BUSINESS

With 2026 Patty Kazmaier Award winner Caroline Harvey on the blue line, the Wisconsin Badgers will look to defend their title at Sunday’s women’s Frozen Four final.

Ryan Odom and Griff Aldrich met as college freshmen in 1992. They are now head coach and associate head coach at Virginia, which is playing in the NCAA tournament.

“My husband and I are both retired and have saved for years — we simply can’t afford to take on his financial situation.”

Americans have changed some of their habits when it comes to the comfort food they’re turning to in darker moments.You can blame health trends, diet drugs, and changing tastes on the trend that has caused Denny’s to close over 100 locations, while Cracker Barrel saw comparable-store sales drop by 7.2% in its most recent quarter.”A national consumer survey and Pinterest insights reveal that consumers are moving away from traditional comfort foods in favor of meals that are healthy, locally sourced, and easy to prepare. The research also shows that Americans (68%), and especially parents (74%), are more concerned about what goes into the food they’re feeding their families compared to previous generations,” according to the survey.Dining trends change, and restaurants built around a classic menu like Denny’s and Cracker Barrel have struggled. And, while it’s not as high-profile a brand, another comfort food chain has quietly been shrinking its profile.MCL Restaurant & Bakery, a 76-year-old, cafeteria-style buffet chain, is closing several locations in March, according to local news station Fox 59 and social media posts. MCL Restaurant & Bakery has struggledWhen Denny’s made the decision to close around 150 restaurants, it was still. a public company, so it had to share its plans with investors. Denny’s CEO Kelli F. Valade updated shareholders on her company’s plan to close more restaurants during its second-quarter earnings call.“I also want to take a moment and provide an update on our previously communicated strategy to close underperforming restaurants and return to pre-pandemic growth of flat to slightly positive in future years. The surgical and methodical approach, which began in 2023 and will be completed by the end of this year, was specifically designed to optimize and enhance the overall health of the franchise system with the goal of returning to net flat to positive growth by 2026,” she shared.As a private company, MCL Restaurant & Bakery does not have to share its closure plans. The chain, however, has been steadily shrinking for years.MCL Restaurant has quietly closed most of its restaurantsThe recent closures will bring the chain’s footprint to seven locations. MCL ended 2024 with 13 locations and $25.7 million in sales (a 2% increase year-over-year), according to Technomic data, . While the company does not have to share financial information as a privately held company, it did respond to questions on its Facebook page. The chain blamed the closure of one location on “revenues not being where they need to be to cover operating cost.” MCL Restaurant & Bakery also confirmed a March 29 closure date for the locations in Whitehall, Muncie, and Indianapolis’s Irvington neighborhood.“These decisions come after a lot of careful consideration and years of declining sales in certain markets,” the company wrote.More Restaurants Chipotle’s new consumer strategy raises eyebrowsBurger King revives iconic kids’ meal toys after 22 yearsWalmart surprises shoppers with bold new restaurant offeringDuring the 1980s and early 1990s, MCL Restaurant & Bakery reached its peak of approximately 30 locations throughout the Midwest. By 2004, the chain’s footprint was down to 22 locations, and it has been steadily declining since, with 17 restaurants at the end of 2014, and 13 at the end of 2019, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.The company shows 10 remaining locations on its website, but that still includes at least three slated to close.

Denny’s and other diners have struggled as American tastes have changed.Shutterstock

Many more restaurants face closure riskRising costs, changing consumer tastes, and the struggling economy have put many restaurants at risk.”New data from Black Box Intelligence has unveiled some cause for concern about full-service restaurant performance in the coming year. The performance and analytics company compared 2025 restaurant sales against their peak annual performance since 2019 and found that 9% of all full-service units are considered at risk for closure in 2026,” NRN shared.  Restaurants face the dual problem of rising costs and dropping customer counts.“In an environment where cumulative inflation has driven costs up by nearly a third since 2019, it is virtually impossible for a unit to remain viable after losing 30% or more of its peak sales,” Black Box vice president of insights and knowledge Victor Fernandez told NRN.Rising costs have created a challenging situation for restaurant operators, according to Restaurant365’s 2025 State of the Restaurant Industry Midyear Report. Key findings include:91% of restaurant leaders reported food cost increases in 2025 so far.A majority (82%) saw costs rise between 1% and 5%.Another 36% experienced hikes between 6% and 14%.And 13% reported spikes of 15% or more.“Rising food costs are forcing us to rethink everything—suppliers, portion sizes, even which dishes deserve to stay on the menu,” one operator shared in the survey. “The goal is to keep margins intact while still giving guests value.”Related: Beloved burger, pizza chains close restaurants as liquidation sale looms

