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May 6, 2022
Roca Riders, friendly reminder that Mother's Day is this Sunday. To all the moms in the Roca community, happy Mother's Day! In fact, despite their slightly worse taste in news outlets, happy Mother's Day to all the moms not in the Roca community. Moms are the best, and we hope you can celebrate.
Also, mom, if you're reading this.... this counts as my card, right?
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Satan Gets Flagged
Overview
- A Satanic Temple has asked Boston to fly its flag over City Hall
- Until October, Boston allowed private organizations using the nearby plaza to fly their flags above the hall
- It denied a Christian organization the right to do so, which sparked a Supreme Court case. On Monday, the court deemed Boston’s decision a free speech violation in a 9-0 ruling
- The Satanic Temple has now asked to fly its flag for “Satanic Appreciation Week,” which runs from July 23 to 29. The city is considering how to proceed
DIG DEEPER
Should Boston fly the Satanic Temple flag above its City Hall? Let us know in today's poll of the day!
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Mariupol Evacuation
Overview
- Temporary ceasefires have allowed hundreds of Ukrainian civilians to evacuate a steel plant that has been under attack for weeks
- The Azovstal Steel Plant is the last area of Mariupol under Ukrainian control. 10,000+ people have reportedly died in Mariupol, formerly a city of 500K that has been under Russian siege
- ~1,000 people had been sheltering in tunnels below the factory with diminishing food and medicine
- Up to 500 civilians have escaped so far; ~200 remain trapped
DIG DEEPER
Beyond the civilians, hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers remain in the factory. Reports indicated that Russian soldiers tried unsuccessfully to storm it this week.
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Pope: Pay the Ransom
Overview
- A Catholic cardinal said on Thursday that Pope Francis authorized an up-to-$1.1M payment to free a kidnapped nun
- The nun was kidnapped by al-Qaeda-linked militants in Mali in 2017 and released last year. It's unclear if a previous payment was made
- Ransom payments are extremely controversial, given fears that they encourage kidnapping
- The cardinal had refused to comment on the matter for years, calling it a state secret. Pope Francis recently released him from the confidentiality requirement as part of a larger corruption trial
DIG DEEPER
That larger trial is a sweeping investigation of embezzlement, abuse of office, and other crimes at the Vatican. 10 people are accused, including the cardinal who confirmed that the Pope authorized a ransom payment.
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Europe's Obesity Epidemic
Overview
- A new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that obesity has reached “epidemic proportions” in Europe
- According to the study, 60% of European adults and ~33% of European children are overweight or obese
- Among Europe’s most overweight countries are the UK, Greece, Czech Republic, and Spain. Austria, Switzerland, and Denmark are among the fittest
- Weights have been climbing for decades, and while recent data weren’t available for many countries, the report suggests the trend likely accelerated during the pandemic
DIG DEEPER
The report estimates that 23.3% of European adults are obese, compared to 42.4% of American adults. That figure doesn't even put the US in the top 10, though, which is comprised exclusively of small Pacific island nations.
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 What do you think?
Today's Poll:
Should Boston fly the Satanic Temple flag above its City Hall? (See above story for more...)
Yes
No
Today's Question:
Just 20 Questions!
Reply to this email with your answers!
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See yesterday's results below the Wrap!
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 Popcorn
Culture & Sports
- Black jack bogeys: Phil Mickelson lost $40M gambling between 2010 and 2014, according to his biographer. Phil was making ~$40M per year during that period
- Better call Nielsen: Better Call Saul climbed to #2 on the weekly streaming charts. Netflix period drama Bridgerton stayed #1
- Sneak peek (Taylor's version): Taylor Swift released "This Love (Taylor's Version)" from her 1989 album, teasing it as her next remake
Business
- Wall Street faceplant: Stocks had their worst day since early 2020. The S&P 500 fell 3.56% while the NASDAQ shed 4.99%
- iHeartProfits: Radio and podcast giant iHeartMedia brought in $69M in podcast revenue in the first quarter but still lost $48.7M
- Homer, wake up! Worker productivity declined 4.7% in the first quarter, the biggest drop since 1947. Labor costs also soared
Wildcard
- A Chicago man who was wrongfully imprisoned has reached a $7.5M settlement with Elkhart, Indiana. Keith Cooper was pardoned in 2017
- Holy wheels: Pope Francis was seen in a wheelchair in public for the first time on Thursday. The 85-yo pontiff is receiving treatment for his knee
- A small community in India lives in "peaceful harmony" with leopards, reportedly knowing each of the local leopards by name
- Chris Wallace, whose CNN+ show lasted only weeks, is heading to HBO Max. HBO Max, like CNN, is owned by Discovery
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People love to hate on "the critics," yet one group of critics is NEVER wrong: The Roca Community. For that reason, we want you to rate the prompts below for this 20 Questions: Ratings Edition.
