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February 14, 2022
The Super Bowl had it all: 60 minutes of incredible football, a Larry David crypto ad, Kanye West being Kanye West, and a halftime show that brought Millennials to tears. If you chose to watch the Euphoria episode instead, we will only judge you a bit. Also, happy Valentine's Day! We love you guys.
For the first time in history, Switzerland has charged a Swiss bank with money laundering. Read today's Wrap to get the wild full story.
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Tiger King 2: Rams Beat Bengals
Overview
- The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in the Super Bowl
- The Bengals led with 1:25 left in the game. After a series of penalties, Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp caught a game-winning touchdown
- Matt Stafford threw for 283 yards with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Joe Burrow threw for 263 yards and a touchdown – he was sacked 7 times. Cooper Kupp was named the game’s MVP
- It's the 8th consecutive year that the loser of the opening coin toss won the game. Americans placed an estimated $7.6B in bets on the game
DIG DEEPER
We'll be following up with viewership data. Last year, 92M Americans watched the game, the lowest number since 2006. This year, the NFL saw a viewership resurgence.
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Animal Test Ban Rejected
Overview
- Voters in Switzerland overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to ban medical and scientific experiments on animals
- 79% voted against the ban; 21% voted for it. Animal rights activists brought the proposal. Had it passed, Switzerland would have become the first country to ban medical testing on animals
- Swiss citizens vote on laws directly through the country’s “direct democracy” system
- Also Sunday, Swiss voters voted to ban nearly all tobacco advertising, bringing Switzerland in line with most European countries
DIG DEEPER
Pharmaceutical companies vigorously opposed the animal-testing ban, saying it would force them to relocate operations abroad. Animal rights groups say experimentation on animals should be replaced with statistical analysis and microdosing on humans.
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Kodak Black Shot
Overview
- Rapper Kodak Black was shot in LA on Friday night
- Kodak, real name Bill Kapri, was at a Justin Bieber concert afterparty. A brawl erupted outside the party and 4 people were shot, including Kodak, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries
- Kodak, Gunna, and Lil Baby – 3 of the world's most popular rappers – were chatting on the street when the fight started. The shooter has not been caught
- 24-yo Kodak is a best-selling southern Florida rapper. In 2021, President Trump pardoned him amidst a 4-year sentence he was serving for weapons possession
DIG DEEPER
TMZ was told that a member of Kodak's crew was jumped, then a fight broke out, Kodak got involved, and someone opened fire.
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US & UK: Russian Invasion Imminent
Overview
- The US and UK say a Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent; Russian President Vladimir Putin called the talk “provocative speculation”
- Russia has 100k+ troops on Ukraine's borders, surrounding the country from 3 sides
- Ukraine's president disputed the concerns. “All this information is only provoking panic and not helping us,” he said Saturday. “If you or anyone has any additional information about a 100% chance of an invasion, give it to us”
- Russia wants security promises from NATO related to Eastern Europe. NATO has rejected the demands
DIG DEEPER
It remains unclear how the West will respond if Russia invades. The US, UK, Germany, and others have been conducting diplomatic talks for weeks, yet what their exact response will be remains unclear.
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 What do you think?
Today's Poll:
Are you a fan of Valentine's Day?
Yes
No
Today's Question:
Who would perform in your dream Super Bowl halftime show?
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
- Kanye West unleashed an Instagram assault on Pete Davidson, alleging that Pete is "Hillary Clinton's ex-boyfriend" among other things
- Best flop? No best picture Oscar nominee grossed over $1M at the weekend box office, defying the Oscar box office boost trend
- Team USA climbed to 3rd place in the Olympic medal count, behind Norway and Germany. Team USA got off to an ice-cold (no pun) start
Business
- Tesla will pay $0 in US federal income taxes due to its reported net loss in the US. It will pay $699M in income taxes on foreign profits
- Offsides, on the avocados.... The US suspended avocado imports the day before the Super Bowl due to a reported safety threat
- There Will Be Tensions: Oil continues to rally (nearing $95 per barrel on the US' benchmark) as fears of a Ukraine-Russia war grow
Wildcard
- Rachel, Ross, and Xi: China has censored Friends to remove lesbian jokes and suggestive punchlines amid a crackdown on 'immoral content'
- Sustainable Saudis: Saudi Arabia transferred $80B in Saudi Aramco shares to its sovereign wealth fund to support green projects
- The UK tax authority seized 3 NFTs as part of a probe into a fraud involving 250 allegedly fake companies. It's the agency's first NFT seizure
- A luxury matchmaking business charges up to $300k a year to help celebrities and super-rich singles find love
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― Roca Wrap
A Newsletter Exclusive
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What do you get when you combine a champion wrestler, cocaine trafficking, and one of the world’s biggest banks?