It’s simple: Whenever I have the time, I hit different supermarkets to make sure I’m getting every item at the lowest possible price. Tracking discounts has been a part of my normal routine for more than a decade. When I’m rushed, I must do all my shopping at one store but still look for the best value. Recent industry statistics and trends reveal I am not alone. In fact, 47% of global consumers, including 35% belonging to high-income households, are now classified as “value seekers,” or people who regularly sacrifice convenience for better deals,  according to Deloitte 2026 Consumer Products Industry Global Outlook.With the index of food at home rising 2.4% over the 12 months ending in February, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumers are changing strategies to afford basic necessities. Consumers’ tricks to save money include: Private labels: Consumers are increasingly shifting toward private labels. Intentionality: 45% of consumers now make strict shopping lists before entering a store, and 37% compare prices between brands before deciding. Bulk buying: There has been a 4% increase in shoppers choosing larger “value sizes” to lower the cost per ounce.
Sources: NielsenIQ October 2025 report, NielsenIQ 2026 Consumer Outlook 
As consumers become more creative to deal with the current economic climate, retail giants such as Walmart are making changes of their own, some of which have shoppers worried.  Walmart secures patent for AI-powered price changes Walmart was recently awarded patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for AI tools that help set pricing across its e-commerce platforms, reported Gizmodo. One of those patents, US-1254776-B2, contains systems and methods for dynamically and automatically updating item prices across e-commerce platforms. “When price elasticity data and predicted demand data for the item are both available, a first markdown price is generated for the item using a first model based on: the price elasticity data, the predicted demand data, and the current price,” reads the patent description. When the price elasticity data and predicted demand data aren’t available, it creates a “bounded price” that allows for a range to be chosen to set a new price on the platform.The second patent recently granted to Walmart, US-12572954-B2, relies on machine learning to predict the demand of various items and recommend prices. “The schematic in the filing even shows that third-party data may be used to help determine the price, a controversial practice when it’s employed by other businesses like airlines to set fares,” writes Gizmodo. News of Walmart’s new patents is gaining attention across social media as consumers raise concerns about dynamic pricing and surveillance pricing, especially after the retailer just implemented Digital Shelf Labels (DSLs) across its stores. Walmart rolls out digital shelf labels across its stores Walmart revealed March 2 that roughly 2,300 Walmart U.S. locations are already using electronic screens instead of traditional paper price tags, and that this technology should be chain-wide within the next year. “For our associates, that expansion can’t come soon enough,” Walmart shared in a press release.While Walmart says the goal of the new technology is to help employees, retail expert and TheStreet Co-Editor-in-Chief Daniel Kline recently reported that experts and customers are questioning potential hidden motives behind the move. “News of Walmart’s rollout… stirred up concerns that DSLs will lead to dynamic or surge pricing, where retailers or other businesses quickly change the cost of products or services based on fluctuations in demand due to weather or traffic — or even using personal data like location, browsing history, and purchase patterns to set individualized prices,” according to RetailWire.

