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January 31, 2022
Hope everyone stayed warm this weekend. Between Euphoria, Wordle, the NFL Playoffs, and throwback Nathan For You clips, there was plenty to keep us entertained. Also, who are we rooting for in the Super Bowl: The Rams or Bengals? Or are we just excited to watch the M&M ad with the new cast?
Or if you really don't care and would prefer to read about why Russia may be on the verge of invading Ukraine, we've got you covered with today's Wrap.
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Certified Worst Airline
Overview
- JetBlue was the worst performing US airline of 2021, per the Wall Street Journal
- The WSJ releases an annual index of airline performance based on stats including the percentage of flights delayed or canceled
- Of the US' 9 major airlines, JetBlue performed the worst in 2021. 14.3% of its flights were delayed 45+ min and 30.1% arrived late. Frontier and American tied for 6th/7th, and Spirit airlines placed 8th
- Delta was the best performing, with the fewest cancellations or delays. Alaska and Southwest placed 2nd and 3rd. United placed 4th and Allegiant 5th
DIG DEEPER
JetBlue said it was impacted by construction and Covid outbreaks in the northeastern cities where 75% of its crew is based. Despite experiencing the most extreme delays, though, JetBlue had the 4th fewest flights canceled.
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Brady Retirement Rumors
Overview
- On Saturday, ESPN reported and Tom Brady's wellness company posted that Brady is retiring
- Brady's company, TB12 Sports, subsequently deleted its post, though, and neither Brady, his team, nor his agent confirmed the rumor. Other sources have said that Brady hasn't yet made up his mind
- The 44-yo Brady is arguably the greatest football player of all time. He has won 7 Super Bowls, more than any other player
- In related news, the Cincinnati Bengals came back from an 18-point deficit to upset the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime, sending them to their first Super Bowl since 1989. They will play the LA Rams
DIG DEEPER
Brady remains one of the NFL's top quarterbacks. This year, after winning the 2021 Super Bowl, he led the league in passing yards and touchdowns. Even so, the general rumor is that Brady is retiring but wants to make the announcement on his terms.
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Spotify Covid Spat Continues...
Overview
- A week after Neil Young pulled his music from Spotify, pressure is growing on the platform to ban Joe Rogan for his interviews with vax-skeptic guests
- 70s musicians Joni Mitchell and Nils Lofgren have demanded Spotify remove their music. The production company of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, with whom Spotify has exclusive podcast rights, has also expressed concerns
- Spotify is launching a Covid-19 hub and will direct users there moving forward if they engage with Covid-related content
- “We have a critical role to play in supporting creator expression while balancing it with the safety of our users,” Spotify said
DIG DEEPER
Rogan released an Instagram video in response: “If I pissed you off, I’m sorry,” he said, adding that "I’m going to do my best to balance things out.”
"The problem I have with the term misinformation...is that many of the things we thought of as misinformation just a short while ago are today accepted as fact. 8 months ago if you said if you get vaccinated you can still catch Covid and you can still spread Covid, you would be removed from social media...now that's accepted as fact. If you said, 'I don't think cloth masks work,' you would be banned from social media. Now, that's openly and repeatedly stated on CNN. If you said, 'I think it's possible that Covid-19 came from a lab,' you would be banned from many social media platforms. Now, that's on the cover of Newsweek. All those theories that at one point in time were banned were openly discussed by those 2 men I had on my podcast that have been accused of dangerous misinformation."
Rogan was referring to 2 Covid-vax-skeptic doctors he interviewed on his show.
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Canada's Truck Drivers Protest
Overview
- A "Freedom Convoy" of protesting truck drivers and supporters arrived in Ottawa, the Canadian capital
- The truckers are protesting a new rule that all drivers who enter the country be vaxxed
- The convoy left Canada's western province of British Columbia last weekend. Thousands joined as it crossed the country
- The protest has drawn support from Elon Musk and others who oppose mandates; PM Justin Trudeau called the protesters a “small fringe minority." Conservative leader Erin O’Toole voiced support for peaceful demonstrations while criticizing “individuals” who desecrated memorials in Ottawa
DIG DEEPER
Some supporters of the government accuse the protesters of having links to far-right groups and plotting a January 6-esque event in the capital. The protesters and their supporters say they are peacefully protesting the mandate, and some say they will stick around Ottawa until it's repealed.
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 What do you think?
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See yesterday's results below the Wrap!
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 Popcorn
Culture & Sports
- Rams vs Bengals! The stage is set for Super Bowl LVI after the LA Rams and Cincinnati Bengals knocked out the SF 49ers and KC Chiefs
- New king: Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open to notch his all-time best 21st men's Grand Slam title, leaving Federer and Djokovic in his clay dust
- *Hits Blunt*: Amid the ongoing Spotify controversy, James Blunt jokingly threatened to release new music if Spotify doesn't remove Joe Rogan
Business
- But the market ain't laughing: Spotify's market capitalization fell by $2B+ over a 3-day span this week following the departure of Neil Young
- In less than a day, Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway notched a $9.8B gain from its Apple investment
- Fake NFT club: Leading NFT marketplace OpenSea says that more than 80% of NFTs created on its site are fraud or spam
Wildcard
- 2 Long Island nurses are accused of making $1.5M off fake vax cards. They allegedly charged $220 for adults and $85 for kids
- Brrrrr! Boston tied its 1-day snowfall record with a 23.6-inch dump on Saturday. The blizzard covered much of the Northeast
- Superfans of the soda brand Tab are rallying to bring it back. Coca-Cola, its parent company, decided to kill it in late 2020
- The ultra-wealthy celebrity practice of "land banking" (buying up properties surrounding one's mansion) has skyrocketed in recent years
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― Roca Wrap
A Newsletter Exclusive
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On December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union formally collapsed. It produced 15 independent countries, including neighbors Russia and Ukraine.
