New year, new TikTok.
It’s not RedNote anymore… it’s Red, White, and BlueNote now. With the impending TikTok ban, users have flocked to another Chinese short-form video app called RedNote, or Xiaohongshu in Chinese. It’s now the #1 app on the App Store, and it must be disorienting to Chinese users of the app to observe this invasion of Renegade dances, Lamar Jackson hype edits, Buc-ee’s food reviews, and the Costco Guys hitting them with three big booms.
Guess once TikTok is gone we’re going to have to do this all over again for RedNote? Same time next year?
🇰🇷 South Korean president arrested
🕊 Ceasefire agreement in Gaza
🏈 Record-setting NFL ticket prices
–Max and Max
KEY STORY
South Korean President Arrested
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested Wednesday night, becoming the first sitting president to be arrested in South Korea’s history
Yoon – who was charged with insurrection over his declaration of martial law last month – had been holed up in the presidential compound for weeks
His Presidential Security Service successfully warded off an arrest attempt on January 3, but this time, his compound was overwhelmed by 3,000 police and anti-corruption agency officers
Yoon could face a prison sentence or even the death penalty if convicted
Dig Deeper
South Korea’s parliament voted to impeach Yoon on December 14, and his successor, the acting president, shortly thereafter
The country’s Constitutional Court now has six months to decide whether to remove or reinstate Yoon to the presidency
KEY STORY
FDA Bans Red 3
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned Red Dye no. 3, a petroleum-derived artificial coloring used to make many popular foods bright red
The synthetic dye has been linked to cancer in animals, raising concerns over its widespread use in popular cherry or strawberry-flavored cereals, drinks, candies, and more
More than 9,200 food products contain the chemical, according to the food safety group Center for Science in the Public Interest. Manufacturers will have until 2027 to remove the dye from food products
Dig Deeper
While the FDA banned Red 3 from cosmetics nearly 35 years ago after findings that it caused cancer in rats, it said the amounts in food were too small and that the cancer-causing mechanism didn’t work in humans. Yet the agency faced repeated calls to ban it, and finally did so from foods on Wednesday
Synthetic food dyes are made by chemically modifying a byproduct of fossil fuels. RFK Jr. – Trump’s Health and Human Services secretary appointee – has vowed to eliminate them, calling them “chemical poisons”
ROCA’S SPONSOR
Will the US Ban TikTok Before May?
Will the US ban TikTok before May? Will Trump buy Greenland? Will “The Brutalist” win Best Picture? Will Bitcoin hit $150k before 2026?
These aren’t just questions to debate with your friends; these are questions you can bet on with Kalshi
Kalshi lets you bet on real-world events – from the Oscars and politics to the weather and sports – and shows you real-time odds for the events. We track Kalshi closely for key events since its odds are often more accurate than polling data
Use code ROCA to get $20 for free once you trade $100
Join Kalshi today here!
KEY STORY
Ceasefire Agreement Reached
Israel and Hamas reached a three-stage deal to end the war in Gaza. The truce is set to begin this weekend
Stage one consists of a 42-day ceasefire; the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages for 1,000+ Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails; a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops; and a significant boost in humanitarian aid deliveries into Gaza
Stage two, set to begin within 16 days of the truce, involves more prisoner exchanges, agreeing to a permanent ceasefire, and a near-total withdrawal of Israeli troops
The last stage requires the return of all bodies of the deceased hostages to Israel and the start of Gaza’s reconstruction under Qatari, Egyptian, and UN supervision
Dig Deeper
Many analysts attributed the talks’ success – after 15 months of failure – to Trump’s election: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly sought to curry favor with the president-elect, while Trump threatened that Hamas would have “all hell to pay” if hostages were not released before his inauguration
One senior Biden administration official credited Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, with helping to break the deadlock and achieve a deal after he joined the talks in Doha on January 5
Breaking Update: On Thursday, the Israeli government postponed a cabinet meeting where ministers would vote to endorse the deal. PM Netanyahu subsequently accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement, while Hamas denied that
KEY STORY
Starbucks Crackdown
Starbucks ended its open-access policy, which allowed anyone to use its cafes and bathrooms without making a purchase
The original policy – implemented in 2018 after a controversial arrest at a Philadelphia location – is being attributed with harming the quality of cafés and leading to fewer customers staying in Starbucks outlets. Reversing that trend is a major company priority
Starbucks is also adding signs banning harassment and violence, threatening language, outside alcohol, smoking, and panhandling
Dig Deeper
In announcing the changes, Sara Trilling, Starbucks North America President, said there's "a need to reset expectations for how our spaces should be used"
The changes come as the coffee giant aims to reverse declining customer traffic and falling sales. Starbucks has said both customers and employees have expressed concerns about the previous open-to-all approach, suggesting that is harming traffic
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
💰 The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Elon Musk over his alleged failure to disclose large purchases of Twitter stock prior to announcing his intent to buy the platform in April 2022
🚫 With a ban set for January 19, American “TikTok refugees” are flocking to Chinese social media app “Xiaohongshu,” which means “little red book” and is a nod to Mao Zedong’s communist pamphlet of the same name
🇧🇩 Britain’s ruling Labour Party’s “Anti-Corruption” Minister Tulip Siddiq resigned after being named in a corruption investigation in Bangladesh
🇨🇺 President Biden announced Tuesday he had issued a last-minute executive order removing Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list
🇺🇸 Several Trump cabinet nominees faced questioning from senators on Wednesday, most notably potential Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio
COMMUNITY
What does Roca Nation think?