The first time in history that Switzerland has charged a Swiss bank with money laundering.
The trial begins this week, but it dates back decades. According to the Swiss attorney general, "With the end of the communism in Bulgaria, top-level athletes, lacking financial support, turned towards other sources of income." One of those athletes was a wrestler, and his other source of income was cocaine trafficking.
Between the 2000s and 2012, the wrestler moved $39M in profits through Credit Suisse, a Swiss bank that is one of the world’s biggest. A manager at the bank reportedly helped the wrestler make millions of dollars in cash deposits, which he then used to buy real estate.
The Swiss prosecutor alleges that the manager knew she was helping the wrestler launder money – there were “strong indications as to the criminal origin of the funds” – and that the bank failed to screen out the dirty money. The manager is pleading for the charges to be dropped, as is the bank, which says it had stringent anti-money laundering policies in place.
Regardless of the outcome, though, the case is significant because it shows that times are changing: For many years, Switzerland – a rich, safe, and neutral country – was the place for people to stash questionable cash. It had loose disclosure laws, and did not require banks to share information about their clients with the government. From corrupt funds stolen by dictators abroad to Nazi loot, people with illicit money often stashed it in Switzerland.
In recent years, though, concerns about corruption, sanctions violations, trafficking, and terrorism have led countries to pile the pressure on Switzerland. In 2018, amid all this, the country began having its banks share data with the government.
And now, for the first time, Switzerland is charging one of its own banks with violating money laundering laws. If it and its bankers are found guilty, the world’s money laundering capital may cease to be the best place to do dirty business.
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If you have thoughts, let us know at Max@RocaNews.com!
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 Games
You say goodbye, I say adios. Below are the words for "goodbye" in 4 different languages. Can you name each?
- Do Svidaniya
- Arrivederci
- Sayōnara
- Adeus
Find out the answer at the bottom of Roca Clubhouse.
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 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Who are you rooting for in the Super Bowl?
Bengals: 72.6%
Rams: 27.4%
Yesterday's Question:
Just 20 Questions!
General Feedback:
Maggie: "Come on! Let’s give the Bengals some love. And Joe Brrrr"
Jared from North Carolina: "The 3-part Rogan Wrap series was great. Very balanced and interesting"
Danielle from Michigan: "I’d like the Rams to win because Stafford deserves it. He stuck with the Lions (my hometown team) for forever, and he’s an all-around nice guy."
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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. City with the nicest downtown?
"Chicago"
"Savannah"
"Not Los Angeles"
2. City with best public transport?
"London"
"New York"
"San Francisco. How can you not love the cable cars?"
3. City where you thought, "Wow I'd love to live here"?
"San Diego"
"Washington, DC"
"Miami"
4. What's your favorite city neighborhood? (I.e. "Beverly Hills" or "Downtown Brooklyn")
"Houston Heights"
"Morningside Heights (New York)"
"Wrigleyville in Chicago"
5. Which city has given rise to the best musicians?
"Nashville"
"Austin"
"New York"
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Games Answer(s):
1. Russian 2. Italian 3. Japanese 4. Portuguese
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― Final Thoughts
We know what you're thinking: "There's no way the painfully unfunny nerds behind this newsletter have Valentine's Day dates." Well....you would be.....correct. Catch the Maxes eating Chipotle alone in their office tonight, convincing themselves that if only they had 1,000,000 more Instagram followers, they would find true love.
Remember to tell your loved one about Roca today!
-Max and Max
Today's Instagram Wrap is about the Canadian trucker protest. It started in Canada, but it's spreading around the world.
Thanks for reading! See you again tomorrow!
As always, send thoughts and feedback to Max@Rocanews.com |
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