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Energy
Railcar Bottleneck Looms for Oil
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Bob Tita
One-third of the crude oil hauled from North Dakota’s Bakken Shale region by railcars could be forced off the tracks and into expensive truck fleets in the next four years, according to a railcar-industry trade group. The Railway Supply Institute says there aren’t enough shops to retrofit cars carrying flammable liquids in time to meet proposed federal deadlines, and that tens of thousands of cars will be idled as a result. The U.S. Department of Transportation wants tank cars carrying crude oil to be retrofitted with more puncture-resistant features in two years, and those carrying ethanol to be upgraded in three years. Those carrying other flammable liquids, such as heating oil and chemicals, have five years to be upgraded.
Environmentalists Split With the Obama Administration Over Key Power Plant Rules
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Jason Plautz
But the rule has left environmentalists feeling empty. They had pushed for a more stringent rule that would have designated the toxic ash as hazardous, opening up federal regulations and enforcement. Today’s decision, they say, won’t do enough to change the status quo and avoid dangerous spills, like ones that polluted drinking water in Kingston, Tenn., in 2008 and in North Carolina earlier this year.
Lawmakers press Obama to rescind climate rule
THE HILL
Laura Barron-Lopez
A group of bipartisan lawmakers is urging President Obama to withdraw the administration’s climate regulation on carbon pollution from existing power plants. In a letter sent to Obama on Friday, 102 members of Congress argue the proposal would “dramatically” change the way “we generate, transmit and consume electricity in the United States.” Six Democrats joined 96 Republicans in signing the letter, which argues the Environmental Protection Agency proposal would “threaten electricity reliability and drive up energy costs.”
Obama downplays Keystone XL benefits
FUEL FIX
Jennifer Dlouhy
President Barack Obama offered a dim view of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, casting it as a project with big gains for Canadian oil producers but few tangible benefits for the United States. Obama’s remarks in a pre-holiday news conference at the White House came as Nebraska’s highest court weighs a challenge of the pipeline’s proposed route through the state.
Why Saudis Decided Not to Prop Up Oil
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Jay Solomon and Summer Said
But the story of Saudi Arabia’s new oil strategy, pieced together through interviews with senior Middle Eastern, American and European officials, isn’t one of an old alliance. It is a story of a budding rivalry, driven by what Saudi Arabia views as a threat posed by American energy firms, these officials said.
Technology
Congress wants to legislate net neutrality. Here’s what that might look like.
WASHINGTON POST
Brian Fung
Republicans in Congress appear likely to introduce legislation next month aimed at preventing Internet providers from speeding up some Web sites over others, in hopes of changing the tone of a critical debate over the future of the Web, according to industry officials familiar with the plans. … One important piece of the proposed legislation would establish a new way for the FCC to regulate broadband providers by creating a separate provision of the Communications Act known as “Title X,” the people said. Title X would enshrine elements of the tough net neutrality principles called for by President Obama last month. For example, it would give FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler the authority to prevent broadband companies from blocking or slowing traffic to Web sites, or charging content companies such as Netflix for faster access to their subscribers — a tactic known as “paid prioritization.” But those new powers would come with a trade-off, the people said. In exchange for Title X, the FCC would refrain from regulating net neutrality using Title II of the Communications Act — a step favored by many advocates of aggressive regulation, including the president, they said.
Tech sector looks to bounce back in 2015
THE HILL
Julian Hattem
“I’m hopeful that we will at least have a window of time here in the next six to eight months — before things get too intense in the presidential race — where a lot of good things can happen,” said Linda Moore, president of TechNet, a network of tech executives. At the top of the list is patent reform, a low-profile issue that companies say is necessary to protect them from “trolls” who buy up patent licenses and then file harassing lawsuits with vague claims that firms are infringing their licenses. Those lawsuits cost billions of dollars each year, companies estimate.
Congress Steps In to Protect the Internet
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Gordon Crovitz
The U.S. Congress has saved the Internet from President Obama. The White House had planned to end American protection for online freedom next year, but Congress used its power of the purse in the recent omnibus budget bill to nix the plan. That should delay any change at least until 2017. It’s hard to imagine anyone getting elected president on a platform of putting the Internet at risk.
Hackers are going after the Internet’s very infrastructure. Here’s why that matters.
WASHINGTON POST
Nancy Scola
The Los Angeles-based nonprofit group that acts as something of the air traffic-controller of the global Internet has announced that it was the victim of a hacking attack last month. That’s raising concerns because, while little-known to most Internet users, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers — better known as ICANN — quietly helps to keep the Internet up and running.
F.T.C. Raises Its Voice Under Its Soft-Spoken Chairwoman
NEW YORK TIMES
Edward Wyatt
While public debate has raged in recent months over the Federal Communications Commission’s position on net neutrality and the Justice Department’s review of the proposed merger of Comcast and Time Warner Cable, the F.T.C. has operated somewhat more in the shadows. But Ms. Ramirez is pushing to regain some of the prominence of the F.T.C., the nation’s top consumer protection enforcer, which just celebrated its 100th anniversary — by focusing particular attention on digital privacy and transactions. Ms. Ramirez’s efforts could lead to more turf battles, including with the F.C.C. and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which see their mandates as covering much of the same enforcement territory. The agencies say publicly that they are working well together and just divvying up the spoils. Behind the scenes, though, more than a little tension has developed.
