🌊 RIP, Jane Goodall

Now that October is upon us…

Get ready for 31 days of changing leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, and couples pictures at pumpkin patches with cringe-inducing captions like "Felt cute, might de-leaf later." It's also the month for spooky decorations, so we're breaking out the scariest decoration of all this year: A photo of the interior of my college refrigerator.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Jane Goodall Dies at 91

Jane Goodall, a renowned primatologist and conservationist, died at age 91 from natural causes while on a speaking tour in California

• Goodall arrived in Tanzania in 1960 to study wild chimpanzees. Her groundbreaking discoveries challenged fundamental scientific assumptions: She observed chimpanzees making and using tools to fish termites from mounds, a behavior previously thought unique to humans. Her approach of immersing herself in their habitat to experience their society as a neighbor rather than a distant observer was considered unorthodox at the time

• Goodall revolutionized primatology by naming her research subjects instead of numbering them and documenting complex social behaviors, emotions, and personalities in chimpanzees

• She earned a doctorate from Cambridge in 1965 and, in 1977, founded the Jane Goodall Institute to protect chimpanzees and their habitats, which grew to have 19 offices worldwide

Dig Deeper 

• After attending a 1986 conference where she learned about threats to wild chimpanzees, she shifted from field research to global advocacy

• She became a UN Messenger of Peace in 2002 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Biden in January 2025

• In April 2024, the then 90-year-old Goodall said she needed to speed up rather than slow down, because she didn't know how many years she had left to spread her message about climate change, deforestation, and biodiversity loss

KEY STORY

Government Still Shut Down

The US federal government remains shut down as the Republican and Democrat leaders remain deadlocked

• As the government remains shut down, President Trump planned a meeting with Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, to discuss longer-term government cuts

• Meanwhile House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) hosted a livestream on YouTube about the shutdown that garnered just a few dozen viewers at one point

• Immediately, up to 750,000 federal workers were furloughed, and the timeline for their return to work remains unclear

Dig Deeper

• Mandatory spending programs – Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest on debt – are not affected. A majority of federal spending is mandatory and therefore untouched

• Departments’ HR divisions are now unfunded, meaning they aren't operational, which could delay or prevent layoffs until funding resumes, and unions representing government workers have already sued to stop any such cuts

KEY STORY

Scientists Create Eggs from Skin Cells

Oregon scientists successfully used skin cells to create human eggs that produced early-stage embryos after fertilization with sperm

• Oregon Health & Science University researchers transplanted the nucleus from a skin cell into a donor egg that had its own nucleus removed, then prompted the cell to discard half its chromosomes before fertilizing it with sperm through standard IVF procedures

• The research revealed major challenges: Most embryos created through this process did not develop normally, with only about 9% reaching the six-day blastocyst stage typically used for IVF transfers. The embryos displayed significant chromosome abnormalities that would prevent healthy development

• Scientists expect at least a decade of additional research before the technique could be considered safe enough for human trials

Dig Deeper

• Creating eggs and sperm in laboratories has become a major focus for researchers worldwide seeking to help people who cannot produce viable reproductive cells. This condition affects millions due to advanced age, cancer treatment, or other medical conditions. The approach could also enable same-sex couples to have children genetically related to both partners

• “We achieved something that was thought to be impossible,” said senior author Shoukhrat Mitalipov, though he acknowledged the process needs substantial refinement. The team called their approach “mitomeiosis,” combining elements of the two major cell division processes in biology

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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KEY STORY

UN Approves Gang Task Force for Haiti

The UN voted to replace the current police mission in Haiti with a larger, more aggressive military force to combat armed gangs

• Haiti has faced escalating violence since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. The violence worsened in February 2024 when rival gangs united, expanding their control over the capital, Port-au-Prince

• The UN Security Council voted Tuesday to create a new “Gang Suppression Force” that will deploy up to 5,500 military personnel and police officers, five times the size of the current mission of about 1,000 officers

• Unlike the existing force, which has been limited to supporting Haitian police, the new mission will have the authority to conduct independent offensive operations against gangs and make arrests

Dig Deeper

• The Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission, deployed 15 months ago, managed to retake the airport and seaport from gangs but failed to stop the spread of violence. The force faced chronic underfunding, operated at less than 40% of its authorized strength, and struggled with broken-down equipment

• Russia and China abstained from the vote, criticizing the US for rushing through a resolution without answering key questions about which countries will contribute troops, how the force will be funded, and when it will deploy

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🏢 A section of a 20-story public housing building in the Bronx partially collapsed Wednesday morning with no reported injuries.

