Wish we could start this Fourth of July newsletter with a knock-knock joke but apparently there are none. You know why? Cause freedom rings.

I’ll see myself out, but please make sure to fill in the Fourth of July-themed 20 Questions and have an amazing, glizzy-filled weekend.

In today's edition:

• Supreme Court haymaker

• College sports stay red-hot

• 20 Questions!

 🔑 Key Stories

SCOTUS Blocks Affirmative Action

The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled that race-based affirmative action is unlawful

• US universities typically consider race as a factor in admissions. In 2014, an organization sued to challenge that

• It sued Harvard, a private university, for violating a law that says institutions receiving government funding can’t discriminate; it sued UNC, a public one, for violating the 14th Amendment, which prohibits discrimination by government institutions

• SCOTUS voted 6-3 to agree in both decisions. The 6 conservative justices voted to block affirmative action; its 3 liberals did not

Dig Deeper

• “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,” the majority opinion said. “The student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual – not on the basis of race”

• The 3 liberal justices wrote that the ruling “cements a superficial rule of colorblindness as a constitutional principle in an endemically segregated society where race has always mattered and continues to matter”

Bonus Dig Deeper

• Many universities have had officials working to create policies that are similar to affirmative action but legal

• Those being considered include using zip code, parents’ education, and income levels as race-blind ways to benefit some applicants

Spy Balloon’s Insides

US officials said the Chinese spy balloon was collecting photos, videos, and other data, the Wall Street Journal reports

• The US shot down the balloon after an 8-day flight over Alaska, Canada, and more US states. The US proceeded to shoot down 3 other aircraft, however they were found to have no connection to China

• US officials retrieved the first balloon’s debris from the Atlantic Ocean and analyzed it. They released some of the findings this week

• Among them, the balloon was covered in solar panels for power and had a propeller to either move or stay in place. It was equipped with both US and Chinese equipment, some readily-available and some specialized. The balloon took photos, videos, and radar data, but didn’t send it back to China

Dig Deeper

• Some US officials have suggested putting parts of the balloon on public display, as they did in 2017 to show Iranian weapons that were being used in the Middle East, although the Biden administration has resisted that. During a visit to China last week, the US secretary of state said the countries should move on from the incident: “That chapter should be closed”

Businesses to Vote

A Delaware town hopes its businesses will soon have the right to vote

• Several Delaware towns let registered businesses that own property vote in local elections

• One town, Seaford, has passed such a plan and submitted it to the state legislature for final approval. The town has 8,000 people and 234 businesses, but just 340 people voted in the last municipal election

• Businesses will register to vote and the town will check their owners against registered voters to prevent double-voting. Supporters say the plan will boost voter turnout; critics say it dilutes individuals

Dig Deeper

• Delaware is the most common state for public companies to incorporate in. It has a court that specifically handles corporate cases and lets business owners quickly, flexibly, and anonymously incorporate businesses. In total, the state has 1.8M registered businesses to just 900,000 people

Orca Prevention Devices

Portuguese officials are testing devices to deter orcas from attacking boats near the country

• Orcas have been attacking boats near Spain and Portugal since 2020. Hundreds of incidents have been reported, and attacks have totally wrecked 3 ships. No humans have been injured

• The incidents are causing boaters to avoid nearby waters. Since March, a national sailing organization has been holding meetings with researchers and the Portuguese Navy to establish a solution

• As soon as next month, they will begin testing acoustic devices to scare off the killer whales

Dig Deeper

• It remains unclear why the orcas are attacking the vessels. Marine biologists have traced the behavior to a single orca, who apparently taught the behavior to others. While some have said the killer whales may be seeking revenge for a traumatic experience, this hasn’t been substantiated

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🍿 Popcorn

ICYMI

• Geaux, college sports: The College World Series — which the LSU Tigers won — became the latest college sporting event to shatter viewership records. Earlier this year, the men's lacrosse final and women's basketball final soared past TV records

• “Pitch(er) perfect: New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán threw the 24th perfect game in MLB history and the first since 2012

• Human remains on Titan: The US Coast Guard found “presumed human remains” in the Titan submersible’s wreckage

Wildcard

• Gates Keeping: Women who applied for jobs in Bill Gates’ private office claim that the screening process involved deeply personal questions, including about their pornography preferences

• Crappy investment: A California man received a 6-year federal prison sentence for a $9M fraudulent cow manure-to-green energy investment scam

• Caution, the left leg is ending: A Thai woman had her leg amputated after it got stuck in a moving walkway at Bangkok’s airport. The on-site medical team made the decision to operate

👇🏻 What do you think?

