All eyes are on Texas as Republicans work to draw new congressional districts ahead of

26. But the battle for control of Congress runs through Southwest Washington, home to one of the

most competitive districts in the country. And that's where incumbent Marie Glucent-Camp

Perez has a new challenger. He's the Republican leader in the state Senate. Meet John Braun,

a moderate who could deliver the third district in the state Senate. Meet John Braun, a moderate who

could deliver the third district to the GOP this week on sound politics, wherever you get your

podcasts.

Hi there, and good afternoon. From the KUOW Newsroom, this is Seattle Now. I'm Ruby Deluna with a roundup of today's top stories. It's Thursday, February 27th.

Today, Starbucks confirmed 612 employees in Washington are being laid off. It's part of a broader reduction in Starbucks

corporate workforce. Monica Nicholsberg reports. James Bowen worked for Starbucks alongside his wife.

They were traveling when they learned their jobs could be on the chopping block.

When both of you were at risk, it's a crazy feeling. I hope I never feel it again.

They were obsessively refreshing their phones from the airport when Bowen got the dreaded email.

His work on Starbucks's free college tuition program for employees was over.

That's this feeling I've reduced to a line on a spreadsheet and the shift from doing really incredible, meaningful work

as a part of a cool community of employees to, I was probably a checkbox based on my

rural title, maybe my salary. That felt pretty dehumanizing. Bowen is grateful his wife's job was

spared, but he's bracing for a

competitive job hunt against thousands of other laid-off employees. Monica Nicholsberg, KUOW News.

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson shared more details today about cuts he thinks will help close a massive

budget gap. Olympia correspondent Jeannie Lindsay reports

Ferguson says he's not ready to talk about new taxes. Ferguson's office estimates the budget gap is

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