🌊 Old McDonald Had E. Coli

From our Instagram comments last night…

Hang it in the Louvre.

Also, we’ve been told we’re “cringe” many times before, but never in the context of Roca. It is usually directed at us personally from those who know us best. Maybe we should reflect on that. 😔

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Nuclear Surge

Nuclear energy stocks hit record highs after Amazon and Google announced plans to use small modular reactors (SMRs) to power their AI data centers

• SMRs are next-generation nuclear reactors that are intended to be safer, cheaper, and easier to build than existing reactors. Some investors believe they can revive the nuclear industry, which has struggled since the 2011 Fukushima disaster

• Last week, Amazon and Google signed the biggest SMR deals yet, prompting SMR companies Oklo Inc and NuScale Power to rise 99% and 37%, respectively. Other nuclear companies also reached record highs

Dig Deeper

• Not everyone is as optimistic as Wall Street: No US SMR projects have started construction and over 80% of announced capacity hasn't entered development. Of the power sources waiting to be connected to the US grid, solar, wind, and battery make up 95% while nuclear comprises less than 1%

KEY STORY

Trump vs. Kelly

John Kelly said that Donald Trump is a “fascist” who admires Hitler and would govern as dictator

• Kelly – a four-star general who served as Trump's first homeland security chief and then White House chief of staff from 2017 to 2019 – has emerged as one of Trump’s most prominent official-turned-critics. In a pair of interviews this week, he alleged that Trump had spoken fondly of Hitler, saying he “did some good things too,” and displayed a desire to be a dictator

• Kamala Harris used Kelly’s statements on the campaign trail on Wednesday, saying Trump “wants a military like Adolf Hitler,” while President Biden said the claims show that Donald Trump should be “locked up”

• "Our democracy is at stake," Biden said. "Think about it. Think about what would happen if Donald Trump wins this election…I know this sounds bizarre. It sounds like if I said this five years ago, you'd lock me up. We got to lock him up." Moments later, Biden added, "Politically lock him up. Lock him out. That's what we have to do"

Dig Deeper

• Kelly said he was compelled to speak after Trump was asked last week if he was concerned about “chaos on election day.” Trump had replied, “The bigger problem is the enemy from within…We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the – and it should be very easily handled by – if necessary, by National Guard or, if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen”

• Days later, a Wall Street Journal interviewer asked Trump, “If you were to reach the presidency again, would you of course rule out using the military to move against your enemies?”

• Trump replied, “Yeah but I never said I would…”

• The interviewer replied: “But you would never do that?”

• Trump answered, “Of course I wouldn’t”

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KEY STORY

Trump vs. UK

Trump filed a legal complaint against Britain's Labour party, alleging illegal foreign interference in the US presidential race

• Up to 100 volunteers from Britain’s ruling center-left Labour Party have reportedly traveled to Pennsylvania and North Carolina to campaign on Kamala Harris’ behalf. On Tuesday, Trump’s campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, claiming that Labour sent the strategists to help Harris, thereby constituting foreign interference

• The Labour Party has said that its members have traveled to the US on their own volition and that the party has played no role in their doing so

Dig Deeper

• Starmer downplayed the criticism, saying that Labour volunteers have campaigned in the US for “pretty much every election”

• Meanwhile, a Trump campaign spokesperson said, “In two weeks, Americans will once again reject the oppression of big government that we rejected in 1776. The flailing Harris-Walz campaign is seeking foreign influence to boost its radical message — because they know they can’t win the American people”

KEY STORY

Awful Year for Realtors

In 2023, sales of existing homes in the US fell to their lowest mark since 1995. Per new data, 2024 is on track to be an even worse year

• New data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) show that sales of existing single-family houses, condos, and co-ops that closed in September are down 3.5% from a year ago and down 38% from September 2021

• First-time buyers made up just 26% of September sales, matching the all-time low from August

• The national median existing-home price in September was $404,500, a 3% increase from 2023

Dig Deeper

• Homes are also sitting on the market longer, averaging 28 days compared to 21 days a year ago

• Still, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR, sees hope on the horizon: "Home sales have been essentially stuck at around a four-million-unit pace for the past 12 months, but factors usually associated with higher home sales are developing"

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🇹🇷 An apparent terror attack occurred at a defense facility in Turkey, leaving at least five dead. While no one immediately claimed responsibility, the government pointed the finger at an outlawed Kurdish group

🇺🇸 US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that North Korean troops are being deployed to fight in Ukraine on Russia’s behalf

✈️ Spirit and Frontier Airlines are reportedly considering a merger

🍔 McDonald’s has taken the Quarter Pounder off its menu in 20% of its US branches while it tries to determine the cause of an E. coli outbreak that has left at least one American dead and dozens ill

🇺🇸 Famed election pollster Nate Silver said that his “gut says” Donald Trump will win this year’s election

🇺🇸 Tulsi Gabbard announced that she is joining the Republican party

COMMUNITY

🧐 Yesterday’s question: Why is there such a wide partisan gap between young women and young men?

🧠 Today’s question: Have you picked out a Halloween costume? If so, what are you going to be?

