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March 4, 2022
Happy Friday, Roca Riders. 'Tis the weekend that Twilight lovers and DC Comics nerds unite in excitement for the debut of The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, people have already spilled the beans and revealed that Batman is, in fact, Bruce Wayne. Thanks, Twitter....
Max Frost is alive and well, now within the borders of Ukraine. Thanks, as always, for your incredible support. We're all riding this wave together.
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No Protocol League
Overview
- The NFL became the first major US professional sports league to suspend all Covid-19 protocols, effective immediately
- NFL teams will return to pre-pandemic operations — no masks, no social distancing, no proof of vaccination — for the first time since March 2020
- Still, teams will provide PCR tests on-site for anyone who self-reports Covid-19 symptoms, but there will be no mandatory testing
- Those who test positive will still be required to isolate for 5 days, as per current CDC recommendations
DIG DEEPER
At the end of the 2021 season, the league dropped testing of asymptomatic players, regardless of vaccination status. Now, the final recs have gone out the window. No more rescheduled games!
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US Government Announces Robot Dogs
Overview
- For over 2 years, the US Department of Homeland Security has been developing robotic dogs to patrol the US-Mexico border
- The robotic dogs will be responsive to their environment and transfer live video directly to human operators while climbing over sand, rocks, and hills
- The robot dogs will move swiftly on rugged terrain, and have strong endurance and battery life
- NYPD used a 70-pound robotic dog in 2021 to help police monitor a situation where a man was holding a woman and her baby hostage
DIG DEEPER
Border patrol agents apprehended 1.7M people trying to cross the US-Mexico border illegally last year, the highest number on record. Border police say the robot dogs will improve upon existing border security technology, which includes small drones and airplanes equipped with high-tech sensors. Human rights activists have criticized the investment as a waste of tax payer dollars.
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Netflix to Launch Daily Trivia
Overview
- On April 1, Netflix will launch Trivia Quest, a daily interactive trivia show
- Trivia Quest will release a new 24-question episode each day of April; 12 questions will be of average difficulty and 12 will be hard
- On Trivia Quest, people progress the story by winning trivia games. The show is about saving hostages from a knowledge-hungry villain
- A Netflix VP said the game was inspired by both bar trivia and Trivia Crack, which had 20M daily players in 2015. It is designed to let users track scores and compare performance with their friends
DIG DEEPER
The first American trivia show was “Information Please,” which ran 1928 to 1952. Since then, the board game Trivial Pursuit has sold 100M copies, HQ and Trivia Crack have brought in millions of players, and Jeopardy! has become the most-watched regular show on US television.
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Russia & Ukraine's First Agreement
Overview
- Russia and Ukraine agreed to establish evacuation corridors for Ukrainian civilians
- The corridors will allow evacuations from and humanitarian shipments to cities under attack. Bombing urban areas is now a core Russian tactic, as seen in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mariupol
- In a televised address, President Putin said that the invasion is going according to plan and that the goal remains the "demilitarization" of Ukraine
- Meanwhile, Russia's 40-mile military convoy continues to progress. Analysts say it’s en route to siege Kyiv, Ukraine's capital and largest city
DIG DEEPER
The war gets uglier by the day, as Ukrainians in major cities report dwindling resources and high casualties amid intense Russian bombings. It appears that Russia has captured the southern city of Kherson, its first seizure of a major population center, and as of last night, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest nuclear power plant located in southeast Ukraine.
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 What do you think?
Today's Poll:
Do you think the metaverse will one day be a major part of your life?
Yes
No
Today's Question:
Just pet pics! More below...
Reply to this email with your answers!
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See yesterday's answers below!
