Logo for "The Weekly Trek" featuring three overlapping green mountains behind the text.

March 5, 2021

Top News

  • Desperate Americans wait as Washington duels over Covid-19 relief bill. CNN
  • House Approves Major Election Reform And Voting Rights Bill. NPR
  • GOP Sen. Johnson delays Covid relief bill by forcing all 628 pages to be read out loud. NBC
  • U.S. House passes ‘George Floyd’ police reform bill, Senate prospects unclear. Reuters
  • State Lawmakers Split Over Need for Federal Aid. RouteFifty
  • The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics. Politico

Energy & Natural Resources

  • In contentious climate bill, some points of possible agreement. Roll Call
  • The Biden Administration Increases the Social Cost of Carbon. RouteFifty
  • Schlumberger, Chevron plan bioenergy and carbon capture project. Renewables Now
  • GM Looking to Build Second Battery Factory in U.S. Wall Street Journal
  • Enviros to EPA: Use novel power to get industry to pay for PFAS research. Reuters 

Indian Affairs

  • Biden’s Interior Pick Squeaks Through Panel Amid Oil Ban Fears. Bloomberg
  • Native American advocates help delay Arizona mining project. The Hill
  • Tribes Could Play a Crucial Role in Achieving a Bold New Conservation Goal. Aubudon Magazine
  • Schatz secures $80 million for Native Hawaiian healthcare, housing, and education programs in COVID-19 relief bill. Indian Country Today
  • President Biden to NCAI: “I’m committed to working with you to write a new and better chapter”. Native News Online

Labor

  • U.S. weekly jobless claims rise moderately as labor market stabilizes. Reuters
  • The union vote that could change Amazon forever. Vox
  • When Amazon Raises Wages, Local Companies Follow Suit. New York Times
  • OSHA’s Job Is Workplace Safety. In the Covid-19 Pandemic, It Often Struggled. Wall Street Journal
  • Biden told union leaders ‘I’m all for natural gas’: report. Fox News
  • Manufacturing Industry’s Labor Shortage and Immigrant Workers. National Law Review

Taxation & Trade

  • US trade rep nominee says she will fight ‘unfair’ Chinese trade. Aljazeera
  • The expanded $3,000 child tax credit would help 10 million kids living in poverty. Democrats aim to make it a permanent increase. CNBC
  • Scotch Whisky, English Cheese Prices Could Ease As U.S. Halts Tariffs. NPR
  • State Lawmakers Split Over Need for Federal Aid. Pew Charitable Trusts
  • Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Protect Against Double Taxation of Financial Transactions. Tax Foundation

Technology

  • Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against LADOT data sharing requirements. Smart Cities Dive
  • Big Tech critic Tim Wu joins Biden administration to work on competition policy. CNBC
  • Google Crushed Many Digital Ad Rivals. But a Challenger Is Rising. Wall Street Journal
  • Arizona advances bill forcing Apple and Google to allow Fortnite-style alternative payment options. The Verge
  • Facebook lifts political ad ban. Politico

Transportation & Infrastructure

  • Biden Pitches Infrastructure Funding in Talks With House Members. Bloomberg
  • US infrastructure funding gap swells to $2.6 trillion: ASCE. Smart Cities Dive
  • Main Volkswagen brand speeds up shift to electric. Reuters
  • Pete Buttigieg Stresses a ‘Fix It First’ Infrastructure Policy. Bloomberg CityLab
  • Elaine Chao Used DOT Resources For Personal Errands, Family Business, IG Report Says. NPR

Sign up for the Weekly Trek

Posted in