Seattle is slated to increase its minimum wage to $22.14 an hour in 2027 as the broader metro area contends with a sharp drop in job openings and Seattle businesses face mounting cost pressures. Beginning in 2025, all Seattle employers, including small businesses, were required to pay the same minimum wage, which is adjusted annually for inflation. Several Seattle restaurant owners who have since closed their businesses have...

The U.S. military is scheduled to end its mission in Iraq on Wednesday, bringing to a close a military operation that has lasted more than two decades — despite an ongoing war in Iran sparked earlier this year. The Iraq mission began with the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and later evolved into a campaign to help Iraqi forces defeat the Islamic State group after the terrorist...

Democrats are pitching themselves as the answer to the economic woes Americans are facing in their pursuit of power in Congress, but they have made a habit of blocking the GOP’s attempts to tackle cost of living issues. Affordability has become the centerpiece of the Democrats’ campaign messaging heading into Election Day in November, and they’ve wielded it like a political cudgel that left-wing candidates from Michigan to...