Baltimore City leaders are set to begin what could become one of the most significant tax debates in decades: whether Maryland’s largest city should pursue the state’s first split-rate property tax system in an effort to combat vacant properties, discourage speculation and spur investment.

A bill introduced Monday by City Councilman Zac ...Read more

A neurosurgeon was recently paid $4,485 to remove a brain tumor, but the doctor’s surgical assistant received a fee from Minnesota’s UnitedHealthcare that was more than 10 times larger — $55,000.

The reason?

Arbitration rulings under the federal No Surprises Act, which protects patients from high out-of-network bills, are socking health ...Read more

Despite skipping over his annual donation to the Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett downplayed Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates’ relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a mistake he might have made himself.

“While it’s distasteful, while he made mistakes, I made mistakes, hiring all kinds of people, or choosing friends, and then ...Read more

A newly surfaced recording of a personal phone call between United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and the union's court-appointed monitor discussing the Israel-Hamas war sheds new light on the fraught relationship between the two men that Fain claims fueled the watchdog's investigations into him.

The 11-minute recording obtained by The ...Read more

It is hard to keep a good convention down.

One year after Hollywood’s largest studios stayed away from Comic-Con International, they are back in force next week. The biggest of them all, Marvel Studios, will return to the 6,500-seat Hall H, as will HBO with its latest superhero show and dozens of other studios with star-studded casts.

Comic-...Read more

A ballot measure that would overhaul one of California’s most powerful and controversial environmental laws has a commanding lead less than three months before voters begin casting ballots in the statewide November election.

Proposition 45, which would make substantial changes to the California Environmental Quality Act, has the support 73% ...Read more

Only a few days ago, Paramount Skydance's planned $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery appeared to be on the glide path to completion.

The deal, which would be the largest merger in Hollywood history, had won approval from several foreign governments and, on June 12, Justice Department antitrust regulators.

The Justice Department's ...Read more

Netflix has long been seen as the winner in the streaming wars, with more than 325 million subscribers globally and hits like "Stranger Things" and "KPop Demon Hunters."

For months, Netflix had been telling investors how it planned to scale its business to new heights by acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, a potentially transformative media deal....Read more

SpaceX stock dropped below its initial public offering price for the first time on Wednesday, signaling dwindling hype around the Elon Musk company.

Shares dipped below their IPO price of $135 on Wednesday morning for the first time since listing, a humbling loss for the stock, which had skyrocketed more than 50% in its first days of trading ...Read more

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