🌊 Walmart: Save Money, Live Longer

Data centers are absolutely guzzling electricity.

Take a look at this chart showing the share of your state’s total electricity consumption that’s gone to data centers over the last 15 years. These data centers, by the way, are just getting started as AI usage soars. So glad I’m now paying 30% more for electricity so that my nephew can make AI videos of a cat pretending to be Superman in Medieval England!

Actually that sounds pretty interesting… cat pretending to be Superman… give me a minute.

Hope you have a great weekend. Here’s 20 Questions!

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Walmart to Remove Artificial Dyes

Walmart announced that it would eliminate synthetic food dyes and 30 other ingredients from its private-label food products sold in the US by January 2027

• Consumer advocacy groups and health officials have raised concerns about artificial food dyes for years, with some research linking them to hyperactivity in children. The Food and Drug Administration banned Red Dye No. 3 from the nation's food supply in January, nearly 35 years after prohibiting it in cosmetics due to potential cancer risks

• The reformulation would affect about 1,000 products across Walmart’s private brands. In addition to artificial dyes, the company planned to remove preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and fat substitutes. Some of the targeted ingredients were already banned, rarely used, or had been phased out of the US food supply years ago

Dig Deeper

• Walmart demonstrated reformulated products at its Culinary & Innovation Center in Arkansas, showing how natural alternatives would replace artificial colors. The company's sports drinks, for example, would lose their bright blue color and appear cloudy white instead, though the bottles would feature colored sleeves to maintain visual appeal

• “Our customers have told us that they want products made with simpler, more familiar ingredients – and we've listened,” said John Furner, CEO of Walmart US

• Approximately 90% of Walmart's private-label foods were already free from synthetic dyes

KEY STORY

Stem Cell Study Reverses Aging Signs

Scientists engineered “super stem cells” that reversed multiple signs of aging in monkeys, rejuvenating over half of the tissues examined

• Stem cells help repair damaged parts of the body, but as people age, stem cells stop working as well. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences studied Hydra, tiny jellyfish-like animals that live forever, and found these creatures make a protein called FoxO that keeps their stem cells working indefinitely. Inspired by the Hydra, the researchers began studying anti-aging in humans, since humans have a similar protein called FoxO3 that helps cells stay healthy longer

• Last month, the researchers published a study where they modified human stem cells to have stronger FoxO3 activity

• The modified stem cells reversed aging in more than half of the tissues examined, with treated monkeys showing healthier bones, improved blood vessels, and less buildup of harmful materials in their organs

Dig Deeper

• Brain scans showed the treatment stopped age-related brain shrinkage and restored brain connections to youthful levels. The treated monkeys also remembered things better than those who hadn't received the modified stem cells

• The modified stem cells work better than regular stem cells because they can survive in the harsh conditions caused by aging. If the treatment continues to be safe over time, researchers said it could eventually be tested in humans

KEY STORY

Manchester Terrorist Identified

Authorities identified Jihad al-Shamie as the main attacker on a Manchester synagogue on Thursday, which killed two people and seriously injured four others during Yom Kippur services

• Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. The attack occurred at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Crumpsall, a northern Manchester neighborhood with a large Jewish community

• Police responded at 9:31 AM that a man drove his car toward members of the public and stabbed a security guard outside a synagogue. The attacker did not gain entry to the synagogue, where morning prayers had begun at 9 AM

• Counterterrorism police identified the attacker as 35-year-old Jihad al-Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent who entered the UK in 2006

• Police also identified the deceased victims as Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz

• Counterterrorism officials declared the incident a terrorist attack on Thursday afternoon

Dig Deeper

• Greater Manchester Police later revealed that two of the victims - one of whom died - were struck by bullets, most likely from police as al-Shamie was not believed to have a gun

• Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack “appalling” and cut short a trip to Denmark to chair an emergency government meeting. He announced that additional police would be deployed at synagogues across Britain

• The assault marked what charity officials said would be the first fatal attack targeting Jewish people in the UK in at least 30 years, coming amid a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel

KEY STORY

Trump Pledges Military Defense of Qatar

President Trump signed an executive order promising to use all measures, including military force, to defend Qatar from external attacks

• The order came after Israel launched a surprise attack on Qatar’s capital last month, targeting Hamas leaders and killing six people, including a member of Qatar’s security forces. Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East and has served as a key mediator between the US and adversaries, including Hamas

• Trump pledged that in the event of an attack on Qatar, the US would take “diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military” measure to defend both US and Qatari interests

• The executive order came during Israeli PM Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, during which Trump organized a phone call in which Netanyahu apologized to Qatar's prime minister for the strike

Dig Deeper 

• Legally binding defense agreements typically require Senate approval, though presidents have previously entered international agreements without Senate approval, such as President Obama's 2015 Iran nuclear deal

• Qatar's Foreign Ministry welcomed the pledge, calling it "an important step in strengthening the two countries' close defense partnership"

• The executive order drew criticism from some conservatives, with right-wing commentator Laura Loomer posting on X: "I don't want to die for Qatar. Do you?"

