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March 1, 2022
"A guy walks into a car dealership..." This is either the beginning to a really bad dad joke or the start of one of today’s key stories. Or both. But given all the bleak news lately, here's a car dealership joke: A cowboy opens a German car dealership. His business card says... "Audi Partner." We're so sorry.
Today's Wrap is on Wasabi. Sneak peek: you've probably never tasted the real thing.... Let's ride.
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"These Car Prices Are Too Damn High!"
Overview
- 82% of car shoppers paid above the sticker price (manufacturer’s suggested retail price) for new vehicles during January 2022 — compared to 3% in January 2021
- On average, prices for new vehicles have climbed to $728 above the sticker price. Cadillac buyers are affected the most – they pay an average $4,048 extra
- Experts say prices aren’t expected to normalize until at least 2023
- The change comes amid inventory shortages and elevated consumer demand: Many car dealers say the higher prices are needed as vehicle supplies fall
DIG DEEPER
Before the pandemic, paying above sticker price was nearly unheard of. Cadillac (American), Kia (South Korean), and Land Rover (British), command the highest average transaction prices above sticker price. International sanctions on Russia may cause raw material costs, and therefore car prices, to rise even further.
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Irving Stays Banned from Home Games
Overview
- On Sunday, NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city's vax mandate for public space, including restaurants and gyms, and public sector workers will end on March 7
- The city's mandate for private sector workers who "perform in-person work or interact with the public” will remain in place, though
- The shift means that Brooklyn Nets’ star Kyrie Irving — who is not vaxxed — still won’t be able to play at home games. Currently, as a Brooklyn Nets employee, he is not allowed to play in Brooklyn, even while visiting unvaxxed players can
- Irving plays for the Nets in their away games. The situation has drawn criticism from NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who said: “It doesn't make sense… an away player can play but the home player can't”
DIG DEEPER
Mayor Adams said he's not willing to make an exception for Irving even though he wants him to play. “Listen, I want Kyrie on the court,” he said, but “it would send the wrong message just to have an exception for one player when we’re telling countless number of New York City employees ‘If you don’t follow the rules, you won’t be able to be employed.’”
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Russo-Ukrainian War Updates
Overview
- On the fifth day of the war in Ukraine, Russian troops targeted Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, situated near Russia in the northeast
- The Ukrainian government said that bombings on residential areas of the city killed 44 Ukrainian civilians. The UN currently has the number at 7+
- The Ukrainian and Russian governments held ceasefire discussions, but no major breakthroughs occurred
- Russian troops continued their assaults on other major Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, on which a massive column of Russian tanks is converging. President Putin is reportedly frustrated by Russia's lack of progress
DIG DEEPER
More than 500,000 Ukrainians have fled the country as the war rages on. There are concerns that Russia will increasingly target civilians, given its failure against military targets. Meanwhile, President Biden has confirmed that the US will not establish a "no-fly zone" (i.e. shoot down Russian jets) over Ukraine.
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Russia Faces War Fallout
Overview
- FIFA and UEFA, 2 of soccer’s top governing bodies, banned Russian soccer teams from competition until further notice (a reversal from FIFA’s stance Sunday)
- The International Olympic Committee recommended sports orgs ban Russia & Russian ally Belarus from competing
- Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, and British Petroleum (BP) both exited joint ventures with Russian state-owned natural gas producers
- Historically neutral countries Switzerland, Finland, and Sweden declared support for Ukraine. Switzerland announced sanctions on Russia and Finland and Sweden will send Ukraine weapons
DIG DEEPER
The US, Europe, and others are trying to impose a pressure campaign to cripple Russia's economy. With sanctions targeting everything from finance to tech, sports, and travel, it may result in the most total isolation of a major economy ever. Russia's economy is the world's 11th largest, and about the size of Canada's.
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 What do you think?
Today's Poll:
Would you rather eat only tacos or pizza for a week?
Tacos
Pizza
Today's Question:
What has surprised you most about the Russia-Ukraine conflict so far?
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
- #NotMyCEO: Derek Jeter stepped down as CEO of the Miami Marlins and is giving up his stake in the team, citing a "difference in vision"
- Euphoric numbers: Euphoria is now HBO’s second-most watched show since 2004. It is behind only Game of Thrones
- Basquiat, the new Picasso? Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is auctioning off his wall-size Basquiat for a hopeful $70M
Business
- The Pfizer Covid vaccine was found to be just 12% effective against the omicron variant in kids 5 to 11, according to a New York study
- Reduced to rubble: Russia's rouble plunged nearly 30% to an all-time low versus the dollar on Monday (over 100 roubles per $1)
- Zoom has lost over three-quarters of its value since its peak in October 2020. And it just issued disappointing Q1 guidance for 2022
Wildcard
- Grace Franklin, the 15-yo granddaughter of Aretha Franklin, auditioned on American Idol. You can watch her surprise performance here
- Prison break: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he will be releasing prisoners with "combat experience" so they can help fight
- Alexa will soon be able to call for medical help. Amazon is teaming up with telemedicine provider Teladoc Health for the virtual care feature
- An Australian man named Aidan Ricketts saved 16 people and 5 dogs after losing his own home during a severe flood
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― Roca Wrap
A Newsletter Exclusive
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Do you put wasabi on your sushi?
