At Entrepreneur’s Overcoming Impossible event, the three-time Grammy Award-winning star talked about how people can avoid her mistakes.
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Popular chain closes gyms as it fights FTC lawsuit over cancellation
A couple of years ago, the LA Fitness less than a mile from my house shut down.
At the time, I had an annual contract with the chain, so because there was another location about four miles away, I was not allowed to cancel my membership. That distance, however, was deceptive. During rush hour — the time period I was most often free to work out — it took more than 30 minutes to drive that four miles.
Now, tens of thousands of LA Fitness members will find themselves in the same boat, as the chain has been closing locations nationwide. In some cases, those shuttered gyms are being reopened under the higher-end Club Studio’s name, another brand owned by LA Fitness’ parent company Fitness International.
Once my contract expired, I never actually got around to canceling my membership because the company does not make that process easy. That’s actually the subject of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation that has been ongoing since August 2025.
It’s also a situation that’s repeating itself for me because the LA Fitness about three miles from our new home closed and will be replaced by a Club Studios.
LA Fitness closes one chain to sometimes open another
LA Fitness has quietly been closing gyms across multiple markets.
“As of October 24, 2026, Store Closure Watch has tracked 19 LA Fitness closure-related events across the U.S., including 16 recorded store closures. Another 3 are conversions: the store changes to another brand at the same site. Where the source names the new brand, 3 are recorded as converting to Club Studio, according to Four Lights Analytics Store Closure Watch.
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Florida was hardest hit with 11 closures, while Connecticut and Illinois both will lose three LA Fitness locations, and New York and Rhode Island will each lose one.
Fitness International has publicly stated that it plans to grow the Club Studios brand from 15 to 50 locations nationwide within the next year.
LA Fitness has been closing some locations.Shutterstock
Club Studios costs a lot more
The LA Fitness closing near me serves a wealthy community adjacent to the town I live in. It’s a city known for hosting polo matches and other equestrian events, and Fitness International likely sees its higher-end brand as a better fit for that market.
Club Studios, which was created in 2023, offers boutique fitness classes and additional wellness amenities.
Both chains come with very different price tags.
LA Fitness and Club Studios membership cost comparison
Club Studio can cost nearly four times as much. At the example prices above, annual membership costs $1,908 versus $488.88 at LA Fitness.
Club Studio combines a conventional gym with boutique classes. Its offerings include reformer Pilates, cycling, and other instructor-led workouts, as well as strength and cardio equipment.
The premium isn’t just about classes. Club Studio locations can also offer amenities such as pools, saunas, steam rooms, and towel service.
The price gap varies by market. The company’s official enrollment pages show location-specific pricing, so compare the same local market before presenting the difference as a general rule.Sources: LA Fitness official membership pricing and Club Studio official pricing
CostLA FitnessClub StudioMonthly membership$34.99 at one listed location$159 at one listed locationAnnual fee$69$0 advertisedInitiation fee$0 advertised$0 advertisedAnnual dues + annual fee$488.88$1,908First-year cost including fees$488.88$1,908Boutique fitness classesSpecialty access depends on membershipUnlimited includedEquipment and traditional gym amenitiesYesYes, including select luxury amenities
Prices vary by location.
LA Fitness makes it hard to quit
LA Fitness does not allow contracted members to quit simply because their local gym has closed. Technically, if there’s another gym within 25 miles, you cannot cancel your contract, according to its membership agreement.
Even when your contract expires, the company makes quitting a challenge, which is the subject of the FTC lawsuit.
“The Federal Trade Commission today sued the operators of LA Fitness and other gyms over allegations they make it exceedingly difficult for consumers to cancel their gym memberships and related services that continued indefinitely unless canceled. The agency is seeking a court order prohibiting the allegedly unfair conduct and money back for consumers harmed by the difficulty in canceling memberships,” the federal agency shared in an August 2025 press release.
Traditionally, LA Fitness has required consumers who want to cancel their membership to either go to the gym itself or send a cancellation notice by mail.
“To start the process, LA Fitness has instructed consumers to log into its website and print a cancellation form. But even logging in can be cumbersome because consumers often do not recall their login credentials, and LA Fitness requires consumers to use the email address used to establish membership, the ‘key tag’ number assigned at start up, and the first five digits of their credit card or bank account number to reset their login credentials,” the FTC shared.
