Looks like the Weeknd will finally be getting his weekdays back. HBO announced that it will not renew controversial show “The Idol” for a second season. The show, which stars The Weeknd as a cult leader and Lily Rose-Depp as a pop star, received poor reviews and criticisms for its 50 Shades of Gray-ness. And now it feels like summer 2021: A Depp’s getting canceled.

In today's edition:

• Trump’s mugshot fundraising

• Hunger strike over Kissgate

• Precious blue crab blood

 🔑 Key Stories

FAA Investigating Pilots

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating ~4,800 pilots suspected of having falsified medical documents

• Around ⅓ of US commercial pilots are veterans. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issues regular payments to veterans based on the severity of disabilities sustained during their service

• The FAA says up to 4,800+ pilots lied about receiving those payments, and some have told the VA they have disabilities that would disqualify them from being pilots. The FAA has suspended 60 pilots because their disabilities pose “a…danger to aviation safety”

Dig Deeper

• ~600 pilots currently under investigation are licensed to fly for passenger airlines

• Since last year, the FAA has set aside $3.6M to hire medical staffers to review pilots’ medical records

• The VA inspector general told The Washington Post that his office is looking into whether the Department of Justice should be involved to potentially prosecute those who committed VA benefits fraud

France Bans Muslim Apparel

France’s education minister banned students from wearing some types of Muslim apparel in schools

• One of France’s core political values is secularism. In 2004, it passed a law banning religious symbols – including large crosses and yarmulkes – in schools; in 2010, it banned full face veils in public

• On Monday, France’s education minister said the government will ban abayas – full-body robes worn by Muslim women that don’t cover the face – in government schools, calling them a “a religious gesture, aimed at testing the resistance of the republic toward the secular sanctuary [of] school”

Dig Deeper

• One of France’s traditional political values is “laïcité,” which loosely translates to the separation of church and state. It more broadly advocates for a separation between private life, where it says religion belongs, and public life, where French tradition dictates everybody should gather as common citizens

• Supporters say the abaya ban strengthens laïcité; critics say it is discriminatory against Muslims

Trump Mugshot Fundraising

Trump’s campaign announced on Saturday that it had raised $7.1M since his mugshot was released

• On Thursday, Trump’s mugshot was taken after he turned himself in for charges related to alleged attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election result

• Trump posted the mugshot to several social media sites, including X – his first post on the platform since it suspended his account in January 2021. They also began selling merchandise with the photo on it

• Trump’s campaign has confirmed it raised $7.1M between Thursday and Saturday, including a single-day record of $4.18M on Friday

Dig Deeper

• A campaign spokesperson also said it had raised “close to $20 million” over the past three weeks, nearly half the amount it raised over the first seven months of Trump’s 2024 candidacy

China or…Silicon Valley?

The mysterious purchase of $800M worth of land near a major California military base was led by tech moguls, not China, multiple reports confirmed

• Over the past six years, a company – “Flannery Associates” – has purchased 55,000+ acres of arid, undeveloped land next to Travis Air Force Base in Solano County, which is in California’s Bay Area. Politicians have long warned that Chinese investors could be buying the land to spy on the military base

• It has now been confirmed that tech moguls, including the co-founders of LinkedIn and Stripe and Steve Jobs’ widow, are buying the land to build a city

Dig Deeper

• Flannery is reportedly trying to build a city with “tens of thousands of new homes, a large solar energy farm, orchards with over a million new trees, and over 10,000 acres of new parks and open space”

• It plans to organize a citizen-led initiative to change the county’s zoning and other laws to build it

The Healthy Alternative to Sugary Sports Drinks

Sponsored by LMNT

LMNT helps anyone stay hydrated—without the sugar and other dodgy ingredients found in popular electrolyte and sports drinks

• Since the 1940s, we’ve been told to drink 8 glasses of water per day. However, only hydrating with plain water can dilute your electrolyte levels – which can lead to headaches, low energy, brain fog, and more

• Electrolytes are essential minerals that facilitate vital bodily functions, including the conduction of nerve impulses, hormonal regulation, nutrient absorption, and fluid balance

• When people sweat they lose water and electrolytes, but many people only replace the water. LMNT electrolytes contain what you need – the salts – without all the other harmful additives. Just mix it with water and it’s perfect for hydrating, be it after a workout or night out

• Other popular electrolyte drinks contain as much as 36 grams of sugar. 36 GRAMS! LMNT contains none – NONE!

• You can try it totally risk-free. If you don’t like it, they’ll give you your money back – no questions asked

Dig Deeper

• Right now LMNT is offering Roca Riders a free sample pack with any purchase. That’s 8 single servings FREE with any LMNT order. This is a great way to try all 8 flavors or share LMNT with a salty friend

🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Tropical Storm Hurricane Idalia: Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 hurricane. Gov. DeSantis has issued evacuation orders for Gulf Coast residents

• CircleBacKGPT: OpenAI launched ChatGPT Enterprise, a business-focused version of its AI chatbot. The company says employees from over 80% of Fortune 500 companies already use ChatGPT

• Mark your calendars…: The federal judge overseeing the case against Donald Trump for allegedly obstructing 2020 election results intends to start his trial on March 4, 2024 – a day before the “Super Tuesday” primary day

Wildcard

• Worms for brains: Australian doctors found a parasitic worm living in a woman’s brain, the first known such occurrence. The worm was 3 inches long, bright red, and parasitic

• Kissgate hunger strike?! Suspended Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales’ mother has locked herself in a church and is hunger striking to protest her son’s treatment

• RIP, Joe the Plumber: The Ohio man who became known as “Joe the Plumber” in the 2008 election has died of cancer at 49. He became a key figure after arguing with Obama about raising taxes

👇 What do you think?

