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WASHINGTON — Striking a deal with moderates, House Democratic leaders muscled President Joe Biden’s multitrillion-dollar budget blueprint over a key hurdle Aug. 24, ending a risky standoff and putting the party’s domestic infrastructure agenda back on track.

On August 10, the Senate passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and it now moves to the House for consideration. The passage of the bill would mean new funding for surface transportation programs, including the greatest investment in the nation's bridges since the formation of the Interstate Highway System.

The California Transportation Commission recently allocated $1.4 billion for transportation infrastructure projects, including efforts to improve freight movement.

The national average price for a gallon of diesel fell 3.2 cents to $3.324 in the biggest price drop in more than 15 months, according to Energy Information Administration data released Aug. 23.

President Joe Biden said full approval of the Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine should clear the way for companies to impose vaccine requirements for employees.

Legislation that would establish a program at the U.S. Department of Energy to assist the trucking industry with the adoption of fuel-efficient technologies recently was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

U.S. business activity continues to downshift, with growth slowing to an eight-month low in August against a backdrop of materials shortages, a lack of labor and an upswing in coronavirus infections.

The slow and sprawling storm system named Henri drenched much of the inland Northeast with rain Aug. 23, hampering cleanup efforts and threatening further flooding in areas with ground already saturated from a wet summer.

As a series of extreme heat waves settled over large swaths of the country this summer, professional truck drivers were at times exposed to temperatures well over 100 degrees as they worked to deliver the nation’s freight.

The nation’s new chief accident investigator wants to send a message: growing public confusion over automated driving systems in the U.S. is threatening to undermine the potential safety benefits of the technology.