Attorney General Barr’s refusal to testify before Congress may seem like a brazen dismissal of legislative powers. But the standoff exposes a tension between the legislative and executive branches that has been going on for some time.

Russians have enjoyed a relatively freewheeling internet, but that is likely to change with a new surveillance law. How will the Russian public respond to their online life being closely monitored and constrained?

In normal times, helping citizens in distress through no fault of their own has been seen as a bedrock American value. But disaster relief has been politicized, adding to hurricane recovery challenges in the Florida Panhandle.

The facts of U.S. immigration change over the decades: who’s coming, how, and why. One group of Cuban-Americans, who arrived 60 years ago, sees a common thread: the risks parents take for their children.

Finally, here’s a taste of a regular feature from our Weekly Print Edition on global progress. In China, drones are helping to reduce pesticide use. Women in Argentina are liberating the tango from misogyny. Mobile libraries by boat, horse, and cart are bringing books to Indonesian children. And in Norway, wood is being recognized as a sustainable substitute for concrete in even the tallest buildings.

In a burst of political productivity, President Donald Trump and top Democrats in Congress actually agreed on something last Tuesday. They struck an agreement to spend $2 trillion on roads, bridges, ports, and other infrastructure. Partisan disagreement over how to pay for such a federal investment could still derail this rare consensus. But to nudge the leaders along, they should take note of welcome news about American ingenuity and efficiency – driven in part by better infrastructure.

On Wednesday, the Labor Department announced that nonfarm business productivity has accelerated at an annualized rate of 3.6% in the first quarter, a surprise jump to many economists. It surpasses the average 1.3% rate of the previous decade. It also beats the 2.7% rate of the boom years from 2000 to 2007.

The high pace of economic productivity (or growth in output per worker) could be a fluke. Yet it is backed up by an economy growing at more than 3% and by two recent surveys. Last year, the United States became the most competitive economy for the first time in a decade, according to the World Economic Forum. And in a ranking of the most innovative countries by Bloomberg, the U.S. moved from 11th to 8th place. In addition, state spending on infrastructure has risen for nearly two years.

Innovation has many fathers but among them is better transport of goods and people as well as faster digital networks for the flow of ideas and services. The Business Roundtable estimates that an additional $737 billion investment in infrastructure over 10 years would raise annual labor productivity by 0.56%.

The ability to do things better and faster, however, is not just a matter of new physical structures or capital investment. Creativity in research and a fearless adaptation of new ideas are also necessary. These arise from any number of sources, such as improved education or, in the case of workers displaced by automation, reeducation. British researcher Ben Ramalingam says a country’s “innovation movements” come less from technology solutions than from improved qualities of thought, such as trust, humility, and patience in the workplace.

Ah, if only Washington could adopt these traits and raise its productivity. Such a moment occurred last Tuesday in a meeting in the White House with top leader. If they follow the cue from the rest of America, they might get along enough to pay for their infrastructure goals.