House Moves Toward Passing Funding Bill to Avoid Shutdown.  A $1.1 trillion spending bill looks like it will have the votes to pass the House on Thursday despite griping by members of both parties. Democrats and Republicans alike have raised doubts about whether Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) and other GOP leaders can cobble together the votes necessary to win approval for their package, which would keep the government open beyond Thursday, when funding expires. The Hill 

EPA May Miss Deadline in Climate Rule. The Obama administration is on the verge of missing its January deadline for finishing a landmark regulation in the president's climate agenda - a delay that supporters insist doesn't imperil the effort, but which comes just as a hostile GOP is about to take control of the Senate. The EPA has a Jan. 8 legal deadline to finish the regulation, aimed at throttling carbon pollution from future power plants, but people closely following the rule think the agency could miss that date by months. Among other omens, EPA hasn't yet submitted the rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget for review, a process that normally takes 30 to 90 days. Politico

American Scientists Unearth Lost 1960s Polar Satellite Images Worth Billions. David Gallaher was eight years old in 1964, watching satellites twinkling high overhead. That year, the first American to orbit the planet left NASA, the Soviets put the first multi-person crew in orbit, and one tiny satellite, Nimbus 2, was taking grainy black-and-white images of the entire surface of the planet. Seventeen years before the start of what we know as the "modern satellite record" of sea ice, Nimbus series satellites were snapping images that would turn up on two huge pallets in Gallaher's office in Colorado 50 years later. Barents Observer

Hudson Bay Communities Use Film's Momentum to Monitor Eider Ducks. When the documentary film, People of a Feather, came out in 2012, its goal was to spur more research and action on the sea ice habitat in Hudson Bay. Two years and 16 film awards later, it's doing just that - and more, as Sanikiluaq prepares to re-open its eiderdown factory. Nunatsiaq Online

The Climate is Changing, And So Are Arctic Berries. How are Inuit communities around the world adapting to a warming climate? That was the focus of a Dec. 10 morning session at this week's Arctic Change 2014 conference in Ottawa. And, not surprisingly, many of the researchers' presentations featured collaborations with Inuit hunters. Their PowerPoint presentations were filled with photos of parka-clad hunters - the majority of them men - out on the land and sea ice. Nunatsiaq Online

Bering Sea Trawler Deaths Highlight Arctic Fishing, Shipping Issues. Early in the morning of Dec. 2, the factory trawler Oryong 501 sank into the frigid depths of the Bering Sea off of Russia's east coast. A large wave hit the vessel as it hauled in a catch of pollock. Though the ship was South Korean-flagged, BBC News reports that 35 Indonesians, 13 Filipinos, 11 South Koreans and one Russian inspector were on board at the time of the sinking; so far, 27 have been confirmed dead and 8 rescued, with the others missing. These figures indicate one of the dark underbellies of Oryong 501s calamitous end: the use of Southeast Asian labor on factory trawlers. Alaska Dispatch News

Study: Hot Temperatures Rising Faster Than Cold Temperatures Over Last 30 Years. As the Earth has warmed over the last three decades, it's the warmest temperatures that have warmed the most, a new study finds. This warming of the hottest temperatures since 1984 (examine the red bars in the first image below) reverses the long-term trend which shows cold temperature extremes warming at the fastest clip (examine the blue bars in the second image below). Washington Post

How to Monitor Oil Spills Under The Ice? Just Go With The Floe. The Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010 went on for 87 days. The breached underwater well pumped out an estimated 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Monitoring technology allowed responders to direct resources to intercept the spreading oil plume and prevent the catastrophe from becoming even worse. Monitoring techniques and technologies that are reliable in the warm open waters of the gulf aren't necessarily much use in the Arctic, especially if there is oil spreading underneath several feet of sea ice. Sam McClintock says it's a scenario that's bound to happen. Phys.Org

Technology Needed to Navigate a Changing Arctic. General aviation provides vital service to the isolated communities of the Arctic within Alaska, transporting passengers and delivering mail, supplies, fuel, and medical items in a challenging flight environment, with minimal supporting infrastructure. How important is general aviation to life in Arctic Alaska? A single all-season 414 mile highway connects Alaska's vast Arctic region with the rest of the state, and "only seasonal ship traffic provides heavy lift and resupply missions due to the short summer navigation season." AOPA Pilot

FOXY Wins Arctic Inspiration Prize. An immense territory of majestic beauty, the Canadian Arctic is home to a growing population of over 100,000 northern Canadians, with a majority of indigenous peoples with a millennial history and rich culture. Once considered as the last frontier, change and modernization are rapidly making the Arctic more accessible and the subject of increasing public, scientific, industrial and political interest. Addressing the challenges and seizing the opportunities of accelerating changes in the Arctic environment, culture, technology and economy require innovative approaches, mobilizing the best knowledge from various sources into concrete solutions. Arctic Inspiration Prize