Did you know there’s a fish in a San Francisco aquarium that is older than the Golden Gate Bridge itself? The fish — creatively named Methuselah — arrived in the US in 1938. Scientists believe Methuselah is 92 years old, eight years older than previously thought. To put her age into context, that is 3,500 lifespans of my fourth grade class’s goldfish. Crazy, huh?
In today's edition:
Has anyone seen my F-35?
Cyberattack on… Clorox
To love and to lie
🔑 Key Stories
Found: F-35 Stealth Jet
Authorities found the wreckage of a missing F-35 fighter jet after previously asking the public for help finding it
The F-35 is one of the world’s most advanced fighter jets. Its “stealth” technology makes it virtually undetectable by radar
On Sunday, the Marines Corps announced that one of its F-35s had gone missing after a pilot ejected out of it over South Carolina. The jet continued to fly, and officials couldn’t track it due to its stealth technology
A Marine Corps officially requested the public help find the wreck. On Monday night, military officials announced they’d found its wreckage in a rural South Carolina county northeast of where the jet had last been spotted
Dig Deeper
Officials advised locals to stay away from the crash site and said a full investigation is underway. No injuries were reported on the ground, and the F-35’s pilot is reportedly in stable condition
The incident provoked ridicule online. “How in the hell do you lose an F-35?” a South Carolina representative wrote on X. “How is there not a tracking device and we’re asking the public to what, find a jet and turn it in?”
Iran-US Prisoner Swap
Iran released five Americans as part of a prisoner swap involving the US unfreezing $6B of Iranian assets
This August, the Biden administration struck a deal for Iran to release five Americans the US considers to be wrongfully detained
In exchange, the US agreed to free five Iranians and unfreeze $6B in Iranian funds held in South Korea due to sanctions. Those funds would be held in a Qatari bank and could only be used to purchase humanitarian goods
The swap occurred on Monday. Biden heralded it as a major accomplishment; others criticized it, saying it will encourage Iran to take more hostages
Dig Deeper
President Biden said the deal ended “years of agony, uncertainty, and suffering” for “five innocent Americans”
Others, mostly Republicans, criticized the deal, arguing it gave Iran too much and incentivized Iran to detain more Americans in the future wrongfully. Others speculated Iran will find loopholes to use the funds for non-humanitarian purposes
Australia’s Dating App Crackdown
Australia’s government threatened to regulate dating apps if they don’t improve their safety standards
~3.2M Aussies use dating apps. Last year, a government survey found that 72% of dating app users reported “sexual violence, harassment or aggression” against them on the apps between 2016 and 2021
On Monday, Australia gave dating apps until next June to create a code of conduct to improve safety on their platforms. An official said that if they fail to do so, the government will regulate the industry
“The government is concerned about rates of sexual harassment, abusive and threatening language, unsolicited sexual images and violence facilitated by these platforms,” Australia’s Communications Minister said. “What we want to do in this sector is not stifle innovation, but balance the harms”
Dig Deeper
Representatives from Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble have not commented on the announcement
Canada Accuses India of Assassination
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of playing a role in the murder of a Sikh activist
Sikhism is a religion founded in Punjab, a region split between India and Pakistan. In the 1980s, a movement to create an independent Sikh homeland in Punjab gained momentum. India’s army fought those separatists for years; thousands died
Canada has the world’s largest Sikh population outside of India. This June, masked assailants murdered a Sikh leader and separatist in Canada
On Monday, Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” that India was involved in the killing
Dig Deeper
Trudeau said he confronted the issue at a meeting with Modi last week “in no uncertain terms.” Following Trudeau’s speech, Canada expelled an Indian diplomat believed to be the head of India’s intelligence agency there
In response, India expelled a senior Canadian diplomat and accused Canada of interfering in its internal affairs
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We lose electrolytes and water when we sweat, but many people only replace the water
Low electrolyte levels (especially sodium levels) can lead to headaches, low energy, cramps, confusion, and worse
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Dig Deeper
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ICYMI
For whom the Mel tolls: Michigan State University intends to fire head football coach Mel Tucker for sexual misconduct. Tucker has a 7-day window to dispute the grounds for termination
TikTok on the clock: TikTok will require employees to use an internal app to track office attendance via badge swipes. A three-day-per-week office policy starts next month
Bleach the system: Clorox announced that a “wide scale” cyberattack it endured last month is affecting product availability and first-quarter earnings
Wildcard
Where bears come true: A wild bear spotted in a tree at Disney World in Orlando, Florida led to the closure of several Magic Kingdom attractions on Monday
“Give me back my Monet”: A court ordered a man who submitted empty frames as artwork to return a ~$76,000 loan he received from a museum in 2021
Hunters v. trappers: Hunters rescued a missing 65-year-old Maine man trapped in his vehicle in the woods near Dover, New Hampshire. He had been missing since last Thursday
👇 What do you think?
