🌊 Trump's New Powell

A very special birthday: RocaNews turns 5 🎂

Five years ago today, we huddled around a computer, pressed publish… and nothing happened. That was the start of RocaNews.

We reflect on our first five years in tomorrow’s edition of We The 66, but today we would like to say this: Thank you. It’s hard to believe that fives years after huddling around that computer with racing hearts and bloodshot eyes from a sleepless night (and lots of Red Bull) we have become the fastest-growing news brand in the US.

We remain more fired-up about our mission to deliver nonpartisan news than ever, but today we feel gratitude. Thank you, Roca Nation. Here’s to many, many more years of the Roca Wave. We have the most vibrant, curious, and politically diverse news community in the country today. You are the reason why. 🌊

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

FBI Raids Bolton’s House

FBI agents searched the home and office of John Bolton, President Trump's former national security adviser

• Bolton is a long-time foreign policy hawk who served as President George W. Bush’s Ambassador to the UN, a fellow at the pro-intervention American Enterprise Institute think tank, and then as national security adviser for 17 months during Trump’s first term. Shortly after leaving in 2019, he published a memoir that sharply criticized Trump's presidency

• The first Trump Justice Department (DoJ) opened an investigation into whether that book disclosed classified information, before Biden’s DoJ stopped it. Trump’s second DoJ reopened the investigation this month, and on Friday, federal agents executed search warrants at Bolton's Maryland home and Washington, DC, office

Dig Deeper

• The investigation focused on allegations that Bolton illegally possessed or shared classified materials, extending beyond the previous book-related probe to include other accusations of leaking sensitive information

• FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media during the search, "NO ONE is above the law... FBI agents on mission" Attorney General Pam Bondi later quoted the post, adding, "America's safety isn't negotiable"

• Trump told reporters he had no prior knowledge of the investigation, saying, "I'm not a fan of John Bolton. He's a real sort of a low life. He could be a very unpatriotic guy. We're going to find out"

KEY STORY

Famine Declared in Gaza

The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed a man-made famine in Gaza City

• The IPC declares a famine when an area meets three specific criteria: 20%+ of households face extreme food shortages, 30%+ of young children suffer acute malnutrition, and 2+ adults or 4+ children per 10,000 die daily from starvation or malnutrition-related causes. It has declared three famines since 2004 (Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017, and Sudan last year)

• Having analyzed data from July 1 to August 15, the IPC has now declared a famine in Gaza City. The IPC projected that 641,000+ people would experience famine conditions by September's end

• Israel's Foreign Ministry claimed the IPC changed its standards to reach the famine determination

Dig Deeper 

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the report "an outright lie" and stated that "Israel does not have a policy of starvation"

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the findings as "a man-made disaster, a moral indictment, and a failure of humanity itself" and called for an immediate ceasefire

• The report warned that approximately 132,000 children under age five could die from acute malnutrition in the coming months, double the estimate from May

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KEY STORY

Powell Signals Rate Cuts

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank would likely cut interest rates at its September meeting

• The Fed has maintained its benchmark rate in the 4.25-4.5% range since December 2024, following rate cuts in the second half of that year. Officials had adopted a cautious stance due to uncertainty surrounding President Trump's economic policies, particularly tariff and immigration concerns

• Speaking at the Fed's annual conference Friday, Powell stated that "the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance," emphasizing that the labor market was in a "curious kind of balance" resulting from both slowing worker supply and demand

Dig Deeper

• Powell highlighted recent employment data showing that job growth in recent months had been substantially weaker than previously reported, creating what he called “downside risks to employment”

• Powell also said that while tariff effects on consumer prices were "now clearly visible," he suggested their impact would likely be “relatively short lived”

• Financial markets reacted strongly to Powell's remarks, with the S&P 500 jumping 1.6%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising 2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.9%

KEY STORY

Ghislaine Transcripts Released

The Justice Department released transcripts and audio recordings of an interview with Ghislaine Maxwell conducted from a Florida federal prison

• Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell as she actively sought a presidential pardon from Trump and petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn her conviction

• Maxwell told Blanche she never witnessed President Trump engage in any inappropriate or illegal behavior, describing him as "a gentleman in all respects" and “always very cordial and very kind.” She also denied the existence of any client list or blackmail scheme involving powerful people in Epstein's circle, stating, “There is no list”

