Happy Friday, everyone. We have a moving story in here today about a Roca Rider named Brian who lives in Lahaina, which has been devastated by the Maui wildfire.

Our conversation with him drove home to us that while other news companies have billions of dollars and legions of employees, we have you all – and that's even better.

Starting next month, we'll be sending one of the Maxes to provide a consistent stream of on-the-ground reporting from around the world. Ahead of that, we want to build a network of people we can reach out to when we are in their area. If you are interested in supporting that mission, you can fill out this form. It doesn't matter where you are or what you do, if you want to support our mission of delivering honest news, please fill out this form.

And with that, we give you: The News.

In today's edition:

• Maui fire destruction update

• 5th-floor hospital escape in NYC

• 20 Questions!

 🔑 Key Stories

Chinese Companies Buy Chips

China’s largest tech companies are ordering billions of dollars worth of high-end US-made chips

• “Chips” are circuits that can drive cutting-edge technologies such as quantum computing and AI. They are expensive and difficult to build

• For years, the US has restricted China’s access to high-tech chips and machinery used to build them. Many top US chipmakers, such as Nvidia, are only allowed to export lower-performing chips to China

• Per the Financial Times (FT), Chinese tech companies are buying billions of dollars worth of those chips out of fears that the US will further restrict their access to them

Dig Deeper

• “Without these Nvidia chips, we can’t pursue the training for any large language model,” an employee at one of China’s biggest tech companies told the FT, referring to the models that power programs like ChatGPT

• China has so far been unable to produce chips of the same quality as those from the US

Maui Fire Leaves Destruction

The death toll in the Maui wildfire reached 53. Roca spoke to an evacuee who told us what happened

• The evacuee – Brian, a Roca reader – lives in Lahaina, a seaside town of 13,000, which was the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom from 1820-1845

• On Tuesday morning, strong winds knocked out power in Lahaina, and a small brush fire began near a local high school situated above the town. Strong winds fanned and spread the fire, causing an inferno

• Brian and thousands others evacuated, but others couldn’t. The death toll is at least 36, and many – like Brian – don’t know if their houses are still standing

Dig Deeper

• “The fire [on Tuesday] started in a neighborhood just up the hill a little bit [from Lahaina],” Brian said. “It rapidly came down the hill and came into town.” By Tuesday afternoon, he and thousands of other residents had evacuated up a narrow road along the coast. Dozens of others couldn’t get out in time

• Evacuees have traveled to other towns on the island where they are staying with friends, family, or strangers. Brian said he and his wife couch-surfed in a town on the other side of the mountain. “We had seven adults, three visiting cats, four visiting dogs, and a local dog in a small two-bed apartment overnight. A lot of people are camped out in the parking lot and out on the street. We were the lucky people”

• Brian had reached out to Roca in June and offered to host us for a happy hour at the brewery where he works. “When I left my last bar job of 22 years in San Francisco, I traded the white bar coat and black tie for the aloha casual vibes of Koholā Brewery in Lahaina,” he wrote at the time. “We’re open daily 12-9 and happy hour here runs every day 4-6pm. The beer is fresh, atmosphere laid back, and the bartenders all pros. If you find yourselves here, stop by for a pint!” Now Brian says, “We don’t know if it’s standing or not.” The same goes for his Lahaina home and those of countless others

• Thanks for sharing your story, Brian. Roca is thinking of you and the people of Lahaina

Ecuador Candidate Assassinated

Ecuador’s president declared a state of emergency after gangsters assassinated a presidential candidate

• Ecuador, a small country on South America’s west coast, has long been one of the region’s safest countries. In recent years, though, a growing drug trade through Ecuador has led to increased violence

• Ecuador is holding elections on August 20. One of the candidates in that election was Fernando Villavicencio, who pledged to crack down on crime

• On Wednesday, Villavicencio was assassinated by gangsters after exiting a rally. The assassination was Ecuador’s first of a presidential candidate ever

Dig Deeper

• Security forces killed one of the alleged assassins and conducted raids that led to six arrests. On Thursday, Ecuador’s interior minister said that the alleged attackers are Colombian, and Ecuador’s outgoing president – who is not a candidate in the upcoming election – declared the state of emergency but said that will not postpone the election

Virgin Galactic’s First Tourists

Virgin Galactic successfully flew its first tourists to the edge of space

• Virgin Galactic, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, is a space tourism company. It launches its rockets from the underside of a plane, not from the ground. Its rockets climb to the edge of space (~50 miles high) before landing like a plane

• On Thursday, Virgin Galactic launched its first voyage with tourists. One passenger was an 80-year-old former Olympian; the others were a mother-daughter duo from Antigua who had won tickets in a giveaway

• The rocket ship successfully reached the edge of space, allowing its passengers to experience weightlessness and see Earth from near-space, and then landed on a New Mexico landing strip

Dig Deeper

• Virgin Galactic says it hopes to begin launching tourists to space every month. ~800 people are currently on its waiting list, and each ticket costs ~$450,000

• SpaceX is the only space tourism company currently offering trips into orbit – much further from Earth – although tickets cost tens of millions of dollars. Blue Origin has launched 31 passengers to near-space in recent years, but its missions have been on hold since one of its unmanned rocket ships crashed last fall

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Phil chasing Nickelson: Golfer Phil Mickelson bet $1B+ on sports and tried to make a $400k wager on the 2012 Ryder Cup he played in, according to his long-time betting partner Billy Walters