A question loomed over the following years: What would become of the formerly communist countries? Some quickly turned to the West, joining the EU and NATO, the US-led military alliance. Others became dictatorships, with former Soviet officials taking over the government.
Russia continued to hold influence over Ukraine. The countries were linked historically, culturally, and economically. Much of Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv, spent centuries under the Russian empire and USSR. Many in Russia, and some in Ukraine, considered Russia Ukraine’s big brother.
In the 2000s, though, opposition to Russia grew in Ukraine. In 2004, protesters toppled Ukraine’s pro-Russian president. In 2014, they did the same. Russia accuses the US and EU of orchestrating the protests.
During those years, NATO and the EU expanded eastward by admitting former Soviet Countries, something Russia calls a provocation. Neither group has admitted Ukraine, but both have expressed interest in doing so eventually.
Russia considers Ukraine to be within its “sphere of influence,” i.e. Russia gets a say in what happens there because the countries are neighbors with close historical ties. So following the installment of a pro-West government after the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, Russia armed separatists who took over a swath of eastern Ukraine. Russia then took over another part of Ukraine – Crimea – and added it to its own territory. Ukraine has never taken back control of those territories.
Since then, Ukraine has tilted away from Russia and toward the EU and US, which have given it billions of dollars and weapons. Many in Russia, including President Vladimir Putin, accuse the US and EU of using Ukraine to isolate Russia. Those on Russia’s side say it would be as if Russia supported and armed Mexico so it would be anti-American.
The US, EU, and Ukraine deny those allegations: They say free countries have the right to decide their foreign policies. If Ukraine wants to be close to the West, that’s its decision – not Russia’s.
These arguments have been going on for 8+ years. In recent months, though, Russia has encircled Ukraine with 100,000+ troops – the largest troop build-up in Europe since the Cold War. In December, Russia released a set of demands including a rolling back of NATO military operations in Eastern Europe and a promise that NATO would never admit Ukraine. NATO has rejected the demands.
The world is now waiting to see how Russia will react. UK and US intelligence say Russia is plotting either a coup or invasion to take control of Ukraine – charges that Russia rejects. Meanwhile, Ukraine, Europe’s 2nd largest country, is waiting for Russia to decide its fate. Depending on what happens next, Europe may see its biggest war since the 1940s.
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If you have thoughts, let us know at Max@RocaNews.com!
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 Games
Can you tell if each statement is true or false? No Googling. Or Binging. Or DuckDuckGoing.
- The capital of Texas is Dallas.
- Azure is a shade of blue.
- There are a million millions in a trillion.
- Ellen DeGeneres is older than Oprah Winfrey.
Find out the answer at the bottom of Roca Clubhouse.
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 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Which is the better road trip fast-food option?
McDonald's: 26.5%
Chick-fil-A: 73.5%
Yesterday's Question:
Just 20 Questions!
General Feedback:
Ilan from Denver: "Thank you guys so much for publishing this, definitely the email I look forward to getting!"
Salvador from Mexico: "Thanks for the great news content!"
Raina from Houston: "I've never answered these before buuut today's are particularly good so well done :)"
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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. Last Friday, however, we did our first-ever "This or That" 20 Questions. Here is the breakdown of your preferences....
1. Dax Shepherd or Joe Rogan?
Joe Rogan: 61%
Dax Shepherd: 39%
2. Marshmallows for hot chocolate or s'mores?
Marshmallows for hot chocolate: 28%
Marshmallows for s'mores: 72%
3. A foot of snow on a Saturday or NOT a foot of snow on a Saturday?
Foot of snow: 57%
No snow: 43%
4. Light beer or hard seltzer?
Light beer: 46%
Hard seltzer: 54%
We had numerous "neither" (or variations like "milkshake" or "vinegar") responses which we didn't count
5. Roaches or mice in your apartment?
Roaches: 35%
Mice: 65%
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Games Answer(s):
1. False, it's Austin 2. True 3. True 4. False, Oprah is 68 and Ellen is 64
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― Final Thoughts
We hope everyone lived it up this weekend. Now that it's Monday, we want to include this work announcement: Roca is hiring, and we want YOU! to help us build the future of news. We are looking for programmers, graphic designers, marketers, and writers.
In other words: We need people who can write Roca Wraps, get them out to the world, and package them into a gorgeous app. Here's the link for details.
Have a great Monday!
-Max and Max
Today's Instagram Wrap is the above one on the Ukraine crisis. We didn't want the IG riders to miss it.
Thanks for reading! See you again tomorrow!
As always, send thoughts and feedback to Max@Rocanews.com |
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