*By Carlo Versano*
Amazon said Tuesday it will raise the minimum wage for all its workers in the U.S. to $15 an hour.
The e-commerce giant announced in a [blog post](https://blog.aboutamazon.com/working-at-amazon/amazon-raises-minimum-wage-to-15-for-all-us-employees) that the change would be effective Nov. 1, include all full-time, part-time, and seasonal employees and that there would be no conditions attached to the raise.
Further, Jay Carney, the former Obama press secretary who heads Amazon ($AMZN) corporate affairs, said the company will advocate for an increase in the federal minimum wage, which has been at $7.25 since 2009.
The company said 250,000 employees and 100,000 seasonal hires will benefit from the changes. Whole Foods employees, who have begun organizing for a union, will be included. Amazon bought Whole Foods last year for nearly $14 billion.
In a press release, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said, "We listened to our critics, thought hard about what we wanted to do, and decided we wanted to lead."
Amazon has been under increasing pressure from Congress, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), over wages and work conditions at its fulfillment centers.
Americans picked up their spending from October to November as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring that shoppers still have power to keep buying.
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dropped below 7% to its lowest level since early August, another boost for prospective homebuyers who have largely been held back by sharply higher borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.
Mortgage rates have dropped below 7% for the first time since the middle of August.
Taylor Swift grossed nearly $2 billion this year, according to Billboard.
A study from US News and World Report has found the most affordable place to retire is in Ohio.
Millions of households could see higher internet costs next year as the affordable connectivity program could end.
Viveca Chow, NYC lifestyle expert, spoke with Cheddar News to provide tips on how to have some festive fun in the city on a budget.
Apple announced that it's releasing an iPhone security update to prevent attackers from acquiring users' private passcodes.
As the new year approaches, many people are looking to find a job with a higher salary or are planning to ask their current boss for a raise. Taliya Bashani, real estate attorney and negotiation expert, joined Cheddar News to provide tips on how to properly and better negotiate better financial terms.
Meta says it will start testing a program that would allow posts from Threads to appear on other social media sites.
