December 23, 2021
Tomorrow, in light of Christmas Eve, we won't be sending out a newsletter. We suggest you use the extra time to sleep, read, or scroll through alpaca memes. In all seriousness, though, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and thank you for being the best community of readers EVER.
Today's Wrap tells you the story of a Christmas miracle. The cool part? It happened last week in Haiti and involved the escape of 12 missionary hostages.
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The Giant Telescope
Overview
- On Saturday, NASA will launch the Webb Telescope — the most powerful telescope in history
- As large as a tennis court and 100x more powerful than the Hubble telescope, the Webb will capture infrared light that makes up much of the light from the earliest galaxies to show scientists the universe as it appeared 13.5B years ago
- The Hubble telescope, launched in 1990, mainly captures visible light. It has taken 1.5M photos stretching back 13B years. It's facilitated much of what astronomers know about space, including the age of the universe (13.8B years)
DIG DEEPER
The Hubble mission was expected to last until 2005, however it has powered on for 16 extra years. The Webb mission is expected to last 5-10 years, with initial photos coming this summer.
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Biden Extends Loan Payment Pause
Overview
- President Biden extended the pause on student loan payments until May
- The pause has been in place since early 2020 and was set to expire on January 31. In total, the pause has allowed about 41M Americans to delay student debt payments
- President Biden promised loan forgiveness of up to $10,000 per person while campaigning. Many in the Democratic party want him to enact $50,000 forgiveness before ending the pause
- Given the pandemic, millions of Americans "need some more time before resuming payments," the president said. US median student loan debt is $17,000
DIG DEEPER
President Trump enacted the pause and later extended it. President Biden had extended it twice before this third time.
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Madagascar Minister's Swim
Overview
- A minister in the Madagascar government swam 12 miles (19 km) back to shore after his helicopter crashed into the ocean
- The minister said a gust of wind caused the helicopter to crash while it carried 3 people to a shipwreck off the island country's coast. The minister jumped off into the ocean; the other 2 passengers are missing
- The minister said he swam from 7:30 PM until 7:30 AM, using a helicopter seat as a flotation device. Eventually, a group of fishermen saw and saved him
- “My time to die hasn’t come yet,” he said in a video, adding that he'd return to work in a day
DIG DEEPER
The minister was flying to investigate a ship that had sunk, killing at least 64. An ongoing rescue mission there has saved at least 50 people so far.
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Data: Omicron Less Deadly
Overview
- Data from Denmark, Scotland, and South Africa found the Omicron variant less likely than other strains to cause hospitalization and serious illness
- A Scottish study found that people were 67% less likely to be hospitalized than with Delta. South African data showed a 70% - 80% drop
- Among those who were hospitalized, fewer people required oxygen or intensive care. The data do show that it is much more transmissible, however
- Also Wednesday, the FDA authorized Pfizer's anti-viral pill, the first pill to treat Covid
DIG DEEPER
Omicron is already the dominant strain in much of Europe and the US. We hope all those traveling over the holidays stay healthy!
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What do you think?
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See yesterday's answers below the Wrap!
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Popcorn
Culture & Sports
- Actor James Franco confessed to having sex with students at his now-defunct acting school Studio 4 and admitted that it "was wrong"
- Spider-Man: No Way Home is spinning up the first and only $1B global box office haul of 2021, though theaters worry omicron could impede it
- The NFL released the 2022 Pro Bowl rosters, as Tom Brady snagged his record 15th selection and the Colts led the league with 7
Business
- Game of Traffic: TikTok has dethroned Google as the year's most popular domain, according to new internet traffic data
- Pfizer's Covid pill was granted emergency authorization by the FDA, becoming the first oral antiviral drug cleared to treat Covid
- Supply chain issues plus a surge in pet ownership have led to a pet-food shortage. More owners are cooking fresh meals for their pets
Wildcard
- Zillow found that the most popular destination in the US for 2021 was South Lake Tahoe, where home prices have risen 35% this year
- 4.4M people have signed a petition to reduce the 110-yr sentence of a young truck driver who caused a crash that killed 4 in 2019
- Tsunami coming! A new study finds that the magnetic field generated by a tsunami can be detected a few minutes before the change in sea level
- A Kentucky man found his cat in a pile of rubble 9 days after a tornado. He heard several meows and called for help to rescue him
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― Roca Wrap
A Newsletter Exclusive
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Was it a Christmas miracle? Last week, the 12 Christian missionaries being held by a Haitian gang made a daring escape. The group says its prayers were answered: “The Lord delivered us,” one of the kidnappees said.
Kidnapping and organized crime are rampant within Haiti, with roughly 200 gangs controlling over half the country. But kidnappings rarely impact Americans: “I had never heard of Haitians... kidnapping Americans. They are kidnapping in Haiti every day [but] a lot of them are other nationalities,” one of the victims said.
The following events come from an account given by one of the hostages and accessed by the Miami Herald.
On October 16 around 1 PM EST, 17 people – 16 Americans and 1 Canadian – were returning by van from an orphanage. The group consisted of missionaries and their children; the youngest was 8 months old.
They came across a roadblock that forced them to stop. A man ran along the street with a rifle. The group initially thought he was a police officer; when they realized he was a gangster, the van tried to turn around.
Pickup trucks carrying men armed with assault rifles surrounded the van, boxing it in. One of the men got in the driver’s seat and took the missionaries to a compound. The gang responsible – the 400 Mawozo – demanded $3M for the group’s release. Within days, they bumped the number to $17M: $1M per hostage. The gang said they would kill the hostages if a ransom weren’t paid.
