ZWF: Cancel Culture heats up
Zander's Weekend Facts #59: Sunday, March 26, 2023
No, we’re not talking about *that* cancel culture. We’re talking about canceling all those subscriptions you have.
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, how canceling your subscription services could become a lot easier, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 98 features Zander and his brother Andrew exclusively unveiling their March Madness brackets. Even if everyone’s brackets have already been busted many times over, listen in to hear all the facts about this year’s madness. Go download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, March 26, 2023:
Click to Cancel
Have you ever spent hours on the phone just trying to cancel a cable plan? Or a satellite radio subscription? Or a membership to a newspaper?
Well, thankfully, those days may be coming to an end.
On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a new rule that would force companies to allow users to cancel any service the same way that they signed up. That means if you signed up for something online, you’ll be able to cancel online too.
It’s called click to cancel, and it’s a long time coming.
The proposed click to cancel rule would also require companies to alert consumers before their subscriptions automatically renew, along with requiring companies to ask customers if they want to see other offers before they cancel.
Canceling something over the phone certainly isn’t as popular now as it was a decade or two ago. Still, if you try to cancel your gym membership or cellphone plan, you may want to plan on waiting a while, while holding the phone to your ear.
If this rule is enacted, companies will be hit with a $50,000 fine each time they violate the rule. The FTC would also be able to help consumers recoup any money they lost from subscriptions they wanted to cancel but couldn’t easily do so.
Once the rule is published in the Federal Register, anyone is able to submit a comment within 60 days.
If I had to submit something, it would say “It took you this long?”
For more information of this week’s top story, check out this article from NBC News - Click to cancel: FTC proposes rule to help consumers ditch subscriptions
What Zander’s been reading this past week
A four-day workweek sounds much better than a five-day one, right? A recent U.K. study found that a shorter workweek comes with all sorts of benefits, including less stress, less burnout, and a better work-life balance. So could a shorter workweek become more mainstream in the U.S.?
Check out this week’s featured article on Axios - The worker flexibility premium - (Article on Apple News)
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Jan. 6 Grand Jury: A federal judge has determined that several of former President Donald Trump’s aides must testify before a grand jury investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Among those ordered to testify are former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe, and former advisor Stephen Miller. Trump is expected to appeal the ruling after his claims of executive privilege were denied.
India Opposition: Rahul Gandhi, the top opposition leader to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India’s parliament, was expelled from parliament last week. Gandhi, the great-grandson of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was convicted on charges of defamation relating to a 2019 speech in which he mocked the Modi surname, saying, “Why do all thieves have Modi as their surname?” Gandhi was sentenced to two years in prison but plans to appeal. Critics of Modi have accused his government of hindering democracy and pursuing a Hindu nationalist agenda.
Los Angeles School Strike: The Los Angeles Unified School District was shut down for three days last week after a strike led by union workers. The strike, which began on Tuesday, came to a close on Friday after a tentative agreement was reached with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The agreement, which still needs to be approved by union members, would result in some lower-wage workers receiving wage increases of over 30%, spread out over over time.
Candy Chemicals: A proposed bill in the California State Legislature would ban the manufacture, sale, or distribution of several chemicals found in popular candies and processed foods. The list of chemicals, including red dye No. 3, titanium dioxide, and potassium bromate, can be found in Skittles, Nerds, Hot Tamales, cake icing, and Strawberry-flavored Nesquik. The chemicals are banned in several other countries and in the European Union. The lawmaker who introduced the bill says that the bill won’t result in a ban of those foods, but instead hopes that it will push companies to change their recipes.
Covid Relief Fraud: A former member of the Florida House of Representatives pled guilty on Tuesday to Covid relief fraud. Joseph Harding pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering and one count of making false statements. Harding is accused of fraudulently obtained over $150,000 from the Small Business Administration and lying on his applications to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. While in the Florida legislature, Harding was known for introducing the bill dubbed the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law by critics. While the bill initially targeted grades K-3, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis now wants to expand the law to all grades through high school.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the ZF Sporting Club:
Men’s March Madness: Half of the 2023 Men’s Final Four field is set as the second weekend of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament concludes today. Last night, Florida Atlantic and UConn clinched their spots in the Final Four, with Florida Atlantic becoming the first #9 seed to make the last four teams since Wichita State in 2013. Later today, the final two spots will be filled, with Creighton facing San Diego State at 2:20 pm et, and Miami (FL) taking on Texas at 5:05 pm et. Both games will air on CBS. The men’s Final Four takes place in Houston, Texas on Saturday, with the two games getting underway at 6:00 pm et on CBS.
Women’s March Madness: The 2023 Women’s Elite Eight field is set after Friday and Saturday’s Sweet Sixteen matchups. Tonight, Miami (FL) will face LSU at 7:00 pm et, and Louisville will take on Iowa at 9:00 pm et. Tomorrow at 7:00 pm et, Maryland will play South Carolina, with Ohio State facing Virginia Tech at 9:00 pm et. All four games will air on ESPN, with the winners of the four games advancing to Friday night’s Final Four. The women’s Final Four takes place in Dallas, Texas on Friday, with the two games tipping off at 7:00 pm et on ESPN.
Latest In The NBA: There are only two weeks remaining in the NBA’s regular season, with multiple races across the league heating up. The league’s best record currently resides with the Milwaukee Bucks, who at 53-20 sit 2.5 games ahead of the Boston Celtics in the East. The Denver Nuggets are currently three games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies at the top of the West. The Golden State Warriors have won three straight games and currently sit in the #6 seed in the west, while the Los Angeles Lakers, who is preparing to return from injury, are in 8th. The Dallas Mavericks, who made a splash trade for Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline are currently 11th and out of the Play-In, which begins on Tuesday, April 11.
World Baseball Classic: On Tuesday night, Japan beat the United States 3-2 in the final of the World Baseball Classic to clinch the nation’s third title in the competition. Two-way player Shohei Ohtani clinched the win for Japan by striking out his Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout in the top of the ninth inning. Ohtani took MVP honors as Japan remains the only country to have multiple WBC titles.
Track and Field: The World Athletics Council has banned transgender women that have gone through male puberty from competing in elite female competitions. The ruling follows World Aquatics’ ban last year of transgender women that had experienced any part of male puberty. World Athletics noted that a council would be formed to study transgender inclusion in sports such as track and field.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before 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 the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
Check out Zander’s Facts’ Linktree page for more on everything Zander’s Facts related, including the all-new Zander’s Facts website. At ZandersFacts.com, get the latest on all the facts that Zander is putting out, and check out the freshest styles at the Zander’s Facts shop!
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.substack.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, April 2, 2023.
