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🌊 And for That Reason... Justin's Out
Plus: Cancerous alcohol? #SkipToo at Fox Sports? Musk Pushing out Farage?
UFC coming to the Metaverse?
Yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dana White, the founder of the UFC and a confidante of Donald Trump, will be joining Meta’s board. Wowzer.
Whether this move signals a massive vibe shift or is merely Zuckerberg cozying up to the incoming administration to avoid antitrust action is up for debate. But what we do know is this: We can’t wait for the new Meta board meetings where gridlocks are settled in the octagon. “1…. 2…. 3…. down goes Marc Andreessen! The Facebook poke button will return! But wait… here comes Mark with a chair!”
🇨🇦 Justin Trudeau resigns!
🥃 Alcohol cancerous?
😳 Bombshell lawsuit at Fox Sports
–Max and Max
KEY STORY
Trudeau Resigns
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he will resign as PM
Trudeau has faced plummeting support amid rising housing prices, high levels of immigration, and significant economic uncertainty related to Donald Trump’s tariff threats. Facing intense opposition within his own Liberal Party, the PM said he “cannot be the best option” for Canada if he has to “fight internal battles”
Recent polls have shown Trudeau trailing Pierre Poilievre, his conservative opponent, by 20+ points with an election due by October. Poilievre has promised to boost housing development and reduce taxes, immigration, and environmental restrictions
Dig Deeper
Trudeau will continue to lead Canada until his party chooses a replacement, which could take months
“It has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” he said on Monday, adding that parliament has been “paralyzed” by divisions
Some analysts have called Trudeau’s fall a microcosm for a global shift from incumbent progressive politics to right-wing populism
KEY STORY
Elon v. Farage
Elon Musk called for the replacement of Nigel Farage, the influential leader of Reform UK
Farage – a Brexit pioneer – launched Reform in 2018 as an anti-immigration party. Musk met him for an hour last month and then tweeted, “Time for massive Reform in Britain!” It was subsequently reported that Musk was considering a major donation to Reform
Yet in recent days, Farage didn’t fully back Musk’s calls for the release of a right-wing activist and the UK PM to be jailed, among other things. Musk subsequently tweeted, “The Reform party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes”
Dig Deeper
This full story is the subject of today's Wrap. Read it below!
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KEY STORY
Cancerous Alcohol?
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recommended that cancer warnings be put on alcohol products
A new surgeon general’s report concluded that “[cancer] risk may start to increase around one or fewer drinks per day,” citing evidence that drinking 1-2 drinks a day boosts cancer risk by around 30%
The proposal garnered both support and pushback. Some critics pointed to a federally-mandated study released last month earlier that found moderate drinkers have a lower overall risk of death than never-drinkers
Dig Deeper
Accompany the proposal, Murthy stated, “Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States. Yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk”
Yet many said it was misleading to highlight the dangers of alcohol “use” and not just “abuse”
It’s unclear if the proposal would have the bipartisan backing needed to be made into law, and Congress hasn’t required new alcohol warnings since the 1980s
KEY STORY
#SkipToo?
In a new lawsuit, a former Fox Sports hairstylist accused an executive of sexually harassing her and sports personality Skip Bayless of offering her $1.5M for sex
The hairstylist, Nouhin Faraji, alleges that Charlie Dixon, executive VP of content at Fox Sports, rubbed her body and grabbed her buttocks at a party in January 2017
Analyst Joy Taylor, who hosted the party, allegedly told her to “get over it.” Faraji also claims that Taylor slept with Dixon and others at Fox Sports to get her role as the moderator of morning show “Undisputed”
Faraji alleged that Bayless offered her $1.5M for sex and would regularly make unwanted advances
Dig Deeper
She recalls one exchange where she said, “Skip, stop, you have a wife.” Bayless allegedly responded, “Aren’t you Muslim? Doesn’t your dad have three to four wives?” Faraji replied, “My father is dead”
In a statement, Fox Sports said, “We take these allegations seriously and have no further comment at this time given this pending litigation"
As of writing, neither Joy Taylor nor Skip Bayless have publicly commented on the lawsuit. None of its allegations are verified
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
🇺🇸 Nippon Steel and US Steel filed two lawsuits related to President Biden’s decision to block their planned merger
🛢️ President Biden banned new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the American coastline, complicating Trump’s campaign promise to “drill, baby, drill”
💲 Former French president Nikolas Sarkozy went on trial over allegations that he took millions of dollars from the deceased Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi
🇫🇷 French satirical outlet Charlie Hebdo marked the ten-year anniversary of a terror attack in which two Islamic extremists killed a dozen people around its office
🇦🇹 Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) may become the country’s first anti-immigrant ruling party in the modern era
🇺🇸 Meta announced that Dana White – president and CEO of UFC – would join its board
COMMUNITY
What does Roca Nation think?
🧠 Yesterday’s question: What’s your take on New Year’s resolutions? If you’re a fan, what are yours?
it's always good to make goals, but don't save them for one day of the year! If you need to make a change don't wait till next year, make a goal now. There's nothing bad about new years resolutions but there's not much improvement when you only have one goal a year.