In my case, I don’t have my key tag anymore, nor do I remember which credit card I used to start the account.
“At the hearing, LA Fitness’s counsel made several arguments in response. She contended that the gym does offer a simple online cancellation mechanism on its website and that the online cancellation flow requires fewer clicks than enrollment,” law firm Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein, and Selz shared on its Advertising Law updates page.
She also argued that members knew what they were getting into.
“Consumers, she added, received disclosures about cancellation procedures in their membership agreements and enrollment flows, and none of that information was in fine print. Given what she characterized as the ‘absolute absence of any real allegations’ of harm in the FTC’s complaint, she argued it ‘really boggles the mind’ how the cancellation process could be deemed not simple as a matter of law,” she shared.
The case remains open.
“The bottom line for subscription and membership businesses is this: adequate disclosure of a cumbersome cancellation process does not make it simple, and a cancellation experience that is structurally harder than sign-up is the kind of asymmetry that draws FTC attention regardless of whether a new rule is on the books,” Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein, and Selz explained.
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Wave of independent furniture retailers close nationwide
When people move into a new home, they will often purchase new furniture for their new surroundings.
Furniture stores rely on a strong housing market to prompt customers to purchase their living room, dining room, and bedroom furnishings. When the housing market declines, as it has over the last four years, so do furniture sales.
Existing home sales have declined to their lowest level in 30 years after mortgage rates spiked from over 3% in late 2021 to about 7.24% on Oct. 26, 2026, according to Realtor.com. In the first half of 2026, furniture store sales declined 2% year-to-date to $65.1 billion, according to U.S. Department of Commerce in July.
Four independent furniture retailers are permanently closing their businesses in October and November.DragonImages / Getty Images
Four furniture retailers close businesses
Four independent furniture retailers — Garnand Fine Furniture, Hurwitz Mintz, American Home Furniture & Mattress, and Hart’s Home Furniture & Mattress — announced they would close their stores and liquidate all inventory over the next few weeks.
“The traditional business model is no longer viable,” bankruptcy attorney Jonathan Shenson, of Greenberg Glusker LLP told TheStreet in an email. “Consumers are sourcing furniture overseas, purchasing online, or buying through mass distributors and national chains such as Ikea, and independent, family-owned stores cannot compete on those economics.”
“At the same time, furniture is a big-ticket, discretionary purchase, and a weakening economy and persistent inflation have led customers to defer those purchases. Where the underlying business is no longer sustainable, an orderly liquidation of inventory and closure is often the most rational outcome, and that is the pattern emerging across the sector,” Shenson said.
116-year-old store liquidates
Garnand Fine Furniture in Garden City, Kan., which at its peak operated five locations in Kansas and one in Nebraska, is closing its final location at 1401 East Kansas Ave. after operating for 116 years, the company said in an Oct. 22 statement.
The family-owned and operated store will be open for the next four to five weeks or however long it takes to liquidate its inventory, a person who answered the store phone said on Oct. 26.
“The decision comes after much consideration and marks the end of a truly remarkable chapter — one made possible by the loyalty, friendship and trust generations of customers have placed in Garnand Fine Furniture over more than a century,” the retailer said in a statement.
Garnand Fine Furniture did not state a specific reason for closing the store.
Another store closes after 102 years
Family-owned Hurwitz Mintz in Metairie, La., announced on its website that it is closing after 102 years of operating but has not set a final date of operations.
“Thank you for more than a century of shopping with Hurwitz Mintz!,” the company said on its website. “Until we say goodbye, we invite you to enjoy tremendous savings of 60% to 70% off storewide.”
Hurwitz Mintz also did not state a reason for closing.
Albuquerque, N.M.-based American Home Furniture & Mattress, which has been in business for 90 years, announced on its website that it is going out of business and liquidating its inventory. The store will close its doors permanently in a couple of weeks after it finishes selling off its inventory, a person who answered the store phone said on Oct. 26.
American Home Furniture & Mattress did not indicate why it was shutting down.
Finally, Auburn, Mass.-based Hart’s Home Furniture & Mattress, which opened three years ago, has scheduled a final day of operation for Oct. 27, which will be followed by an online auction at the end of the week, a person who answered the store’s phone said on Oct. 26.
The furniture store is closing after its building was sold to another furniture retail operation.
