🌊 Putting the Service in Secret Service

Happy National Punctuation Day to all who celebrate!

You may be rolling your eyes, but punctuation can save lives. Consider the sentence: “Let’s eat grandma.” With a comma, it’s a cozy meal; without it, it’s the plot of a tragedy you’d find in a German storybook for kids. Or how about this sentence: “I find inspiration in cooking, my parents, and my dog.” Without commas, this isn’t a touching toast it’s a Netflix docuseries.

On a more serious note, yesterday we published a tragic story that Max F came across on a recent trip to Cincinnati about the murder of an Army vet by a man with a long criminal history who broke into the vet’s house. The vet died protecting his wife, whom Max F interviewed for the piece. We made it free for all readers.

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

Secret Service Foils Cell Attack Plot

The US Secret Service dismantled a telecommunications network in the New York metropolitan area, a potential threat that could have shut down cellular systems and emergency communications

• The Secret Service announced Tuesday that agents discovered a network of more than 300 SIM servers containing over 100,000 SIM cards across multiple sites within 35mi of the UN headquarters

• The network had the capability to overwhelm cell towers, jam 911 calls, and send up to 30M text messages per minute, potentially crippling New York’s communications infrastructure

• The investigation began in spring 2025 after senior US government officials received anonymous threatening phone calls that agents traced to the broader telecommunications network

Dig Deeper 

• During the raids, investigators also seized 80g of cocaine, illegal firearms, computers, and phones, though no arrests have been announced

• Early analysis revealed that foreign governments had used the system to send encrypted messages to organized crime groups, cartels, and terrorist organizations

• Officials described it as a well-funded operation costing millions of dollars in hardware alone, with evidence suggesting operators were preparing to double or triple the network’s capacity

KEY STORY

Trump Goes After the UN in New York

President Trump delivered a speech at the UN during his address to the General Assembly on Tuesday, questioning the organization’s purpose and effectiveness

• Trump has consistently criticized the UN throughout his political career, and after returning to office in January 2025, withdrew the US from the World Health Organization, ended participation in the UN Human Rights Council, and withheld funding from the organization, creating a UN budget crisis

• In a 56-minute speech on Tuesday, Trump challenged the UN’s effectiveness, asking, “What is the purpose of the United Nations?” He argued that the UN “has such tremendous, tremendous potential, but it’s not even coming close to living up to that potential”

• The president complained that the UN only writes “strongly worded letters” without following up, adding that “empty words don’t solve war”

Dig Deeper

• Trump warned that he was prepared to impose “a very strong round of powerful tariffs” on Russia if it did not work toward ending the war in Ukraine, but emphasized that European nations would need to adopt the same measures for them to be effective

• Trump criticized immigration and climate change policies, calling them a “double-tailed monster” that threatens Western civilization, telling European leaders, “It’s time to end the failed experiment of open borders,” adding that European countries “are going to hell”

• On climate change, Trump called it “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world” and urged other nations to abandon green energy initiatives

KEY STORY

TV Broadcasters Boycott Kimmel

Major broadcast companies Nexstar and Sinclair refused to air “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in dozens of markets across the US

• The controversy began when Kimmel made comments during a monologue about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah

• Disney initially suspended Kimmel, but backtracked on Monday after “thoughtful conversations” with the host

• Nexstar and Sinclair, which together own more than 60 ABC affiliates reaching about 22% of the country, announced they would not broadcast the show despite Disney’s decision to resume production

• The boycott affected viewers in Washington, DC, Seattle, Indianapolis, Nashville, and several other markets

Dig Deeper

• Nexstar said it would continue postponing the show “pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve”

• Sinclair said it would replace Kimmel’s show with news programming while continuing discussions with Disney and ABC. Late-night hosts celebrated Kimmel’s return, with Stephen Colbert saying “our long, national, late-nightmare is over”

• In his monologue, Kimmel called Trump's attacks on his show "anti-American," and said, “This show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.” After playing a clip of Trump, he said, “You almost have to feel sorry for him, he tried his best to cancel me"

• Kimmel also claimed that he hadn't intended to blame Kirk's assassination on Republicans, saying, “For those who think I did point a finger, I get why you’re upset"

• Trump, meanwhile, threatened a lawsuit, writing on Truth Social, “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled!” Trump then accused Kimmel of working for the Democratic Party, saying “to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution”

QUOTE OF THE DAY

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KEY STORY

Jury Convicts Trump Would-Be Assassin

A federal jury convicted Ryan Routh on all charges for attempting to assassinate President Trump at a Florida golf course last year

