As negotiations between labor unions and freight railroad companies over a new contract continue, Amtrak prepared for a potential strike by cancelling several of its long-distance routes. If a deal is not reached, a strike could begin as soon as Friday. The affected routes, which closed starting Tuesday, includes: The Southwest Chief route from Chicago…

Over the weekend, at least 19 different wildfires burning in Washington and Oregon prompted evacuations. Almost 300,000 acres are scorched, while some 5,000 firefighters are working throughout the region. Oregon’s Cedar Creek Fire measured at more than 85,000 thousand acres Sunday, according to the Oregon Office of the State Fire Marshal. High temperatures, strong winds…

Starbucks has questioned the legitimacy of elections held to unionize specific locations. A whistleblower told Starbucks “misconduct” occurred between the union and the National Labor Relations Board, the organization conducting the elections. The allegations stem from a Kansas City location but Starbucks said it suspects misconduct is happening in other cities like Seattle, Washington and…

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a former high school football coach who lost his job after saying post-game prayers both on his own and with players. The court determined the prayer was protected free speech. In the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the justices ruled 6-3. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in…

There’s a nationwide shortage of law enforcement officers, and it doesn’t look like it will be over anytime soon. Over the past two years, a record number of people left policing. In Seattle, more than 250 officers have left since 2020. In Minneapolis, there are so few officers on the street that the police chief there…

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Joseph Kennedy, a former high school football coach who was fired for refusing to stop praying at the center of the field following games. It was a ritual he conducted for years, with his players eventually joining him. The Bremerton School District, located west of Seattle,…

Since Jeff Bezos stepped down last July, Andy Jassy has taken over as the new CEO of Amazon. He’s been challenged by slow profit growth, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage, and the company’s first union. But experts say he’s equipped to handle the challenges, just like his predecessor. “Jassy knows how Jeff thinks, Jassy…

Travel issues that forced thousands of flight cancellations over the Christmas weekend persisted Monday, a day after a report showed similar issues did not affect holiday sales. The travel issues have been attributed to COVID-19, particularly the Omicron variant, as well as bad weather. According to flight tracking website FlightAware, as of 4:00 p.m. EST…

From coast to coast, Republicans are gaining power, even in some Democratic strongholds. Election night 2021 put a Republican in the governor’s office in Virginia, beating a Democrat who brought significant experience. In New Jersey, a fed up truck driver took his anger to the people; they heard him loud and clear and sent a…

Politicians of all backgrounds and party affiliations made history around the country on 2021 Election Day. Democrat Bruce Harrell became the first Asian American and second African American to lead Seattle as mayor. Republican Winsome Sears became the first Black woman elected to serve Virginia as lieutenant governor. Democrat Shahana Hanif became the first Muslim…