🌊 Abercrombie & Predator

“We are not red or blue – we are golden.”

Put down your E. Coli-infected Quarter Pounders for a second, and appreciate this quote from McDonald’s. The Golden Arches released a statement responding to criticism that it allowed one of its restaurants to close for a Trump campaign stunt. Like many of you, we don’t want to live in a country where there are Republican restaurants and Democratic restaurants. We hope more brands adopt this approach.

Also, both candidates have promised to fix the McDonald’s ice cream machines. We will look into this ASAP – perhaps this is the October Surprise?

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

A&F Sex Ring

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries was arrested on sex trafficking charges

• Jeffries led A&F from 1992-2014, transforming it into a brand that targeted young people with notoriously provocative marketing

• A new indictment alleges that from 2008 to 2015, he and associates ran a sex trafficking scheme targeting aspiring models, allegedly hosting parties where victims were given drugs and alcohol and coerced into having sex. All three defendants were arrested and will be arraigned in New York

Dig Deeper

• Jeffries came under scrutiny in 2023 after a BBC investigation alleged he and his partner had recruited and exploited young men. Dozens of men proceeded to file a lawsuit against Jeffries and A&F, with the company saying it was "appalled" and launching its own investigation

KEY STORY

US-Israel Leak

The US is investigating whether US government staff leaked secret information about Israel’s plans to attack Iran

• Israel has been preparing a strike on Iran since it launched a missile barrage at Israel on October 1. This weekend, documents were leaked to Telegram that contained confidential US government assessments about Israel’s preparations

• The FBI is now leading an investigation to determine who leaked the files, which originated from two US intelligence agencies. Analysts have said the current investigations suggest the breach was more likely an internal leak than the result of a hack or cyber attack

Dig Deeper

• The leaks contained extremely detailed US analysis about Israel’s preparations, down to the tracking of small vehicles at Israeli military bases. They have made public to Israel the closeness with which the US is tracking Israeli preparations, something analysts say could harm US-Israel relations

• The leak may also enable Iran to better prepare for a strike, thereby upsetting Israel’s plans

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KEY STORY

Content Kleptocracy?

The Wall Street Journal and New York Post sued Perplexity over what they say is a “content kleptocracy”

• Perplexity is a popular AI search engine that provides cited answers to questions; a kleptocracy is a state of political corruption in which thieves rule

• According to the outlets, the search engine answers questions by scanning the work of publishers – so that Perplexity users reap the rewards of the reporting without visiting the publishes’ websites

• The suit is the latest publisher vs. AI battle. Other companies, including OpenAI, have signed licensing deals – including the WSJ and NYP – that grant them access to certain content. These lawsuits are often seen as a way to force an AI company into making such a deal

Dig Deeper

• The media outlets allege that Perplexity is “engaging in a massive amount of illegal copying” of their publications and “diverting customers and critical revenues… [by] freeriding on the valuable content the publishers produce”

• The lawsuit comes as Perplexity seeks to raise $1B at an $8B valuation

KEY STORY

California Leavin’

New data from the Census Bureau show which states gained and lost the most people in 2023

• The five most moved-to states in 2023 were Texas (+133k), Florida (+126k), North Carolina (+107k), South Carolina (+69k), and Arizona (+63k)

• The five most moved-from states in 2023 were California (-268k), New York (-179k), Illinois (-93k), New Jersey (-69k), and Massachusetts (-40k)

• From the Census Bureau's 2022 data, the main reasons people move were related to housing, family, and employment

Dig Deeper

• The Southeast was the region that saw the biggest gains. The only Southeastern state to lose people was Louisiana

• The Midwest was a mixed picture: While Illinois lost 93k and Michigan lost 20k, Indiana gained 29k and Wisconsin gained 15k

• Overall, 19 states shrunk and 31 states grew. The overall US population rose 0.5%, due to a slight drop in deaths and increased immigration

