Kroger and Albertsons defended their plan to merge – and tried to overcome the U.S. government’s objections – in a federal court hearing that began Monday in Oregon.

The two companies proposed what would be the largest supermarket merger in U.S. history in October 2022. They say joining together would help them rein in costs and better compete with big rivals like Walmart and Costco.

But the Federal Trade Commission sued to try to block the deal, saying it would eliminate competition and raise grocery prices in a time of already high food price inflation. In the three-week hearing that opened Monday, the FTC is seeking a preliminary injunction that would block the deal while its complaint goes before an in-house administrative law judge.

“This lawsuit is part of an effort aimed at helping Americans feed their families,” the FTC’s chief trial counsel, Susan Musser, said in her opening arguments Monday.

Musser said Kroger and Albertsons currently compete in 22 states, closely matching each other on price, quality, private label products and services like store pickup. Shoppers benefit from that competition, she said, and will lose those benefits if the merger is allowed to proceed.

Customers also are wary of the merger, the lawyer said. In Santa Fe, New Mexico, for example, 278 shoppers have written to the FTC to express their concerns about a combined Kroger and Albertsons, which would own five of the eight supermarkets in Santa Fe.

The commission also alleges that workers’ wages and benefits would decline if Kroger and Albertsons no longer compete with each other.

Labor Day travel? Prepare to be patient

Airports, highways, beaches and theme parks are expected to be packed for the long Labor Day holiday weekend as a lot of Americans mark the unofficial end of summer the same way they celebrated the season’s unofficial start: by traveling.

The Transportation Security Administration anticipates screening more than 17 million people between Thursday and next Wednesday – a record for the Labor Day period.

AAA says bookings for domestic travel are running 9% higher than last year for the holiday weekend, while international trips are down 4%.

American Airlines plans to have its largest Labor Day weekend operation ever and expects a 14% increase in passengers compared to last year.

Motorists are getting a break on gasoline compared with last year. The nationwide average was recently $3.44 per gallon, compared to $3.86 a year ago, according to AAA.

Average airfares in July were down 7.1% from June and 2.8% from July 2023, according to the government’s consumer price index. The trend appears to be accelerating as the peak summer-vacation season comes to an end.

TN gas prices drop by 9 cents before Labor Day

The decrease in pump prices picked up momentum last week, with pump prices across the state falling nine cents on average and dropping below $3 per gallon.

The Tennessee average is now $2.93, which is 15 cents less expensive than one month ago and 48 cents less than one year ago. The state’s least-expensive gas can be found in Clarksville ($2.78), Chattanooga ($2.80) and Cleveland ($2.88).

Labor Day gas prices are likely to be the least expensive in three years for Tennessee. Today’s state gas price average is 48 cents cheaper that what drivers paid on Labor Day last year and only two cents more expensive than what drivers paid in 2021.

Reaching a price point last seen March 6, the national average for a gallon of gas fell 6 cents to $3.35 since last week.

State population to hit 7.94M by 2040: UT study

Tennessee’s population is expected to reach 7.94 million by 2040, the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville estimates.

By 2040, the state’s population of adults 65 and older is expected to increase by 25% compared to the 2022 census estimate (the most recent available), with a 36% spike among those aged 75-84 and a 72% surge in individuals aged 85 and above.

During the same period, a projected overall population increase of nearly 900,000 people will increase the number of Tennessee residents by 12.6% from the 2022 population of 7.05 million.

From 2020 to 2030, Tennessee is projected to experience an annual population growth rate of 0.82%. A period of steady but smaller population gains is expected to follow as the state’s projected rate of increase slows to 0.55% annually between 2030 and 2040. This slower pace of increase is expected to continue to 2070.

Southwest adds new nonstop routes March ’25

Southwest Airlines will add three new nonstop routes, including two international destinations, leaving from Nashville International Airport, starting in March 2025.

Beginning March 8, Southwest will offer Saturday service between Nashville and Cabo San Lucas/Los Cabos, Mexico, as well as to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The international routes complement the existing service between Nashville and Cancun.

