December 8, 2017

12 Dec December 8, 2017

Top Political News

• Congress Passes Bill to Avert Shutdown for 2 Weeks. National Public Radio
• Senate confirms Kirstjen Nielsen, a top White House aide, to lead Homeland Security. Washington Post
• Al Franken to Resign From Senate Amid Harassment Allegations. New York Times
• Job Growth Signals Robust Economy, With Gain of 228,000. New York Times
• The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics. Politico

Energy & Natural Resources

• Trump Disbands Group That Prepared Cities for Climate Shocks. Bloomberg
• Gov. Kate Brown to appear on annual Al Gore climate broadcast. Portland Business Journal
• Patagonia, REI and Other Outdoor Retailers Protest Trump’s Decision to Shrink Utah Monuments. New York Times
• Trump shrinks 2 Utah national monuments, but no word on Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou. Oregonian

Indian Affairs

• Five American Indian tribes, furious over Trump shrinking Bears Ears on his trip to Utah, sue the president. Salt Lake Tribune
• Tribes: Trump’s monument order disrespects native people. Washington Post
• What happens now that Trump has said he’ll scale back Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. PBS

Labor

• The fight to make bad jobs better. Vox
• New Labor Board Counsel Looks at Undoing Obama-Era Rulings. Bloomberg BNA
• Trump Administration Sides Against Unions in Key Supreme Court Case. Governing

Taxation, Trade, & Defense

• Mexican ambassador says NAFTA has 50-50 change of being terminated. The Hill
• After Push on Taxes, Republicans Line Up Welfare Reform Next. Wall Street Journal
• Trump Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital and Orders U.S. Embassy Move. New York Times

Technology

• A.I. Will Transform the Economy. But How Much, and How Soon? New York Times
• How will autonomous vehicles change the way architects think about cities? The Architect’s Newspaper
• Spokane takes step to become a ‘Smart City’ research center. Spokesman-Review
• Driverless car bill hits Senate speed bump. The Hill
• The Woman Engineering Uber’s Driverless Trucks. MIT Technology Review

Transportation

• After cutting taxes, Trump looking to localities to raise revenue for infrastructure. Washington Post
• Trump to release infrastructure plan next month. The Hill
• USDOT opts to repeal ECP brake rulemaking. Progressive Railroading
• Portland might toll roads, bridges. Portland Tribune
• Trump admin scraps Obama-era proposal requiring airlines to disclose bag fees. The Hill