🌊 Bill Gates Goes Climate Chill

Throwback to the WaPo’s exodus…

A year ago today, The Washington Post lost 200k paid subscribers — 8% of its entire base! — over its refusal to endorse Kamala Harris. Granted, the subscriber exodus didn’t force Jeff Bezos to go on an all-Ramen diet, but his readers sent him this crystal-clear message: Tell us our politics are pretty or we will break up with you.

Unlike the WaPo, when we chose not to endorse either candidate, our subscriber count went up. Our explanation went viral, and it turns out that there are people out there who don’t believe news companies should be openly partisan (just quietly — we stand with you, American Vegetarian Party). In all seriousness, thank you. Our community is truly the best in the game.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Bill Gates Shifts Climate Messaging

Bill Gates urged people to stop warning that climate change would destroy humanity, a departure from his past advocacy

• The Microsoft co-founder has spent billions fighting climate change over the past decade, founding Breakthrough Energy in 2015 and publishing "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster" in 2021

• In a memo released Tuesday, Gates argued that excessive focus on near-term emissions reduction goals has diverted resources from more effective solutions. He called for putting human welfare at the center of climate strategies, particularly by improving health and agriculture in developing nations

• Gates said budget cuts to foreign aid programs mean limited funds should go to the most effective programs, like vaccines that can save lives cheaply

Dig Deeper 

• Several climate scientists criticized Gates' framing of the issue. Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs called the memo "pointless, vague, unhelpful and confusing," arguing there is no reason to pit poverty reduction against climate transformation

• However, Stanford climate scientist Chris Field said there is room for healthy discussion about whether current framing of the climate crisis is too pessimistic, though he added that the world should invest for both the long term and short term

• Gates also said he became more optimistic because clean energy technology has improved faster than expected

KEY STORY

Texas Sues Tylenol Makers Over Autism Risk

Texas sued companies Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue, alleging the companies concealed potential links between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism in children

• Tylenol contains acetaminophen, a widely used pain reliever. Johnson & Johnson manufactured and sold Tylenol for years before separating its consumer health division into Kenvue in 2023

• In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) claimed that the companies engaged in deceptive marketing by promoting Tylenol as safe for pregnant women while knowing about research suggesting a link between acetaminophen and neurodevelopmental disorders including autism and ADHD

Dig Deeper

• The suit also alleged that Johnson & Johnson created Kenvue to shield itself from legal liability related to Tylenol

• Kenvue responded that it would defend itself against what it called "baseless claims," saying it stands with the medical community in acknowledging acetaminophen's safety

• If Texas prevails, the companies could face civil penalties and be required to add warnings about autism to Tylenol labels. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration is moving forward with plans to update acetaminophen labels and conduct a public awareness campaign about the potential link to neurodevelopmental disorders

KEY STORY

Microsoft Secures 27% Stake in OpenAI

OpenAI finalized a restructuring that converted it into a public benefit corporation and granted Microsoft a 27% ownership stake valued at roughly $135B

• OpenAI launched in 2015 as a nonprofit research organization. Microsoft first invested in 2019, and since launching ChatGPT in 2022, OpenAI transformed into a commercial company with roughly 800M weekly users

• The restructuring concluded nearly a year of negotiations. OpenAI's nonprofit parent, now called the OpenAI Foundation, received a stake worth roughly $130B

• Microsoft will retain rights to use OpenAI's technology through 2032, including any future artificial general intelligence (AGI) systems. An independent panel will determine whether OpenAI has reached AGI

Dig Deeper

• The deal gave both companies more independence. OpenAI agreed to purchase $250B in cloud services from Microsoft but is no longer required to use Microsoft as its primary computing provider

• Microsoft can now pursue its own advanced AI development independently or with other partners. The companies will continue to share revenue until an expert panel determines that AGI has been achieved

• OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman did not receive an ownership stake in the restructured company. Microsoft's shares rose nearly 4% following the announcement

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KEY STORY

Truth Social to Allow Online Betting

Trump Media announced a cryptocurrency-based prediction market platform that will allow users to bet on future political, sports, and economic outcomes

• The Trump Administration has eased the regulatory environment for prediction markets, with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Justice Department ending probes into platforms like Polymarket

• On Tuesday, Trump Media announced it would partner with Crypto.com to launch "Truth Predict," a prediction market platform on Truth Social. The service will allow users to place crypto-based bets on political races, sports contests, commodity prices, and economic shifts

• The launch positioned Trump Media in potential competition with companies where Donald Trump Jr. holds advisory positions, including Kalshi and Polymarket

Dig Deeper

• Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a statement, "For too long, global elites have closely controlled these markets – with Truth Predict, we're democratizing information and empowering everyday Americans to harness the wisdom of the crowd, turning free speech into actionable foresight"

• Critics suggested these arrangements could represent conflicts of interest. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, "Neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest"

QUOTE OF THE DAY

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🍽️ A coalition of 25 Democratic-led states and Washington, DC, filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to prevent the suspension of food stamp benefits starting November 1 during the government shutdown.

💊 US forces killed 14 people in strikes on four alleged drug vessels in the Pacific Ocean, marking an escalation in attacks the Trump Administration says target narcotics trafficking.

