Happy 67th birthday to the inventor of the device you're probably reading this on, Steve Jobs. If you want to feel better about the financial decisions you're going to make this weekend, let us tell you about the little-known 3rd co-founder of Apple, Ronald Wayne. After just 12 days with the company, Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake in Apple for $800 in 1976. 10% of Apple today is worth over $200B. So, seriously... don't sweat the extra fried cheese sticks order.

Our Ethiopia series will resume on Monday and wrap up next week. For those who can't wait, the archive is available here. Let us know where we should send Frost next!

In today's edition:

• US sends troops to Taiwan

• Trailer home sells for millions

• 20 Questions

🔑 Key Stories

AI Taking Over Chores?

A study found AI-powered robots may be able to perform ~39% of domestic tasks within a decade

• An international team of researchers asked 65 AI experts from the UK and Japan to predict the impact of AI on 17 daily tasks over the next 10 years

• On average, the experts estimated that 39% of the time that people currently spend on domestic work could be automated within the next 10 years; 27% of work could be automated within 5 years

• They also predicted that people would spend 44% less time doing housework, 47% less time doing dishes, and 46% less time cleaning or cooking

Dig Deeper

• “Considering that people currently spend almost similar amounts of time on unpaid work as they do on paid work, the social and economic implications of this future of unpaid work could be significant,” the authors said. “It could free up additional hours from people’s lives for paid work and leisure, especially for women”

Murdaugh Admits to Lying

Alex Murdaugh admitted to lying about what happened the night his wife and son were killed

• Murdaugh comes from a family of prominent South Carolina lawyers. In 2021, Murdaugh called 911 to report that he’d found his wife and son shot dead

• In July, Murdaugh was indicted for murdering his wife and son; that trial began in Jan. Early into it, prosecutors showed a Snapchat video taken by his son that placed Murdaugh at the scene minutes before his son’s death, contradicting his alibi that he hadn’t been there. On Thursday, Murdaugh testified at trial that he had lied, but insisted he didn’t kill them

Dig Deeper

• Once I lied, I continued to lie,” he said, "I had to keep lying"

• Murdaugh's new alibi is that he went down to the murder scene with his wife and son, returned to the house to nap, then drove to visit his mother. He claims he found them dead after

US Sending More Troops to Taiwan

The US is sending 100-200 American soldiers to Taiwan over the next few months, the WSJ reported

• Taiwan is a self-governing democratic island off the coast of China. China considers it a breakaway region and vows to take it back, by force if necessary; the US has hinted it would defend it

• In late 2021, the WSJ reported that the US stationed ~2 dozen troops there to train Taiwanese soldiers

• Recently, tensions over the island have grown, especially after US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited last year. On Thursday, US officials said the US would deploy 100-200 more troops there

Dig Deeper

• For years, Taiwan has stocked up on weaponry as part of its "porcupine" strategy, which seeks to make an invasion so costly that China decides not to do it

Skin Cancer Vaccine Breakthrough?

US regulators are fast-tracking a vaccine for a deadly skin cancer after successful results from an early trial

• Melanoma is among the deadliest forms of skin cancer. The American Cancer Society projects ~100k Americans will get it and ~8k will die from it in 2023

• Doctors often use surgery to remove melanoma tumors, but that can leave behind cancer cells that can spread and require more treatment or be fatal

• In December, pharmaceutical company Moderna announced a new melanoma vaccine that reduced melanoma recurrence by 44%. The FDA has now fast-tracked future trials, and Moderna says it could be used for other cancers

Dig Deeper

• The vaccine uses mRNA techniques similar to Moderna's Covid vaccine. Its primary goal is to "teach" the patient's immune system to identify cancerous melanoma cells, thereby allowing it to target and kill them

A Global Affairs Newsletter by Former Diplomats

Together with International Intrigue

There's too much global news amid today’s international chaos. If you can’t keep up, though, International Intrigue can

• Their team of former diplomats sends a free daily newsletter brief that covers global news in under 5 minutes

• Join over 20,000 thought leaders, global thinkers, and decision-makers and sign up for International Intrigue today!

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• "Ahh, you think darkness is your ally": Star quarterback Aaron Rodgers has officially returned from a 4-day darkness retreat in a Hobbit-like house in Oregon

• One last f*** off hurrah: Succession will end after the upcoming Season 4, series creator Jesse Armstrong revealed. The hit HBO show returns on March 26

• Wizard of Ozy: Carlos Watson, the founder of progressive media company Ozy Media, has been arrested on fraud charges. Ozy's downfall began in 2021

Wildcard

• Wall Street woes: Billionaire finance pioneer Thomas H. Lee was found dead in his office from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 78

• Trailer park boy$: An oceanfront trailer in the Hamptons sold for a whopping $3.75M. The 800-square-foot space cost roughly $5,000 per square foot

• Hopped off the plow at LAX: The Los Angeles area is under a rare blizzard warning. The mountains east of the city could see up to 8 feet of snow

👇🏻 What do you think?

Today's Question:

Just 20 Questions!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🗣 20 Questions

Every Friday, we ask the Roca readers 20 questions, then feature our favorite answers the following week.

We love music here at Roca HQ, so for today's 20 Questions, we compiled a list of 20 of the most iconic songs of all time for you to rate. Next week, we'll release the definitive Roca list.

Some of these are no-brainers (Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones), others are more controversial (Blinding Lights by the Weekend).

We can't to how you rank them.

Here is the link! Leeeeet's RANK!

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

🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Which is objectively cuter?

Puppy 🐶 : 81%

Baby 👶: 19%

Yesterday's Question:

Have you ever tried to grow your own food? 🌱

Becky from Kansas: “Carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, radishes, lettuce, melons, cucumbers, green beans...all are pretty easy to grow and taste great fresh out of the garden!”

Zach from Washington: “I haven't before but my family and I have raised beds and planters ready for the spring! Right now we have a bunch of garlic and potatoes planted. We have a compost bin going as well. Super excited!”

Samantha from Texas: “Yes, I was in college and me and my roommate tried to grow some herbs… they went moldy.”

Last Week's 20 Qs Responses:

1. Public school 60.3%, Private school 39.7%

2. Go in 50.3%, Drive thru 49.7%

3. Stay home 76.1%, Go out 23.9%

4. Dress up 30.7%, Dress down 69.3%

5. Home remedy 43.2%, Medication 56.8%

6. Early bird 47.7%, Night owl 52.3%

7. Driver’s seat 67.8%, Passenger seat 32.2%

8. Morning shower 62.9%, Evening shower 37.1%

9. Think before doing 86.2%, Do before thinking 13.8%

10. Confrontational 24.2%, Non-confrontational 75.8%

11. Wedding 62.6%, Elopement 37.4%

12. Introvert 61.7%, Extrovert 38%

13. Tipping at coffee shops 55.9%, No tipping at coffee shops 44.1%

14. Risk taker 33.3%, Play it safe 66.7%

15. Wear your heart on your sleeve 38.8%. Keep things to yourself 61.2%

16. Adventure seeker 42.4%, Home body 57.6%

17. Talker 35.2%, Listener 64.8%

18. Animals allowed on the bed 61.2%, No animals on the bed 38.8%

19. Do it yourself 75.8%, Ask for help 24.2%

20. Large group of acquaintances 13.5%, Small circle of close friends 86.5%

🧠 Final Thoughts

Just like that, another partial trip around the sun. We hope you all have wonderful weekends. Stay warm, have fun, and do your 20 Questions!

–Max and Max