🧠 Yesterday’s question: Who’s the most dishonest person in the media? Or the one who annoys you the most?
I think that most every person in the mainstream media is dishonest. I prefer to read my news on Roca, The Free Press, and Tangle and delve deeper into subjects of interest.
Everyone on Fox News annoys the hell out of me.
As a very conservative man, Andrew Tate annoys me the most. I understand young men are in a “masculinity crisis,” however, a promiscuous life is NOT the answer! More money, bigger houses, fancy cars, are NOT the answer. Be honest, hard working, faithful to your spouse and kids, love your neighbors. This is what the world needs.
Weather people probably annoy me the most in media. In the Greater Philadelphia area, they will act like the apocalypse is coming when there’s a thunder storm or 2 inches of snow coming. They’ll suggest you alter your plans, tell you “use caution”, and bring climate change into the mix. Then at the end of the day, whatever bad weather we were supposed to get never comes. You get a drizzly day or a light dusting of snow.
🧐 Today’s question: Do you believe in soulmates? Can two people in a vast world really be destined/perfect for each other?
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
🚀 The Ultimate Ride Share?: To save on costs, two lunar lander robots caught a ride together on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Texas on Wednesday
🏈 New NFL Ticket Price Record: Saturday’s NFL divisional playoff game between the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders has shattered the record for ticket prices, excluding Super Bowls. According to TickPick, the average price of a ticket is $991, making it the most expensive in history
🇺🇸 No Thief Too Young: Police near Syracuse, New York, arrested an 11-year-old girl after wrongly identifying her as a car thief
💲 Bitcoin Rises Again: Bitcoin prices once again approached $100,000 following news that President-elect Trump is considering signing several crypto-related executive orders upon entering office
🦿 Foot Loose: A man was caught on surveillance cameras stealing three amputated legs from a Bucharest, Romania hospital's medical waste storage area, with one leg still unaccounted for after two were found nearby
ROCA WRAP
Occupy the Theater District!
Paris, France
Migrants have occupied a historic theatre in this city for five weeks after attending a free event.
Paris, France's capital and cultural heart, is both a celebrated art center and a major destination of migrants from Africa and the Middle East. Rarely have these worlds collided as much as they are right now at the city’s Gaité Lyrique theatre.
On December 10, the theater – built in 1862 – held a conference on "reinventing the refugee welcome in France." Since then, around 350 migrants, organized by a left-wing group, have refused to leave until the migrants have what the activists consider acceptable accommodation.
The occupation is pushing the theatre, a digital arts and contemporary music hub, to the brink of bankruptcy. With all performances canceled until at least January 24, the venue has lost 70% of its income from ticket sales, threatening its ability to pay its 60 employees.
The situation has created a moral quandary for the Socialist-led city council, which owns the building. While the theatre refuses to evict people "in the middle of winter," neighboring businesses are also reporting lost revenue and increasing tensions.
The city is now beginning eviction procedures, though activists say the occupation will continue: On Wednesday, one migrant was quoted as saying, “More people are arriving every day. We’re staying until alternative accommodation can be found by authorities. If that happens, we’ll leave straight away. We need shelter for these people who don’t want to sleep rough in this freezing weather.”
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
We’re honored to see that none of you wrote in “the Roca Maxes” as your response to yesterday’s question. Your answers spanned the political spectrum, and some of you even wrote in personalities with whom you share many political views. It’s the theater, the inauthenticity that seems to be the biggest turnoff. And we agree. Once you understand an outlet’s incentives, you will see it in a new light. We’re lucky to have a politically diverse audience and no ideological funders; it helps us stay balanced.
–Max and Max
