Safeway is closing additional stores as parent company Albertsons Companies reassesses its retail footprint following the collapse of its proposed $24.6 billion merger with Kroger.

Albertsons told USA Today that the company had slowed its potential “portfolio optimization” efforts while the Kroger transaction was pending, then resumed evaluating its store network after the deal fell apart. That process has included opening stores in areas where the company sees long-term demand while making what Albertsons described to the outlet as the difficult decision to close some locations.

The broader company closed 35 stores during fiscal 2025, more than triple the 10 it closed the previous year and up from eight in fiscal 2023, according to Albertsons’ latest annual filing. It opened nine stores during fiscal 2025 and ended the year with 2,244 locations across 35 states and Washington, D.C.

Those closures had a measurable impact on the grocer’s results. Store closures, net of new openings, reduced fiscal 2025 sales by $63.4 million, while costs associated with closed stores and surplus properties climbed to $45.1 million from $15.9 million a year earlier.

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Shoppers walk outside an Albertsons grocery store on Feb. 26, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Albertsons also continued investing in other parts of its store base. The company completed 94 remodels and opened nine new stores during fiscal 2025 as part of approximately $1.83 billion in capital expenditures, which also included investment in digital and technology platforms.

Albertsons operates 22 grocery banners, including Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, ACME, Shaw’s and Tom Thumb, and employed approximately 280,000 workers as of Feb. 28, 2026.

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The company did not provide USA Today with a full list of planned Safeway closures. The outlet reported that Safeway locations that have closed in 2026 include stores at 231 W. Jackson St. in Hayward, California; 2220 N. Coast Highway in Newport, Oregon; and 1601 Maryland Ave. in Washington, D.C.

A customer shops at a Safeway store on June 11, 2024, in Mill Valley, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Albertsons said it is working to place as many affected employees as possible in jobs at other stores, according to USA Today.

The store review follows the breakdown of Albertsons’ planned combination with Kroger, which was announced in 2022 and would have created one of the country’s largest grocery companies.

The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the $24.6 billion transaction, arguing that the combination would reduce competition and could lead to higher grocery prices and less competition for grocery workers.

On Dec. 10, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction blocking the merger. The FTC brought the challenge alongside nine state attorneys general.

A Kroger grocery store in Dallas, Texas, on Feb. 21, 2024. (Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The proposed deal subsequently collapsed, setting off litigation between Kroger and Albertsons.

Albertsons sought a $600 million termination fee from Kroger, while Kroger later filed counterclaims in Delaware disputing that it owed the payment and accusing Albertsons of undermining the regulatory process. Albertsons has disputed Kroger’s account.

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Albertsons did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment on the closures.

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The Campaign for Real Ale has previously said that pubs are being “lost forever to conversion or demolition as developers look to cash in on the desirable locations and unique architecture of pubs and social clubs”.

The British Beer and Pub Association and UKHospitality have also campaigned against pub closures, with both largely blaming tax rises and other costs.

Allen Simpson, chief executive of UKHospitality, said: “The biggest issue facing hospitality businesses is costs like VAT and business rates pushing pubs out of business in the first place.

“Anything that makes it harder to take these important assets away from their communities has to be welcomed, but the government should focus on continuing its strong start on fixing the harm done to hospitality over the past two years.”

In July, the Labour government said pubs, social clubs and live music venues in England will be given a 20% cut to business rates on top of rates relief announced in January.

The NPPF update being published Monday also includes default approval for homes being built around railway stations in England in an attempt to increase housebuilding numbers.

Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said: “By unlocking thousands of homes around well-connected transport hubs, we’re helping people live closer to work, school and the services they rely on, while backing local businesses and driving growth in our communities.”

The update also means that some groups will no longer need to be consulted on housing development plans as part of the process of getting permission.

Under the changes, Sport England will continue to advise on significant cases and the Gardens Trust and Theatres Trust will still be notified of relevant applications.

Labour has set a target to build 1.5 million homes by 2029. According to official data, external, it has so far built 392,000 homes in England since coming into power in July 2024.

Shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly said Labour “failing abysmally” to meet their target because of taxes and red tape.