FCC Acts to Help Online Video Compete With Cable
NATIONAL JOURNAL
Brendan Sasso
The Federal Communications Commission advanced a proposal on Friday that could encourage more people to ditch pricey cable packages for online TV options. The commission’s proposal would give online companies the same legal protections as cable and satellite providers to buy access to popular channels.
Poll: Americans skeptical of commercial drones
ASSOCIATED PRESS
By a 2-1 margin, the poll found, those who had an opinion opposed using drones for commercial purposes. Only 21 percent favored commercial use of drones, compared with 43 percent opposed. Another 35 percent were in the middle. Only 3 percent of people say they’ve operated small drones, which are essentially the same as remote-controlled model aircraft. Support for using commercial drones was the weakest among women and seniors, while college graduates and wealthier people were more apt to favor it.
FAA drone approvals bedeviled by warnings, conflict, internal e-mails show
WASHINGTON POST
Craig Whitlock
The Federal Aviation Administration proclaimed a new era in aviation in September when it granted permission to six Hollywood filmmakers to fly drones on movie sets, a decision that opened the door to commercial drone flights in the United States. … What the FAA did not reveal, however, was that senior officials had overruled objections from some of its safety inspectors, who had warned after a formal review that the filmmakers’ plans were too risky and should be prohibited, according to documents and e-mails obtained by The Washington Post.
Finance
As Fed Shines Light on Shadow Banking, Its Regulatory Limits Get Laid Bare
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Pedro Nicolaci da Costa and Ryan Tracy
The so-called shadow-banking system is growing again in the U.S. after declining from 2008 through 2011 in the wake of the financial crisis. The value of U.S. financial assets held by money-market funds, hedge funds, trust companies and financial firms other than banks reached $25.2 trillion in 2013, for the first time exceeding the precrisis peak of $24.9 trillion, according to a November report by the Financial Stability Board, an international body of regulators. … The burgeoning numbers are giving financial regulators around the world an urgency to get a handle on shadow banking before history repeats itself with another crisis.
Fresh Doubt Over the Bailout of A.I.G.
NEW YORK TIMES
Gretchen Morgenson
To me, however, the case’s significance lies in the information it unearthed about what the government did in the bailout — details it worked hard to keep secret. And new documents produced after the trial seem to bolster Starr’s case, casting doubt on central testimony by some of the government’s witnesses.
An Autopsy for the Keynesians
WALL STREET JOURNAL
John Cochrane
Yes, there is plenty wrong and plenty to worry about. Growth is too slow, and not enough people are working. Even supporters acknowledge that Dodd-Frank and ObamaCare are a mess. Too many people on the bottom are stuck in terrible education, jobless poverty, and a dysfunctional criminal justice system. But the policy world has abandoned the notion that we can solve our problems with blowout borrowing, wasted spending, inflation, default and high taxes. The policy world is facing the tough tradeoffs that centuries of experience have taught us, not wishing them away.
Politics
Hollywood’s fickle friend
POLITICO
Todd S. Purdum
A survey of several longtime industry insiders — all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of alienating one side or another — suggests that many of Hollywood’s big players are so irked at Sony that they loved Obama’s remarks.
Obama’s Union McDouble
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
National Labor Relations Board general counsel Richard Griffin gave labor unions an early Christmas gift Friday by charging McDonald’s as a joint-employer in dozens of alleged unfair labor practice complaints against its franchisees. Mr. Griffin appears to be teeing up the NLRB’s bigger bonanza that may come as early as Monday. The NLRB’s chief prosecutor claims that McDonald’s franchisees in the past two years have unfairly retaliated against workers who played hookie to join Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rallies for a $15 minimum wage. Mr. Griffin is holding the corporate entity liable because “through its franchise relationship and its use of tools, resources and technology,” McDonald’s “engages in sufficient control over its franchisees’ operations.”
G.O.P. Hopes for Unity May Be Upset by Ben Carson
NEW YORK TIMES
Trip Gabriel
Though few Republican strategists expect Mr. Carson, 63, to be the nominee, they acknowledge his potential to throw a wrench into the establishment’s desire to unify early, and the danger of turning off moderates if his divisive views continue to gain traction.
Dixie rising
POLITICO
James Hohmann
Officials in five Southern states — Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas — are coordinating to hold their primary on March 1, 2016. Texas and Florida are considering also holding a primary the same day but may wait until later in the month. Either way, March 1 would be a Southern Super Tuesday, voting en masse on the heels of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.
Obama outraged over ‘senseless murders,’ he tells police
USA TODAY
Gregory Korte
President Obama expressed outrage over the killing of two New York police officers Sunday, calling the police commissioners of New York and Philadelphia to lend support for law enforcement.
Obama to See if North Korea Should Return to Terror List
NEW YORK TIMES
Amy Chozick
As the United States moves closer to taking Cuba off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, President Obama said he would “review” whether to return North Korea to the list, part of a broader government response to a damaging cyberattack on Sony’s Hollywood studio.
Progressives and the Police
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Editorial
This is what happens when a mayor who is responsible for public order treats Al Sharpton with more respect than he does his own police force. The progressive campaign against police must stop before it has even uglier consequences.
