December 8, 2017

Top Political News

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

Energy & Natural Resources

• Trump Disbands Group That Prepared Cities for Climate Shocks
• Gov. Kate Brown to appear on annual Al Gore climate broadcast
• 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

Indian Affairs

• Five American Indian tribes, furious over Trump shrinking Bears Ears on his trip to Utah, sue the president
• Tribes: Trump’s monument order disrespects native people
• 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
• New Labor Board Counsel Looks at Undoing Obama-Era Rulings.
• Trump Administration Sides Against Unions in Key Supreme Court Case.

Taxation, Trade, & Defense

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

Technology

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

Transportation

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