🌊 Why Schools are Banning Crocs 😳

Vladimir Putin channels his inner Doctor Evil. 

In response to YouTube restricting Russian media channels, Putin hit Google with a fine of 2 undecillion rubles. In US dollars, that comes out to approximately $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. That is… a lot of zeros. He’s basically fined YouTube infinite money. All we can say is LMAOOO,OOO,OOO.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Organ Donation Trust Crisis

Public confidence in organ donation programs has plummeted following reports that organs were nearly harvested from a living Kentucky man who was mistakenly declared dead in 2021

• In a 2021 case that came to light during a congressional hearing last month, a 36-year-old man who had been pronounced dead from a drug overdose began “thrashing around on the bed” just before his organs were scheduled for removal

• People in the operating room have alleged that when they told the organ donor organization what had happened, the coordinator told them to “find another doctor to do it…We were going to do this case”

• The case has since sparked a 10x increase in requests for removal from organ donor lists

Dig Deeper

• Donate Life America has since reported that 170 people per day removed themselves from the national donor registry in the week following the reporting – 10x the same period in 2023

• In France, daily opt-out requests jumped from 100 to 1,000

• Organ donor advocates have insisted that cases like that the Kentucky one are extremely rare and that no one is left to die so their organs can be harvested

KEY STORY

Crocs In Trouble?

Dozens of schools in at least 12 states have forbidden Crocs, citing safety hazards and classroom distractions

• The bans come as the shoe company reaches record revenues, boosted by its popularity among Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Crocs' share prices have increased 55% in the past year

• It also come amid a TikTok trend in which kids in Crocs slip and trip in their school hallways. Schools have said the trend is both distracting and a safety hazard. "Whenever someone mentions a foot injury, the first thing everyone says is, 'I bet you they were wearing Crocs,'" one New York school nurse told Bloomberg

• Crocs has called the bans "baffling"

Dig Deeper

• One representative Croc ban from a Florida middle school said, “Safe footwear shall be worn at all times. No open-toe shoes, bedroom slippers, or shower shoes. All shoes must have a strap or back at the heel…NO CROCS allowed”

• Crocs maintains that its shoes are suitable for everyday wear, despite the growing concerns

ROCA’S SPONSOR

A Special Roca Beverage

Together with LMNT

Last week, Roca reader Brandon sent in the above photo from the fire station where he works. He’s one of the many Roca Riders – including the whole Roca team – that loves drinking LMNT 

• If you haven’t tried LMNT, now is a great time to do so. Their Chocolate Medley – a tasty trio of Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Chai, and Chocolate Raspberry flavors – is officially back. We recommend enjoying them HOT! 

• One box of Chocolate Medley includes 10 Chocolate Mint, 10 Chocolate Chai, and 10 Chocolate Raspberry packs

• Get these flavors for a limited time here

Dig Deeper

• As always, Roca readers get a no-questions-asked refund policy on all orders. We also recommend LMNT as a great stocking stuffer for anyone who likes to hydrate! 

• Get your LMNT here

KEY STORY

Crypto Surges Ahead of Election

Cryptocurrencies have been surging ahead of the presidential election

• Bitcoin is up more than 8% in the last week and surpassed the $73,000 mark Tuesday night. Ethereum, Dogecoin, and others have also jumped

• Many analysts attribute the jump to Elon Musk’s elevated political prominence as he campaigns with Donald Trump. Musk said he will run the Dept. of Gov’t Efficiency (dubbed DOGE) if Trump is elected

• Trump has recently come out in support of crypto; Harris said she wants to “encourage… digital assets, while protecting our consumers and investors”

Dig Deeper

• Trump, who years ago said bitcoin was based on “thin air,” U-turned in recent years and called it “the future” and an “incredible technology”

• Harris has made few statements about Crypto during her campaign, but at a Wall Street fundraiser said that she will “encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets, while protecting our consumers and investors”

KEY STORY

Refunds for Delayed Flights

Airlines are now required to give customers automatic refunds for significantly delayed or canceled flights, under a new Department of Transportation (DOT) rule that went into effect this week

• The new rule stipulates that if your flight is canceled or delayed by more than three hours for a domestic itinerary or six hours for an international itinerary, you're entitled to an automatic refund

