Landlords across Washington state can raise rents by up to 10% next year.

The Washington State Department of Commerce announced the annual cap Wednesday, the latest reflection of persistently high inflation in the Seattle area.

The cap stems from a state law passed last year limiting rent hikes at many properties to 7% plus inflation, up to a ...Read more

Social media giant Meta is accused in a lawsuit filed this week of using artificial intelligence to target employees for layoffs who had taken medical, disability or maternity leave.

Meta’s AI tools, used for the company’s 10% reduction in global staff earlier this year, drew on employees’ performance ratings and use of AI that “by ...Read more

LANSING, Michigan — Two state agencies issued permits Wednesday necessary for the construction of a 4-mile-long tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac to house a new segment of the controversial Line 5 oil pipeline.

The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy announced Tuesday it had reissued a wetlands permit for Enbridge's Great ...Read more

Since Starbucks’ March announcement of plans for a corporate office in Nashville, Tennessee, the company has tirelessly declared that Seattle remains its global headquarters.

But top Washington officials were clearly worried about the optics of Starbucks’ Nashville move, particularly given the layoffs and other cuts that have already ...Read more

WASHINGTON — When the Gordie Howe International Bridge eventually opens after repeated delays by the Trump administration, the span likely will see far less traffic in its initial years than planners previously anticipated.

Car and truck flows across the bridge, according to a Detroit News analysis that uses 2025 data as a reference point, ...Read more

PayPal Holdings Inc. has been working with advisers to review strategic options, people familiar with the matter said, as Stripe Inc. and private equity firm Advent pursue a $50 billion-plus takeover of the fintech pioneer.

The San Jose, California-based company has been working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Evercore Inc. in recent months ...Read more

Months after Gov. Gavin Newsom stripped state funding from a much larger plan to support California journalism, his office announced Tuesday that the state and Google will put a combined $40 million into grants for local newspapers over the next two years.

California and Google will each contribute a total of $20 million to the California Civic...Read more

Watch out, In-N-Out; another chain is targeting California consumers with its big burgers.

Although Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers features California on its menu with its "California Style Double" burger, only a handful of its outlets are in California.

Last week, it announced plans to change that by making Northern California a focus...Read more

Despite a decline in visitation last year, Southern Nevada’s tourism industry remained the region’s dominant economic engine, generating $50.8 billion in visitor spending and supporting nearly one out of every three jobs, according to a new report presented Tuesday.

Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst with Las Vegas-based economic research ...Read more

In the latest lawsuit against Paramount Skydance, a corporate shareholder has alleged corruption at the highest levels of the company, which is battling to complete its $111 billion takeover of rival Warner Bros. Discovery to create a new media behemoth.

Controlling shareholders Larry Ellison and his son David have presided over a firm that ...Read more

California Attorney General Rob Bonta's big swing — leading a coalition of 12 state attorneys general to try to block Paramount Skydance's $111-billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery — could reverberate through the entertainment business for years to come.

Late Monday, Bonta's coalition of Democratic prosecutors asked a federal judge to...Read more

More than 300,000 Californians have demanded that hundreds of data brokers erase information about their locations, finances, health and personal lives as the state’s first-in-the-nation Delete Act requires brokers to start the mandatory process of removing data on Aug. 1.

Brokers must start accessing deletion requests within 45 days after ...Read more

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley has visited 13 plants in the past year and plans to see at least two more before the year's end.

The plant visits are part of the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker's efforts to improve quality after warranty costs have hit financial results and it has posted record annual recalls. The work in rethinking its operations ...Read more

High-tech features are making vehicles more expensive and difficult to repair, putting pressure on already strained car owners and posing an existential crisis for mom-and-pop mechanics, analysts and consumer advocates say.

At issue is the shift from mostly mechanical vehicles to "big four-wheel rolling computers," as one auto industry analyst ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Hollywood's fascination with YouTube creators is going to the next level.

Los Angeles-based investment firm Content Partners and media entrepreneur Ed Simpson announced this week that they are launching a new company, Wonderloom Media, that will acquire YouTube-creator led businesses.

Wonderloom's first acquisition is YouTube ...Read more

Power-hungry data centers have increased supply costs for the largest U.S. electric grid by more than 60%, the system watchdog said.

PJM Interconnection LLC, which serves 13 states and Washington, DC, said Tuesday that its auction to procure power for the year starting June 2028 tied a $16.4 billion record set in late 2025. Data centers ...Read more

Boeing’s 737 Max family is now the company’s best-selling airplane, surpassing its predecessor, the 737 Next-Generation, or NG.

After booking 100 orders for the 737 Max in June, Boeing has recorded a total of 7,206 orders for the Max family, the company said Tuesday when announcing its monthly orders and deliveries total.

The 737 NG, which...Read more

The Writers Guild of America sued Paramount Skydance on Tuesday, alleging that the company’s planned $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery violates federal antitrust law. The union said that with fewer competitors, the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery business would be able to lower costs by reducing writers’ wages and ...Read more

Five Below has been opening hundreds of new stores in recent years, and this month, the Philadelphia-based retailer is set to add its 2,000th location.

The new store is expected to open in LaGrange, Georgia, on Friday, July 17, the company announced earlier this month.

“Reaching 2,000 stores is an incredible milestone for our brand whose ...Read more

Genetic testing company 23andMe and a group of attorneys general nationwide have reached a multimillion-dollar settlement following the major data breach that led to the company’s demise three years ago.

More than 40 attorneys general, including Pennsylvania‘s Dave Sunday, announced the national $18 million settlement with the genetic ...Read more