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January 18, 2022
Save Money. Live Better.... in the Metaverse? Walmart appears to be preparing to enter the metaverse with its own crypto and NFTs. This is amazing news if your avatar is hungry and wants to eat a 250-pack of virtual onion rings. Can't wait to dress my avatar in a Walmart "Shh... no one cares" shirt.
Hope everyone had a terrific MLK 3-day weekend! Today's Wrap is about someone who most certainly didn't: Novak Djokovic. Let's ride.
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Attendee-Free Olympics
Overview
- The public will not be allowed to buy tickets to this winter's Beijing Olympics
- The announcement means the Olympics will be the second without crowds, following last summer's Tokyo Olympics
- China has some of the world's harshest pandemic measures, meant to keep viral circulation at 0. Under those policies, the Olympics will take place in a "closed loop," wherein they are cut off from the rest of the country
- The Olympics run from February 4 to February 20
DIG DEEPER
China is trying to fight off Omicron, cases of which have recently been reported in several major cities. Lockdowns were just lifted Sunday in the 13M-person city of Xi'an, where people had been prohibited from leaving their homes since December 22.
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Synagogue Hostage Standoff
Overview
- On Saturday, a gunman held 4 worshippers hostage for 10 hours in a synagogue near Dallas, Texas. The FBI is calling it an anti-Jewish "terrorism-related" incident
- A rabbi had invited the attacker in for tea. He then brandished the weapon, threatening to kill the worshipers. He released 1 hostage; the other 3 made an escape after the rabbi threw a chair at the attacker
- The attacker died, although it's unclear whether he shot himself or was killed by police
- He was identified as a 44-yo British citizen who was demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui, an al-Qaeda-linked, Pakistani neuroscientist jailed on terrorism-related charges in the US. Police in England have detained 2 people in relation to the case
DIG DEEPER
The group said they built a rapport with the attacker, which culminated in his releasing one of the hostages. Things intensified as the day went on, though, and the hostages felt they needed to make an escape for their lives.
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Tonga Cut Off
Overview
- An underwater volcano eruption and resulting tsunami have left the Pacific island nation of Tonga largely cut off from the world
- Tonga comprises ~170 islands between New Zealand and Hawaii. It's home to 100,000 people
- The eruption of a nearby underwater volcano turned the sky dark with ash and sent tsunami waves onto the islands, devastating the coastline
- The disaster damaged the cable that connects Tonga to the rest of the world, cutting most phone and internet access. New Zealand and Australia are leading rescue efforts
DIG DEEPER
“Everyone froze in town and we were like—what the heck is that and then it just went pitch black,” posted one witness on Facebook before internet cut off. It could be more than 2 weeks before the communications cable is repaired.
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Novak Gets Deported
Overview
- Men's world tennis #1 Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia on Sunday
- Djokovic was attending the Australian Open tournament, for which all attendees had to be vaccinated. Djokovic is unvaxxed, but believed he was exempt from the mandate
- After arrival, Djokovic was detained when authorities said his exemption wasn't valid. After 11 days in Australia, a judge confirmed his visa cancelation and ruled Sunday that Djokovic had to leave
- Djokovic may now face a 3-year ban on entering Australia, whose Australian Open tournament is one of the world's 4 most important
DIG DEEPER
Get the full story in today's Wrap!
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 What do you think?
Today's Poll:
Better all-time comedy actor? Only counting movies...
Will Ferrell
Adam Sandler
Today's Question:
What is your favorite late-night comedy movie of all time? Elaborate.
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
- Sorry.... Spidey again: Spider-Man: No Way Home spun its way to become Mexico's highest-grossing film of all time
- Mike Tyson and YouTuber Jake Paul (watch that ear!) are reportedly in advanced talks for a primetime fight in Las Vegas later this year
- Rolling in the dough: Adele is set to earn ~$700,000 per night during her Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace, which starts this weekend
- The first round of the NFL Playoffs ended with the LA Rams wrecking the Arizona Cardinals. This play right here sums up the night
Business
- Meta-preppy: Ralph Lauren's CEO said that the fashion company is chasing opportunities in the metaverse to lure younger shoppers
- The world's top 20 hedge funds earned a record $65.4B for clients in 2021, despite generally lagging the % returns of the S&P 500
- Puerto Rico to the moon! Crypto traders are flocking to Puerto Rico largely due to Act 60, which offers huge tax savings for crypto traders
Wildcard
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― Roca Wrap
A Newsletter Exclusive
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This wasn’t how #1 men’s tennis player Novak Djokovic intended his time in Australia to be remembered.
Djokovic boasts a record 9 Australian Open titles. This year, he hoped to both take home a 10th and set the record for most men’s Grand Slam titles (the Grand Slam is the winning of the 4 major championships in a calendar year).
Instead, he found himself on a flight to Dubai, having lost one of the greatest off-court tennis matches ever. On Sunday, the Australian government deported him after an 11-day visa battle over his unvaccinated status.
Djokovic, who has said he is opposed to Covid-19 vaccination, was initially allowed to enter Australia unvaccinated to compete in the tournament under a health exemption. Yet upon his arrival in Australia on January 5, he was detained and the exemption dropped.
Valid reasons for exemptions include a Covid-19 infection in the past 6 months. Djokovic said he tested positive in mid-December, which qualified him for an exemption from the country.
