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  • 🌊 Maybe Obama Should've Deleted Emails

🌊 Maybe Obama Should've Deleted Emails

Plus: Trump v. Harvard in court, Bannon's Epstein tapes, & fox stealing footwear at park

July 22, 2025

Welcome to the new world of media.

Two bombshell interviews came out yesterday: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on the Nelk Boys’ “Full Send” podcast and Hunter Biden did a three-hour interview on Andrew Callaghan’s “Channel Five News.”

It may not be surprising that the Nelk Boys, who made their bones pranking Bigfoot experts and shotgunning beers in Walmart, used their time with Netanyahu to cross-examine him on Burger King vs. McDonald’s. Nor is it surprising that Andrew Callaghan, who made his bones interviewing Flat Earthers and furries, pressed Hunter Biden on his favorite recipe for crack cocaine. (Link in bio!)

What’s next? The “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton sitting down with the Hawk Tuah girl to discuss the Turing Test? Although honestly
 you’d watch that wouldn’t you?

đŸ€” Was Obama behind Russia-Trump narrative?

đŸ‘šđŸ»â€âš–ïž Trump v. Harvard in court

🩊 Fox stealing footwear at park

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

DNI Declassifies Documents

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard declassified documents that she said imply a conspiracy to create a “Russia collusion” narrative in 2016

  • After Trump's 2016 victory, US intelligence produced an assessment concluding that Russia had interfered to help Trump win

  • Gabbard has now declassified documents that she says show Obama officials "manufactured and politicized intelligence" to reach that conclusion

  • The declassified materials include a December 2016 President’s Daily Brief stating that "Russian and criminal actors did not impact recent US election results by conducting malicious cyber activities against election infrastructure." Gabbard's office claims this contradicts a January 2017 assessment that concluded Russia had attempted to influence the election

Dig Deeper

  • Gabbard’s announcement comes after reports earlier this month that the FBI opened criminal investigations into former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey for possible false statements to Congress

  • Gabbard alleges that intelligence assessments made before the 2016 election consistently found Russia was "probably not” trying to influence the election but that Obama officials created a contradictory assessment after Trump's victory. She forwarded the evidence to the Department of Justice for potential criminal referrals

  • Republican lawmakers strongly supported Gabbard's findings, with some comparing the allegations to Watergate

  • Democrats have countered that multiple bipartisan investigations, including a Republican-led Senate report, validated the original intelligence findings that Russia did interfere in the election

KEY STORY

Trump v. Harvard

The Trump Administration and Harvard University met in federal court amid a dispute over the legality of Trump cutting billions in federal funding to the university

  • In April, a federal task force sent Harvard a letter threatening to withhold funding unless it reshaped university operations. It also ordered Harvard to block the enrollment of international students, although a judge has prevented that from taking effect

  • The sides offered different explanations to a federal judge for the funding cuts that began after the university's April 14 rejection of federal demands: Harvard maintained the administration terminated over $2.6B in grants and contracts as retaliation for refusing to comply with government oversight requirements; the Trump Administration said the funding cuts represent enforcement of existing policies requiring institutions to adequately address campus antisemitism

Dig Deeper 

  • Harvard's legal team argued the funding cuts violated the university's First Amendment rights and represent unconstitutional retaliation for exercising academic freedom

  • The university contends the Trump Administration failed to follow required procedures before canceling federal funds and is using financial leverage to control academic decision-making

  • The Trump Administration maintained that Harvard failed to protect Jewish students from campus antisemitism and allowed discriminatory practices to flourish

  • Federal officials also expanded their accusations to allege that Harvard uses illegal racial preferences in admissions and has violated rules regarding foreign financial gifts

QUOTE OF THE DAY

The popular belief isn’t always the correct one

Katie Lucas

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KEY STORY

Russia Strikes Ukraine

Russia launched its largest strikes on Ukraine since President Trump's 50-day ultimatum

