GeekWire's Most-Read Stories of the Week

This week's top tech stories from GeekWire [View this email in your browser](. December 24, 2017 [Top Stories]( [Find a Job]( [GeekWire Events]( [GeekWire 200]( [Become a Member]( Love GeekWire? Join the club! [Support independent journalism, enjoy exclusive benefits and access to GeekWire’s signature events]( This week's top stories [No pilot required: Boeing unveils autonomous plane for refueling fighter jets in midair]( By Nat Levy Boeing pulled back the curtain on an autonomous refueling plane designed to refuel U.S. [Conan O’Brien’s one-track mind: TV star hops Monorail in Seattle and drops ‘Simpsons’ reference]( By Kurt Schlosser Late night television star Conan O’Brien is in Seattle for the holidays and, apparently in need of traveling the one mile between Seattle Center and Westlake Mall, he skipped walking, Uber, LimeBike, limo and whatever else for the good ol’ Monorail. 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Email us at info@level11.com [Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg unveils $300M in initiatives in response to tax bill]( By Alan Boyle The Boeing Co. is moving ahead on $300 million in charitable contributions and workplace investments as a response to the tax bill approved by Congress today. [Batman’s new villains: How T-Mobile CEO John Legere plans to foil the cable and satellite TV giants]( By Todd Bishop John Legere is clearly enthused by T-Mobile’s opportunity to build a compelling TV service, but the wireless world’s Batman, as he likes to call himself, seems even more excited by the chance to grapple with a whole new cast of corporate enemies. Home of the Week - Sponsored Post [The Calabria by JayMarc: An Entertainer’s Paradise in Bellevue]( You will be delighted to find room for everyone in this new, luxury JayMarc home! The Calabria sets a new standard for living, surpassing your every need. This light and bright home will welcome you in with 10-foot ceiling and walls of windows. The chef’s kitchen is center stage with a huge island,… [Paul Allen’s Stratolaunch space venture puts monster plane through first taxi test]( By Alan Boyle Software billionaire Paul Allen, is showing off a video of Stratolaunch's twin-fuselage aircraft as it aced its first taxi test on a California runway. [Aliens in L.A.? Santa? Even Elon Musk has some fun with SpaceX rocket’s sky show]( By Alan Boyle The bloom of exhaust that blossomed in Southern California's skies during a rocket liftoff sparked jokes and jitters — with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk joining in. [Job hunting? Tech skills increasingly tied to higher wages and economic opportunity]( By Monica Nickelsburg Digital prowess has become one of the most powerful bargaining chips in the American job market over a relatively short period of time, according to a report from the Brookings Institute. [SpaceX puts 10 Iridium telecom satellites in orbit – and creates a spectacle in the sky]( By Alan Boyle SpaceX has sent 10 more satellites into orbit for the Iridium NEXT constellation, passing the halfway point in its 75-satellite launch contract. [Cat treats! Bill Gates strikes again as Reddit Santa, surprising feline fanatic with giant box of goodies]( By Kurt Schlosser Well isn’t this just purrfect. Everyone’s favorite secret billionaire Santa, Bill Gates, has made the holiday extra special yet again for another lucky Reddit user. [Amazon Echo Buttons review: Fleeting moments of fun, spoiled by glitches and a thin launch lineup]( By Todd Bishop Updated below with details on additional games and user experience updates from Amazon. [DocuSign acquires tech and hires core team from Paul Allen-backed machine learning startup Appuri]( By Nat Levy Electronic signature and digital contract giant DocuSign has acquired the key technology behind machine learning company Appuri and hired the majority of the Seattle-based startup’s team, planning to integrate its artificial intelligence features directly into the DocuSign platform. [Alaska Airlines cuts Seattle to Portland flight prices after Amtrak train derailment blocks I-5]( By Nat Levy Alaska Airlines has dropped prices for flights from Seattle to Portland, providing an alternative for holiday travelers impacted by the derailment of an Amtrak train that has blocked all of Interstate 5, near DuPont, Wash. [‘Mr. Robot’ Rewind: Rewinding the ‘5/9’ hack in a stunning season finale]( By Corey Nachreiner  [Spoiler Alert] In order to deeply analyze the hacks in Mr. [Amtrak train derails off bridge near Seattle, blocking all lanes of I-5]( By Monica Nickelsburg An Amtrak train derailed off of a bridge south of Seattle Monday morning, blocking all lanes of Interstate 5, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. [Redfin ranks most competitive U.S. neighborhoods for homebuyers and Seattle area has 19 of top 25]( By Kurt Schlosser With the holidays upon us, consider yourself lucky if you’re celebrating in a home you were able to purchase in 2017, especially in the Seattle area. 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