Plus: California Lawmakers To Pass Gavin Newsom-Backed Redistricting Plan

Was this page forwarded to you? Sign up!

Good evening,

The Federal Trade Commission is suing Fitness International, a company that operates LA Fitness and other gym chains, for creating memberships that it says are “exceedingly difficult” to cancel.

The complaint says that Fitness International and it subsidiary, Fitness & Sports Clubs, have made hundreds of millions of dollars in recurring fees through inconvenient cancellation policies.
- Policies include mandating that customers speak with specific managers who are not available, or forcing customers to fill out a form online, print it out, and then mail it to the gym at their own expense.
- A Fitness International representative responded in a press release, saying “the allegations are without merit” and that they offer many ways to cancel gym memberships – including online.
The lawsuit comes after the FTC in July struck down a Biden-era “Click to Cancel” rule that required businesses to make the process of cancelling a subscription "at least as easy" as the process of signing up for one.
- The FTC is also moving forward with a trial against Amazon, stemming from a lawsuit in which the agency claimed Amazon was enrolling customers in its Prime program without their consent and knowingly making it difficult to cancel a subscription.

I have a personal vendetta against subscriptions that are difficult to cancel. Cancelling my Audible free trial seems to require navigating a hedge maze, completing Herculean labors, and answering three riddles from a Sphinx.

Sam
Associate Producer

🚨 ONE THING WE’RE FOLLOWING

Redistricting Battles Heat Up: California Counters Texas’ Move And Looks To Add Democratic Seats

California legislators passed the first of three bills aimed at drawing new congressional maps Thursday, in response to Texas Republicans – the day before – approving new congressional maps that could add five GOP seats ahead of next year’s midterm elections. They’re expected to pass all three bills and send them to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk to sign later today.

The measures redraw five of California’s Republican-held U.S. House seats to make them more favorable to Democrats, but still require Californians to vote on the new boundaries through a constitutional amendment on Nov. 4.

THE GOAL
Democrats in California argue the move evens the playing field, as Texas’s rare mid-decade redistricting effort is aimed at preserving Republicans’ slim majority in the U.S. House ahead of next year’s midterms.

If Democrats pick up just a handful of seats, they could flip control of the House and help put the brakes on Trump’s second-term agenda.
- Historically, presidents’ parties tend to lose ground in the midterms — and Trump is moving aggressively to prevent that.

Former President Barack Obama is backing Newsom’s move, calling it a “smart, measured approach” despite his opposition to partisan map-drawing, known as gerrymandering.

WILL VOTERS BACK THE PLAN?
The hope among Democrats is that voters will support the change once they see the Texas plan in action. A new poll shows 70% of Democrats think gerrymandering is never acceptable, but 63% say California should “fight back” against Texas redistricting.

Newsom’s press office is trying to win voters’ support with a Trump-style approach — literally. His X account has been mimicking Trump’s distinctive Truth Social style: CAPS LOCK, nicknames, and exclamation points. Trump chimed in early Thursday:

BIG PICTURE
The California move as Democrats are facing challenging national trends. Between 2020 and 2024, Democrats lost 2.1 million registered voters while Republicans gained 2.4 million, according to a New York Times analysis of 30 states.

That’s in large part due to young men, whose trend toward the GOP is not fading.

🚨 ONE THING WE’RE FOLLOWING

Serena Williams: GLP-1 Meds Helped With Weight Loss In A Way Pro Tennis Couldn't

Tennis legend Serena Williams has revealed that she turned to GLP-1 weight loss medication after years of struggling to lose weight post-pregnancy — even while training hours a day as a professional tennis player. She has been taking the medication consistently since April, and has lost 31 pounds to date.

“I [was] literally training 5 hours a day and I would always work my way to one point of the scale and it would never go below that,” she recalled on the Today Show Thursday.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner, who welcomed daughters Olympia (born in 2017) and Adira (born in 2023), said she wants to normalize the use of weight loss drugs and push back on the stigma that it’s the “easy way out.” Her comments were part of launching a partnership with telehealth GLP-1 prescriber Ro.

In May of 2024, an estimated 15.5 million people — roughly 6% of U.S. adults in a recent Gallup poll — reported having used the injectable diabetes medicine to reduce weight. That’s only growing, with an April/May 2025 survey from RAND putting that number around 12%. In recent years, the CDC has reported 40% of U.S. adults are obese. It comes as patients are seeing health benefits from semaglutide (or GLP-1) drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy beyond weight loss.

