Justin Pritchard Posts

The contract that keeps thousands of dockworkers on the job at West Coast ports from San Diego to Seattle is expiring, but don't expect a disruption in the billions of dollars of trade that crosses the waterfront — at least not yet. As talks drag out, jitters will grow among the companies that last year imported or exported nearly $900 billion worth of cargo across the West Coast.

Google says that cars it has programmed to drive themselves have started to master the navigation of city streets and the challenges they bring, from jaywalkers to weaving bicyclists — a critical milestone for any commercially available self-driving car technology. Despite the progress over the past year, the cars have plenty of learning to do before 2017, when the Silicon Valley tech giant hopes to get the technology to the public.

Americans are boarding public buses, trains and subways in greater numbers than any time since the suburbs began booming. Nearly 10.7 billion trips in 2013, to be precise — the highest total since 1956, according to ridership data reported by transit systems nationally and released Monday by the American Public Transportation Association.