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 Popcorn
Culture & Sports
- What's poppin', brand new role just hopped in: Jack Harlow will make his acting debut in 20th Century’s reboot of White Men Can’t Jump
- Skete to outer space? SNL star Pete Davidson is reportedly joining Jeff Bezos on a Blue Origin flight to outer space
- Godfather director and Hollywood icon Francis Ford Coppola says he'll put up $120M of his own cash to make his movie Megalopolis
Business
- The top 20 Russian billionaires have lost about a third of their wealth in recent weeks, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index
- Reddit is banning all links to Russian state-sponsored media outlets, including RT and Sputnik, in support of Ukraine
- And more bad news for Russia.... Ikea is temporarily closing all stores and factories in Russia. Long lines formed at Ikeas across the country
Wildcard
- Melinda Gates said in an interview on CBS Mornings that Bill Gates' relationship with Jeffrey Epstein played a role in their divorce
- "Have a little h_art"? Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak told viewers to "have a little heart" after the "feather in your _ap" debacle
- Dear Lady Sibyl! A massive fire broke out Thursday afternoon at Dalton Mills, a set used in both Downton Abbey and Peaky Blinders
- Only in Montana.... The governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, killed a mountain lion that was being monitored by national park staff
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Left to right: Maggie (Max Frost's dog), Guinness (Jen's dog), and Skippy (Max Towey's dog)
It is time to cure the end-of-winter doldrums many of us are experiencing with Roca Rider-sourced pet pics. The Roca team is kicking it off with three of the goodest boys/girls in the world. Fun fact, if it's not abundantly obvious already: Guinness has royal dog blood in him.
Please send in pics of your pets along with their names, and we'll feature a selection throughout next week!
Can't wait to see your beautiful animals flood the Max@RocaNews.com inbox!
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 Games
Pt. 4: Finish the famous song lyrics! Each answer is from a song in the top 100 (had to expand...) of Rolling Stone Magazine's top 500 songs list.
- "Here's the thing, we started out friends. It was cool, but it was ___ ______"
- *iconic guitar intro* "She's got _ _____ that it seems to me reminds me of childhood memories"
- "We could have had it all! Rolling in ___ ____! You had my heart inside of your hands"
- "'Cause there we are again on that little town street. You almost ran the red 'cause you were lookin' ____ __ __"
Find out the answer(s) at the bottom of Roca Clubhouse.
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 Roca Clubhouse
Yesterday's Poll:
Which podcast genre do you prefer: Comedy or True Crime?
Comedy: 61.9%
True Crime: 38.1%
Yesterday's Question:
If you were a global company like McDonald's, would you change how you operate in Russia?
Taylor from Texas: "I get their sentiment, but I don’t think it is actually doing anything other than hurting the citizens of Russia, who most of them are completely innocent people just trying to survive the aftermath of their crazy leader."
Sam from Austin: "I'd back out of Russia immediately. Bad for business. Although McDonald's might be able to get away with it, but they'd endanger their employees lives. So ethically I'd get everyone out of there."
Evan from Kansas: "The angry emotional part of me would say to close all the stores. Thinking you’re a multibillion dollar company. You don’t need those restaurants. However, the rational part of me would say, it’s business. The Russian people haven’t done anything wrong. They’re being held hostage by Putin and his cronies. The oligarchs aren’t the ones working at McDonald’s. So, why should I sacrifice profits and the jobs of innocent people, for something they aren’t responsible for?"
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General Feedback:
Jake from San Francisco: "First things first, it's gotta be called getting mumped. Getting meta dumped."
Daniel: "Something that may have been missed is that the Chelsea owner said that he is donating all of the funds of the sale of the club to benefit the victims of the Ukraine conflict... I know he's also a huge benefactor for the holocaust museum, so Israel is asking that he not individually be sanctioned."
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Games Answer(s):
1. "all pretend" (Since U Been Gone) 2. "a smile" (Sweet Child O' Mine) 3. "the deep" (Rolling in the Deep) 4. "over at me" (All Too Well)
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― Final Thoughts
Happy Friday, riders. Send us those pet pics, and in exchange you'll get our good vibes. Have great weekends and thanks for riding the wave once again.
-Max and Max
Thanks for reading! Enjoy the weekend!
As always, send thoughts and feedback to Max@Rocanews.com |
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