🌊 O "Brothers," Where Art Thou?

How about a pawsitive news story?

Forget Tom Brady: There’s a new best coming-out-of-retirement story in Florida. A 10-year-old therapy dog named Ben came out of retirement last week to help with the hurricane recovery effort in his Vero Beach community. Ben worked as a therapy dog in hospitals and nursing homes for six years before his recent retirement. In the wake of Hurricane Milton and the ensuing tornadoes, his owners have brought him out of retirement and are now taking him around to bring smiles to those in need.

Now we get that humans in the community are doing way more, but they’re just not nearly as fluffy as Ben so we’re giving him the spotlight. Time for some news!

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

SpaceX’s Rocket Catch

SpaceX successfully caught a Starship for the first time

• Starships consist of a spacecraft mounted atop a rocket, the most powerful rocket ever made. On Sunday, SpaceX launched it for the fifth time. For the first time, it tried to catch it upon landing rather than let it fall into the ocean

• Several minutes after launch, the spacecraft separated from the rocket, which fell back to Earth. As it descended, it was guided to the launchpad while decreasing speed, eventually to a standstill. At that point, two arms brought it in, marking the first successful “catch” of a Starship

Dig Deeper

• SpaceX, an Elon Musk company, seeks to make reusable spacecraft the norm so that Starship could then be immediately turned around, refueled, and relaunched within hours

• The ability to reuse such a powerful spacecraft would likely drastically reduce the cost and volume of space shipping

KEY STORY

Obama: “Brothers’” Trump Support Not Ok

Barack Obama said that black men’s lack of support for Kamala Harris is “not acceptable”

• Polls show Harris polling at ~78% among black voters, down from 92% for Biden. On Roca trips to Detroit, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, most young black men have voiced support for Trump, typically citing the economy and lack of wars under him

• Speaking in Philadelphia on Thursday, Obama said black men’s support for Harris is “not acceptable.” He added, “It makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president…I’ve got a problem with that”

Dig Deeper

• “You’re coming up with all kinds of reasons and excuses. I’ve got a problem with that,” he said

• “Women in our lives have been getting our backs this entire time…when we get in trouble and the system isn’t working for us, they’re the ones out there marching and protesting. And now, you’re thinking about sitting out or supporting somebody who has a history of denigrating you, because you think that’s a sign of strength, because that’s what being a man is? Putting women down? That’s not acceptable”

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KEY STORY

US Military Drone Mystery

Unidentified drones – flying at an estimated 100+ mph (161+ km/h) – surveyed US military bases several times last year, per a new WSJ report

• The drones, reportedly ~20 feet (6m) long, flew in a single-file line and sounded like lawnmowers. Federal law prohibits the military from shooting down drones that don’t pose a clear threat so they were allowed to fly

• Many officials believe the drones are Chinese or Russian spycraft. Authorities have been torn on how to handle the increasing number of drones in restricted airspace. Some have called to expand jurisdictions to allow the military to jam or destroy the aircraft

Dig Deeper

• Local police tried chasing down the drones after the flyovers, but they lost sight of the aircraft as they flew away each time

KEY STORY

RIP, Kmart

Once one of the country's dominant discount retailers, Kmart will close its final full-size US store this week

• Kmart's first store opened in 1962, though its history traces back to a discount retail chain in Michigan called "Kresge's," which opened in 1899

• Kmart's profitability and sales peaked in 1992, when it had nearly 2,500 stores nationwide. Over the next few decades, it declined rapidly

• Despite its $11B merger with Sears in 2005, Kmart never recovered. On October 20, its last full-size store – in Bridgehampton, NY – will close

Dig Deeper

• Only a handful of Kmart locations remain, including a part one in Miami that operates out of the store’s former garden center. The rest of the store belongs to another company now

• Its downfall can be traced to increased competition from Walmart and Target, poor management, a lack of innovation, and the rise of ecommerce

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

☢️ The Nobel Peace Prize went to a group of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors who warned against the use of nuclear weapons

🏎️ Elon Musk unveiled the “Cybercab,” a fully self-driving two-person vehicle that he says will cost less than $30,000 and begin production by 2027

🛫 Boeing announced 17,000 layoffs, comparable to 10% of its workforce

🇮🇱 The US said on Sunday it will send troops to Israel to accompany an advanced anti-missile system. The deployment is meant to bolster Israel’s air defenses against a potential Iranian attack

📣 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told UN peacekeepers to evacuate Lebanon immediately, accusing them of “providing a human shield” to Hezbollah. Five have been injured as Israel’s nearby offensive intensifies

🛩️ A Hezbollah drone broke through Israeli air defenses and struck an Israeli military dining hall, killing four Israeli soldiers

COMMUNITY

🧠 Today’s question: What was the first pet you owned? Was it your favorite pet?