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🇺🇸 Donald Trump is reportedly going on Joe Rogan’s podcast (JRE) on Friday, his first time on the show. JRE is the world’s most listened-to podcast, with 14M regular Spotify listeners

֎ Anthropic, the OpenAI competitor behind the chatbot Claude, debuted a new “Computer Use” feature that allows Claude to control computers and conduct actions on a user’s behalf

☄️ A study published by a team of Harvard researchers found that a meteor that smashed into Earth 3B years ago boiled the oceans and caused a tsunami bigger than any in known history

📈 Shares of Philip Morris International – the owner of Marlboro and Zyn – hit an all-time high on Tuesday, buoyed by continued high demand for Zyn nicotine pouches

🇮🇱 Israel’s military confirmed the death of Hashem Safieddine, the presumed replacement for Hassan Nasrallah

COMMUNITY

🧐 Yesterday’s question: Where would you rank Halloween among best holidays?

🧠 Today’s question: Why is there such a wide partisan gap between young women and young men? (I.e., Young women moving further left, and young men moving right). This follows up from yesterday’s Roca Votes article.

Reply to this email to let us know what you think!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🎞️ Wire-Inspired Opposition: Alexei Navalny's posthumous memoir reveals that HBO’s hit show “The Wire” inspired his political career

🤰 Pregception: A UK mother was awarded £28,000 (~$36,000) after being fired for becoming pregnant while on maternity leave

🇳🇿 Cut the Love: Dunedin Airport in New Zealand introduced a three-minute limit on farewell hugs

☠️ Frozen Heart?: A North Dakota woman was convicted of fatally poisoning her boyfriend with antifreeze over a fake $30M inheritance

🇦🇺 Australian Boulder Bind: An Australian woman spent seven hours trapped upside down between boulders after trying to retrieve her phone

ROCA WRAP

Explosive Horse Disposal

In one of the stranger news headlines of the year, rangers in Wyoming have paused blowing up dead horses due to wildfire risk.

Wyoming, known for its stunning natural beauty and vast wilderness areas, is home to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. The least populous US state, with just over half a million residents spread across its expansive territory, it’s home to diverse landscapes and wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, and bison.

In a surprising revelation, news recently emerged that US Forest Service rangers in Wyoming's Shoshone National Forest have a policy of blowing up horses found dead in the park. This practice, detailed in a 1995 manual titled "Obliterating Animal Carcasses with Explosives," aims to prevent gatherings of grizzly bears to the carcasses.

The manual provides step-by-step instructions on where to place charges and how many to use, claiming that "carcasses that have been partially obliterated will generally not show any trace of existence the next day."

However, this policy has been temporarily paused due to an increased wildfire risk. Wyoming is experiencing a lengthy dry spell combined with hotter-than-usual temperatures, creating dangerous conditions for potential wildfires. The area around Shoshone National Forest is particularly vulnerable, given the presence of consistent winds.  

In a recent incident, rangers opted not to detonate two horses that had fallen to their deaths on a remote trail. Instead, they moved the carcasses to the foot of a steep slope and rerouted the trail around them.

As the horses’ remains remain, Wyoming’s grizzlies may be licking their lips.

ROCA VIDEO
Minority Voters Shift Toward Trump

While roadtripping around swing states the last few months, perhaps nothing has shocked us more than the level of support Donald Trump has among minority voters. Whether it’s black people in Atlanta and Detroit, Mexican workers in rural Pennsylvania, or Muslims in Michigan, the Don is clearly gaining ground with groups he once struggled with. In this video, we analyze polling and share interviews with minority voters that capture this trend.

Make sure to subscribe to the channel!

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Wow. It’s been a treat to scroll through our inbox with all the fall photos you all sent in. The quality of the pictures has been impressive. It’s cool to see how all the different parts of the country wear fall. And we’ve also gotten a glimpse at fall in other countries, as readers have sent in pictures from Germany, England, Canada, and Denmark. We’ll feature at least five on Friday. Happy Hump Day!

–Max and Max