I've never been a huge fan of New Year's resolutions, mostly because they are usually fads or cliche and don't pan out. However, I think they can be very useful if you commit to them. Sometimes the hardest part of making a change is taking that first step, and a new year is a great opportunity to begin a new page. I didn't make any New Years resolutions this year, but to anyone that did you have my support and belief. Let's all make 2025 a great year!
I used to make a NY's resolution, but then never fully followed up or completed it. Someone said to me a long time ago, that if you want to make a change, but put a qualifier on it, like a future start date, then you're not really serious about making that change. If you want to start working out, look for a new job, go back to school... you make that change by starting now. Not on Monday, or when the holidays are over, or after the new year. Sadly, all that did for me was stop making resolutions, not putting my changes into action ASAP. #lazy.
I always set New Year's Resolutions, but I've learned some things over the years. I try to set realistic goals like, instead of running every single day, my goal this year is running at least 4 times a week. Last year was 3 times a week, so I'm trying to step it up a bit. I also don't quit my goals if I mess up. For example, if I get sick or the weather is really horrific and I don't run for a week, I just start over the next week. I believe people tend to fail at their resolutions because, once they mess up, they quit entirely. Building new habits--as is involved in many resolutions--takes time and usually includes error. If you're going to make a resolution or set a goal, cut yourself some slack! My other big resolution this year is to make it through the bible in a year. I have read it over three years in the past, so this is a big challenge. If it ends up taking more than a year, so be it. The important thing, to me, is that I finish it. - Madison, NC
🧐 Today’s question: Do you have a positive or negative view of Elon Musk? Has it changed in the last year?
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
🦉 Soot Yourself: A soot-covered tawny owl was rescued from a log burner at a holiday home in England after tenants reported hearing scratching sounds in the flue
👮♀️ Prison Break (Up): A former English prison officer, Linda De Sousa Abreu, was jailed for 15 months after being filmed having sex with an inmate
🎾 We All Have Our Trauma: Three years after being deported from Australia for not being vaccinated against Covid, tennis star Novak Djokovic said he still experiences "trauma" when passing through Melbourne immigration
✈️ Business Crass: A United Airlines passenger has been banned from all future flights after urinating on a sleeping business class passenger during a San Francisco-Manila flight
🚘 Round and Round Trip: A passenger became trapped in a malfunctioning Waymo self-driving taxi that began driving in circles outside Scottsdale Airport, forcing him to make a panicked call to customer service
ROCA WRAP
Elon versus Farage
Elon Musk called for the replacement of Nigel Farage, the influential leader of Reform UK.
Nigel Farage – one of the masterminds of Brexit and arguably the UK’s most influential right-wing politician – is a supporter of Donald Trump who launched Reform UK in 2018 as an anti-immigration, anti-establishment alternative to the center-right Conservative Party. In 2024 UK elections, the party placed third with 14% of the vote, although that translated to only five – .8% – of parliamentary seats. Farage hopes to make the party a major force ahead of the country’s next election.
In December, Farage held an hour-long meeting with Elon Musk. He subsequently said, “Money was discussed. We are in negotiations about whether he can help…He is motivated enough by what’s going on in Britain to give serious thought to giving money.”
Meanwhile, Musk – whose money could play a pivotal role in turning Reform from a startup to a mainstream party – tweeted, “Time for massive Reform in Britain!” and called the party the UK’s “only hope.”
Last week, though, news went viral of an apparent UK government cover-up of an investigation into “grooming gangs,” groups of mostly Pakistani men who have been implicated in thousands of child rape cases across the UK, Specifically, Labour government officials were found to have rejected calls for an investigation into the gangs, insisting they were a local matter.
Conservatives – particularly further on the right – have long alleged that left-wing UK politicians are covering up the gangs over corruption and a fear of appearing racist.
The news and role of prime minister Kier Starmer – who was director of public prosecutions during the investigation period – went viral on X. Elon Musk issued numerous tweets, including “Prison for Starmer” and calling the PM “complicit in the rape of Britain,” while labeling the minister who rejected the investigation requests a “rape genocide apologist.”
Farage said he rejected some of Elon’s language but characterized it as free speech.
The pair also disagreed over Tommy Robinson, a jailed right-wing activist whom Musk considers a political prisoner and Farage does not. Farage said, “[Musk] sees Robinson as one of these people that fought against the grooming gangs. But of course the truth is Tommy Robinson’s in prison not for that, but for contempt of court.”
On Sunday, Musk withdrew his support for Farage, writing, “The Reform party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.” He subsequently posted a series of tweets soliciting ideas for whom to support as a replacement.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
Two things: 1) Yes, the misspellings at the bottom of yesterday’s intro were intentional. But based on how many of you thought they weren’t, we may need to take our New Year’s resolution very seriously. 2) Your New Year’s resolution responses were fascinating. We feel lucky — almost guilty — to be the only ones who can read all of them. Thank you for making that inbox so interesting.
–Max and Max