QUOTE OF THE DAY

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🔫 Federal prosecutors charged a man in connection with an August Brooklyn bar shooting that killed three people and injured 10 others.

📱 Meta will begin using data from user conversations with its AI chatbot to personalize ads and content starting December 16. Users cannot opt out, though conversations involving religious or political views, sexual orientation, health, and racial or ethnic origin will be automatically excluded from ad targeting.

⚖️ FBI Director Kash Patel announced Wednesday he had severed the FBI’s ties with the Anti-Defamation League, a civil rights organization that has partnered with law enforcement for decades on extremism and hate crime training.

🪧 Organizers called for a sixth night of protests in Morocco as the prime minister confirmed the death toll had risen to three.

🇮🇱 Israeli forces intercepted a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza and detained 443 activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, in international waters about 70 nautical miles off the Gaza coast.

What does Roca Nation think?

😊 Yesterday’s Question: What is the smallest thing for which you are grateful?

20 Questions!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Weeknd.

In light of yesterday’s question and your amazing responses about a little thing for which you’re grateful, today we’re going to do our first-ever "You can only keep one" edition of 20 Questions. We’ll give you two options for every question and you have to tell us which you’d keep. Can’t wait to see your results.

Link to 20 Questions!

Last Week’s Responses

Average responses to last week’s Ratings edition of 20 Questions (1 being hate, 10 being love).

Fall breezes - 8.4
Mark Cuban - 4.3
Crunchy peanut butter - 5.9
Creamy peanut butter - 7.3
Southern accents - 6.7
British accents - 7.1
Cats - 5.7
Cat people - 4.3
The Kelce brothers - 4.8
The term "pet parent" - 3.0
AOC - 3.2
Ron DeSantis - 4.4
Jimmy Kimmel - 3.9
Grocery stores charging for plastic bags - 3.3
Dad jokes - 7.6
Frank's red hot - 5.6
Getting called "honey" by a waitress in the South - 7.3
Your 4th grade chemistry teacher - 4.6
Political statements from celebrities - 2.4
Piña coladas and getting caught in the rain - 6.9

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🏛️ Return of the Mack: MMA fighter Conor McGregor confirmed Thursday he will compete in a June 2026 fight at the White House during the Trump Administration’s June match-up.

👮 Hole in His Story: A NYPD detective on sick leave allegedly showed up at the Ryder Cup golf tournament in full tactical gear, claiming he was working security for President Trump to gain free entry.

🐙 Tentacle Trouble: Fishing crews along England’s southern coast reported an extraordinary boom in octopus catches over the summer, with some boats hauling in nearly three tons and earning an extra $13,000 weekly.

🐕 Night Watch: A 10-year-old Doberman named Night has been inducted into Canada’s Purina Animal Hall of Fame after saving his owner from a charging grizzly bear during a May 2024 hike near Cochrane, Alberta.

🧑‍⚖️ Nevermind the Lawsuit: A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from Spencer Elden, the man featured as a naked baby on Nirvana’s 1991 “Nevermind” album cover, who claimed the image constituted child sexual abuse imagery.

ROCA WRAP
The Lioness of Brittany

Jeanne de Clisson

A medieval noblewoman from Brittany became a legendary pirate after her husband’s execution.

Jeanne de Clisson was a wealthy Breton aristocrat until 1343, when King Philip VI of France executed her husband, Olivier, for alleged treason. The king beheaded Olivier at Les Halles and displayed his head on a pike at Nantes’ city gate as a warning. Jeanne brought her two young sons to see their father’s severed head, then swore revenge against the French crown.

She sold her estates, raised a private army of 400 men, and attacked French garrisons across Brittany. But land warfare wasn’t enough. Jeanne purchased three merchant vessels, reportedly painted them black with red sails, and launched a 13-year campaign of piracy targeting French shipping in the English Channel.

Her tactics were brutal and consistent. Jeanne’s Black Fleet would swarm French merchant ships, slaughter nearly the entire crew, then leave one or two sailors alive to carry her message of vengeance back to the king. The systematic violence earned her the nickname “Lioness of Brittany.” She operated from island strongholds, supplied English forces during their campaigns, and became one of the era's most effective commerce raiders. When French forces finally sank her flagship, Jeanne and her sons drifted for five days. One son died of exposure before they were rescued.

Jeanne married four times in total. Her final husband was Walter Bentley, an English military commander who secured her remaining properties in Brittany. She eventually settled at Hennebont castle on the Breton coast, where she died weeks after Bentley in 1359.

For a medieval noblewoman in a man’s world, Jeanne turned grief into a 13-year reign of terror on the seas.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

It was fascinating to go through your responses to last week’s ratings edition of 20 Questions. The fact that “political statements from celebrities” scored lower than grocery stores charging for plastic bags and the term “pet parent” is quite telling. We have an extremely politically diverse audience, so maybe Hollywood should take notes? We would try to tell them but those Beverly Hills hedges sure are tall!

–Max and Max