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

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🔫 Cincy Sense of Humor: A 77-year-old Cincinnati woman was charged with reckless homicide after "jokingly" fatally shooting a man

🇷🇺 This course sounds great! A Russian state university in Moscow launched a new "Westernology" course to study "satanic Western civilization"

🍕 A Very Special Sauce: A Düsseldorf, Germany, pizzeria was busted for delivering cocaine under their popular "Pizza No. 40"

👖 Caramel Cargo Pants: Werther's Original created jeans with 30 tiny pockets designed to hold one caramel each

🐒 Monkey Misdemeanor: An 18-year-old in Brazil was arrested for giving drugs and alcohol to a captive monkey

ROCA WRAP

RocAround The World

Chisinau, Moldova: To Join or Not to Join?

This city saw a nail-biting referendum on EU membership.

Chisinau, the capital and largest city of Moldova, is a city between east and west. Once part of Romania, the city became the center of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic and then the capital of Moldova, when it gained independence from the USSR in 1991. Its politics are often revolve divided between those who seek closer integration with Romania, the EU, and Russia.

This week, Chisinau became the focal point of a crucial vote that could shape Moldova's future for decades to come.

In a referendum held alongside presidential elections, Moldovans narrowly approved constitutional changes affirming the country's commitment to joining the European Union. The final tally showed 50.46% voting in favor and 49.54% against, with over 99.6% of votes counted. The unexpectedly close result shocked many observers, as the referendum had been widely expected to pass comfortably in the nation of 2.6M people.

Pro-EU President Maia Sandu, who failed to win re-election outright, accused "foreign forces" of attempting to influence the vote. Moldovan authorities say they uncovered a scheme of payments originating from Moscow, allegedly to persuade people to vote against EU integration. The EU spokesperson called the vote a victim of "unprecedented interference and intimidation by Russia and its proxies."

Despite the referendum, Moldova’s path to EU membership remains uncertain, especially given Moldova’s high levels of corruption and poverty. Ongoing accession talks will continue, with Moldovan officials aiming for 2030 as a potential joining date.

Belgium: A Reluctant Leader

A nationalist who wants to break up this country may become its prime minister.

Belgium is a federal state divided between Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north and French-speaking Wallonia in the south. Despite hosting core European institutions – including NATO’s headquarters and the EU’s main government bodies – it is one of Europe's most politically fragmented countries and known for its lengthy government-formation processes. The country has witnessed mounting tensions between its two major linguistic communities, with Flemish nationalist movements growing stronger in recent decades.

After winning local elections, Bart De Wever, leader of the Flemish nationalist New Flemish Alliance, is poised to become Belgium's prime minister – despite his career-long mission to increase Flemish autonomy and eventually split the country. De Wever won national elections in June but didn’t quickly form a government.

Now, though, his party’s recent success in local elections has catalyzed it to act, and Belgium’s king has asked De Wever to form a government "within a reasonable period."

De Wever has described becoming prime minister as something he’s “dreading…immensely” and “not looking forward to.”  Currently the mayor of Antwerp, he’s described the potential promotion as a battle between his heart and head. 

Despite that, though, he’s taken steps to moderate his politics and boost his and his party’s national appeal, often to the chagrin of those in his party. Perhaps he’s not dreading becoming prime minister as much as he lets on.

Luxembourg: Iceland vs. Iceland

This city is hosting the latest round of a bizarre trademark battle between a country and a supermarket.

Luxembourg, one of Europe's smallest countries, is known for its medieval old town, modern financial district, and role as a seat of several European Union institutions. The city of Luxembourg serves as the country's capital and is home to the European Court of Justice. This week, the city became the stage for an unusual legal battle that has been ongoing for eight years.

The case pits Iceland Foods, a British supermarket chain, against the country of Iceland in a dispute over the use of the word "Iceland" as a trademark in the European Union. On October 16, Richard Walker, executive chairman of Iceland Foods, appeared at the General Court of the European Union to appeal a 2022 decision that stripped the supermarket of its EU trademark protection for the word "Iceland."

The dispute began in 2016 when the Icelandic government challenged Iceland Foods' 2014 EU trademark. The government claimed the supermarket was blocking Icelandic producers from using their country's name to market products in the EU. In 2022, the EU Intellectual Property Office upheld a 2019 ruling in favor of Iceland (the country). While this decision doesn't prevent Iceland Foods from operating in the EU, it means the company can't claim exclusive rights to the word "Iceland" in the bloc.

Legal experts suggest this latest round of proceedings could take up to a year to resolve. If unsuccessful, Iceland Foods would have one final avenue of appeal with the Court of Justice of the European Union.

As the case continues, it raises interesting questions about the limits of trademark protection and the rights of nations to use their names freely in international commerce. For now, both Iceland the country and Iceland the supermarket await the court's decision in this unusual battle of names.

ROCA VIDEO
Interviewing Voters in NYC’s Arab Neighborhood

We went to "Little Egypt", NYC's Most Arab Neighborhood. We talked with immigrants from many countries including Morocco, Lebanon, Algeria, Palestine, and Syria. While one of the most progressive districts in the country, the responses were different than what one might expect...

Make sure to subscribe to the channel!

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Your answers to yesterday’s question about the growing gender partisan gap among people were fascinating. Some of the best, unfortunately, were too long to feature in the newsletter, but please know we read them all. The [email protected] inbox has been popping lately! From cozy fall photos to fiery treatises on the partisan gender gap, you all are keeping it interesting. One more day!

–Max and Max