• King of the heavens: Voice actor Johnny Hardwick, famous for his role as Dale on “King of the Hill,” died at 64. A long-time stand-up comedian, he rose to fame voicing the conspiracy-enthusiast Dale

• Lil Tay lives: 14-year-old social media personality Lil Tay is still alive despite an Instagram post from her account that announced her death on Wednesday

Wildcard

• America drunk on Dunkin’: Dunkin’ Donuts is planning to launch Dunkin’ Spiked, a new line of canned alcoholic iced coffees and iced teas

• Shaw-sheet Redemption: Police said a prisoner receiving medical treatment escaped an NYC hospital by tying sheets together, descending from a fifth-floor window, and hailing a taxi

• Luxury merger: Tapestry, which owns Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman, will pay $8.5B cash to buy Capri Holdings, the owner of Versace, Michael Kors, and Jimmy Choo

👇🏻 What do you think?

Today's Question:

Just 20 Questions!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🗣 20 Questions

Given how much noise is out there today, it can be difficult to just get to the truth of the matter.

Thankfully, we have the solution: YOU, Roca nation, the arbiters of truth. Today's 20 Questions are simply "true or false." We present you with 20 statements; you decide whether they are true or not. We will feature the percentages next week. We had fun making these and hope you have fun doing them.

See you on Monday!

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Will abortion play a major role in the 2024 presidential election?
Yes: 70%
No: 15%
Unsure: 15%

Yesterday's Question:

Do you think the Middle East is important to US interests?

Emily from Minneapolis: "Yes, unfortunately, the oil in the Middle East is too important to the US. We should be moving further towards other energy - that doesn’t require strip mining minerals for batteries or drilling for oil.”

Juanita from Darlington, South Carolina: "Israel is important to God so it's important to me. Those who bless Israel will be blessed and those who curse Isreal will be cursed.”

Tom from Roanoke, Virgina: "We no longer need their oil and I don’t know what else the Middle East has to offer us other than almonds maybe? However it is probably best to keep strong ties to offset Russia and China in that area."

Chase from Nashville, Tennessee: “Of course it, 60 years of foreign policy forces it to be so. Sure we've got our own oil sources, but why use ours when we can buy there's? Not to mention key military establishments across the entire region that we'd like to hold on to. Plus we love d***ing on Iran and China."

MP from DC: “The Middle East is critical to the US. From both an energy and a security perspective, we need to have strong relationships with a number of countries in the Middle East. The opportunity to bridge Isreal with Arab nations is critical to our interests in the region. The Abraham Accords were a great first step, but bringing Saudi Arabia into the process would be a huge accomplishment for the US, Saudia Arabia, and Israel.”

Last Week's 20 Qs Responses:

1. SpongeBob and Patrick or Woody and Buzz?
   SpongeBob and Patrick: 31%
   Woody and Buzz: 69%

2. Tom and Jerry or Bert and Ernie?
   Tom and Jerry: 64%
   Bert and Ernie: 36%

3. Shaq and Kobe or Jordan and Pippen?
   Shaq and Kobe: 51%
   Jordan and Pippen: 49%

4. Simon and Garfunkel or Hall and Oates?
   Simon and Garfunkel: 69%
   Hall and Oates: 31%

5. Mario and Luigi or Timon and Pumba?
   Mario and Luigi: 57%
   Timon and Pumba: 43%

6. Han Solo and Chewbacca or Holmes and Watson?
   Han Solo and Chewbacca: 59%
   Holmes and Watson: 41%

7. Fork and knife or coffee and cream?
   Fork and knife: 59%
   Coffee and cream: 41%

8. Bonnie & Clyde or Barbie and Ken?
   Bonnie & Clyde: 60%
   Barbie and Ken: 40%

9. Ketchup and mustard or salt and pepper?
   Ketchup and mustard: 75%
   Salt and pepper: 25%

10. Fries and frosty (Wendy's) or fries and mayo?
    Fries and frosty: 73%
    Fries and mayo: 27%

11. Brian and Stewie or Mr. Burns and Smithers?
    Brian and Stewie: 50%
    Mr. Burns and Smithers: 50%

12. Bread and butter or spaghetti and meatballs?
    Bread and butter: 53%
    Spaghetti and meatballs: 47%

13. Yin and yang or nature and nurture?
    Yin and yang: 50%
    Nature and nurture: 50%

14. Lewis and Clark or Sam and Frodo?
    Lewis and Clark: 58%
    Sam and Frodo: 42%

15. Bacon and eggs or milk and cereal?
    Bacon and eggs: 76%
    Milk and cereal: 24%

16. Warm blanket and cold air or no blanket and warm air?
    Warm blanket and cold air: 92%
    No blanket and warm air: 8%

17. Guanine and cytosine or adenine and thymine?
    Guanine and cytosine: 70%
    Adenine and thymine: 30%

18. Wright brothers or Cain and Abel?
    Wright brothers: 77%
    Cain and Abel: 23%

19. Scooby Doo and Shaggy or Snoopy and Woodstock?
    Scooby Doo and Shaggy: 52%
    Snoopy and Woodstock: 48%

20. Batman and Robin or Peanut Butter & Jelly?
    Batman and Robin: 56%
    Peanut Butter & Jelly: 44%

🧠 Final Thoughts

We hope everyone had great weeks. We'd greatly appreciate if you'd fill out this form and consider meeting us or guiding us while we are on the road.

Thank you all, and see you on Monday.

Sincerely,
Max and Max