• The incident occurred on September 15, 2024, at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, marking the second assassination attempt against Trump during his presidential campaign

• Prosecutors proved that Routh stalked Trump for weeks, living out of his vehicle while monitoring the golf course

• On the day of the attempt, Routh hid outside the golf course fence with a semiautomatic rifle before a Secret Service agent spotted the rifle barrel and fired at him

• The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding him guilty on all five charges

Dig Deeper

• Shortly before the attempted attack, Routh texted his three children messages of love, prompting concern from one son, who asked if everything was alright

• Authorities discovered a letter Routh had left at a friend’s house months earlier that read, “Dear World, This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you.” The letter also offered a $150,000 bounty for killing Trump

• Routh chose to represent himself despite having no legal experience, with the judge repeatedly interrupting his attempts at legal arguments

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🏛️ Democratic lawmakers have launched investigations into the Justice Department’s closure of a bribery probe involving White House border czar Tom Homan.

📜 President Trump signed an executive order designating antifa a “domestic terrorist organization,” though no such legal classification exists under US law.

📊 Wall Street pulled back from record highs after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell provided no signals about potential October rate cuts during his latest remarks.

💰 OpenAI announced agreements to develop five additional US data centers, expanding its Stargate AI infrastructure project to approximately $400B in total costs.

🎯 President Trump said Tuesday that NATO members should shoot down Russian aircraft entering their territory, contradicting more cautious statements from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and NATO leadership.

What does Roca Nation think?

🚔 Yesterday’s Question: What’s your take on the now-former TV show “Cops”?

💃 Today’s Question: Who would you like to see on Dancing With the Stars?

Reply to this email with your response!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🎰 Ocean’s Sixteen-Year-Old: Authorities arrested a teenager for cyberattacks that cost Las Vegas Strip casinos at least $100M in 2023.

⚾ Robo Umps Report for Duty: Major League Baseball will introduce a challenge system for balls and strikes in 2026, allowing teams two challenges per game to contest umpire calls using automated technology.

🎆 Firework Fumble: Clothing brand Arc’teryx faced massive backlash after staging a fireworks display on a pristine Tibetan plateau 18,000ft above sea level, prompting a government investigation in China.

💲 Posthumous Payday: A New Jersey woman pleaded guilty to stealing $144,000 in Social Security survivor benefits intended for her deceased mother over nearly a decade.

👩‍🚀 …One Giant Leap for Womankind: NASA introduced 10 new astronaut candidates with women outnumbering men for the first time in the space program’s history.

ROCA WRAP
Mystery Wanderer

The Leatherman

A mysterious vagrant walked the same route for over 30 years, living in caves and speaking only broken English.

For three decades, from roughly 1857 to 1889, an unknown man traveled a precise circular route between the Connecticut and Hudson Rivers. Locals dubbed him “the Leatherman” for his distinctive handmade leather clothing that covered him from head to toe. He completed his 365-mile journey every 34 days with clockwork precision, arriving in each town on schedule.

The Leatherman never sought indoor shelter, instead sleeping in rock formations and caves that residents now call “leatherman caves.” He survived brutal northeastern winters by building fires in these stone shelters, though frostbite marked his weathered face. Unlike other vagrants of his era, he remarkably never lost fingers to the cold.

Despite his regular appearances in towns, the Leatherman remained an enigma. He communicated mostly through grunts and gestures, speaking only broken English when absolutely necessary. When questioned about his background, he would end conversations. Residents noticed his fluency in French and speculated that he hailed from France or French Canada, a theory supported by the French prayer book found among his possessions after his death.

Connecticut towns along his route embraced this peculiar figure, with families preparing food for his scheduled visits. He would eat on doorsteps before continuing his journey. Ten Connecticut municipalities even passed special ordinances exempting him from the state’s anti-vagrancy laws enacted in 1879. Store records from Connecticut shops show his typical purchases: Bread, sardines, crackers, pie, coffee, brandy, and beer.

The Leatherman died in 1889 from mouth cancer, found in his cave near Mount Pleasant, New York. His original tombstone identified him as “Jules Bourglay of Lyons, France,” but researchers later determined this name came from a retracted newspaper story. In 2011, his grave was moved and marked simply as “The Leatherman,” acknowledging that his true identity remains unknown.

For over a century, the Leatherman’s clockwork wandering has become the stuff of legend – proving that some mysteries are more compelling than their solutions.

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Have an amazing day, Roca Nation. If you’d like to watch/listen to today’s news and a special report from Max F on grooming gangs in the UK (from which he’s currently reporting), check out the link below.

Beyond that, have a great National Punctuation Day.

–Max and Max