  • Trump recently issued a 50-day ultimatum demanding Russia end its war in Ukraine or face severe consequences

  • On Monday, Russia launched 426 drones and 24 missiles at Ukraine, killing at least two people and wounding 15 others across the country

  • The assault targeted multiple cities including Kyiv, where explosions set a kindergarten on fire and damaged a subway station entrance where dozens of people were sheltering underground

  • The western city of Ivano-Frankivsk also endured what its mayor called the heaviest barrage of the war

Dig Deeper

  • The two countries will reportedly meet for talks in Istanbul this week for the first time in seven weeks

  • Putin's conditions for peace include legally binding pledges that NATO will not expand eastward, Ukrainian neutrality, limits on Ukraine's armed forces, and acceptance of Russia's territorial gains

  • Zelensky has rejected recognizing Russian sovereignty over occupied regions and maintains Ukraine's right to decide on NATO membership

KEY STORY

Bannon’s Epstein Tapes

Jeffrey Epstein’s brother is demanding that MAGA mastermind Steve Bannon release footage he has of Epstein from shortly before the pedophile’s death

  • Bannon helped craft Trump’s “Make America Great Again” messaging and policies and now hosts the “War Room,” an influential podcast among the Trump base

  • Last week, Epstein’s brother Mark called on Bannon to release footage he took of Epstein in 2019: “[Bannon] told me he has like 15 or 16 hours of videotape of Jeff. He was trying to help Jeff rehabilitate his reputation,” Mark told NBC. “They spent a lot of time together”

  • “Let me see the videotapes
He’s my brother,” Mark added

  • Bannon didn’t respond but said he plans to release a documentary about Epstein next year

Dig Deeper 

  • Bannon spent hours interviewing Epstein, and a trailer released in 2021 showed the pair joking around. At one point, Epstein said, “The greatest threat to people put in solitary confinement is they try to kill themselves”

  • Mark doubts that his brother killed himself and said last week, “More and more, I believe he was murdered, and everyone who looks at all the information that’s out there on facts comes to the same conclusion, correct?”

  • In 2019, Epstein's family hired a forensic pathologist who concluded that Epstein likely did not die by suicide

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

đŸ›©ïž A Bangladeshi F-7 BGI fighter jet crashed into a school campus in Dhaka on Monday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 170 others

đŸȘ– Israeli forces entered Deir al-Balah for the first time, one of the few parts of Gaza that remained relatively untouched by the war

đŸŽ™ïž Popular pro-Trump YouTubers the Nelk Boys released an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu

💰 Stellantis – which owns Jeep, Fiat, and Chrysler – said Trump’s tariffs cost the company €300M ($350M) in the first half of 2025 and pushed the company to a record €2.3B ($2.7B) six-month loss

đŸ‡žđŸ‡Ÿ A ceasefire took hold, and Syria began evacuations after eight days of ethnic and religious violence in the country’s south resulted in over 1,100 deaths

What does Roca Nation think?

đŸ“ș Yesterday’s Question: Was Stephen Colbert a good late-night talk show host? Explain.

I remember watching Colbert years ago, when he was on Comedy Central. He had a slight left tilt back then, but he would tend to have a relatively balanced routine focusing on both sides. Generally very sharp and very entertaining.

When Colbert rolled into the Late Show, it didn’t take him long to lean heavily left in my view, and his monologues increasingly became dominated by political commentary. Like Kimmel, it seems these late night talk show hosts forgot that their reason for being was to entertain us and actually give us a break from the constant barrage of political news and division coming at us all from every direction all day long. Fallon hung in there the longest with minimizing political commentary, but even he caved. I grew tired of it all years ago, after watching Letterman and Fallon religiously for many years. I can’t remember the last time I watched any of the late night shows.

I’m not surprised in the least that viewership has cratered and that cancellations are being announced. The writing has been on the wall for a long time. Most of these shows have simply failed to adapt.