Australia’s government said Djokovic provided false information to qualify for the exemption. After he tested positive, he continued to travel and partake in in-person events, which he didn’t disclose on his visa application. Such actions supersede the exemption.
As a result, the Australian government revoked Djokovic’s visa upon landing and said he should be deported. His lawyers appealed in court, which led to a legal battle, during which Djokovic was detained in an immigration hotel. Eventually his visa was renewed, only for a court to confirm the revocation on Sunday. After that, he was shipped out of the country.
The legal battle crystalized arguments about vaccine mandates.
Many in Djokovic’s native Serbia took the streets to demand his freedom. Serbia’s president criticized the Australian government’s handling of the decision, decrying the 10-day process as “harassment” and “Orwellian.” Djokovic became a hero to many who oppose mandatory vaccination. The battle sparked protests in Australia, and many Djokovic supporters accused the government of making an example of the tennis star for political points.
On the other side, people said the initial exemption was the Australian government allowing the rich and powerful to evade the law. While Australians have endured some of the world’s longest lockdowns, the unvaccinated Djokovic was going to waltz on into the country while omicron surged around the world.
In the end, Australia’s immigration minister said that Djokovic’s “presence in Australia, given his well-known stance on vaccination, creates a risk of strengthening the anti-vaccination sentiment of a minority of the Australian community.” Djokovic’s attorney argued the opposite: That the deportation would inflame anti-vax sentiment.
Either way, Djokovic is now back home in Serbia. "I am uncomfortable that the focus of the past weeks has been on me and I hope that we can all now focus on the game and tournament I love,” he said.
Yet the champion's troubles may just be getting started: His deportation in Australia may include a 3-year ban on his entering the country.
And on Monday, France’s sports ministry said that all professional athletes would have to be vaccinated. In May, France will host the French Open, 1 of the 4 Grand Slam tournaments. “Clearly there's no exemption," the ministry said.
So Djokovic may be blocked from 2 of the top 4 tournaments. Could vaccine mandates mean the end of the king of tennis' reign?
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If you have thoughts, let us know at Max@RocaNews.com!
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 Games
In honor of all the Novak Djokovic news, today's game is "Is this Athlete's Name Spelled Correctly?" Yes or no answers to each....
- Christiano Ronaldo
- Ja'Marr Chase
- Shohei Ohtani
- Gianis Antetokunmpo
Find out the answer at the bottom of Roca Clubhouse.
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 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
What would you rather listen to for 2 hours straight: Gangnam Style or Baby Shark?
Gangnam Style: 79.1%
Baby Shark: 20.9%
Yesterday's Question:
Just 20 Questions!
General Feedback:
Sarah: "I'm a bit behind on the Roca emails so I just read the one about decorating the office. I'm not an interior decorator by any means, but I think it would be so cool to hire an artist to do a large mural of the Roca wave on one wall then have a projector on the other wall that will display various pictures from your travels, posts, readers replies and anything else that inspires the crew. I'd also suggest some large plants to bring some nature to the office plus of course a fridge for all the red bulls, and a coffee station. That's a must!"
Dawn from Milwaukee: "I missed this during the holidays, and COVID brain meant I had ZERO focus last week to join in. Always enjoy your newsletters—and the questions! Keep up the great work, y’all."
Nicole: "Concerning the poll of the day: I used to work in a preschool. One kid couldn't get picked up until 20 minutes after close on some days so we would stay later with him. Since everyone else was gone I would let him go on the computer and watching YouTube videos (with supervision, obviously). Guess who got a 20 minute marathon of baby shark three times a week?"
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20 Questions: 1-5
Every Friday, we ask the Roca Riders 20 questions and feature a few of our favorite answers.
1. How do you pronounce gyro?
"Wrong"
"Year-oh"
"Ji-ro"
2. Who won the war of 1812?
"Nobody"
"Fr...France? I have no idea"
"Nobody won, both countries lost too much and one of the largest battles was fought after a treaty was signed (Battle of New Orleans)"
3. A piece of advice for the Roca team?
"Get to work on an app"
"Take time to pause and breathe"
"Keep it up! Love you guys!"
4. Best Pixar character?
"Jack Jack"
"Mike Wazowski"
"Moana"
5. What was the worst thing you did as a kid?
"Eating toilet paper"
"Put sugar in the music teacher's motor bike fuel tank."
"I didn't know better and I don't know why I wanted to know what would happen if I microwaved my tamagotchi. Suffice to say, it did not end well."
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Games Answer(s):
1. No, it's Cristiano Ronaldo 2. Yes 3. Yes 4. No, it's Giannis Antetokounmpo
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― Final Thoughts
Happy Tuesday, Riders!
We've got some exciting news for you all this week. Stay tuned...we're hoping it will lift those dreary, January spirits.
Speaking of which: We think the most underrated aspect of the Djokovic affair is the weather. In Melbourne, Australia, it's sunny and in the 80s every day. In Serbia? 30s, rain and snow. The guy can't catch a break.
-Max & Max
Today's Instagram Wrap is on the Gates of Hell. Will they finally be closed?
Thanks for reading! See you again tomorrow!
As always, send thoughts and feedback to Max@Rocanews.com |
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