We drop a prompt, you drop a number between 1 and 10 that indicates how you feel about it. We average the answers and include them next week to get the Roca Ratings.
Answer as many as you want, and send replies to Max@RocaNews.com. We hope your weekend is a 10/10!
1. Margaritas
2. Your job
3. Your last job
4. Your weekend plans
5. The poo emoji
6. Rice Krispie Treats
7. Red Bull
8. Mini golf
9. Laser tag
10. Rock climbing
11. Smell of gasoline
12. Current price of gasoline
13. Hawaiian shirts
14. Espresso
15. Flossing (the dental care activity)
16. Flossing (the dance move)
17. Donuts
18. Chocolate croissants
19. Breaking Bad
20. Game of Thrones
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Last Week's Responses
1. Epstein killed himself
True: 31%
False: 69%
2. The Moon Landing was real
True: 82%
False: 18%
3. Weed should be legal
True: 71%
False: 29%
4. Society is moving in the right direction
True: 35%
False: 65%
5. Elon Musk bought Twitter to protect free speech
True: 52%
False: 48%
6. Italian food is the world's best cuisine
True: 36%
False: 64%
7. iPhone is better than Android
True: 86%
False: 14%
8. Pro sports leagues are rigged
True: 29%
False: 71%
9. The world would be better if social media didn't exist
True: 84%
False: 16%
10. Governments should do more to limit processed foods/sugars
True: 77%
False: 23%
11. Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in killing President Kennedy
True: 40%
False: 60%
12. Jellyfish are scarier animals than black bears
True: 63%
False: 37%
13. Judge Judy would make a good host of Jeopardy!
True: 58%
False: 42%
14. The Philadelphia Eagles have a pleasant fanbase
True: 14%
False: 86%
15. Red Bull is a better road trip drink than coffee
True: 38%
False: 62%
16. Apple should pay us for all unused iTunes gift cards
True: 78%
False: 22%
17. Microplastics consumption deserves more news coverage
True: 61%
False: 39%
18. 68 degrees is the perfect temperature for night time
True: 26%
False: 74%
19. Escalators are better than elevators
True: 85%
False: 15%
20. Forget pizza, pineapple doesn't belong on tacos
True: 73%
False: 27%
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 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Which condiment plays a bigger role in your life?
Ranch: 48.0%
Soy Sauce: 52.0%
Yesterday's Question:
In honor of Chappelle getting tackled, who is your favorite stand-up comedian of all time? Why?
Luke from Solomon Islands: "Mark Normand hands down, best jokes, best delivery. Combines quality and quantity with extreme wit and finesse. Comedy!"
Rema from California: "Robin Williams. Live at the Met is the gold standard for stand-up."
Bethany from UK: "George Carlin, hands down was brilliant."
Brandon from Chicago: "Tie between Eddie Murphy and Dave Chapelle. The whole RAW / Delirious Era for Eddie Murphy was iconic and still hits insanely hard today. Dave Chapelle is undeniably one of the funniest people of all time, and always delivers top tier material no matter the special."
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Share The Current with friends, and win free swag! Some are secrets, some are awesome Roca gear.
Let's make this wave a tsunami, and share away!
Copy and send your referral link to others: https://sparklp.co/5b5757bc
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PS - You've brought 0 friends to The Current so far.
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― Final Thoughts
We've got good news for all of you, and it's not just that the weekend is here. It's that a Tree Kangaroo was just born at NYC's Bronx Zoo. We had never heard of this half-dog, half-panda-looking animal until yesterday, but now we may have to spend our weekends at the zoo.
We hope you all have restful and enjoyable weekends. Looking forward to bringing you the news on Monday!
- Max and Max
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