Today's Question:
Should your government negotiate with other governments to release hostages?
Reply to this email with your answers!
See yesterday's results below the Wrap!
🌯 Roca Wrap
A small number of law enforcement agents go “undercover,” or assume a totally fictitious identity to pursue a case.
According to a document on the website of the US Justice Department, “Undercover tactics provide police information and arrests not otherwise available, given the absence of a complainant, the skill and tight organization of a criminal group, or the conditions under which a crime is committed.”
Yet that document also says, “Invasion of privacy, possible false testimony, corruption, and entrapment are some of the potential abuses of undercover police work.”
Last week, The Guardian broke a story that has put the ethics of undercover policing in the UK in the spotlight.
The case involves a British police officer who went undercover in 2001 and began dating a woman. The couple spent 19 years together, got engaged, and had a child.
The officer never revealed his true identity – his undercover name appears on the child’s birth certificate – and the woman was not a subject of the investigation. But in 2020, when the couple was engaged, police officers informed the woman that her fiancé was actually an undercover officer.
The sister of the woman – who has been publicly referred to as Mary – has said the situation has left Mary “a shadow of the person we used to know.” She added, “This whole thing has broken her…It’s broken us as a family.”
Mary’s sister alleges the police knew about the officer’s relationship for seven years before informing her about it. She also claims the police have tried to silence and intimidate the family to prevent them from speaking about what happened.
Senior police, Mary’s family says, warned them that riots could occur if the public were to become aware of the 19-year relationship. Now Mary’s family say they believe this and other warnings were used to “cover-up” the scandal.
Last week, the police departments involved said, “While working in an undercover role, a former officer engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a member of the public using their pseudonym.”
“We fully recognize for those involved it has been deeply upsetting over a number of years, and remains so today,” they said. “We are sorry.”
Let us know what you think! Should police be allowed to lie about their identities? Email us at [email protected] with your thoughts!
🌊 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Should umbrellas cost more when it's raining?
Yes: 13%
No: 87%
Yesterday's Question:
What was your favorite childhood snack and why?
Dora: "Corn cakes & milk. Corn cakes were sooo good - fresh milk right from the cow. Nothing like what is considered raw milk today"
A from New York: "Apples and peanut butter. The snacktime of kings”
Olivia from London: "There was a savoury Granola type seasoning, like Panko crmbs. As a child in the UK I fancied it was something like 'grits and oatmeal' to accompany my avid reading of Western Annuals. Best with snipped Wurst ( no bacon in our household). Reading often dictates what I eat :-0 , so by late teens and into Tolkien, my go to became a finely thin and crisp, unflavoured but slightly buttery, wafer. Which to me resembled 'lembas' the food of the Elves”
Clemie: “Ice cream, past, present, future, it's always the ice cream.“
Tom from Atlanta, Georgia: “Don't ask me where I picked this up, but I loved coming home from school, sitting down to watch cartoons and eating Nilla Wafers with peanut butter and a bowl of shredded cheddar cheese. No cheese on the Nilla Wafer/Peanut butter sandwich, but eating cheese along with it.”
Seth: “When we were kids, our mom used to make us ‘Fake Pizzas.’ It was just a tortilla with ketchup and cheese on top, then "cooked" in the microwave. Not gonna lie, still eat them today when I want a snack but don't want to make anything”
🧠 Final Thoughts
Thank you to all who sent us positive feedback to our original Wrap from yesterday. We’re excited to bring you many more original stories from Europe, where one of the Maxes is currently on the ground. More on that soon!
In the meantime, happy Tuesday!
—Max and Max
