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Starbucks to shutter 250 stores this week in 2nd wave of closings

Starbucks plans to close 250 North American stores later this week. It is the second big round of store closures under Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who joined the company in 2024. Last September, Starbucks closed 627 stores in North America and Europe. In a letter to employees, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams said the locations targeted either aren’t delivering acceptable financial results or can’t provide the kind of experience that Starbucks wants for customers and employees. The company didn’t say Thursday which coffeehouses will close or how many ...

More than 160,000 pounds of meat bearing false USDA inspection labels recalled

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 83 tons of meat are being recalled across the U.S. because the products were not properly inspected by federal authorities and were shipped out with falsified inspection stickers, the Department of Agriculture said. Star Meat Delivery Inc., based in Lucama, North Carolina, is recalling more than 167,000 pounds of raw pork, beef and goat nationwide. The USDA said that number could grow as it continues its investigation. Food produced without inspection may contain undeclared allergens, harmful bacteria or other contaminants, the agency said Tuesday in ...

More tech and hand-breaded chicken coming to McDonald’s as part of $8.5B modernization push

McDonald’s said Wednesday it will spend $8.5 billion over the next decade to modernize its restaurants globally. Fast-food traffic in many markets, including the U.S., is flat, so for McDonald’s to continue to grow it has to grab share from competitors and improve restaurant productivity, McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said at a meeting with investors at the company’s Chicago headquarters. McDonald’s wants to automate more tasks, like inventory and scheduling, and improve kitchen operations. “The winners will be the companies that create more demand and ...

Heads of AI firms tell UN that it could be a risk to all humanity

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The heads of major artificial intelligence firms pleaded with the United Nations on Wednesday to save the world or at least its people — in the form of somehow regulating the burgeoning technology that they have been designing. “If managed poorly, I even believe AI could be a risk to humanity as a whole,” said Dario Amodei, chief executive officer of Anthropic. And from his competitor Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, came this assessment: “We could lose control of the future to AI.” Both said the countries of the world, through the U.N. Security Council, ...

Operator of 314 Wendy’s locations in the US files for bankruptcy protection

One of the largest U.S. franchisees for Wendy’s has filed for bankruptcy protection after the restaurant chain tried to terminate its franchise agreement. Meritage Hospitality Group, which operates 314 Wendy’s restaurants in 15 states, said in a statement last week it intends to keep operating its restaurants and paying its 9,000 employees during the bankruptcy process. Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Meritage filed its bankruptcy petition in federal court in western Michigan on Sept. 17. According to court documents, Wendy’s filed a notice of termination of the company’s ...

Google fined $463 million for breaching EU rule on location data

The Associated Press Google has been fined $463 million for breaching the European Union’s strict privacy rules because it mishandled users’ location data, the bloc’s data privacy watchdog said Monday. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said its investigation found Google did not lawfully or fairly process location data in users’ Web & App Activity, a Google setting that tracks browsing and search history, and in their Location History, a service that maps places they’ve been with their mobile phones. Regulators also found the company failed to be lawful, fair and ...