Beginning March 6, Southwest will fly daily nonstops between Nashville and Indianapolis, Indiana.

With the airline launching overnight flying Feb. 13, the recent schedule extension brings more redeye flying options for travelers. Beginning March 6, travelers can travel on overnight flights departing from Denver, San Diego and Sacramento in addition to previously announced service from Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

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Marty Stuart collection added to CMHoF

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has announced the addition of the Marty Stuart Collection to the museum’s permanent holdings. Stuart’s collection of more than 22,000 items is the largest private assemblage of country music artifacts in the world, joining the world’s largest public collection held by the museum.

The acquisition was made possible through the generosity of Stuart, along with a lead preservation gift from the Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation and major additional support from Loretta and Jeff Clarke. The nonprofit museum now owns the collection, holding it in the public trust and providing the highest level of artifact care and collection management.

The Marty Stuart Collection spans over a century of country music history and includes more than 1,000 stage wear and clothing items, 100 instruments, 50 original song manuscripts and more. Items in the collection include significant artifacts from Country Music Hall of Fame members Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Charley Pride, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and many others. Additionally, Stuart’s collection includes items from his own Country Music Hall of Fame career, including his expansive collection of photographs taken by Stuart himself, which have been exhibited at museums and published in books.

77 counties show July drop in unemployment

The July employment situation improved in counties across Tennessee, according to new data released by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Seventy-seven counties reported lower unemployment than in June, while rates stayed the same in eight counties and increased in the remaining 10.

Unemployment was lower than 5% in 82 of the state’s 95 counties during the month, with the remaining 13 counties at or above 5%.

Sevier and Williamson counties recorded July’s lowest jobless rates, at 2.5%. The new statistics represented a 0.2% drop for each county compared to their June rates.

Cheatham and Wilson counties had Tennessee’s next lowest monthly unemployment rate at 2.7%. The Cheatham County rate dropped 0.1%, while Wilson County’s rate was down 0.2%.

Weakley County’s unemployment rate jumped 1.7%, from 4.5% to 6.2%, between June and July. That was the highest rate in the state.

Houston and Bledsoe counties had the state’s next highest unemployment rates at 5.5%. Houston County’s rate increased 0.6%, while Bledsoe County’s dropped 0.3%.

Statewide, seasonally adjusted unemployment in Tennessee remained at the record-setting low rate of 3% for the third month.

Nationwide, the jobless rate grew 0.2% in July to 4.3%.

Nashville nets new grant for housing efforts

Nashville will receive $5 million from the White House and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation by creating a Faith Based Development Institute.

Metro Nashville will also use the funds to bolster its Affordable Housing Finance Program, create and preserve new permanent supportive housing units, and accelerate development capacity with emerging partners.

Nashville is one of just 21 communities nationwide out of more than 175 applicants to receive the funding award from HUD’s new Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program, which assists with lowering housing costs. Last Week, Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced that a portion of these funds will support the new Faith Based Development Institute and facilitate affordable housing development on land owned by faith-based organizations.

“As the cost of land increases, it becomes even more challenging to create affordable housing units and our faith community, which owns nearly 4,000 acres of land across the county, represents a significant opportunity to partner together to create affordable housing options,” Mayor O’Connell said. “We appreciate the support of our federal partners whose funding will help us add another set of tools to our tool kit to support the creation of more affordable homes across Nashville and address one of the greatest cost of living challenges we face.”

A report prepared by Think Tennessee and the Urban Institute identified approximately 1,600 parcels (3,491 acres) of land geographically dispersed across Davidson County owned by faith-based institutions. More than half the acres (57%) are undeveloped and could be used for housing.

“We are grateful to HUD for selecting Nashville to be one of the PRO Housing Grant recipients, which is the first Federal Grant Metro’s Housing Division has received,” said Angela Hubbard, Metro Housing Director.

“This funding will help our community unlock additional innovative tools to create and preserve much-needed affordable housing.”