Walmart secures a patent for AI-powered price changes.PhotographerIncognito/Shutterstock.com

What are dynamic and surveillance pricing?Currently, dynamic pricing and surveillance pricing are the subject of major nationwide debates involving the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Congress, and several state legislatures. Dynamic pricing is the practice of adjusting prices in real time or over short intervals based on external factors such as supply and demand, inventory levels, time of day, user behavior, or market conditions, according to Vorys. Surveillance pricing is even more complex as it involves using consumer data, including location, history, internet browsing history, or demographic information to form individualized prices for goods and services, according to King & Spalding. Government officials are moving to ban surveillance pricing, with lawmakers saying it’s predatory and discriminatory. On the other hand, retailers argue that a ban could eliminate loyalty discounts. In February 2026, U.S. senators introduced the Stop Price Gouging in Grocery Stores Act, which bans “corporations from leveraging new technologies to increase grocery prices for Americans.” While early bans failed in some states, New York now requires stores to disclose if they use AI to price items, and several other states, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, are currently pushing for total bans, according to King & Spalding. Walmart customers raise concerns about dynamic pricing The news about Walmart’s DSLs and patents quickly spread across the internet, with consumers raising concerns about potential dynamic pricing. The overall sentiment on the recent Reddit thread discussing the news is strongly negative, distrustful, and fearful. Customers are worried Walmart changes will lead to: Price gougingPersonalized exploitationExpanded surveillance capitalism“Dynamic pricing needs to be straight up illegal immediately. Nip this s**t in the bud,” wrote user DataCassette. Some users, like Tasty-Traffic-680, suggest the possibility of exploiting customers amid a crisis. “Just waiting for someone to ‘accidentally’ dynamically price something like bottled water during an emergency,” they wrote. Others raised concerns about potential individual-level price discrimination, suggesting that apps on our phones are already collecting enough data to allow retailers to tweak prices. A number of users suggest consumers should simply stop shopping at Walmart altogether and take their business to competitors like Costco. “Looks like I will be dynamically changing where I buy groceries once this goes into effect,” wrote user Informal-Sense8809. Once a retailer loses customers’ trust, it is hard to regain. I explored this in my coverage of Target’s attempts to win back consumer loyalty after years of weak sales and controversy-fueled boycotts. Walmart denies it will use dynamic pricing; experts weigh in When Walmart unveiled its digital shelf labels, it also denied plans to use the technology for dynamic pricing. “Prices are the same for all customers in any given store and are consistent regardless of demand, time of day, or who is shopping,” according to Walmart’s statement.The retailer’s official reason for DLSs is improving efficiency, since changing paper tags by hand takes hours or even days. This way, the company claims, employees will be free to spend more time with customers and organize shelves. More Retail:Walmart closes stores for weeks to test new perks for shoppersTarget launches another generous deal to win back shoppers’ trust91-year-old grocery chain closes another store in a key market Home Depot borrows from Domino’s to fix major pain pointRegarding patent concerns, Walmart told the Financial Times that electronic tags are “unrelated to dynamic pricing.” The retailer also suggested that one of the patents at issue “was specific to markdowns,” wrote Gizmodo. Markdowns are usually made to clear inventory and end-of-season items.Retail expert Carol Spieckerman notes that while Walmart’s claims of efficiency may be true now, the technology itself has no built-in limits. “Here’s the reality: There are no technical safeguards preventing surge pricing or other forms of price manipulation. The capability exists. But two things can be true at once. The multifaceted efficiency arguments are also easy to make and genuinely valid,” Spieckerman wrote on RetailWire. Other experts suggest that the shift is a purely operational win that will benefit both workers and shoppers. Ademola Oyefeso, vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, previously said digital labeling is not unfamiliar to consumers. “If you’ve ever ridden in a ride share vehicle, where you’re out at a baseball game, and the baseball game ends, you search and you try to leave, there’s a surge pricing on it. So this technology will allow grocery stores to do the same thing,” said Oyefeso, as reported by Buffalo Toronto Public Media. With Walmart enjoying a 13-point lead over other stores when it comes to value, per a March 2026 YouGov report, it’s hard to imagine it would risk losing this position and the hard-earned trust of its consumers. “Dynamic pricing or anything that smells like it is playing with fire,” Matt Hamory, a grocery industry consultant at AlixPartners, told the Financial Times. “There is an element of consumer trust being eroded because they don’t know that they’re getting the best price at any moment.”Related: Lowe’s makes major change to how you interact with its stores

Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin missed over four months of play due to injury. He’s closer to normal after an atypical return.

