To merge or not to merge. That is the legal question.

From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Beneshore in for David Bruncaccio.

The groceries chains, Kroger, and Albertsons want to merge.

The government does not want them to merge.

The Washington state judge is scheduled to rule today on the nearly $25 billion deal.

This is actually only one of three antitrust cases against the proposed merger.

Marketplaces Nancy Marshall-Genzor has more.

Washington State's Attorney General filed a lawsuit last January trying to block the Kroger-Albotson's merger nationwide.

The state says the deal violates its antitrust law and would eliminate

competition that keeps grocery prices down. Washington State also argues that a plan to sell

some Kroger and Albertson stores to a wholesaler who would compete with the newly merged companies

is set up to fail. Cases filed by the Colorado Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission

echo those arguments. Croger and Albertsons say they need to merge in order to compete with

retail giants like Walmart that have started selling more groceries. And they say the deal would

save them money resulting in lower prices. I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace.

There is a housing shortage in the U.S. That's not new. And yet there is a trove of housing

supply hidden in plain sight. New research from Zillow says there are nearly 21 million

empty nester households. Those are homes with at least two empty bedrooms, no kids,

that have been owned and occupied for more than a decade by folks over 55. At some point,

these households might want to trade down or move, releasing that supply into the market.

But oh, if it were only that simple. Marketplaces Kelly Wells has more.

Younger people don't want what older people are selling. Tim Savage is a professor at NYU's

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