What civil engineers are reading this week

• A drone will try to rescue 3 dogs trapped by volcanic eruption

  The skinny, scared dogs have been trapped in an abandoned yard for a month after the Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted in the Canary Islands.

• California ports, key to US supply chain, ranked among world's least efficient

  Southern California's Los Angeles and Long Beach ports handle the most ocean cargo of any ports in the nation, but a new rankings lists them as some of the world's least efficient.

• Biden focuses on climate, families in trimmed $2T plan

  Scaling down his “build back better” plans, President Joe Biden described a more limited vision of a $2 trillion government-overhaul package with at least $500 billion to tackle climate change.

• US needs more mines to boost rare earths supply chain, Pentagon says

  The U.S. and ally nations should mine and process more rare earths to ensure adequate global supply of the strategic minerals for military and commercial uses, a Department of Defense official says.

• President to host talks on his agenda, including infrastructure bill

  President Joe Biden will host separate meetings today with moderate and progressive Democratic lawmakers who are wrangling over aspects of his infrastructure and social spending bills.

• Kansas DOT launches survey to explore future transportation funding

  The state's department of transportation says motor fuel tax revenues continue to decline.