Today's Question:

Just 20 Questions!

See yesterday's results below! 

🗣 20 Questions

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

It's Fourth of July weekend and we want to celebrate by asking a combination of USA- and holiday-themed questions. We give you 2 options for each, and you pick the one you prefer.

We'll include the response rates next Friday. We hope you enjoy filling these out as much as we enjoyed coming up with them. Have wonderful weekends, all!

Here's the link! 

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

 🌊 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Have you played pickleball in the last month?

No: 88%
Yes: 12%

Thanks, Ollie from Australia, for this reflection on yesterday’s pickleball story: “Sad take on Pickleball related injuries costing the US Government millions. We should be celebrating people aged over 60 getting out there exercising and socialising! Exercise has proven to be beneficial to nearly every major disease which predominantly effects people over the age of 60. Report on that!!”

Yesterday's Question:

Should MDMA-assisted therapy be legal?

Joseph from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma: “No!!! What the heck? It’s [ecstasy]. That drug is so easy to abuse and you die from heat stroke. Makes you so horny you can’t function. This is insanely stupid and causes Jada Pinkett to lust after men other than her husband. KEEP IT IN YOUR PANTS JADA!”

Miranda from San Francisco, California: "Yes!!! I did ecstasy a few times over 20 years ago at raves. Fast forward: I’m 40, now in San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA, working as an operating room nurse. I did MDMA in ceremony with my eyes closed and sound baths. I feel like I’ve gotten more out of that experience therapy wise than anything I’ve tried before. You really dig deep and figure your shit out when you sit with it. Of course, it’s fun and great for dancing/parties but I really believe it is helpful in a ceremony/therapy setting. I’ve watched others go through the ceremony as well. The medicine works. Change needs to happen. What we are doing is not working.."

Bradley from Minneapolis "Absolutely! The early science of MDMA- and Psilocybin-assisted therapy is showing promising results. I think a majority of people understand that the “War on Drugs” was an utter failure and a new approach needs to be implemented, where we are able to use these drugs in a controlled and safe environment in order to assist people in overcoming detrimental mental health issues. It’s not the right answer for everyone, but it should be an option.”

Fathuma from the Twin Cities: “Yes, I’m a huge supporter of the use of psychedelics to better mental health conditions and kick bad habits. Though more research and education are needed before rolling them out on a larger scale. Through I’ve never tried MDMA, I’ve had both shrooms and lsd on several occasions and had major growth from those experiences because of the radical perspective shift it’s induced for that fixed amount of time. :)”

Last Week's 20 Qs Responses:

Last week we asked you to rank movies on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being trash, and 10 being a masterpiece. We averaged your responses below:

1. The Dark Knight: 7

2. Inception: 7

3. Wolf of Wall Street: 7

4. The Avengers: 8

5. Forrest Gump: 9

6. Saving Private Ryan: 9

7. Remember the Titans: 8

8. School of Rock: 6.5

9. The Godfather: 9

10. Wedding Crashers: 6

11. Mean Girls: 5.5

12. Titanic: 8.5

13. Catch Me if You Can: 6

14. Toy Story: 9

15. Lion King: 8.5

16. Mulan: 7

17. Frozen: 7

18. Incredibles: 7

19. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: 7.5

20. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: 7

🧠 Final Thoughts

We hope you all have a great weekends. For all of you traveling for the Fourth of July, we hope your drives and flights go smoothly. If you end up with a 9-hour delay or in bumper-to-bumper traffic, at least you’ve got 20 Questions to keep you entertained.

Enjoy the summer weather!

—Max and Max