An Abortion ban, Hail Mary, and Tennis retirement
ZWF #32: Sunday, September 18, 2022
This week, Lindsey Graham introduced a nationwide abortion ban bill in the Senate, Appalachian State capped off a day featuring their first ever College GameDay appearance with a wild hail mary ending, and tennis superstar Roger Federer announced he is hanging up his racket.
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the latest headlines in the worlds of news and sports from the past week.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 76 features a breakdown of everything you need to know regarding cryptocurrency. If you’ve heard of crypto but have no idea what it is, this podcast is for you! Go listen to and download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Zander’s Weekend Facts is here to give you the facts about what has been going on in the world around us this past week. You’ll just have to read these facts, instead of listening to them on the Zander’s Facts podcast.
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, September 18, 2022:
What Zander’s been reading this week
To buy a car, you have to go to a dealership. That’s the way it’s always been. But times are changing. There are new ways, including the internet, to buy cars, and electric vehicle maker Rivian chief lobbyist Jim Chen wants to continue the evolution of car buying.
Check out this week’s featured article in The Wall Street Journal - The Man From Rivian Who Wants to Change How We Buy Cars (Free access on Apple News)
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top sports headlines from the past week in the Sporting Club:
Tennis legend Roger Federer announced he will retire from the sport later this month. The 41-year-old Federer will play in his final event in London’s Laver Cup from September 23-25. Federer won 20 major titles throughout his career, including competing in nine of ten consecutive major finals from 2007-2010. For the last two decades, Federer has helped form what many have called a golden age in tennis along with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Federer’s announcement is the second major retirement in tennis this summer after Serena Williams announced she would retire after the US Open.
Phoenix Suns majority owner Robert Sarver was suspended one year from the Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. The NBA released the findings of an independent investigation that found Sarver had engaged in inappropriate conduct within the workplace, including multiple uses of the n-word, and inappropriate comments regarding female team employees. Sarver was also fined $10 million as a result of the investigation. However, many within the NBA community have expressed a negative reaction to the punishment. Several players, including LeBron James and former NBPA president Chris Paul, have voiced their displeasure with the ruling, and NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio calling for a lifetime ban of Sarver from the league.
Minor League Baseball players have voted to join the MLB Players Association. After a majority of players voted to join the MLBPA, it will mark the first time that minor league players will be represented by a union. The move was made in order to provide over 5,000 minor league players with better pay and working conditions, issues that have long plagued the minor leagues.
Week two in the NFL began on Thursday with the first Thursday Night Football game to air on Amazon Prime Video. It was a come-from-behind victory for the Kansas City Chiefs at home in a thrilling game with the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-24. The second Sunday slate of the season gets underway later today, with Buccaneers-Saints, and Dolphins-Ravens highlighting the 1:00 pm et slot, while Bengals-Cowboys will be the main afternoon game of the week at 4:25 pm et on CBS. Tonight, the Bears take on the Packers in an NFC North rivalry matchup at 8:20 pm et on NBC. Week two concludes with a Monday night doubleheader with Titans-Bills on ESPN/ESPN2 at 7:15 pm et and Vikings-Eagles at 8:30 pm et on ABC/ESPN+.
Week three in College Football didn’t feature as many upsets as the previous weekend but still carried several notable storylines. In Saturday’s game of the day, #24 Texas A&M bounced back after last week’s loss to Appalachian State with a 17-9 win over #13 Miami at home. #19 Wake Forest survived a fight with Liberty at home, 37-36, after Liberty failed to convert on a two-point conversion in the final minutes. After scoring 19 points in the first three quarters, Purdue and Syracuse scored 42 fourth-quarter points with two touchdowns in the final minute, as a Syracuse touchdown with seven seconds left sealed the deal for a 32-29 win at home for the Orange. Also, #6 Oklahoma stomped Nebraska 49-14, both #2 Alabama and #3 Ohio State dropped over 60 points on their opponents, UL Monroe and Toledo, and Appalachian State beat Troy on the final play of the game in a video you have to see.
Rapid-fire Facts
Here are the top news stories from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has introduced a 15-week abortion ban bill in the U.S. Senate. The proposal comes in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, which has put the topic of abortion into the national spotlight less than two months before the midterm elections. The proposal by Graham drew a divided response from Republicans, many of whom would like to avoid publically addressing the topic in response to public opinion polling and elections, particularly a Kansas ballot referendum which resulted in abortion rights advocates garnering a major victory.
A nationwide rail strike was averted this week after a labor agreement was reached between major rail companies and a union representing their workers. President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that a deal had been reached which will raise the pay of rail workers by 24% and provide $5,000 bonuses. A potential strike would have affected freight and passenger trains. The deal will go for a vote in front of union members in a few weeks to be certified.
A federal district court judge has appointed a special master to review the documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate by the FBI. Former federal judge Raymond Drearie will oversee the review of the documents, with a hearing scheduled for this Tuesday to begin the process. Additionally, the Department of Justice has asked a federal appeals court to blow the district court’s ruling that it cannot access any of the classified records that were discovered at Mar-a-Lago.
Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre is being sued by the state of Mississippi after it was alleged that Favre misspent millions of dollars meant for welfare. Court documents recently revealed text messages that have shown it was known by former governor Phil Bryant (R-MS) that funds meant to be spent on welfare were being funneled to Favre. Favre then used the funds to help build a new volleyball facility at the University of Southern Mississippi. While Favre is being sued, along with others involved in the case, no charges have been filed.
The Supreme Court required Yeshiva University to recognize a campus gay rights organization. The court ruled this week in a 5-4 decision that the university must comply, for now, with a New York state court decision that favored the gay rights group. In the ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the three liberal justices in the majority. In response, Yeshiva University suspended all student club activities until further notice on Friday.
Wrapping up the Facts
Be this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to Episode 76, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts. Check out Zander’s Facts’ Linktree page for more on anything Zander’s Facts related: Zander's Facts on Linktree
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That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, September 25, 2022.