The lawsuit over a deal to combine the two largest U.S. supermarkets came just a day after it was blocked in both federal and Washington state courts.

Two rulings — in federal and state courts — make it increasingly likely that Kroger might abandon its $24.6 billion plan to buy Albertsons. The merger aimed to combine two of America's largest supermarket chains.

Over 11 million pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry were recalled over listeria concerns, affecting salads, wraps, frozen meals and more from popular chains like Target, Trader Joe's and Walmart.

Dynamic pricing is an increasingly common phenomenon: You can see it when Uber prices surge during rainy weather, or when you're booking a flight at the last minute or buying tickets to your favorite superstar's concert. On an earnings call last week, Wendy's ignited a minor controversy by suggesting it would introduce dynamic pricing in its restaurants, but the company quickly clarified that it wasn't planning on using it for "surge pricing."

One place you hardly ever see dynamic pricing? American supermarkets.

Why is that? Why shouldn't the prices for meat or bread or produce go down as they get older? Why does all the milk in the store cost the same, even when the "sell by" dates are weeks apart? Wouldn't a little more flexibility around prices be better for customers and help reduce waste?

Professors Robert Evan Sanders and Ioannis (Yannis) Stamatopoulus had similar questions. So they set out to discover what was keeping supermarkets from employing a more dynamic approach, and what might convince them it was time for a change ... in pricing.

This episode was hosted by Amanda Aronczyk and Nick Fountain. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Keith Romer. It was engineered by Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez.

America's two largest supermarket chains have struck a $25 billion deal to combine. Now the FTC is about to decide whether it will block or allow it, and under what conditions.

Officials in metro Atlanta are launching a shuttle service helping residents reach the grocery store after one location, nicknamed the “Baby” Kroger, shut down after more than 20 years.

A Family Dollar in York, Alabama is one of the few shopping options in town. But it's shuttered due to a warehouse rodent infestation.

Employers from Macy's to United Airlines are having to adjust after skyrocketing omicron COVID cases have led large numbers of workers to call out sick.

Amid power and water shutdowns, the extreme cold is disrupting the food supply. Customers are finding empty grocery shelves across Texas and people desperate to stock up are forming long lines.

Eight out of every nine American workers don't have a union to represent them in workplace disputes. A nonprofit website is helping push for better wages and working conditions amid the pandemic.