“To try to fix their own mess, Labour are planning a power grab, seizing control from local communities and forcing them to accept development in the wrong areas because Labour won’t build in the right areas,” he added.

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Apple is preparing to launch a long-awaited second-generation HomePod mini this fall, according to multiple reports, marking the first meaningful hardware update to the compact smart speaker since it debuted nearly six years ago.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported in his Power On newsletter that both the new HomePod mini and an updated Apple TV 4K are nearly ready for release, with the devices expected to launch alongside the debut of Apple’s redesigned Siri voice assistant, which is set to roll out with the company’s iOS 27 and macOS 27 software updates this fall. According to Gurman’s reporting, Apple has held back the hardware releases specifically to coincide with the AI-enhanced version of Siri, rather than launching the devices independently ahead of the software update.

Apple originally introduced the HomePod mini in October 2020 as a smaller, more affordable alternative to its full-size HomePod speaker. In the nearly six years since, the device’s internal hardware has remained unchanged, with Apple’s only updates to the product coming in the form of additional color options, including blue, orange and yellow variants added after the original launch.

According to a leaked internal build of iOS 26 examined by Macworld, the next-generation HomePod mini is expected to include an S10 chip, the same processor found in current Apple Watch models, which would improve the speaker’s overall performance and wireless connectivity reliability. Separate reporting from BigGo Finance suggested Apple could instead equip the device with either an S9 or S10 chip, alongside a new N1 networking chip that would bring support for Wi-Fi 7, an upgraded version of Bluetooth, and Thread, a wireless protocol commonly used for smart home device communication. Reports have also pointed to a second-generation ultra-wideband chip, which would improve the speed and reliability of device handoff between the HomePod mini and other Apple products, such as iPhones, when placed nearby.

Despite the internal upgrades, most reports suggest the new HomePod mini will retain the same compact, spherical design and 3D mesh fabric exterior that has defined the product since its original release. Rumors have pointed to the possible introduction of new color options, including red and sage green, though it remains unclear which, if any, of those specific colors will make it into the final shipping product.

One significant open question involves whether the new HomePod mini will support Apple Intelligence, the company’s broader suite of AI-powered software features. Because the rumored S9 or S10 chip was originally designed for use in the Apple Watch, a device with more limited processing demands than Apple’s AI ambitions typically require, some reports have raised doubts about whether the chip offers sufficient capability to run the more advanced elements of Apple Intelligence directly on the device.

The HomePod mini refresh forms part of a broader smart home push Apple is reportedly planning for its product lineup. According to multiple reports, Apple is also developing a new smart home hub, sometimes referred to in reporting as “HomePad,” featuring a roughly 7-inch touchscreen display alongside a built-in speaker positioned as comparable in audio quality to the full-size HomePod. That device is expected to include facial recognition capability, proximity sensors and FaceTime support, with a reported price point around $350. Unlike the HomePod mini, the smart home hub is expected to arrive later, sometime between late 2026 and 2027, rather than launching this fall.

Apple’s broader smart home strategy has also reportedly included plans for a HomeKit-compatible security camera with built-in audio monitoring, along with an updated Apple TV 4K expected to feature Apple’s A17 Pro chip. Taken together, the rumored product lineup would represent one of Apple’s most significant pushes yet into the broader smart home market, an area where the company has historically lagged behind competitors including Amazon and Google, both of which have released a wider range of smart speakers, displays, doorbells and security cameras in recent years.

The timeline for these releases has already shifted multiple times. Reports in January 2025 initially pointed to a launch by the end of that year, followed by revised expectations for spring 2026 tied to the redesigned Siri’s original rollout timeline. That software update was subsequently delayed, pushing the hardware release timeline along with it. The most recent reporting now points to an October 2026 launch window, aligning the new HomePod mini’s debut with Apple’s broader fall product cycle alongside new iPhone models.

Pricing for the current HomePod lineup rose earlier this year, with Apple citing the ongoing global memory chip shortage as a factor in the increases. The HomePod mini currently retails for $129, up from its previous price, while the larger second-generation HomePod now costs $349. Apple has not confirmed pricing for the upcoming second-generation HomePod mini, and the company has not officially acknowledged the device’s existence ahead of any formal announcement.

