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- 🌊 Zohran in the Lion's Den
🌊 Zohran in the Lion's Den
Plus: Jerome Powell not fired, Israel strikes Damascus, & the best state for road trips
A day that will live in in-foamy.
41 years ago, the US officially raised its drinking age from 18 to 21 in a triumph for Moms Against Drunk Driving and a blow to the "Draft Beer Not Students" camp. Despite the “so you can die in a war but not drink a White Claw” objection we often hear (jk, nobody drinking White Claw has ever thought of war), the law still stands today. It makes the US a global outlier: Most countries have a minimum drinking age of 18, while some like Denmark and Germany set theirs at 16.
Only a few countries — including Iraq and Kazakhstan — join the US at 21. Not sure about you, but whenever there’s a policy debate my first question is: What does Kazakhstan do?
đź’° Zohran in the lion's den
🇮🇱 Israel strikes Damascus
đźš— The best state for road trips
–Max and Max
KEY STORY
Mamdani Meets Execs
NYC Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani held a meeting with 100+ executives
Mamdani, a 33-yo democratic socialist, won the Democratic primary in June, sparking alarm among executives who warned that businesses and wealthy individuals would leave the city in response to his high-tax policies
On Tuesday, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla moderated a meeting between Mamdani and 100-150 business executives
Executives’ responses were mixed: One told The New York Times the meeting convinced him to "do everything in my power to make sure Zohran Mamdani does not become mayor,” while another attendee told the Wall Street Journal, “It could have been a lot worse”
Dig Deeper
Among various topics, Bourla, whose grandparents perished at Auschwitz, pressed Mamdani on his use of the phrase "globalize the intifada," which has been used by opponents of the Gaza war and is viewed by some as a call to violence against Jews
During his primary campaign, Mamdani stated that while it was "not language that I use," he didn't believe "the role of the mayor is to police speech"
This week, Mamdani told Bourla that he considered the phrase to be a protest against Israeli occupation and said he would discourage the specific language while not abandoning the idea behind it
KEY STORY
Israel Strikes Damascus
Israel conducted airstrikes on Syria's military headquarters and areas near the presidential palace in Damascus
Ahmed al-Sharaa became Syria’s ruler in December after overthrowing Bashar al-Assad. The country remains fragmented, with various ethnic and religious minorities maintaining their own militias
In recent days, fighting between Sunni Muslims and Druze, an ethnic minority with backing from Israel, claimed 100+ lives
On Wednesday, Israel bombed Syria's main military command center in Damascus, where Israeli officials said Syrian commanders were directing operations in southern Syria
Dig Deeper
The current fighting erupted Sunday when armed Bedouin tribe members attacked and robbed a Druze merchant, triggering broader confrontations between Druze militias and both Bedouin groups and Syrian government forces
The Druze practice an offshoot of Islam and have historically faced persecution from other religious groups. They form a minority in Israel, where Druze leaders called for airstrikes to protect their Syrian counterparts and even suggested crossing the border to help them
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Discretion is the mentor which ought to accompany every young Telemachus in his journey through life
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KEY STORY
No Plans to Fire Powell
President Trump denied plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Powell after reportedly polling House Republicans about removing him Tuesday evening
Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire Powell, who he accuses of keeping rates too high for too long. A president has never fired a Fed chair before
On Tuesday, Trump showed a draft letter firing Powell to Republican lawmakers
On Wednesday, Trump confirmed that he did ask lawmakers about firing Powell, but said, “Almost every one of them said I should, but I'm more conservative than they are,” adding that he had no plans to fire Powell
Dig Deeper
Potential candidates to replace Powell include Treasury Secretary Bessent, former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, and current Fed Governor Christopher Waller
Financial markets initially declined on reports of Trump's plans, with the dollar falling as much as 0.9% before recovering after his denial
Firing Powell risks undermining the Fed’s independence and thereby investor confidence and economic stability, prompting some Trump advisers to suggest that he is simply pressuring Powell rather than planning actual removal
KEY STORY
US Deports to Africa
The US deported five people to Eswatini, formerly Swaziland
Last month, the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) ruled that the Trump Administration was allowed to deport migrants to third countries without giving them the right to contest their deportations
That paved the way for the deportation of eight migrants to South Sudan. This week, the administration sent five more migrants to Eswatini
A Homeland Security spokesperson said each member of the group had been sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison and were all convicted child rapists or murderers
Dig Deeper
It’s unclear how Washington is striking the deportation deals or what strings they come with; however, earlier this week, Nigeria’s foreign minister said that Washington had put “considerable pressure” on it and other countries to accept deportees
The minister said Nigeria rejected the option, saying, “We have enough problems of our own…for crying out loud”
RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office
🇷🇺 Russia dismissed President Trump's 50-day ultimatum for a peace deal with Ukraine, with officials maintaining they will continue pursuing war goals regardless of external pressure
🇨🇳 President Trump allowed Nvidia to resume selling H20 AI chips to China, reversing the administration’s own promise to keep American chips out of the country
🇮🇩 The US and Indonesia reached a preliminary trade agreement that will impose a 19% tariff on Indonesian goods entering America, down from the previously threatened 32% rate
🇬🇧 The UK government revealed that it secretly relocated 4,500 Afghans to Britain after a 2022 data breach exposed personal details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied for resettlement following the Taliban's return to power
🇹🇷 A Turkish court jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu – President Erdoğan's main political rival – to one year and eight months in prison
What does Roca Nation think?