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The U.S. just fined two airlines over restricted Iraqi airspace
The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined Air France and KLM a combined $425,000 for flying more than 130 Delta Air Lines-coded trips through restricted Iraqi airspace, CNBC reported.
Air France and KLM are part of the same parent company, the Air France-KLM Group.
The Federal Aviation Administration treats 32,000 feet as the safety line for aircraft flying over the Baghdad Flight Information Region, and the fined airlines flew below that altitude on multiple flights.
The penalty was announced on Oct. 23, and the fines should not be a problem for airlines of this size. However, the airlines were ordered to pay part of the fine upfront within 60 days.
Why the DOT came down on two Delta Air Lines European partners
The FAA set a 32,000-foot safety line for aircraft in the area to keep civilian aircraft out of range of ground-based threats.
Between January 2022 and May 2025, KLM operated more than 100 Delta-coded flights below that line. Air France also operated more than 30 such flights between April 2022 and November 2025, Reuters reported.
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In response to the fines, the airlines told regulators their pilots descended only because local air traffic controllers ordered them to avoid nearby planes. They called the descents emergency situations.
However, their defense was not accepted, and the Department of Transportation said the ruling reflects its push to hold foreign carriers accountable when they operate under an American airline’s code.
“Under the Trump Administration, if you fly carrying a U.S. code, following our safety rules is not optional,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy.
“We will not hesitate to hold accountable any airline for failing to comply with agency regulations. Passenger safety comes first — no exceptions.”
Air France and KLM operate under a long-standing codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines.NurPhoto / Getty Images
How codeshare agreements pull foreign airlines into U.S. rules
Although KLM and Air France are foreign airlines, they have a codeshare agreement with Delta. A codeshare is an arrangement where one airline sells tickets on another airline’s flight using its own two-letter code.
In simple terms, if you book a Delta ticket from New York to Mumbai and the Paris to Mumbai leg is run by Air France, that flight carries the Delta “DL” code, even though an Air France crew is flying the plane.
The FAA requires foreign carriers to follow U.S. flight rules whenever a flight carries a U.S. code. American safety standards apply through the ticket code, which means it also applies to any carrier sharing that code, Simple Flying reported.
What the fine means for Delta and Air France-KLM shareholders
The two carriers are required to pay an initial combined amount of $265,000.
If neither of them breaks the rule again within 12 months, the remaining $160,000 will be waived, Reuters reported.
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The $425,000 fine will not show up in any earnings report, but it carries an important regulatory message to shareholders.
From my analysis, it seems that codeshare partners now need to monitor each other’s route choices in real time. That means if you hold airline stocks, you should start considering the risks of shared-booking deals.
What travelers should note from this
There will be no cancellations or delays based on this ruling. Ticket prices should also not be affected, since the fine is not a large amount for global airlines. The ruling is simply a form of national security and aviation safety enforcement.
There’s a lot of tension in the Middle East right now, and the 32,000-foot safety floor is there to keep civilians safely above the range of potential ground threats.
The fine serves as a reminder to citizens that their safety is a priority and a warning to foreign airlines with U.S. flight codes to follow the FAA’s rules.
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These Top Tech Stocks Scored Big Gains From Anthropic’s IPO Filing
Anthropic is expected to go public as soon as November under the ticker symbol “ANT.”
How to Invest in Anthropic Before the Claude Creator’s Potential $2 Trillion IPO
After months of anticipation, Anthropic filed a registration for its initial public offering, or IPO, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, Sept. 26. When the AI powerhouse officially goes public, it reportedly could be valued as high as $2 trillion, which would make it the biggest IPO in history.
According to Bloomberg News, the creator of the Claude chatbot is set to begin formally marketing for its IPO as soon as the week of Nov. 9, while aiming to match or beat the size of SpaceX’s IPO. The Financial Times, which was the first to report the $2 trillion figure, cited several backers of the five-year-old AI lab.
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Proponents of that lofty valuation have argued that expected annualized revenue of up to $120 billion would justify that record-breaking valuation. However, according to Anthropic’s S-1 filing with the SEC, full-year revenue for 2025 was $4.585 billion. Through the first six months of 2026, that figure has accelerated to $16.286 billion, suggesting that Anthropic’s recent financial performance is failing to live up to the estimated annual revenue that would justify a $2 trillion valuation.