With Apple’s fall product announcements typically arriving in September alongside new iPhone models, industry observers expect further details on the HomePod mini’s specifications, pricing and exact release date to emerge in the coming weeks as Apple’s annual product cycle approaches.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General has expanded its nationwide investigation into alleged H-1B visa fraud to Dallas, Texas, conducting door-to-door inspections at a multi-story office building linked to more than 500 approved visa petitions, many of which showed little or no evidence of active business operations.

Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito traveled to Dallas as part of the ongoing probe, according to a Department of Labor press release issued August 13. “At one multi-story building housing numerous businesses linked to more than 500 approved H-1B applications, door-to-door inquiries were carried out,” the release stated, adding that many of the offices investigators visited showed clear signs of inactivity, including locked doors, lights left off, and little to no evidence of active business operations at the addresses listed in their visa filings.

Despite those findings, the Office of Inspector General has not declared that the companies involved, or the more than 500 H-1B petitions tied to the building, are fraudulent. Officials described the Dallas inspections as part of a broader, ongoing effort to determine whether information submitted under the federal foreign labor program matches actual conditions on the ground at the businesses in question.

D’Esposito framed the investigation as part of a broader effort to protect the integrity of the country’s foreign labor programs. “We are sending a clear message: fraud in our foreign labor programs,” D’Esposito said, adding that the department would not stand by while jobs are taken from Americans and while H-1B fraud, in his characterization, helps fuel criminal enterprises.

The Dallas investigation forms part of a larger nationwide probe the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General launched around July 8, working in coordination with a task force established under Vice President JD Vance focused on eliminating fraud across federal programs. According to reporting on the investigation, the department has issued dozens of subpoenas as part of the effort, examining potential visa abuse, worker displacement, wage kickbacks and possible labor trafficking, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. Officials have said the investigation’s focus rests on the companies and middlemen accused of abusing the visa system rather than on the foreign workers themselves, who officials have characterized as potential victims within the alleged schemes under investigation.

The federal investigation has unfolded alongside a related state-level effort in Texas. In January, the Texas Office of the Attorney General announced its own investigation into alleged H-1B visa abuse, issuing civil investigative demands to three North Texas businesses accused of sponsoring numerous visa holders despite showing little clear evidence that the companies provided legitimate services or generated genuine revenue. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton framed that state-level probe as part of a broader effort to protect Texas workers. “Any criminal who attempts to scam the H-1B visa program and use” so-called ghost offices or other fraudulent tactics should expect to face the full force of the law, Paxton said at the time, adding that his office would continue reviewing the H-1B program to prioritize the interests of American workers.

The Dallas phase of the federal investigation drew additional public attention due to the involvement of conservative media personality Sara Gonzales, host of “Sara Gonzales Unfiltered” on BlazeTV, who accompanied D’Esposito during portions of the on-the-ground inspections. The Department of Labor confirmed on its official X account that it had partnered with Gonzales and BlazeTV to help publicize the investigation’s findings. Video footage from the visits shows Gonzales confronting business operators over allegations of visa fraud, including one instance in which she said a person she identified as a suspected “H-1B visa scammer” called police on her during the encounter.

The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations that typically require a bachelor’s degree or higher, and currently supports more than 1 million non-immigrant foreign workers employed in the United States, according to figures cited in coverage of the investigation. The program has long drawn debate in American politics, with supporters arguing it fills genuine skills gaps in fields such as technology and engineering, while critics contend it can be exploited to undercut wages and displace qualified American workers, a tension that has fueled bipartisan calls over the years for stronger oversight of the program’s approval and compliance processes.

The Dallas investigation comes amid a broader tightening of U.S. immigration and visa policy under the current administration, developments that have also affected international student enrollment at American colleges and universities, according to separate reporting on shifting visa issuance trends.

With subpoenas already issued and the investigation continuing to expand into new markets beyond Texas, officials have not provided a timeline for when the Dallas-area inquiry, or the broader nationwide H-1B fraud investigation, might conclude or result in formal enforcement actions against any of the specific companies identified during the on-site inspections.