🎧 Yesterday’s Question: Is it rude to play TikToks or other videos out loud on your phone in public? Thoughts?
Oh my gosh, THANK YOU for asking this question and YES, it is rude to operate a phone with audible volume in public. At dinner, especially, having to try and carry on polite conversation while the next booth has three people on three different apps loudly blaring away is torture. And when the parents give over their phone to their three-year-old to play with, it's over with. Respect and consideration for others in public has gone out the window. It's a sad commentary on society that "personal space" bubbles have grown so large.
So. Rude. I love scrolling through Insta or Facebook reels in dead time while waiting at the doctor’s office but I use my earphones because I can guarantee that the other poor sap waiting forever in that doctor’s office has no interest in listening to my random cat videos. My other pet peeve is when people think it’s okay to FaceTime or speaker phone their conversation no matter where they are. I have no interest in your conversation. Use your earphones, lower your voice, and show some courtesy to the world around you.
I’m not nearly as angry as this answer will inevitably make me sound. But yes, it is super rude to have the volume up on your electronic devices in public. This is especially true for families who distract their child with an Ipad at the dinner table while an entire carton or movie plays songs, noises, and obnoxious, animated voices.
The world is not your living room. Be comfortable, be happy, watch whatever you want, be a terrible parent and teach your child to be oblivious at the table, but ear buds or headphones are a must, if you want to enjoy music, podcasts, or videos in public spaces.
Only semi unrelated is the abhorrent behavior of wearing pajamas in public and/or bringing a blanket to the theater. 🤮 When did people stop respecting public spaces? When did they stop respecting their own dignity?! The idea that you’re enough the way you are has unfortunately been confused with meaning, no effort is necessary. You’re enough, means don’t be afraid to fail while doing your best to live into your full potential. It does NOT mean, feel free to lump around as dumpy as possible with no manners.
🚔 Today’s Question: Do you think cops are too revered or too smeared in the country today?
POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour
📺 Emmy Nominations Released: Apple TV+’s Severance leads with a record-setting 27 Emmy nominations, followed by HBO’s The Penguin (24) and The White Lotus (23), while newcomer comedy The Studio matched that 23-nomination mark for a freshman series
🛣️ Road Trips Ranked: WalletHub found that Minnesota is the best US state for summer road trips, and Delaware is the worst
🪨 Old as Rocks: Earth’s oldest rock samples – from Quebec’s Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt – are now confidently dated to at least 4.16 billion years old, potentially making them the oldest known bits of Earth’s crust
🏀 Portland’s Fire Ignites: The Rose City’s new WNBA expansion team will debut in 2026 under the nostalgic name Portland Fire, complete with a fresh logo that nods to the city’s spirit
🛡️ Shielding the Seniors: A 16-year-old in Dallas is using AI to help protect senior citizens from online scams
ROCA WRAP
Refugee Deportations
Iran
This country has expelled over 1.4M Afghan refugees since January.
Iran hosts the world's largest refugee population, including an estimated 4M Afghans who fled over decades of war. The government restricts where Afghans can live and work, confining them to just 10 provinces and limiting them to low-skilled jobs.
Iranian authorities launched an aggressive crackdown on this group after setting a July deadline for Afghan departures. The campaign intensified following last month's conflict with Israel, with nearly 20,000 Afghans now crossing daily into Afghanistan. Security forces are raiding workplaces, stopping cars at checkpoints, and detaining Afghans before sending them to deportation centers.
Among various charges, Iranian officials accuse Afghans of spying for Israel and the United States. Some analysts, in turn, have accused Iran of using Afghans as scapegoats to deflect blame for intelligence failures that enabled Israeli infiltration.
The deportations come alongside a similar campaign in Pakistan, which sits on the other side of Afghanistan and hosts millions of Afghan refugees. Pakistan’s government blames Afghans for bringing drugs, crime, and terrorism, and has ordered all Afghan refugees to depart the country immediately.
Whether to Kabul’s west or east, being an Afghan refugee is getting harder.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts
There’s rarely a consensus for the question of the day, but yesterday’s yielded a near-unanimous “YES” as to whether it’s rude to play videos out loud in public. Some of you were very passionate about this. In fact, we got a number of first-time responses from people who’ve been reading Roca for years.
Just curious: Is it frowned upon to play our 50 Shades of Gray audiobook aloud on the subway, too? Sorry did we say “our”? This is hypothetical…
–Max and Max