🇮🇱 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered strikes on Gaza on Tuesday after accusing Hamas of violating the ceasefire by attacking Israeli forces and failing to return the remains of deceased hostages.

🧑‍⚖️ A federal judge in San Francisco indefinitely blocked the Trump Administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown, ruling that labor unions would likely prove the cuts were arbitrary and politically motivated.

📦 UPS – United Parcel Service – disclosed on Tuesday that it has cut 48,000 management and operations positions through layoffs and buyouts this year, significantly more than the 20,000 job reductions announced in April.

What does Roca Nation think?

🌎 Yesterday’s Question: If you could take one thing from another country for the US (e.g., food from Italy, respect of elders from Japan, etc.) what would you take?

🇺🇸 Today’s Question: A new poll showed that only 36% of Democrats feel “extremely” or “very” proud to be an American, compared to 92% for Republicans. Why the large gap? (There was still a large gap during the Biden years, though smaller).

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

📜 Note-ably Ancient: Researchers in Pennsylvania discovered what may be some of the earliest written musical notation in western history on a ninth-century manuscript hiding in plain sight in a private collection.

🎃 Gourd Almighty: British twin brothers Ian and Stuart Paton broke the world record for the heaviest pumpkin after more than 50 years of growing giant gourds, with their 2,819-pound specimen named Muggle.

🚉 Swan Song for Commuters: A swan caused major delays and cancellations at Glasgow Central, Scotland's busiest railway station, after wandering onto the tracks during Monday evening's rush hour.

🧠 Symphony in the OR: A 65-year-old woman in England played her clarinet during brain surgery for Parkinson's disease, testing whether the deep-brain stimulation procedure had successfully restored motor control in her hands.

🇨🇳 China Wraps the Yap Session: China introduced a new law requiring influencers to show official qualifications before posting about sensitive topics like medicine, law, finance, or education online.

ROCA WRAP
The Bullfighting Author

Ernest Hemingway

This Nobel Prize winner survived plane crashes, wars, and countless bar fights before his tragic end.

Ernest Miller Hemingway was born in Oak Park – an affluent Chicago suburb – in 1899. His physician father taught him to hunt and fish in northern Michigan, while his musician mother forced him to play cello – lessons he later credited with shaping the rhythmic structure of his prose. The family spent summers at a cottage on Walloon Lake, where young Ernest developed his lifelong appetite for outdoor adventure.

After working briefly at The Kansas City Star, where he absorbed the paper's terse style guide, Hemingway volunteered as a Red Cross ambulance driver in Italy during World War I. While stationed at the Italian front, he was distributing chocolate and cigarettes when mortar fire struck. Shrapnel tore through both legs, yet he still carried Italian soldiers to safety. He received two medals of valor at only eighteen years old. During six months of hospital recovery, he fell for a nurse named Agnes von Kurowsky, seven years older. When he returned to America expecting to marry her, she sent a letter announcing her engagement to an Italian officer.

The rejection established a pattern. Hemingway married his first wife, Hadley Richardson, in 1921 and moved to Paris as a foreign correspondent. There, he befriended Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald while writing stories in cafes. After Hadley, he married three more times, each marriage ending before his wife could leave him first. His second wife lost a suitcase containing nearly all his early manuscripts at a Paris train station. His third wife, journalist Martha Gellhorn, he met while covering the Spanish Civil War. His fourth wife, Mary Welsh, stayed with him through his final, darkest years.

Between novels, Hemingway hunted big game across Africa, fished for marlin off Cuba, attended bullfights in Spain, and reported from the frontlines of multiple wars. During World War II, he armed his fishing boat with grenades to hunt German submarines off the coast of Cuba. He survived two plane crashes in Africa within two days, emerging from the wreckage with a cracked skull, ruptured liver, and crushed vertebra – only to read his own obituaries in newspapers while still alive.

By the late 1950s, paranoia consumed him. He believed FBI agents were monitoring his movements, tapping his phones, and reading his mail. His fears were dismissed as delusion until records released decades after his death confirmed the surveillance was real. Medical tests in early 1961 revealed hereditary hemochromatosis, the same iron-accumulation disease that likely caused his father's mental deterioration and eventual suicide. Doctors treated him with electroshock therapy fifteen times, which Hemingway said erased the memory that was his "capital" as a writer.

Released from the hospital in late June 1961, he returned to his Idaho home. On July 2, before dawn, he retrieved his shotgun from the basement, walked to the front entrance, loaded two shells, and ended his life. Two of his siblings later killed themselves using the same method.

One of the greatest authors of the 20th century survived wars, plane crashes, and a lifetime of reckless living, but couldn't survive his own mind.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Another day, another Roca mini-doc! Hope you all enjoy this one. Max F returned to the UK town of Dewsbury and the neighboring all-Muslim Savile Town to continue a story we first filmed over a year ago. Due to the UK’s social media laws, our interviewees asked us not to post the video at the time. We respected their request and have since revised and added to it.

We wish social media laws weren’t so tight in the UK that our interview subjects would be so afraid of us posting such an even-handed, relatively banal video. But such is our current world!

–Max and Max