Transportation

"Volkswagen is on the verge of pleading guilty to criminal charges and paying $4.3 billion in fines, in a deal that would resolve a federal criminal investigation into its cheating on vehicle emissions tests, the automaker said on Tuesday."

"Washington's outgoing public lands commissioner said Tuesday he is refusing to allow the state's aquatic lands to be used for a major coal-export terminal along the Columbia River. But the company behind the proposal insisted the decision would have no effect on its plans."

"The Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, held annually in the first week of January in Las Vegas, is becoming the place to unveil exciting electric cars, upstaging the Detroit Auto Show held a week later, the usual venue for automakers to reveal new models."

"A dusty village on the outskirts of Ningde, a third-tier city in China's southeast, seems an unlikely place for the headquarters of a potential global leader in future automotive technology."

"The federal government will take action on a petition by the state of New York seeking to close a loophole that currently allows highly flammable crude oil to be shipped by rail through communities in New York and across the country."

"After a weeklong battle over last-minute policy riders, the Senate passed a major water bill in the early morning hours Saturday that includes emergency aid for Flint, Mich., and drought relief for California."

"The EPA aims for US car fleets to average 54.5 miles per gallon in 2025 – and seeks to keep Republicans from changing the policy in 2017."

"A symbol of America’s ailing infrastructure, Lock No. 52 on the Ohio River is responsible for a shipping bottleneck that hobbles commerce far and wide."

"The trial in a lawsuit by a broad coalition of environmental groups seeking to force BNSF to cover its coal-train loads to prevent water pollution began Monday in federal court in Seattle."