Dig Deeper 

• Maxwell called allegations about Prince Andrew's relationship with Virginia Giuffre “mind-blowingly not conceivable” and claimed a famous photograph showing Andrew with Giuffre was fake

• She also expressed doubt that Epstein died by suicide, suggesting instead that if he was murdered, it was likely “an internal situation” within the prison rather than an outside plot to silence him

• The interview sparked outrage from the Giuffre family, who said the government gave Maxwell “a platform to rewrite history” without challenging her “court-proven lies”

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🧑‍⚖️ A federal judge ordered Florida to stop sending immigrant detainees to a controversial Everglades facility and begin dismantling it within 60 days

🇺🇸 California's legislature approved a redistricting plan designed to give Democrats five additional congressional seats, countering Republican efforts to redraw maps in Texas 

👮 President Trump announced plans to potentially deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, Baltimore, and New York, following his federal takeover of Washington, DC's police and deployment of 2,000 troops there

🇨🇦 Canada announced it will drop some retaliatory tariffs on most US goods starting September 1, following a phone call between Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Trump

🪖 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, citing “loss of confidence” in the latest dismissal of senior military leadership

What does Roca Nation think?

🌊 Today’s Question: We’re curious: How did you find out about Roca?

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🎂 Sweet 116: Ethel Caterham celebrated her 116th birthday last Thursday, making her the world's oldest living person and the last surviving subject of King Edward VII

🚓 Rear and Present Danger: A registered sex offender known for allegedly sniffing women's buttocks in public was arrested again in Burbank, CA, just two weeks after his release from jail for a nearly identical incident

👢 Lil Naked X: Grammy-winning rapper Lil Nas X was arrested last week in Los Angeles after police found him walking down Ventura Boulevard in his underwear and cowboy boots

🏫 Adios Edgar: El Salvador's new education minister has implemented a strict dress code enforcement that allows schools to dock grades or assign community service for violations like unapproved haircuts or missing uniform elements. The education minister and military captain banned popular hairstyles, including mohawks and "Edgar cuts" while requiring perfect uniform compliance down to monograms and shoe cleanliness

🥩 Beef Thief: A Louisiana man was arrested for stealing $300 worth of meat from Walmart and Sam's Club by concealing it in his pants

ROCA WRAP
Royal Acquittal

Thailand

A Bangkok court cleared this country's controversial billionaire ex-leader of insulting the monarchy.

Thailand's lèse majesté laws are among the world's strictest, forbidding any criticism of the royal family and carrying sentences of up to 15 years in prison. The Southeast Asian kingdom has used these laws increasingly to silence political opponents and activists who challenge the status quo. Against this backdrop, a Thai court this week acquitted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of royal insult charges stemming from a decade-old newspaper interview.

The billionaire had faced up to 15 years behind bars for comments he made to a South Korean publication about the 2014 military coup that ousted his sister's government. Thaksin had suggested "some people in the palace" and privy council members instigated the coup, technically targeting bodies not directly covered by the lèse majesté laws. 

Judges chose a literal interpretation of the monarchy protection law, ruling that since Thaksin hadn't named specific individuals, he couldn't be convicted. The decision surprised many observers who expected the broadly interpreted statute to ensnare the former leader. Thailand's lèse majesté prosecutions have become so expansive that citizens have faced prison time for criticizing the late king's dog or posting critical banners near royal portraits.

The acquittal brings relief to the Shinawatra clan as Thaksin's daughter, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, faces her own Constitutional Court battle over alleged improper communications with Cambodia's leadership. Critics accuse the family of running a "dual leadership" arrangement, with the experienced former premier pulling strings behind his inexperienced daughter's administration. The constitutional case threatens to remove yet another Shinawatra from power after just one year in office.

For a man who fled into 15 years of exile, Thaksin's legal victory proves that in Thai politics, even the monarchy's protection has its limits.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

This pic was taken five years ago in Max F’s apartment. Since then, we’ve worked out of six different offices (two of which were apartments), change cities, and lost a lot of hair (well, Max T at least).

Thank you for coming on this journey with us. We can’t wait for the next five years. And we try not to pick favorites among the Roca audience but… it’s you all. This is the one product we’ve done nonstop since launch day five years ago.

–Max and Max