Jason from Houston

Stephen Colbert is a great late night host. He provides a perfect blend of silliness and authenticity. He is an outspoken liberal with a quick mind and clever wit and that scares people who don’t want to hear what he has to say. But similar to John Oliver or Jon Stewart, that’s what makes an excellent host. His opening monologues deliver a message with a punch and mixes in humor to ease the blow. His interviews are authentic and individualized for the guest. He’s serious and real when he needs to be and funny and light when he can be. He listens to his guests to actually hear what they have to say, and treats his crew with respect. Getting rid of his show doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I’m curious to see what the views, ratings, and presence on social media for the show are because the claim that it loses CBS tens of millions of dollars when it was profitable only a few years ago doesn’t add up to me.

Monica from Seattle

Never been a late show fan (except for Conan, the GOAT). But from the bits of Late Night I’d get recommended on YouTube, it seemed like the dead horse many of the late show hosts, not just Colbert, have been beating the last few years is just bashing Trump (Disclaimer: that may just be the YouTube algorithm giving me biased recommendation). From y'all's election coverage, it’s pretty clear a large percentage of the country felt Trump was the best option which may reveal some indicators as to why viewership had gradually decreased for Colbert’s show. It’s like that episode of SpongeBob where he exhausts the “ripped pants” joke. Eventually, people get tired of it.

Prime Colbert was the The Colbert Report when he lampooned EVERYONE.

Joseph from Arizona

🌊 Today’s Question: Who’s your least favorite podcaster/YouTuber?

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🧊 Thawing Earth’s Secrets: Scientists are preparing to melt ice that’s been frozen for 1.5M years to unlock clues about Earth’s distant past

🌊 Making Waves: TikToker JesĂșs Morales (Juixxe) paid migrant day laborers to spend a full day with him at a waterpark

🩊 Swiper No Swiping: Grand Teton National Park visitors are being urged to safeguard their footwear after a fox began stealing shoes from campsites

🍄 Fungus Future: A Finnish mushroom expert’s biotech startup is making fully compostable “mushroom diapers” that break down within a year

đŸȘ Camel Comeback: Cammie the camel in Pakistan is walking again thanks to a prosthetic leg

ROCA WRAP
Farm Deal Drama

Angola 

This country secured a massive Chinese investment as Beijing tries to stop buying American crops.

Angola is a southern African nation rich in oil and diamonds but still recovering from a devastating 27-year civil war that ended in 2002. Despite its natural wealth, the country has struggled with food security and agricultural development, importing much of its basic foodstuffs, while large swaths of fertile land remain undeveloped. The nation's leadership has increasingly looked to diversify the economy beyond oil exports.

On Monday, Chinese state-owned conglomerate CITIC announced plans to invest $250M over five years to develop up to 100,000 hectares (~247,100 acres) of Angolan farmland for soybean and corn production. The deal marks one of the largest foreign agricultural investments in Angola's recent history.

The investment comes as China continues reducing its dependence on American agricultural imports following trade tensions. Beijing has actively diversified its supplier base, turning to countries like Brazil and Argentina for soybeans. China imported 105M tons of soybeans in 2024, with the US supplying only about one-fifth – a dramatic decline from previous years when America dominated Chinese soybean imports.

Angola's Agriculture Minister Isaac dos Anjos described the deal as capitalizing on opportunities created by "global geopolitics, trade wars, blocked markets." About 60% of the produce will be exported to China, while the remainder will be sold in Angola. The minister announced that Angola signed a second agreement with another Chinese firm to expand corn and soy exports beyond 500,000 tons.

When superpowers clash over trade, smaller nations like Angola can harvest the benefits.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Our first video from the Bay Area is now live. Thank you to all of our readers who pointed us to the right areas in Oakland, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley. It was an enlightening trip, and we think you’ll enjoy this video — or at least learn from it.

Have a great day.

–Max and Max