.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Musk Blasts Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”

Elon Musk denounced President Trump’s tax bill, which some have projected will increase the deficit by $2.7T, as a “disgusting abomination”

• The House narrowly passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” last month after intense internal negotiations. The bill is now in the Senate, where it faces additional scrutiny

• Musk – who has previously spoken out against the bill – posted, “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it”

• Several Republican lawmakers expressed support for Musk’s stance in replies to his initial post

Dig Deeper

• Several Republican senators agreed with Musk, including Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) who wrote, “Federal spending has become excessive. The resulting inflation harms Americans and weaponizes government. The Senate can make this bill better. It must now do so”

• Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) wrote, “I agree with Elon. We have both seen the massive waste in government spending and we know another $5 trillion in debt is a huge mistake. We can and must do better”

KEY STORY

Colorado Attacker Details

The man accused of plotting Sunday’s attack in Boulder, CO told police he spent over a year developing his plot

• The attacker threw Molotov cocktails and used a homemade flamethrower to burn Jewish protesters marching for the release of the hostages taken by Hamas, leaving 12 people injured, including a Holocaust survivor

• On Monday, authorities disclosed that the accused attacker was an Egyptian man who had been living in the US illegally

• Per police, “He had to do it, he should do it, and he would not forgive himself if he did not do it”

Dig Deeper 

• The man was charged with crimes including attempted murder and assault, along with a federal hate crime stemming. The FBI also labeled the attack “terrorism”

• Colorado’s acting US attorney said, “He said he had no regrets and he would go back and do it again,” adding that Soliman had also tried to buy a gun but couldn’t because he was in the US illegally

• The man also said he carried out the attack “because he hated [Zionists] and needed to stop them from taking over ‘our land’ [Palestine],” while another video shows him pacing and holding the molotov cocktails, saying, “How many children killed” and “End Zionist”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

ROCA’S SPONSOR

Serious Citrus for Serious Athletes

Together with LMNT

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• If you work out a lot, you probably have a recovery routine. Stretch, drink water, make a protein smoothie…

• But what you’re missing are electrolytes. When you sweat, your body loses key minerals like sodium, potassium, and magnesium that are crucial for muscle and nerve functions. Drinking water alone won’t replenish these critical nutrients. But drinking LMNT will

• LMNT is an electrolyte drink mix that’s packed with salts and is free of sugar and other dodgy ingredients like food dyes and additives

• We are hardcore LMNT fans over here at Roca. We experience noticeably fewer muscle cramps and are way less groggy when we drink LMNT

Dig Deeper

• Their Lemonade Salt flavor is the perfect addition to a summer workout – it’s tangy, refreshing, and most importantly, full of salts to help your body recover quickly, so you can get on with your favorite summer activities 

• Just mix with water for a quick and delicious recovery drink

• Roca readers get a free Sample Pack with any drink mix purchase!

KEY STORY

Private Credit Poses Public Risk?

A new report found that the rapid expansion of private credit may “amplify” the next financial crisis

• Post-2008 regulations made banks tighten their lending standards. That triggered a 10-fold rise in “private credit,” a now $2T industry that involves non-banks issuing loans

• This week, three prominent financial analysts – from Moody’s Analytics, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and formerly the US Treasury Department – released one of the most thorough analyses of the risks posed by this system and found that it could “amplify” the next financial crisis

Dig Deeper 

• Where banks issue loans using short-term loans from customers, private credit firms do so by raising capital from investors. This is comparable to how venture capital (VC) or private equity (PE) work, although rather than lend it out to startups or make acquisitions, as VC or PE firms would, the capital is lent to businesses who may be otherwise unable to borrow from a bank

• Private credit firms and many others have said they are actually safer than banks, because they deal with long-term investors and are therefore not subject to runs, as banks are

• Yet their role in the economy is largely unregulated and has not been thoroughly examined, while the new report noted that they create new “linkages,” making financial markets more interconnected and increasing the risk of a crisis spreading through it

KEY STORY

Liberals Win in South Korea

The left-wing candidate won a contentious presidential election in South Korea

• South Korea has been in a state of political uncertainty since December, when the country’s conservative president Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, overruling South Korea’s democracy. The move was thwarted and Yoon was ousted, leading to Tuesday’s election

