The controversy over a planned 1,100-mile pipeline, originating in North Dakota and stretching across four States to Illinois, came to Capitol Hill in September, when Senator Bernie Sanders (VT-I) attempted to add an amendment to a water projects bill to slow its development. The Dakota Access Pipeline, as it is called, would carry up to 570,000 barrels of domestically produced oil each day. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota, which opposes the project, says that a spill from the pipeline near their reservation could pollute the water and that construction would destroy sacred sites and burial grounds. Dallas-based…

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently issued the first Federal policy guidelines for automated vehicles. The nonbinding guidelines are a preliminary step designed to lay out goals and work with manufacturers and designers of driverless cars to improve the technology without stifling innovation. NHTSA called on makers of “highly autonomous vehicles” — those in which the vehicle can take full control in some circumstances — to test new features and share the data with the agency at least four months before the technology hits the road. Other portions of the policy apply to lower-levels of automation, including some…