Trick question – you’ve likely never actually had it. Most “wasabi” – the wasabi in up to 99% of American Japanese restaurants, per the Washington Post – is nothing but dyed horseradish. Even in Japan, as little as 5% of wasabi is real wasabi, which comes from the Wasabia japonica plant.
That plant is known to be one of the world's most difficult to grow commercially. It requires specific conditions, the most important of which is abundant, fresh crystal-clear water. The difficulty of finding those conditions has put the global wasabi supply in doubt.
Traditionally, wasabi grew wild alongside freshwater mountain streams in Japan. 4 centuries ago, farmers began cultivating it as a crop. The farmers have since run into issues: There’s only so much eligible land near mountain streams, and they can’t grow large wasabi farms. The average Wasabi farm is about 1.4 acres; the average US farm is 444 acres.
Wasabi farmers say rising temperatures and changing forest landscapes are harming water quality, making wasabi even harder to grow. There’s also less interest from young people in inheriting wasabi farms, which have traditionally been handed down from generation to generation.
Over the last decade, the volume of wasabi produced in Shizuoka, one of Japan’s largest wasabi-growing regions, has declined by nearly 55%. The drop has motivated Japan’s government to conduct hundreds of experiments to help farmers develop new wasabi varieties that can withstand changing conditions.
Because wasabi is so difficult to grow, it's expensive to buy. At wholesale prices, wasabi sells for nearly $160 per kilogram, and most of the real stuff is instantly snapped up by traders or high-end Japanese restaurants.
To serve real wasabi, chefs typically grate the wasabi root against a piece of textured sharkskin stapled to a small, wooden paddle. The heat and flavor last for only 10 to 15 minutes, so the wasabi has to be served immediately.
So what have you been eating with your California roll? A mix of horseradish, hot mustard, dye, and citric acid. Sorry to ruin your next sushi wrap.
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If you have thoughts, let us know at Max@RocaNews.com!
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 Games
New game: Did this person graduate from college? Answer yes or no for each public figure.
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Emma Watson
- Jeff Bezos
- Madonna
- Carrie Underwood
Find out the answer at the bottom of Roca Clubhouse.
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 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Would you want NATO to admit Ukraine?
Yes: 82.7%
No: 17.3%
Yesterday's Question:
What question would you want Max Frost to ask Ukrainian refugees?
Answers Frost heard below
Brigid: "Under which circumstances will you go back to Ukraine?"
Most common answer I heard: "As soon as there's peace"
Maggie from Los Angeles: "How do Ukrainians feel about US not sending military aide"
Heard a lot of frustration:
"Why aren't you helping us?"
"We are fighting so you don't have to"
"If you shoot down Russian jets, we'll do the rest."
Jared from Texas: "What do you want for your country? Not your politicians...you. what do YOU want?"!
Haven't asked this exactly, but I have heard MANY people say they want Ukraine in NATO or the EU. And they want more work and better wages so they don't have to come to places like Poland for work.
General Feedback:
Ed from Arizona: "I can't thank you enough for your coverage on the Russo-Ukrainian War. The moment I heard about the invasion I said to myself: "I won't trust any news source besides Roca!""
Taylor: "Absolutely don’t worry about “over-covering” the war. I think people want to know as much as they can at this point, and be able to turn to a source like you guys rather than TikTok, Insta, and the propaganda crap I’ve been seeing all over Reddit."
Brianna: "The thing that gave me the most anxiety in this news letter was not the war, but that video of Rick Ross cutting down his tree! Contractors are gouging people so badly right now, because there's huge demand and a massive supply and labor shortages. While I feel his pain at the price tag, that was like watching an episode of Jackass and waiting for something horrible to happen. "
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20 Questions: 6-10
Every Friday, we ask the Roca Riders 20 questions and feature a few of our favorite answers. Last week's theme was "Pick your Favorite" in each category.
6. Light beers
"Miller Lite"
"Busch Light"
"No light beers face those calories "
7. Obscure facts
"The State of Nebraska has a Navy"
"We're all gonna die"
"Factoid means something that most people believe but actually isn't true. Instead we should say Factlet"
8. Drinking games
"Flip cup"
"Quarters"
"Flip Cup and Beer Pong goated"
9. Futuristic names
"X Æ A-12"
"Marshead"
"North West"
10. Old-person names
"Gertrude"
"Barbara"
"Edith"
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Games Answer(s):
1. No 2. Yes 3. Yes 4. No 5. Yes
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― Final Thoughts
Frost spent yesterday and today at the Poland/Ukraine border. Some impactful and powerful content coming your way tomorrow. Stay tuned for that.
In the meantime, we hope your March gets off to a fantastic start. Have a great day.
- Max and Max
Today's Instagram Wrap is on Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and the story of how he went from a comedian to a wartime leader.
Thanks for reading! See you again tomorrow!
As always, send thoughts and feedback to Max@Rocanews.com |
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