• In the vote, the left-wing candidate easily beat the right-wing, reversing the result from 2022

• In his victory speech, the winner pledged to ensure “the military never again uses weapons entrusted to it by the people to stage a coup”

Dig Deeper

• Recently a left-wing firebrand who called for implementing universal basic income in South Korea, the victor, Lee Jae-myung, spent the campaign tacking toward the middle to win moderate and conservative voters who were disaffected with the conservatives after Yoon’s martial law declaration

• The result proved one-sided, with the left-wing Lee defeating the candidate of the ousted president's party, 49.3%-41.3%. A third-party candidate won 8.3%

• Officials estimated the election turnout at 79.5%, the highest since the introduction of absentee voting in South Korea in 2012

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🪖 An Israeli military spokesperson said Israeli forces fired at suspects approaching troops at an aid distribution site in Gaza

🌪️ The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) scrapped its nearly-completed 2025 hurricane response plan, reverting to last year’s guidance amid criticism that it is unprepared for the start of hurricane season

💉 Data shared with Reuters from a health data firm showed that prescriptions for Wegovy – a drug used for diabetes and weight management – have risen dramatically among teens

💲 Former DOGE head Elon Musk denounced President Trump’s tax bill, which some have projected will increase the deficit by $2.7T, as a “disgusting abomination”

🇵🇭 Russian-American YouTuber Vitaly Zdorovetskiy faces up to 24 years in prison in the Philippines after livestreaming a series of disruptive acts in its capital, Manila

What does Roca Nation think?

🧠 Yesterday’s Question: Have you participated in a boycott of a company/brand? If so, which boycott and why?

🧐 Today’s Question: Should we allow Chinese nationals to attend US universities? Or is the risk too high?

Reply to this email with your answer!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🐦 Crow-naldinho: A crow in India went viral for its impressive soccer skills after a video captured it using its beak to pass a ball back and forth with a young boy

🖼️ Old Prophylactic Art: The Netherlands’ national museum put a 200-year-old condom adorned with erotic art on display

🐕 Loyal Doodle Waits as Best Friend is Rescued: Firefighters in Australia rescued a Labrador dog from a 26-foot-deep mine shaft while his Labradoodle companion stood watch

🎈 Blimp Turns 100 Years Old: To celebrate the 100th anniversary of its first flight, Goodyear's iconic "Pilgrim" blimp took to the skies in Akron, Ohio

🐢 Bubba the Sea Turtle Makes a Triumphant Return: A 322-pound loggerhead sea turtle named Bubba was released back into the Atlantic Ocean after a three-month rehabilitation at a “turtle hospital”

ROCA WRAP
Trading Time

Syria

After decades under the Assad dynasty's authoritarian rule and a 14-year civil war, Syria is now attempting to chart a new course after Bashar al-Assad's December ouster.

A new government has taken power, Western countries are lifting sanctions, and Middle Eastern countries are making significant investments in Syria. The latest sign of what Syrians hope is a comeback came on Monday, when trading resumed on the Damascus Securities Exchange after a six-month closure that began during the chaotic days leading up to Assad's fall in a lightning rebel offensive.

Syria’s finance minister said the reopening signals that the country's economy is beginning to recover, and said that the exchange "will operate as a private company and serve as a genuine hub for Syria's economic development, with a strong focus on digital." The minister’s use of the word “private” stands in contrast to the ousted Assad regime, whose Ba’ath party had an Arab socialist ideology.

The move comes as international restrictions on Syria's financial systems begin to ease, with both the United States and EU lifting wide-ranging sanctions. While the sanctions relief is described as "conditional" and could be resumed if new leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former rebel commander, doesn't maintain peace, it’s led to rising optimism.

Syria also recently signed a $7B power deal with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish, and US companies for a 5,000-megawatt energy project to revitalize the war-battered electricity grid. The consortium will develop four gas power plans and a solar power plant, which the sides hope will power not just homes and businesses, but Syria’s turnaround.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

How about we end the newsletter with some good news?

A newly-minted high school graduate who rushed to Burger King to work an emergency shift still wearing his ceremonial ensemble got a $10,000 bonus. It was all thanks to a local mom who noticed the teen’s unusual work attire and took a video that she later posted online.

Now put the fries in the bag, buddy.

–Max and Max