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealEveryone talks a lot about finding the right bedding for a good night’s sleep, but what about the right clothing? Just as the fabric that your comforter and sheets are made out affects how you sleep, so does the pajama set you throw on for bed each night. Itchy, synthetic fabrics will leave you irritated, overheated, and restless through the night, leaving you even more irritated and exhausted the following day which is why some consideration is necessary when you’re picking out an oversized t-shirt and shorts, nightgown, or pajama pants. Natural fabrics can be expensive in certain apparel areas, but sometimes the right deal comes along that makes it easy to get quality for a low cost and right now Amazon has a great one for folks who are in need of pajama change up. For a limited time, the bestselling Amazon Essentials Pajama Pants are available for as much as 34% off. Typically priced anywhere between $13 and $17 depending on pattern and color, you can get the 100% cotton pants for as low as $9. Amazon Essentials Pajama Pants, $9 (was $13) at Amazon

Courtesy of Amazon

Shop at AmazonWhy do shoppers love it?In a day and age where most clothing is made with synthetic fabrics for cost purposes, it’s rare to find something that’s made of natural fibers and is affordable. Although there’s nothing inherently wrong with synthetic fabrics — they help keep a lot of your clothing more budget-friendly — natural fibers not only typically feel softer and more comfortable on the skin, but they’re breathable in a way synthetics aren’t, and that is a big bonus. Because cotton offers superior breathability, allowing air to better circulate throughout the fabric, your body is less likely to overheat or feel “stuffy” keeping you cooler and more regulated temperaturewise. Not only are natural fibers less likely to cause irritation on sensitive skin, but they absorb moisture and pull it away from the body. For hot, sweaty sleepers, this means you’re more likely to stay refreshed, cool, and dry as you sleep. No need to worry about waking up with a damp t-shirt soaked with sweat.These straight-fit pants are made with poplin cotton which features a tight weave that results in a crisper, smoother finished product. It has a subtle horizontal ribbed appearance that adds to the comfort of the pants. Designed for loose, easy fit through the hips, thighs, and legs, the pants don’t hug the body, but rather provide room to prevent feeling restrictive. The lightweight pants have an elasticated waistband with a drawcord that allows wearers to customize the fit perfectly to their body as well as two side pockets. Related: Amazon is selling a 100% cotton T-shirt for just $9, and it comes in 16 colorsWith a size range starting at XX-Small and running up through 3X-Large, this pant is suitable for all figures and sizes, and it comes in 16 colors and patterns. The pants can be machine washed, and the brand suggests for best results, to wash with warm water and then tumble on low to dry. Details to knowMaterial: Cotton poplin.Sizes: XX-Small through 3X-Large.Colors: 16 colors and patterns.Features: The pants have an elasticated waistband with a drawcord and two side pockets.Care: Machine washable. With almost 30,000 reviews on Amazon, shoppers certainly have a lot to say about these pants. “A perfect pair of pajama pants — light, cool, and amazingly comfortable,” one shopper said. Others like that they fit on both short and tall frames very well, and that sizing is accurate. The cotton material is crisp and breathable, loose-fitting without feeling oversized and baggy. “This is the kind of simple, well-made piece that quietly improves your nightly routine,” another shopper said. Shop more deals Anyally Summer Capri Pajama Set, $12 (was $15) at AmazonEkouaer 3-Pack Nightgowns, $25 (was $32) at AmazonHanes Comfywear Pajama Set, $22 (was $28) at AmazonWhen it comes to refreshing our closet, pajamas always feel like one of the last things to replace, and for good reason. Those worn out, paper thin tops and pants are quite comfortable. If you struggle, however, with getting a good night’s sleep, try investing in some natural fiber pieces like the Amazon Essentials Pajama Pants to see if your usual gear is what’s keeping you from getting a solid eight hours.

Despite stabilizing spot prices, investors remain defensive, with leveraged speculation cooling and realized volatility dropping from 80 to 50, suggesting a cautious market sentiment.

HBO’s The Pitt tackles ICE, immigration and the ethics of healthcare in crisis in its latest gripping episode.

Mueller oversaw an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.