A $2 trillion valuation, which would place Anthropic among the eight most valuable companies in the world, would soar past SpaceX’s blockbuster $1.77 trillion IPO in June. Elon Musk’s company — which serves as an umbrella for businesses including rocket launch services, direct-to-device Starlink satellite connectivity and xAI — briefly hit a $2 trillion valuation on its first trading day before falling. At press time, its valuation is once again above $2 trillion.
While excitement around Anthropic’s public debut is running high, the options for ordinary investors who want to gain exposure to the company ahead of its IPO are limited.
Earlier this year, Anthropic announced that it was curtailing sales of pre-IPO shares through special-purpose vehicles (SPVs). These legal entities pool investors’ money for a specific purpose — in this case, holding private shares of a not-yet-public company. Anthropic warned that scammers could try to mislead investors. “If someone offers you a way to participate, even on an indirect basis, in an investment in Anthropic, assume that it is invalid,” the company warned on its website.
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You can get exposure, but ‘you have to be really picky’
The buzz and the huge dollar amounts being projected around Anthropic’s IPO have increased demand — as well as the stakes for investors with FOMO.
“I do think there’s so much media attention around this that people are going to be excited about the debut,” says Brian Mulberry, chief market strategist at Zacks Investment Management.
This isn’t to say investors should avoid investments that offer early exposure to hot pre-IPO AI companies, Mulberry says. But you’ll want to look under the hood and make sure you understand exactly what you’re paying for — and how much you’ll be paying to do so.
“There are some decent offerings out there, but you have to be really picky,” he cautions.
Investors have their pick of a handful of exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, that hold Anthropic. The iShares AI Innovation & Tech Active ETF (BAI), the T. Rowe Price Technology ETF (TTEQ) and the KraneShares Public-Private AI & Technology ETF (AGIX) each hold shares of Anthropic (the first two also have pre-IPO stakes in Anthropic rival OpenAI). Investment firm Fred Alger Management holds pre-IPO shares of Anthropic in three ETFs: the Alger 35 ETF (ATFV), Alger AI Enablers & Adopters ETF (ALAI) and Alger Concentrated Equity ETF (CNEQ).
Investor caveats abound
For most of these funds, though, Anthropic represents only a tiny fraction of their overall holdings. (As a percentage, the ETF mentioned above with the greatest share of Anthropic is CENQ, with a little less than 4% of its holdings in the Claude parent company.) Another drawback all have in common: higher-than-average expense ratios. “Pay attention to what kind of a drag that’s going to have on your return,” Mulberry advises.
High-profile tech investor Cathie Wood’s firm, Ark Invest, also has a fund that holds Anthropic, the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX). This isn’t a run-of-the-mill ETF, though; it is a closed-end fund, or CEF, which means investors should exercise extra vigilance before buying shares.
Along with a minimum purchase requirement $500 and a net expense ratio of 2.9%, the fund’s semi-liquid structure means you can’t just cash out and sell your entire holding if you change your mind.
Financial technology company Fundrise promises exposure to Anthropic and other hot pre-IPO startups via its Fundrise Innovation Fund (VCX), with the added appeal of a low $10 minimum buy-in. It’s worth noting, though, that this fund is also a CEF, which introduces some caveats that might give investors pause, according to financial research and ratings provider Morningstar.
“This CEF is trading at a massive premium,” Jack Shannon, an equity strategies principal at Morningstar, noted in a March blog post. Shannon also pointed out that a significant portion of the securities in the fund are held via third-party financial instruments rather than outright owned.
While not inherently bad, more complexity can mean lower transparency and higher costs, according to Shannon, who notes that these expenses “can eat meaningfully into returns.”
Some detractors are more blunt. In a May 15 blog post, Case Western Reserve Law School professor and visiting scholar at Harvard Law School Anat Alon-Beck criticized what she referred to as “shadow-equity structures… designed to mimic ownership of stock without necessarily delivering shareholder rights.”
Take the low-cost shortcut
If you want exposure to Anthropic without having to become a financial pro, though, Mulberry has good news. “There’s a much safer way to go about this,” he says.
Investors can get indirect exposure via other tech titans that have invested in Anthropic, such as Amazon, Google parent Alphabet, chipmaker Nvidia and Microsoft. “There’s a sideways or pass-through exposure by owning Google or Nvidia,” Mulberry says. Even holding passively managed, low-cost index funds give you exposure to these companies.