• The new DOT policy also requires refunds for checked bag fees if luggage is not delivered within a specified timeframe, as well as for unavailable paid services like Wi-Fi

Dig Deeper

• “Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them - without headaches or haggling,” DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement when the regulation was announced this spring

• “Our new rule sets a new standard to require airlines to promptly provide cash refunds to their passengers”

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🇺🇸 The US economy grew 2.8% in Q3, just below Q2's 3% rate, driven by robust consumer spending

📈 Reddit stock jumped 40% after the company announced its first-ever quarterly profit

💉 RFK Jr. said that Donald Trump promised him “control” of several major health agencies

🗑️ Kamala Harris tried to walk back Joe Biden’s statement on Tuesday that “The only garbage I see floating out there is his [Trump’s] supporters”

🇪🇸 Catastrophic flooding in Spain has left at least 95 people dead

COMMUNITY

🧐 Yesterday’s question: Do you think Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke about Puerto Rico — where he compared it to a floating piece of garbage — could impact the election?

🧠 Today’s question: Do you think President Biden’s quote — in which he allegedly called Trump supporters “garbage” — will impact the election?

Reply to this email to let us know what you think!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🚗 One Heck of a Party: An Ontario man was arrested after dancing in his car and urinating on his steering wheel

🇺🇸 Good Parents, Bad Wife?: A Utah woman allegedly murdered her sleeping husband after he discovered her affair. Her parents then allegedly helped her conceal the evidence

🇰🇷 Boar on the (Korean) Floor: A 100-kg (220-pound) wild boar rampaged through a South Korean train station

🇨🇦 A Cancelable Costume: Four Canadian men apologized after attending a Halloween party at a Firefighters Club dressed in KKK costumes

😨 TikTok’s Tragic New Trend: Walmart employees have been speculating about how one of their own ended up dead inside a Walmart bakery oven. Their videos have racked up tens of millions of views on TikTok

ROCA WRAP

Who Has the Power

Guadeloupe, France

This Caribbean island has gone dark after strikers seized its main power station.

A French overseas territory in the Caribbean, Guadeloupe is an archipelago of islands home to ~380,000 people. The territory manages its electricity needs independently, with no connections to foreign countries. Around 70% of its power comes from thermal sources like fuel oil and wood pellets. The island has long grappled with living standards that lag behind mainland (metropolitan) France.

Since September, the territory’s power company has been engaged in a labor dispute with its union. Last week, striking union workers entered the command room of one of the territory’s power stations and initiated an emergency shutdown of all engines, plunging the entire territory into darkness and sparking a territory-wide crisis.

In response, authorities "requisitioned" staff to restore power, hospitals activated backup generators for critical operations, and the French government mobilized services to address the crisis. Still, with no interconnection agreements with other countries, the island is largely dependent on resolving its internal dispute. Until it does so, essential services will remain disrupted.

The power cut is part of broader unrest in French overseas territories, including neighboring Martinique, where protesters have recently clashed with police over rising living costs.

And despite being thousands of miles from Paris, it fits into the larger French tradition of striking, regardless of the inconvenience caused to others.

ROCA VIDEO
What Happens If Trump and Harris Tie?

A tie in the 2024 presidential election is way more plausible than you might think. There are multiple scenarios that get us to a tie — one of which is among the likeliest electoral scenarios. The tiebreaker is pretty bizarre, and in this election it gives one candidate a huge advantage. It could also result in a bizarre administration with a Trump/Walz or Harris/Vance ticket.

Make sure to subscribe to the channel!

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Happy Halloween, Roca Nation. On yesterday’s question, a few people wrote in to say they felt the question was biased against Trump. Two comments on this since we do generally try to avoid such political questions: 1)Today’s question — which was already planned — is about Biden and the “garbage” comment. 2) If they think we’re biased against Trump for asking the question, then maybe the Trump campaign is biased against Trump since they seem to think it’s a potential issue, too! In the last few days, Trump has disavowed Hinchcliffe, released an ad with Hispanics for Trump, set up a campaign event in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in PA, and touted the endorsement of a PR senator. Have a great day, Roca Nation!

–Max and Max