One of the missionaries confirmed via WhatsApp that they had been kidnapped, and the US dispatched FBI agents to facilitate their release. The FBI hasn’t said if they accomplished anything. It’s also unclear if any ransom was paid, although the missionaries have said that many people offered them funds to do so.
The group was moved around but largely kept in a 10ft x 10ft (3m x 3m) room in a small house, where they ate a diet of spaghetti, rice, boiled eggs, and beans, but often went hungry. They were given dirty water for baths, which led to infected bug bites, and the captors frequently threatened them. They sometimes were allowed outside, but generally passed the time by singing hymns and with round-the-clock prayers. They took turns sleeping because there weren’t enough mattresses.
On November 20, the gang released 2 of the hostages because of a health issue. On December 5, they released 3 others. On the evening of December 15, 12 remained.
According to the escapees, that night, “We made preparations. We packed our bag with some of our belongings.” They gathered water and prayed. The door was only loosely sealed, and they plotted to leave between 1 AM and 3 AM when the guards changed shifts.
The group – consisting of a married couple, a baby, 3 children, 4 single men, and 2 single women – snuck out of the building and walked for hours along an irrigation ditch, trying to get as far from the kidnappers as possible. They guess they walked up to 10 miles (16 km), claiming to have followed the North Star and prayed that animals stay away from them and remain quiet.
“We walked through large Haitian villages without hearing a sound,” one of the escapees said.
Eventually, they came across a farmer. He had no cell-phone, but pointed them to a nearby house where 2 church musicians were practicing. They used one of the musicians’ phones to call their ministry’s country director: “Barry, we got out. The Lord delivered us,” one of the missionaries claimed to have said.
After a debriefing with the FBI, the group returned stateside. The charity will no longer be conducting its work in Haiti, but the missionaries will be spending Christmas at home.
If you have thoughts, let us know at Max@RocaNews.com and don't forget to share this Wrap with family and friends by using this link here!
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Games
What doesn't fit in each of the below Christmas-themed lists? 1 misfit in each group!
- Prancer, Ronald, Rudolph, Dasher, Comet
- Home Alone, Elf, The Dark Knight, It's A Wonderful Life
- Gold rings, geese a-laying, ladies dancing, singers singing
- Silent Night, The First Noel, Turn Down for What, Carol of the Bells
Find out the answer at the bottom of Roca Clubhouse.
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Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Are you uneasy at all about the global 5G rollout?
Yes: 40.0%
No: 60.0%
Yesterday's Question:
Who was the most influential person of the year?
Holly from Houston: "It’s Britney, b*tch!"
Tina from Germany: "Amanda Gorman with her poems. In my view this young woman with her poems symbolizes the hope and confidence of future generations and leaders - something we cannot have enough of in these times…"
Chris from Nashville: "Elon Musk or Joe Rogan"
General Feedback:
More amazing pics came in for our 2021 Picture of the Year contest. Can't wait to show our favorites next week!
Ben from Saudi Arabia: "I’ve lived here for the past ten years. When we first arrived my wife was approached by someone in the moral police who asked her to cover her head. Now she can go to the mall in pants if she wants. Although she’ll wear something long to cover her back side. Seeing the drastic changes has been interesting for sure. They used to confiscate Christmas decorations and now they sell them."
Jonny: "Awesome stuff! I voted yes to the 5G concern because of the potential issues with the radio altimeters on airplanes that you had for one of your stories! From what I've read, the frequencies are close enough that there is a potential for bleed-over and interference. The concen - this could become a real issue when trying to make a landing when the weather is bad and the plane is relying on that altimeter very close to the ground. I hope that there has/will be adequate testing done to make sure this isn't an issue."
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20 Questions: 16-20
Every Friday, we ask the Roca Riders 20 questions and feature a few of our favorite answers.
16. Most versatile condiment?
"Sriracha"
"Chick-fil-A sauce"
"Frank's Red Hot"
17. Do you prefer to insert, tap, or swipe your credit card?
"Tap. No question. Tap"
"Insert because it feels like a transaction"
"Swipe. I feel like an early 2000s romcom character about to undergo a makeover sequence"
18. Do you support college athletes getting paid from NIL deals?
"Nope"
"Yes. NCAA has been profiting off them for years with no consequences"
"Yes, why should the schools keep all the money?"
19. Actor you'd most want to have dinner with?
"Keanu Reeves"
"Matthew McConaughey"
"Ryan Reynolds"
20. Actress you'd most want to have dinner with?
"Queen Latifah. She seems truly nice and interesting"
"Jennifer Lawrence"
"Natalie Portman so I can shoot my shot"
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Games Answer(s):
1. Ronald (Santa's reindeer) 2. The Dark Knight (Christmas movies) 3. Singers singing (12 days of Christmas gifts)
4. Turn Down for What (Christmas carols)
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― Final Thoughts
We are taking tomorrow off to enjoy long weekends with our families. We hope you all have wonderful holidays. Thank you so much for your support of Roca – it means more than you could ever know – and have a very merry Christmas!
Sincerely,
Max, Max, Billy, and Jen
Today's Instagram Wrap is on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. It's one of our favorite Wraps ever!
Thanks for reading! See you again soon!
As always, send thoughts and feedback to Max@Rocanews.com
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