October 15, 2018

Auto Safety Group Demands Mass Kia And Hyundai Recall Over Vehicle Fires

The Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit auto safety group, is demanding a recall of 2.9 million Hyundai and Kia cars and SUVs due to widespread reports of the vehicles catching fire.

In a statement on Friday, the group said there had been more than 220 complaints about fires since 2010, and 200 more complaints about melted wires and smoke, the AP reported. The affected vehicles include the 2011-’14 Kia Sorento, Kia Optima, Hyundai Sonata, and Hyundai Santa Fe, and the 2010-’15 Kia Soul models.

“Since our call for an investigation into these Kia and Hyundai non-collision fires, we have seen reports of almost one fire every single day across these five models,” Jason Levine, the executive director of the Center for Auto Safety said in a statement. “The number and severity of these complaints, when people are simply driving their cars on the highway, is frightening. It is long past time for Kia and Hyundai to act. Car fires put everyone on the road in significant danger.”

The fires are being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as part of an expanded examination of Hyundai and Kia engine failures.


Read more: http://fortune.com/2018/10/14/kia-hyundai-demand-for-recall/



A sign with the Hyundai logo displayed at a Hyundai dealership on April 7, 2017 in San Leandro, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Justin Sullivan Getty Images

October 15, 2018

Calls for new regulation mount as limo crash victims mourned

AMSTERDAM, N.Y. (AP) — The day after a mourning community said last goodbyes to eight of 20 victims of a limousine crash — four sisters and four other relatives — the Senate's top Democrat called on federal regulators to formulate new safety standards for the vehicles.

Sen. Chuck Schumer on Sunday pointed to glaring gaps in safety data and singled out the National Transportation Safety Board, which he said hasn't thoroughly investigated a limousine crash in three years.

His criticism comes a week after the stretch limo loaded with 18 people on their way to a birthday party for one of the occupants ran a stop sign and crashed at the bottom of a hill in the town of Schoharie. Everyone in the limo died, including the four sisters, along with two pedestrians.

"The sad fact here is that right now everyone is talking about limo safety when we could have been studying it for the past few years," Schumer said. "The NTSB knows they need to fix this situation so we can have as much information as possible available."

At a news conference, he called on the NTSB to investigate every stretch limo crash that has occurred in the U.S. and use the data to make recommendations for safety standards that would then have to be implemented by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.


Read more: https://poststar.com/news/state-and-regional/calls-for-new-regulation-mount-as-limo-crash-victims-mourned/article_fed1e11e-11b8-54b6-87c2-31d5598e5d5a.html



Members of the National Transportation Safety Board work at the scene of yesterday's fatal crash, in Schoharie, N.Y., Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

October 15, 2018

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - Saudi Arabia

Following the alarming disappearance of a Saudi journalist and political dissident, John Oliver examines America's uncomfortably comfortable relationship with Saudi Arabia.

October 14, 2018

How A Carbon Tax Would Be Implemented

There are no solutions to complex problems – except when the problem becomes so complex it must have a simple solution.

That is the paradox thrown up by global warming and the shattering report of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report cries out for dramatic, simple remediation of the amount of carbon pumped into the atmosphere every day by industrial society.

The complex solution is a case-by-case, country-by-country, industry-by-industry, polluter-by-polluter remediation: power plants, automobiles, trucks, trains, ships, aircraft and manufacturers.

The simple solution to this complex problem is to tax carbon emissions: a carbon tax. Make no mistake, it would be tough. Some industries would bear the brunt and their customers would carry the burden -- initially a light burden growing to a heavier one.

The obvious place to start is with electric utilities. Those burning coal would get the heaviest penalty. Those burning natural gas – the fuel favored by its low price and abundance in the nation -- some penalty, but not as heavy.


Read more: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/How-A-Carbon-Tax-Would-Be-Implemented.html

October 14, 2018

SNL: Weekend Update

Weekend Update: U.N.'s Climate Change Report



Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, including the United Nations' report on climate change.




Weekend Update: Amazon 4-Star



Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news including Amazon opening a new store.




Weekend Update: Goop Staffer Baskin Johns



Goop staffer Baskin Johns stops by Weekend Update to talk about Goop's products.




Weekend Update: Really!?! with Seth Meyers, Colin Jost and Michael Che



Seth Meyers stops by Weekend Update to join Colin Jost and Michael Che for a special edition of Really!?! About Kanye West and Donald Trump's meeting in the Oval Office.

October 14, 2018

SNL: Jail Cellmate

A new prisoner (Seth Meyers) meets his cellmate (Kenan Thompson).

October 14, 2018

SNL: Kanye West Donald Trump Cold Open

Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) meets with Kanye West (Chris Redd) and Jim Brown (Kenan Thompson) in the Oval Office.

October 14, 2018

The Daily Show: The U.N. Issues an Alarming Climate Report & Banksy Shreds His Painting

A report warns that climate change disaster is closer than we thought, Banksy pulls a prank, and Melania Trump makes an ill-advised fashion choice during her trip to Africa.

October 13, 2018

Here's why hurricanes are rapidly exploding in strength

Hurricane Michael’s sudden intensification fits a recent pattern.

The unforgettable thing about record-setting Hurricane Michael will always be how rapidly it became a near-Category 5 storm, perfectly timed for a sneak attack on the Florida Panhandle.

On Tuesday morning, Floridians knew a storm was coming but not how strong it would be. As of 5 a.m., Michael was a strong Category 1 hurricane with a minimum pressure of 973 millibars, a measure of atmospheric pressure indicating that air is rising in the storm, pulling winds toward its center. The official forecast took the storm up to mid-Category 3 at landfall.

But 24 hours later, Michael was already far stronger: It now had 140 mph winds and a pressure falling sharply. The wind speed increased 45 mph in just 24 hours, representing a leap from Category 1 to Category 4 — and the storm wasn’t done intensifying.

Pressure would ultimately fall to 919 millibars, one of the lowest measures of any hurricane at landfall in the United States — and the winds responded by increasing to 155 mph right as the storm struck the coast. This was a borderline Category 5 storm, and it’s clear that the only reason Michael didn’t quite cross that threshold was because it was crossing beaches by that time instead.

This process of “rapid intensification” — extremely dangerous near a coastline — is something we keep seeing lately. Technically, it is defined by the National Hurricane Center as an increase in wind speeds of 35 mph or more in 24 hours.


Read more (Includes video): https://www.washingtonpost.com/energy-environment/2018/10/11/hyper-hurricanes-warm-waters-fueled-hurricane-michaels-sudden-strengthening-that-fits-recent-pattern/?utm_term=.cf26b78ad0aa



This NOAA/RAMMB satellite image taken on Wednesday afternoon shows Hurricane Michael as it approaches the U.S. Gulf Coast. (Lizabeth Menzies/NOAA/RAMMB/AFP)

October 13, 2018

Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) - 10/12/18

Monologue: This Week in Stupid



Bill recaps the top stories of the week, including hurricane coverage and Kanye West's visit to the Oval Office.




Steve Kornacki: The Red and the Blue



NBC News and MSNBC National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki joins Bill to discuss the Democrats' midterm prospects and his book, "The Red and the Blue: The 1990's and the Birth of Political Tribalism."




New Rule: The Fault in Our Stars



In his editorial New Rule, Bill argues that the Democrats need a leader with more substance than celebrity.




Overtime: Omarosa, Steve Kornacki, Rebecca Traister, Reihan Salam, Eddie Glaude



Bill Maher and his guests answer viewer questions after the show.