Today's Question:

What's a hobby you have but have never told anyone about?

Reply to this email with your answers!

See yesterday's results below the Wrap! 

🌯 Roca Wrap

If you’ve ever received a vaccine, it was likely processed with horseshoe crab blood.

Horseshoe crabs are among the world’s oldest living animals. Dating back ~450M years, they predate the dinosaurs and have lived through five mass extinction events. They are most closely related to spiders, scorpions, and ticks.

There are four horseshoe crab species: Three live in Southeast Asia; the fourth lives along the Atlantic coast from Mexico to Maine. They are most abundant in the Delaware Bay, which separates New Jersey and Delaware. Their eggs are a major food source for birds that migrate along the Atlantic coast.

Horseshoe crab blood is unique. It’s bright blue and contains immune cells that are extremely sensitive to harmful bacteria. When those cells detect bacteria, they clot around them, protecting the crab. That process creates a distinct biological marker, and in the 1970s, scientists realized they could use that to test pharmaceuticals to determine if harmful bacteria are present.

Scientists developed a test derived from horseshoe crab blood that could test vaccines, shots, and medical implants for harmful bacteria. That test, called Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL), is the industry standard for ensuring that medical devices are bacteria-free. Analysts estimate that LAL was used to quality-test 80M+ vaccines/implants last year alone.

Horseshoe crab blood has since become a significant industry. Every year, fishermen catch hundreds of thousands of them and transport them to labs that use needles to draw blood from them. Some are then released back into the wild; others are killed, ground up, and used as bait.

A liter of horseshoe blood is worth up to $15,000, and in 2021, 700,000+ crabs were caught for that purpose. 15%+ of horseshoe crabs that have blood drawn later die due to associated health issues, and several studies suggest that released female crabs are less likely to mate.

Horseshoe crab populations declined rapidly between 1990 and the 2000s before increasing again over the past decade. Their population remains well below 1990 levels, though, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers them vulnerable to extinction.

Populations of some migratory sea birds that feed on their eggs have fallen significantly.

In recent years, activists and governments have called for an end to bleeding the crabs, and five states – South Carolina, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Maryland – allow horseshoe crabs to be bled. Amid mounting criticism of the industry, an organization representing horseshoe crab fisheries recently released guidelines it says will decrease the share of crabs that die after being bled.

Others have urged pharma companies to switch to using recombinant Factor C (rFC), a synthetic test that imitates horseshoe crab blood.

First developed in the 1990s, studies show that rFC is safe and highly accurate at detecting contaminants, and several US pharma companies have begun the switch to using it. Yet US Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit that sets health and safety standards for the pharma industry, hasn’t approved rFC, making it difficult for pharma companies to switch to it.

BNP Paribas, one of France’s largest banks, recently sent a letter to 14 major pharma companies urging them to use rFC instead of horseshoe crab blood. Last week, US Pharmacopeia announced it could approve rFC as soon as next year, opening the door for pharma companies to switch to it.

Are things looking up for the blue-blooded crabs?

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

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Would you rather live in California or Florida?

California: 43.3%
Florida: 56.7%

Yesterday's Question:

With regards to the question above: Why?

Bob from New York: “You should have offered a third option - NEITHER! If i had to choose, I would probably go with California. But it has too many people which cause most of its problems. Florida? In a word, this week, Idalia. Rising sea level will obliterate it. And again, to many people. I live in rural Upstate New York. It is very nice. Uncrowded. So please don’t tell anyone.”

Paul from New Zealand: “I can't decide ... falling off of the shelf in a big shake before it burns to a cinder or getting blown off of the ground before it sinks under water. Then you have all the crazies to contend with ... a tough choice. I might stay where I am thanks.”

Spencer from Tampa: “I might be a little biased here, but growing up in the Sunshine State, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Sure, we have some hot and humid days in the summer and the occasional hurricane that comes and messes up your month, but those are well worth the perks of living here. Sunny skies, beautiful beaches, low taxes, tons of entertaining Florida man stories, beautiful nature, some of the kindest people you'll ever meet, and overall easy-living, FL is paradise!”

Claudia from California: “California. I was born here. My family is here. Most of my friends are here. Weather. Politics, politics, politics! I'm severely liberal and LGNTQ+; so it is much safer for me here.”

🧠 Final Thoughts

When we were kids we used to go to the beach and search for horseshoe crabs when the tide went out. If only we had known their blood went for $15,000 a liter, we could have invested it in Apple in 1999. Who knew that would be worth $9.4M today…

Have a nice Tuesday!

—Max and Max