🖥️ OpenAI released Sora 2, a video and audio generation model with enhanced physics simulation capabilities that more accurately represent physical reality.

👩‍⚖️ The Supreme Court on Wednesday blocked President Trump from immediately removing Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook, instead scheduling oral arguments for January.

🇷🇺 European Union leaders met in Copenhagen on Wednesday to discuss increasing defenses against Russian drones following recent airspace intrusions over Denmark, Poland, and Estonia.

📊 The White House has withdrawn EJ Antoni’s nomination to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the federal agency responsible for producing monthly jobs reports and inflation data.

What does Roca Nation think?

🍿 Yesterday’s Question: What was your favorite movie to watch in theaters? Why?

😀 Today’s Question: What is the smallest thing for which you are grateful?

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🏜️ Peak Art: A day laborer in Saudi Arabia spotted ancient camel carvings 130 ft up a sandstone cliff in the Nafud Desert that had never been documented before.

🌎 Reserved for Nature: The UN has expanded its network of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves to 785 sites across 142 countries, now covering 5% of the planet's landmass.

🕊️ Waste Not, Want Not: A former sewage treatment facility in Melbourne has become one of Australia’s most important bird sanctuaries, supporting over 300 species across its wetlands and lagoons.

🚙 Ghost Rider: Police in San Bruno, California, pulled over a Waymo autonomous vehicle for making an illegal U-turn, but couldn’t issue a ticket because no human was behind the wheel.

🎅 It’s a Christmas Miracle, Nicolas Maduro!: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared that Christmas will begin on October 1 for the second consecutive year, citing his desire to bring “joy” and defend “the right to happiness” of Venezuelans.

ROCA WRAP
First Attempt

Richard Lawrence

A house painter became the first person to attempt to assassinate a sitting president in the US.

On a cold January day in 1835, outside the Capitol building, an English-born painter named Richard Lawrence stepped out from behind a pillar and forever changed presidential security.

Lawrence arrived in America at age 12 and settled near the capital, working as a house painter. He seemed normal enough during his early years, described as reserved but industrious with good moral habits. But by his early thirties, something shifted. He abruptly announced plans to return to England, left Washington, then returned claiming unnamed forces had blocked his journey. He quit his job, insisting the government owed him vast sums because he believed himself to be King Richard III of England.

Lawrence’s grip on reality deteriorated rapidly. The once-conservatively dressed painter began buying flashy clothes and changing outfits multiple times daily. Neighborhood children mockingly called him “King Richard” – a joke he didn’t understand. He became convinced that President Andrew Jackson prevented Congress from paying money owed to his imaginary English estates. If Jackson were gone, he reasoned, Vice President Martin Van Buren would fix everything.

Lawrence spent weeks observing Jackson’s movements around the capital, muttering to himself in his paint shop. On January 30, 1835, he positioned himself near a pillar on the Capitol's East Portico as Jackson left a funeral. He fired his first pistol at the president’s back – it misfired. He quickly grabbed his second weapon – that misfired too. The humid Washington weather had compromised both firearms. Jackson, rather than fleeing, beat Lawrence with his cane while bystanders, including Congressman Davy Crockett, wrestled the would-be assassin to the ground.

Francis Scott Key prosecuted the case at the District of Columbia City Hall. Lawrence ranted wildly during his trial, refusing to acknowledge the court’s legitimacy. After just five minutes of deliberation, the jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity.

Jackson suspected political enemies were behind the attack, particularly former Vice President John Calhoun and Senator George Poindexter. No evidence ever materialized, though Poindexter’s career was destroyed by the suspicion alone.

Lawrence spent the rest of his life in Washington asylums, dying in 1861 at what would become St. Elizabeth’s Hospital – a king only in his own mind.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

While Roca’s original purpose was to deliver news to younger people tired of media bias and division, we’ve discovered that some of our most loyal readers are not Gen Zers or Millennials. For example, we got this response from Christine from Tucscon yesterday:

“Favorite movie to watch on the big screen: "Ben-Hur" starring Charlton Heston. I saw it on a huge curved screen in the theatre. When the chariots were racing around a curve, the camera shot was from the ground: dirt clods and dust flying while the horses and chariots came rumbling and whipping by...Amazing!!”

For those of you wondering, Ben-Hur came out in 1959. So shoutout to Christine, and so glad to see the Roca Wave growing to ALL!

–Max and Max