April 25, 2022

Happy Hug a Plumber Day. Yes, that's a real thing, and it's up to you to decide if you want to celebrate. Although we won't be endorsing this holiday, we would enthusiastically endorse a "Hug a Newsletter Intro Writer Who Makes B-Minus Puns Day." It's been years.... I've forgotten what a hug feels like.

Feeling gassy today? Well, today's Wrap takes you to the Gas Giant (aka Jupiter) for a story on its shrinking "Great Red Spot." Hope you enjoy.

― Key Stories

A Whole New Plan
Overview

• A Russian general said Russia’s goal is to seize Ukraine’s south and east. Russia originally wanted to overthrow the Ukrainian government
• The general said Russia wants to establish “a land corridor to Crimea,” the Ukrainian peninsula occupied by Russia since 2014
• Success would also give Russia access to Moldova, a formerly Soviet country where the general said “Russian-speaking people [are] being oppressed”
• Russian insiders told the FT that President Putin had been considering a peace deal until Ukraine sunk a key Russian warship, embarrassing Russia’s military

Gallup Releases Biden's Approval %
Overview

• President Biden's approval rating was 41.3% in the first 3 months of 2022, according to a new report by Gallup, one of the US’ top polling institutions
• The figure is the second lowest for any post-WW2 president's 5th quarter in office. President Trump had the lowest, at 39.1%; President George W. Bush had the highest, at 79.5%
• According to Gallup, only one president — President Trump — had his approval rating increase between the 5th and 7th quarters. The 7th quarter ends in the fall, just before Congressional elections
• Biden's approval peaked at 57% in April 2021

Twitter Reconsiders Musk's Offer
Overview

• Twitter is reconsidering Elon Musk's offer to buy the company, per the Wall Street Journal
• Twitter had indicated that it opposed Musk's $43.4B bid for the company. It is apparently reconsidering, though, after Musk lined up financing last week. Musk has said he will not negotiate on the price
• Twitter reps. were scheduled to meet with Musk on Sunday. The company is working to value itself to see how that figure compares to Musk's bid
• While Twitter made $5B in revenue in 2021, it was not profitable. Since going public in 2013, Twitter only recorded positive net incomes in 2018 and ‘19

Macron Re-Elected President
Overview

• Emmanuel Macron was re-elected president of France in a 59% - 41% split
• Macron is strongly pro-EU and has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine. He was running against Marine Le Pen, a right-wing EU-skeptic candidate
• Despite the win for Macron, it was an improvement for Le Pen, who Macron beat in a 66% - 34% landslide in 2017
• 28% of eligible voters did not participate, the highest level of non-participation since 1969

See yesterday's results below the Wrap!

 Popcorn

Culture & Sports

• 'Tis the season to be tackling: For the first time ever, the NFL has scheduled 3 games for Christmas Day. NBC will get the night game
• Animated comedy The Bad Guys overtook Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts 3 to top the domestic weekend box office
• In a pickle: Pickleball is now the fastest-growing sport in America. It claims 4.8M players in the US and has attracted major investments 

• A Japanese man married a blue-haired, computer-synthesized fictional character in 2018. He claims that she's "real" to him
• Did a cat write this? Maryland became the 2nd state to ban the declawing of cats, following in the footsteps (or paw prints) of New York
• Gonna need a smaller yacht: Saudi royals are dumping hundreds of millions worth of luxury goods as the crown prince cuts pay
• Ever wonder why all U-Haul trucks have Arizona license plates? It helps the Arizona-based company avoid registration hassles

― Roca Wrap

A Newsletter Exclusive

At one time, Jupiter’s famous storm, the Great Red Spot, had the reach to fit 3 Earths within its face. Now, it could barely hold 1. Recent NASA missions have helped scientists piece together parts of the puzzle, but they still don’t have the full picture.

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is an anticyclone in Jupiter’s southern “tropical” region. Like on Earth, cyclones on Jupiter rotate clockwise in the southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere. Anticyclones, like the Red Spot, do the opposite. 

The Great Red Spot constantly drifts westward, held at the same latitude by jet streams to the north and south. It rotates at approximately 400mph (644kmph), and is anywhere from 186 to 311mi (300-500km) deep.

The Great Red Spot was first documented in the 1600s, and its size and drift have been tracked annually since 1878. In more recent years, astronomers have combined those observations with data from space missions. They’ve concluded that the Great Red Spot has been shrinking for the last 150 years, save for one period in the 1920s when it temporarily grew. While it is not shrinking in every direction, its length has decreased from about 40,000km (24,850mi) to 15,000km (9,320mi).

Astronomers debate the cause and impact of this. 

One theory was that smaller anticyclones were colliding with the Great Red Spot, as astronomers would observe chunks of red cloud break away. But studies have found that this only affects the storm’s surface. Deeper down, the Great Red Spot is most likely absorbing these storms, prolonging its existence. 

Astronomers also predicted that the storm would get faster, as most storms do when they shrink. But that hasn’t happened. 

While the Spot has gotten faster at its edge, most of it has slowed. Astronomers recently found what they believe is the explanation: The storm is growing taller as it shrinks in length. It is as though the storm were being squeezed, forcing its volume in the vertical direction. In the process, chemicals have moved higher in the atmosphere, which astronomers believe is causing the storm’s red color to deepen. 

The space probe that has contributed the most to this understanding – Juno – was originally set to cease its mission in 2021. With resources to spare, though, NASA green-lighted an extension. So we still don’t know why the Great Red Spot formed or how long it will last, but astronomers hope Juno can help unravel the mysteries. 

 Roca Clubhouse

Yesterday's Poll:

Yesterday's Question:

20 Questions: 1-5

― Final Thoughts