🌊 You're Not That Currency, Peso

Too little too late from Mr. West.

Yesterday on X, Kanye West announced that he’s “done with antisemitism.” As thrilled as we are to hear this, we have bad news for Ye: He was rated the most hated celeb in last week’s 20 Questions (official results below). If he had announced this sooner perhaps “Any Host of The View” would’ve taken the crown instead. But let’s face it… he earned this one. I mean I ain’t saying he’s a grave digger but…

Forget that last line and do 20 Questions this week. Music trivia edition!

–Max and Max

KEY STORY

End of the Peso?

Argentinian President Javier Milei is taking steps to “dollarize” his country’s economy

• Argentina has faced decades of high inflation, including a peak 300% rate last year. Milei, a libertarian, has promised to curb this inflation by increasing the use of the dollar, so the central bank could no longer print pesos and fuel inflation

• On Thursday, Milei’s government announced major steps to incentivize people to spend dollars they have in savings. Milei summarized his strategy last week: “If individuals use the dollars under the mattress…at some point there will be so many dollars compared to the number of pesos that if we want we can shut down the central bank”

Dig Deeper

• “Dollarization” would essentially eliminate the central bank’s ability to print money, undermining its power. Milei has called for this, alleging that the country’s central bank is "one of the greatest thieves in the history of mankind"

• Other countries with economic instability have dollarized, including Ecuador, Zimbabwe, and El Salvador

KEY STORY

Israeli Embassy Shooting

Two Israeli Embassy staffers were fatally shot in Washington, DC on Wednesday night after attending a diplomatic event

• The attack took place around 9 PM Wednesday night outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC, where the American Jewish Committee – a nonprofit dedicated to Jewish advocacy – was hosting an event

• Police immediately detained a 30-year-old suspect, who yelled, “Free Palestine” after being arrested

• The killings come amid claims that Israel’s actions are causing widespread starvation in Gaza

Dig Deeper 

• DC police apprehended 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago in relation to the shooting and an FBI official said, “Early indicators are that this is an act of targeted violence,” but added that Rodriguez likely acted alone

• The FBI is investigating the incident to determine whether the killings constitute a terror attack, while the prosecutor for DC suggested the death penalty could be pursued

• The Israeli ambassador to the US said, “We are a resilient people. Together we won’t be afraid and we will stand and we will overcome the moral depravity of people who think they are going to achieve political gains through murder”

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KEY STORY

House Passes “Big, Beautiful Bill”

On Thursday morning, the House narrowly passed President Trump’s tax-and-spending bill

• The bill, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” had caused divisions among House Republicans

• Hardline “fiscal hawks” argued that it did not go far enough to reduce spending, while moderate Republicans worried that too many cuts would hurt their voters

• President Trump, alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson, had been working to bring the two factions together and consolidate enough support to win the vote

• This bill is a central part of Trump’s second-term agenda and would implement many of his top priorities, including extending his first-term tax cuts and eliminating taxes on tips and overtime

Dig Deeper

• During negotiations, Republican leaders revised some key provisions to garner support from “fiscal hawk” Republicans, including expediting Medicaid work requirements, ending wind and solar energy credits, and extending previous tax cuts

• Additionally, the bill raised the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions, which typically benefit Republicans in blue states. It also provided $12B in funding for border states

• Trump heralded the bill’s passage as a win, saying, “This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country! The Bill includes MASSIVE Tax CUTS, No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime, Tax Deductions when you purchase an American Made Vehicle, along with strong Border Security measures…Funding for the Golden Dome, “TRUMP Savings Accounts” for newborn babies, and much more!”

KEY STORY

Supreme Court Tie

An unusual US Supreme Court 4-4 ruling blocked public funding for religious charter schools

• The case revolved around whether the Oklahoma government could fund a public charter school with Catholic teachings and values

• Justice Amy Coney Barrett had to recuse herself from the case, leaving the court with eight justices instead of the typical nine

• They, in turn, produced a 4-4 split ruling which meant the previous ruling, which deemed the state funding of religious schools unconstitutional, remained in effect

Dig Deeper 

• The ruling established no precedent, however, meaning that proposals to create religious charter schools may be brought and potentially ruled on by SCOTUS and other courts in the future

• One Democratic group hailed the ruling, calling it “a victory for the separation of church and state,” while a right-leaning legal advocacy group called the ruling "disappointing," adding, “Oklahoma parents and children are better off with more educational choices, not fewer”

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

👩‍⚖️ A federal judge halted President Trump’s attempt to dismantle the Department of Education (ED), ruling he must reinstate fired employees

🇺🇸 Trump suggested that he may try to take government-controlled mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public

🚗 Chinese automaker BYD sold more electric vehicles in Europe than Tesla for the first time

🪙 The US Treasury announced its plan to stop producing new pennies by early 2026

🚘 In a nearly party-line vote, the US Senate voted to block California’s rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035

🏫 The Trump Administration revoked Harvard University's ability to enroll international students

What does Roca Nation think?

🧠 Yesterday’s Question: Is it unseasonably cold where you live right now? Thoughts?

20 Questions!

Ladies and gentlemen, the Weeknd.

It may have been a mistake to introduce trivia to 20 Questions because now we get emails clamoring for it each week. We apologize if you don't like trivia and enjoy this or that's on mustard vs. no mustard on hot dogs, but we need to keep our trivia tribe happy. This week it is.... a music edition of trivia! Good luck and have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Link to 20 Questions!

Last Week’s Responses

Average ratings — ranked from highest to lowest — to last week’s “Rate This HatedCelebrity” edition of 20 Questions (1-10, 10 being the worst).

Kanye West - 7.6
Any host of The View - 7.5
Ellen DeGeneres - 6.3
Amber Heard - 6.2
Jake Paul - 6.2
Jada Pinkett Smith - 6.0
Elon Musk - 5.6
Alec Baldwin - 5.5
Colin Kaepernick - 5.5
Meghan Markle - 5.4
Tim Walz - 5.4
Ted Cruz - 5.4
Amy Schumer - 5.3
Don Lemon - 5.3
Prince Harry - 5.0
James Corden - 5.0
LeBron James - 4.9
Bill Belichick - 4.8
Armie Hammer - 4.8
Taylor Swift - 4.6

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

🐈 Barkitecture Fundraiser: Garden City, Idaho, is hosting a "Barkitecture" fundraiser, where 15 teams compete to build creative pet structures

🤰 Breaking News!: A pregnant New York news anchor delivered her morning broadcast hours after her water broke

🐸 Kermit Hops to Graduation Stage: Kermit the Frog served as the commencement speaker for the University of Maryland's class of 2025

⚽ Manchester United: Everything Must Go!: Manchester United put every player up for sale following their Europa League final loss

🎂 Sweet or Scary?: Joe Rogan posted an image of a realistic cake resembling pop star Sabrina Carpenter on Instagram, causing it to go viral

ROCA VIDEO
Inside NYC’s Richest Suburbs (Darien and Greenwich)

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Once again shoutout to Roca reader John O’Neill — a Rider since circa late 2020 — for showing us around southwest Connecticut (his hometown Norwalk is featured in the next one). Hope you enjoy this video.

We hope you have a Memorial Day Weekend, Roca Nation. We will be thinking of all those who gave their life for our country. We are beyond lucky!

–Max and Max