July 5, 2022

Yesterday, America celebrated freedom by consuming roughly 150 million hot dogs. Although, if we don't count Joey Chestnut, that number falls to 150 million minus 63. We hope you had a great weekend and that some of you got a chance to see the Citizen Kane of the 21st century, Minions: Rise of Gru. 

In today's edition:

• Woolly mammoth baby
• Minion madness
• Long Island mysteries

 Key Stories

Brazil-Sized Space Shield?

MIT researchers have proposed a new space-based form of bioengineering to control temperatures

• Using “space bubbles,” a proposed “space shield” could theoretically deflect 1.8% of incoming solar radiation away from Earth. Scientists say this could lessen or prevent global temperature increases
• The current versions of the space bubbles scientists are experimenting with are made of silicon
• The study suggested the shield would have none of the potentially harmful effects of other proposed bioengineering solutions, which would exist in the atmosphere and potentially disrupt ecosystems

6 Dead in Highland Park Shooting

A suspect is in custody after a shooting in Highland Park, a suburb of Chicago, left at least 6 dead and 26 wounded

• Police said that a gunman opened fire on a parade with a “high-powered rifle.” SWAT teams went door-to-door in the area while asking residents to send surveillance camera footage to authorities
• The suspect in custody, a 22-year-old man, was arrested by police after an hours-long manhunt
• 26 victims were taken to a local hospital, with ages ranging from 8 to 85. Hospital officials said that 19 have since been discharged with minor injuries

Commodity Prices Decline

The prices of common goods have started to fall, signaling that inflation may be slowing

• Commodity prices, or the costs of basic goods such as grain, crude oil, and copper, are often used by economists to gauge economy-wide inflation. Over the past several months, some commodity prices have reached record-highs as inflation has soared
• But new data indicate that prices have dropped significantly from peaks in March–May, leading some to believe that US inflation may be on the decline
• Although some analysts expressed optimism, others cautioned the price drops may foretell a recession

• The price of crude oil has fallen from approx. $120 a barrel in March to $108; the price of building materials has fallen 30–40%; and soybeans, corn, and wheat prices have all declined. Some analysts hope that supply chains are beginning to recover from disruptions

Mummified Baby Mammoth Found

Gold miners in northwestern Canada unearthed an almost fully intact body of a baby woolly mammoth

• Woolly mammoths, ancestors of modern elephants, are thought to have gone extinct ~10,000 years ago with the end of the last Ice Age. The mummified baby mammoth is ~30,000 years old
• The body was found in permafrost, a frozen layer of dirt beneath Earth’s surface. It still possesses its hair, skin, intestines, and tail, and may offer researchers clues about the diet, life, and habits of mammoths
• The finding also has spiritual meaning for a local Native American tribe, who named it “Nun cho ga”

Bonus! US Celebrates 4th of July 

The US celebrated Independence Day on Monday, a holiday which commemorates the passage of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776

• An estimated 70M+ Americans grilled out Monday, as burgers (85%), steak (80%), hot dogs (79%), and chicken (73%) represented the most popular foods
• The APA estimated that Americans launched $2.3B worth of fireworks Monday
• ~2.5M Americans flew commercially on July 1, the highest number since before the pandemic. The high flight volume contributed to thousands of cancellations as Americans traversed the country

• One true GOAT: Joey Chestnut wolfed down 63 hot dogs to earn his 15th Nathan's Hot Dog title in 16 years. He competed in crutches
• Not done yet: Pope Francis shut down retirement rumors and laughed off the cancer speculation in an exclusive Vatican interview
• Minion madness: Minions: The Rise of Gru smashed Independence Day box office records, grossing ~$107M in US weekend ticket sales

 What do you think?

See yesterday's results below the Wrap!

 Roca Wrap

Off the coast of Long Island – the mainland US’ largest and most populous island – are 3 islands known for their mystique and mystery.
 
Some know the first, Plum Island, as the Area 51 of the East Coast.
 
In the 1800s, the island became home to a lighthouse and army post, then a US Army biological warfare research program nearly a century later. That closed quickly, though, and the US government – alarmed by the spread of Foot and Mouth disease among livestock – replaced it with the Plum Island Animal Disease Control New York (PIADCNY) in 1954.
 
The PIADCNY conducted – and still conducts – classified research on contagious animal diseases. Only employees and officials can access the highly secure island, which is under 24-hour surveillance. The island’s mysterious work has generated widespread speculation about what’s actually happening there – especially after nearby places were among the first to report Lyme Disease, and when a mysterious bloated and bloodless animal washed up on a nearby beach in 2008…
 
The second island, Gardiners Island, was the site of a scandal involving Jackie Kennedy in the 1960s.
 
In 1639, the Earl of Stirling, a British official who owned most of Long Island, gave a man named Lion Gardiner the right to possess an island off the Long Island coast “forever.” The island has since passed through 13 generations of the Gardiner family. During that period, it was home to numerous Long Island socialites, including Julia Gardiner, who became first lady after marrying the soon-to-be-president John Tyler.
 
While the island has been kept almost entirely private, some journalists and celebrities have visited – Jackie Kennedy among them.
 
When Kennedy visited the island in 1966, she allegedly used a golden lighter to spark a cigarette, but never returned it. One of the Gardiners became furious about the theft, and spread the word that Jackie was a thief. To end the gossip, Jackie’s husband at the time – Aristotle Onassis – sent a $5,000 check and threatened a lawsuit. When Jackie died in 1994, the lighter resurfaced and went on auction at Sotheby’s in New York.
 
The third island – North Dumpling Island – may not even belong to the United States.
 
In 1986, Dean Kamen – the eccentric inventor of the Segway, among other devices – bought an island for $2.5M. He wanted to build a wind turbine on it, however local governments prevented him from doing so. To deal with that, he struck a deal with friend and then-president George H. W. Bush: He seceded from the US, and signed a nonaggression pact with the president.
 
Kamen – who refers to himself as Lord Dumpling – renamed the island North Dumpling Island, and wrote a national anthem, issued a new currency, designed a flag, and adopted a constitution. The island operates on an independent electric grid, fully powered by solar panels and a singular wind turbine.
 
And in what may have been Dumpling’s most popular move, he appointed the founders of Ben & Jerry’s the island’s Ministers of Ice Cream.

 Roca Clubhouse

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 Final Thoughts

Spread the Wave!