Mulberry says it’s not surprising that interest in Anthropic is so high, but investors can’t let themselves get carried away. “The metrics and monetization Anthropic has been able to demonstrate are really strong,” he says.
In the high-stakes, high-cost arms race for AI dominance, “this one could be the unicorn,” although he adds, “It’s always a wild card.”
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Target has a problem that sends shoppers to Amazon
Target has always been my retail destination of choice, but I don’t even have its app on my phone. That’s because if I need something quickly, I go to Amazon.
If I need something only available from Target and I need it fast, I’ll place my order on Uber Eats, even though it will often cost more than buying it in-store.
It’s a weakness for the retail giant, as it’s losing sales to Amazon and Walmart because those retailers offer next-day, and in some cases, same-day delivery.
That’s an area where Target has been quietly investing in an effort to bridge the gap with its rivals.
Target improves its delivery
While Target has never been top-of-mind for me when it comes to delivery, the chain has been expanding its reach.
“Over 60% of the U.S. population has access to quicker, easier shopping as Target expands next-day delivery of online orders to more markets. Guests in more than 50 top U.S. metro areas will be able to get their purchases delivered next day — in many cases for free. It’s yet another option among Target’s fulfillment offerings, which also includes guest-favorite same-day services and two-day shipping,” the chain shared in a press release.
Target owns Shipt, which offers free same-day delivery on orders over $35. It also offers a $99 annual membership that waives those limits.
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The chain has also expanded its selection of items available for delivery.
“Most items eligible for shipping at Target are eligible for next-day delivery. That includes hundreds of thousands of items — 85% of what we sell in Target stores,” the chain shared.
Next-day delivery is free for orders over $35 or with no minimum order amount if you’re a Target Circle 360 member or use your Target Circle Card for purchases.
“This is just one of the ways Target offers a convenient digital shopping experience. We already reach 80% of the U.S. population with same-day delivery — often within two or three hours — and 99% with two-day shipping. And our Order Pickup and Drive Up services are always free and available for guests on their timeline,” Target shared.
Target has also taken steps to improve its in-store experience. Schwemmer/Shutterstock
Target needs to fix delivery
Target has a big bridge to cross in order to catch up to its rivals.
Walmart already serves nearly the entire country with same-day service.
“We expanded our U.S. store-fulfilled delivery areas in Q4 FY25. We can now reach 93% of U.S. households with same-day delivery,” the company shared in its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings release.
That number climbed to 95%, according to an April press release.
eMarketer analyst Rachel Wolff warned in April that Target faces a difficult path to catching up with Amazon and Walmart on delivery speed.
“Target’s delivery speed disadvantage underscores how difficult it is to catch up as Amazon and Walmart are zooming ahead. At this point, it’s unclear whether Target has the means — or even the vision — to close the gaps with its competitors.
“Much of the company’s turnaround strategy is rooted in returning to its pre-pandemic model, rather than reinventing the business for an age in which customer loyalty is more fragile and more spending is shifting online,” she wrote.
Target tries to catch up to Amazon and Walmart
RTM Nexus CEO Dominick Miserandino had a simple response when I asked him about Target investing in delivery.
“They need to! They’re the go to for that quick purchase and that feeling of getting it asap is the consumer standard,” he told TheStreet.
Target COO Lisa Roath talked about delivery during the chain’s second-quarter earnings call.
“We also saw meaningful gains in delivery speed. This past quarter, we fulfilled nearly 30% more same-day and next-day units than last year, and we will continue investing to get even faster,” she said.
Delivery, she noted, is part of a broader effort to improve customer service.
“When we combine the impact of our in-store transitions, assortment changes, tech enhancements and improvements in inventory reliability, it all adds up to an elevated experience that is being noticed by our guests,” she added.
Those efforts, Roath shared, have started to pay off.
“Overall satisfaction scores continue to improve across multiple measures of the guest experience, extending the momentum we shared with you last quarter and reinforcing that our continued investments in our teams, training and our team’s tireless execution are making a difference,” the COO said.
The chain has been addressing concerns that GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders raised in September ahead of Michael Fiddelke taking over as CEO.
“Visiting Target stores is less pleasurable and less fun than it used to be,” Saunders said in an email. “There is far too much friction, and the experience is sometimes unpleasant. That’s an issue as it lowers the probability of people making visits, reduces visit frequency, and weakens conversion and basket size when people are in stores,” he told Retail Dive.
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