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

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

💤 Snore Louder, I Dare You: A 41-year-old man in Dublin, Ireland, was denied bail after allegedly assaulting his neighbor in a dispute over the neighbor’s excessively loud snoring

💑 Karma IRL: An Indian woman who hired a hitman to kill her daughter was killed herself when the hitman turned out to be her daughter’s lover

🧗 An Icy Revelation: National Geographic likely found the foot of a famed climber who disappeared on Mt. Everest

🏕️ Just a Family Hiking Trip: A New Zealand man and his three children who have been missing since 2021 were spotted in a chance encounter with pig hunters on New Zealand's North Island. The hunters spotted the group and recorded a video of him on their phones

🧠 A First for Everything: A bear had fluid drained from its brain in the UK’s first-ever surgery of its kind

ROCA WRAP

Monday Madness

Happy Monday 

Today’s not Monday but it feels like one, so we’re back with another edition of Monday Madness. We hope you enjoy this set of quirky stories to start off your weeks.

FTX Career Update

The former CEO of Digital Markets at FTX, the disgraced crypto company, updated his LinkedIn to reflect the start of his seven-and-a-half year prison sentence. The post noted that he’s “Starting a new position,” with the caption, “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Inmate at FCI Cumberland!” 

Big News, If True

The BBC Weather app and website reported that the UK was being hit by winds of 15,759 MPH, prompting the broadcaster to issue reassurances to the public. The issue was addressed live on BBC Breakfast, where the weather presenter clarified the forecast was a technical error and urged viewers not to be alarmed.

The BBC attributed the problem to issues with a third-party supplier and apologized for the incorrect information. Despite the alarming predictions, actual weather conditions for Thursday were much milder, with the real forecast calling for colder, clearer air, and some rain.

Tenth Times the Charm

A Missouri man was found naked in a shed with a stolen chainsaw, ending a crime spree that has landed the 19-time convicted felon, Lloyd E. Tabor III, in court once again.

The suspect allegedly committed multiple thefts in one day, including stealing clothes, a bicycle, and a chainsaw. He was arrested after a witness spotted him exiting the woods covered only in a stolen brown cloth. The local sheriff noted Tabor's extensive criminal history, which includes nine prison stints since 1990, and that he consistently returns to criminal behavior upon release. He also highlighted an incident where the suspect was found in an occupied home's attached garage while allegedly under the influence of drugs.

Claustrophobe’s Worst Nightmare

One person was killed and four others injured when an elevator malfunctioned 500 feet underground during a tour at a Colorado gold mine that now operates as a tourist attraction.

It’s unclear how exactly the victim died, but what’s known is that 23 people were trapped hundreds of feet underground by the malfunction. While 11 were rescued early on Thursday, 12 more remain trapped, prompting a rescue mission. All told, the latter group spent six hours around 1,000 feet underground.

Bath & Body Boycott

Bath & Body Works is removing a holiday candle from shelves after social media users pointed out that its snowflake design resembled Ku Klux Klan hoods, sparking online criticism and calls for a boycott.

The controversy began when an X user shared an image of the "Snowed In" scented candle, which featured white snowflake patterns on a red background. Critics drew comparisons to the white, pointed hoods with eye holes associated with the KKK. The company apologized, stating they are "committed to fixing any mistakes we make – even those that are unintentional." They announced the product’s immediate removal and said they would evaluate their design process going forward.

ROCA VIDEO
Gen Z Is…. Going Back to Church?!

In a stunning development that absolutely nobody would’ve predicted… young people are going to Church again. For decades now, the rate of Church attendance has declined among young people. But new data shows Gen Z is reversing the trend and returning to the pews, slowly but surely.

In this episode, we analyze the decline of religion, why Gen Z is returning to church, and interview Gen Zers in Washington Square Park. We randomly ran into North West in the park and interviewed her!

Make sure to subscribe to the channel!

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Hope you all had a great weekend. Last week, we traveled to Georgia to report on the election. After a couple days, Max T left to go to Baton Rouge for the Ole Miss-LSU game (a field storming may have occurred), while Max F stayed in Georgia and eventually traveled to North Carolina to check on the hurricane recovery. We love the entire country but wow… it’s hard to beat the South. Happy Tuesday!

–Max and Max