Wendy’s to Close Hundreds of Stores in Bid to Halt Falling Profit

Wendy’s plans to close hundreds of its restaurants over the next few months in an effort to boost its profit and make its remaining stores more appealing.

The Dublin, Ohio-based chain said during a conference call with investors that it planned to begin closing restaurants soon. The company said it expected a “mid-single-digit percentage” of its U.S. stores to be affected, but it didn’t give any more details.

Wendy’s currently has 6,011 U.S. restaurants. If 5% of those locations were impacted, it would mean 300 store closures.

The new round of closures comes on top of the closure of 240 U.S. Wendy’s locations in 2024. At the time, Wendy’s said that many of the 55-year-old chain’s restaurants are simply out of date.

The Shows Must Go On! Broadway Strike Averted As Musicians Reach Deal

Local 802 Broadway musicians were thrilled to announce that they reached an agreement with the Broadway League that will avert a strike.

A potential strike that threatened to halt many Broadway musicals has been averted after the musicians’ union reached an agreement with the Broadway League. The American Federation of Musicians Local 802 and the Broadway League, a trade association for producers and theater owners, finalized the deal after an 18-hour bargaining session aided by a mediator. The agreement includes wage increases and enhanced contributions to the health fund, ensuring access to healthcare for musicians.

The agreement comes just days after the Broadway League reached a  separate tentative contract with the Actors’ Equity Association, the union representing performers and stage managers. The actors’ union’s deal includes a 3 percent salary increase each year over a three-year period, along with increased contributions to their health fund. 

Detroit Lions Rally to Stun New York Giants in Overtime

The Detroit Lions defeated the New York Giants 34-27 in Overtime at Ford Field on Sunday. Week 12 was supposed to be easy for the Lions facing NFC’s last-place team Giants, but it wasn’t.

What was set as a double-digit game by the oddsmakers in favor of the Lions turned into a nail-biting, comeback, overtime win for Detroit in front of a relieved crowd. Jahmyr Gibbs raced 69 yards up the middle for a touchdown on the first play of overtime to give the Lions a 34-27 lead. 

 The Giants had a chance to answer, but Aidan Hutchinson sacked Jameis Winston on fourth down to end the game.

It was not a pretty victory, and for most of the game, New York was sharper than the host Lions, racing out to a 17-7 lead.

The Lions showed more energy and urgency in the second half. Gibbs scorched the Giants defense for 219 rushing yards on just 15 carries, punctuated with the game-winner.

The game featured over 1,000 combined yards of offense: 517 from New York and 494 from Detroit. 

The Lions improve to 7-4. The loss drops the Giants to 2-10 and makes New York the first team officially eliminated from the  postseason.