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Editor’s Note:
For those who missed it, we’re now linking four news stories within each newsletter. Roca members will have access to all stories; free readers will get 1-2 a day. Click here to upgrade.
Today’s four stories are: The Murdochs reach a deal (free); Israeli strikes in Qatar (free); US education outcomes reach all-time lows; and the BLS’ overstated job growth numbers.
By Max Frost
Before we get to today’s deep-dive, we want to congratulate the five winners who won a free one-year Roca Membership through our five-year anniversary giveaway. Based on your emails, your names are something like Paul, Chornik, Mina, Robin, and B. We emailed each of you last night to let you know. Thank you for supporting Roca!
Last month, the US Coast Guard carried out the largest drug seizure in its history.
As part of Operation Pacific Viper, Coast Guard ships, aircraft, and partner agencies tracked dozens of so-called “go-fast” boats ferrying narcotics north through the Eastern Pacific, off of southern Mexico. Over the course of several weeks, they intercepted and boarded 19 vessels, seizing more than 76,000 pounds of cocaine and marijuana. The haul was so large that it required the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton to offload the contraband in multiple phases at Port Everglades, Florida.
The interdictions followed a familiar pattern: Aerial surveillance spotted suspicious boats, armed boarding teams launched from ships or helicopters, smugglers tried to flee or dump cargo, and then crews were detained while their shipments were catalogued. In total, over 30 suspected traffickers were captured during the operation.
While the scale of the operation was extraordinary – it led to the seizure of billions of dollars worth of drugs – the method was routine: The Coast Guard conducts these types of chases and seizures weekly in partnership with the Navy and international allies.
The imagery of the offload was classic Coast Guard: Uniformed sailors stacking bale after bale of cocaine on a pier, a press conference announcing victory in the “war on drugs.” It was a classic law-enforcement operation – orderly, procedural, and legalistic – designed to signal American resolve without firing a shot.
Last Tuesday, that strategy went out the window when President Trump traded the bullet-free interdictions for a missile strike.
Today, we look at the US’ new military operation in the Caribbean, the legality of missile strikes there, and what the US troops are looking to accomplish in America’s backyard.
The rest of this report is for paid subscribers, who fund our journalism. If you start a two-week free trial today, you’ll be automatically entered to win a free year. Once you sign up, you can access all of our articles here!
Editor’s Note
And with that, we hope you have a wonderful Wednesday. Let us know what you think about today’s story: Do you support the strike and hardline against cartels? Or is it another misstep in the War on Drugs? Let us know by replying to this email.
Loads of replies to yesterday’s article on the Presidential Fitness Test — sharing a handful below.
Sydney wrote:
I was surprised that none of the conversation was around the studies that demonstrate the positive effects of physical activity on mental health… As a former 12th grade teacher (2 years since I left the classroom) I was shocked to see how unhealthy my students were- as in walking up the steps to class was a struggle for some of them. This lack of fitness often—anecdotally— correlated to mental and emotional difficulties. My students participating in fitness clubs and team sports often has a greater sense of belonging, and fewer emotional troubles. Perhaps we reframe this… one “cure” to the mental health pandemic of our youth is movement!
Greg from New Jersey wrote:
Yes, I believe it's the responsibility of our elected leaders to lead the way on this issue. I'm a physically fit adult who does 100 burpees every morning pre-coffee with no rest in between, so it's probably easy for me to say that every American kid should strive for 100 push ups and 50 pull ups in 10 minutes, but I think they should and here's why...
Generally, each generation has gotten softer and softer in America due to a lot of factors, but from where I stand, the most important trait for all of us to have no matter our athletic background, is DISCIPLINE. From a percentage standpoint I believe we've lost that and this is partly why 1 in 3 kids ages 10-17 are obese or overweight. And why 1 in 5 kids ages 12-17 have experienced a major depressive episode.
Kids today seek comfort over difficult tasks, and why wouldn't they when they're being told by our leaders that it's not their lack of discipline, but their own biology that's preventing them from achieving physical fitness?
When you seek out difficult tasks everyday, you're not only training your body, you're training your mind to be resilient. And I believe this resiliency enables not only a healthier life, but a happier one.
Meanwhile, JD from Idaho wrote:
This is a headline in the Wall Street Journal today- “American high-school seniors’ scores on major math and reading tests fell to their lowest levels on record, according to the U.S. Education Department.”
It seems to me that our efforts would be better focused on the academics of our youth.
And Ava said:
I remember doing the Presidential Fitness Tests in grade school back in the ‘60’s. We did it as part of P.E. For me it was a fun challenge, just something we did like other tests. I was one of the stronger students, probably because I had extracurricular physical activities, and me and Molly were always out front at least among the girls. Usually beat the boys at arm wrestling too! I don’t remember anyone having any issues with it; no one made a big deal of it.
And lastly, find our latest reports below if you haven’t read them yet:
Thanks for reading. We’ll see you back here tomorrow.
—Max and Max