A PHYSICIAN WEIGHS IN
Mo News spoke with Dr. Cedric Jamie Rutland, a critical care physician, who said he recommends his patients try GLP-1s if they’re struggling to lose weight.

He emphasizes that long-term success with GLP-1 weight-loss drugs depends on lifestyle changes, but that patients typically lose around 15% of their body weight over the course of a year — and some lose even more.
- He’s seen weight loss reverse diabetes, eliminate sleep apnea, reduce joint pain, and more.

🎧 Listen to the full conversation on the Mo News podcast (on Spotify or Apple) for insight on GLP-1s and how to navigate insurance coverage, as the cost of the drugs can be a deterring factor.

BIGGER IMPACT
Besides cost, injecting weekly shots is also a potential deterrent from taking the drug. Drugmaker Eli Lilly says its oral GLP-1 weight loss pill, currently in trials, could be nearly as effective as its injectables – with participants in one trial losing an average of 12% of their body weight, or roughly 27 pounds.

The results could mean a possible cheaper and more convenient alternative to weight-loss medication on the market by next year.

The pill, which would also be used to treat diabetes, showed additional benefits like reduced blood pressure and non-HDL cholesterol. Side effects such as nausea and constipation were similar to those from Eli Lilly’s injectable versions like Zepbound and Mounjaro. Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, is also working to bring a GLP-1 pill to the market.

BEYOND WEIGHT LOSS
One study suggests GLP-1 medications could have untapped potential to reduce the risks of psychosis, infections, some kinds of cancer, and dementia — though much of those benefits were related to weight loss and a decrease in inflammation. Another study from USC found found GLP-1s reduced alcohol cravings and caused participants to drink less, which could potentially help reduce alcohol deaths and cancers or diseases caused by excessive drinking.

⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

Trump admin blasts protesters as “crazy” and “communists,” threatens to add thousands more resources (MO NEWS); Trump reveals plan to patrol Washington streets with police and military forces (FOX)
Former Trump lawyer Alina Habba's appointment as U.S. attorney for New Jersey was 'unlawful,' judge rules (NBC NEWS)
New York appeals court throws out $527 million penalty in Trump civil fraud case (CBS)
James Dobson, Focus on the Family founder and key leader on the Christian right, dies at 89 (AP)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

Israel approves controversial West Bank settlement project as IDF begins Gaza City offensive (EURO NEWS)
Xi Jinping makes rare visit to Tibet to showcase control as Dalai Lama succession looms (CNN)
Uganda agrees to deal with US to take in deported asylum seekers (AL JAZEERA)
Remnants of 2,000-year-old sunken city lifted out of the sea off Alexandria (GUARDIAN)
British woman who is world's oldest living person turns 116 (BBC)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

Cracker Barrel loses almost $200 million in value as stock plunges after releasing new logo (CBS)
Walmart hikes sales and earnings outlook even as it says tariff costs are rising (CNBC)
US home sales rose in July as mortgage rates eased a bit and home prices grew more slowly (AP)
California resident tests positive for the plague after camping in the South Tahoe area (ABC7)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Menendez brothers’ parole hearings begin in California (MO NEWS)
Former guitarist, co-founder of heavy metal band Mastodon Brent Hinds dies in Atlanta motorcycle crash (ATLANTA NEWS FIRST)
Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori successfully defend US Open mixed doubles against tennis’ biggest stars (CNN)
Apple TV+ hiking price, will now cost $13 per month in U.S.(VARIETY)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Parents of Camp Mystic victims delivered heartbreaking testimony to Texas lawmakers Wednesday, nearly seven weeks after the deadly July 4 floods that killed more than 100 people, including 28 campers and staff.

Cici Williams Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile is still missing, said: “We are forced to pray for the day when our child’s body is found, and to call that good news. My baby girl is still missing.”
- Cile remains the only camper still unaccounted for — and one of just two people across the region who have still not been recovered.

Families urged lawmakers to strengthen flood-warning systems, improve communication and training, and require rescue equipment at summer camps in flood-prone areas.

Serena Williams Becomes New Face For GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs