KARACHI (Reuters) - A heat wave has killed more than 400 people in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi over the past three days, health officials said on Tuesday, as they set up emergency medical camps in the streets.
The heat wave coincides with major power cuts, leading to harsh criticism of the provincial government and K-electric, the company that supplies electricity to Karachi, the country's richest city and home to 20 million people.
One of Karachi's biggest public hospitals said all its beds were full, with more than 200 people dying there of dehydration or heat exhaustion.
"Some were brought in dead, while others died during treatment," said Dr Seemin Jamali, joint director at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.
Civil Hospital was also full of heatstroke patients. A few old fans blew the sweltering air past stray cats sprawled in the dark corridoors as friends of an unconcious policeman rushed outside to buy him the cold water the hospital could not provide.
"This is how it is. No one cares for common poor man here," Khadim Ali complained as he fanned his cousin, Shahad Ali, a 40-year-old vegetable vendor who collapsed in the heat.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2015
SAMSUNG MAKES BIG TRUCKS TRANSPARENT IN THE NAME OF ROAD SAFETY
It was remarkably simple: put a camera on the front of large, slow-moving trucks and connect it to video displays on the back, thereby informing trailing drivers whether it’s safe to overtake the big rig. That’s the exact same idea that Samsung is now pursuing with a new prototype truck. Making use of its abundance of outdoor displays, the Korean company has stitched together a video wall of four displays at the rear of the truck, which transmits video captured by a wireless camera at the front.
Samsung says it’s now working to obtain regulatory approval for the deployment of its so-called Safety Truck, however the idea doesn’t appear economically practical at large scale. The camera might be cheap and simple enough to install, but four displays per truck would be a major investment for any transport company to make, especially since it wouldn’t lead to any direct financial benefit. Still, it’s impressive that Samsung has managed to overcome the technical challenges (like solar glare) of realizing this otherwise laudable idea.
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Pakistan heat wave death toll spikes towards 450
Paramilitary forces set up emergency medical camps in Karachi ahead of expected break in sweltering conditions.
A heat wave has killed almost 450 people in Pakistan's south over the past three days, with paramilitary forces beginning to set up emergency medical camps in the streets, health officials have said.
Most of the deaths have been in the southern port city of Karachi where temperatures in the surrounding Sindh province reached up to 45C on Saturday.
Hospitals have been swamped with people suffering from heatstroke and dehydration, while repeated power outages have left many without air conditioning or running water.
The electricity grid, run by a private company, K-electric, has been overwhelmed as people switch on fans and air conditioners, and as families begin to cook at the same time during the month of Ramadan.
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A heat wave has killed almost 450 people in Pakistan's south over the past three days, with paramilitary forces beginning to set up emergency medical camps in the streets, health officials have said.
Most of the deaths have been in the southern port city of Karachi where temperatures in the surrounding Sindh province reached up to 45C on Saturday.
Hospitals have been swamped with people suffering from heatstroke and dehydration, while repeated power outages have left many without air conditioning or running water.
The electricity grid, run by a private company, K-electric, has been overwhelmed as people switch on fans and air conditioners, and as families begin to cook at the same time during the month of Ramadan.
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Whoopi Goldberg and ‘The View’ Get Fooled by Fake Story About Christian Pastor
During Monday’s episode of the ABC daytime talk show “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg and the crew were fooled by a fake news website that claimed pastor John Hagee of San Antonio’s Cornerstone Church wanted women prosecuted if they said “God” during sex.
Watch the women of “The View” tee off on Pastor Hagee:
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Watch the women of “The View” tee off on Pastor Hagee:
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Los Angeles Police Shoot Unarmed Man in Head – And Then Handcuff Him
Man with towel around hand appeared to flag officers down for help...
An unarmed man was shot in the head and critically wounded by Los Angeles police officers on Friday night, after he appeared to be flagging them down for assistance.
A passerby recorded graphic video of the incident from a car, and then posted it on Twitter. The video showed officers turning over the man, who appeared to be unconscious and lying on his face, and handcuffing his hands behind his back as his head bled profusely.
The Los Angeles police department said the man, who was not immediately named, had a towel wrapped around his hand and the two officers believed he was concealing a weapon.
The man reportedly waved over the officers in their patrol car in the quiet Los Feliz area of LA, north-east of Hollywood, at about 6.30pm. The officers got out of their vehicle and one ordered the man to “drop the gun”, LAPD lieutenant John Jenal told local television news on Friday night.
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An unarmed man was shot in the head and critically wounded by Los Angeles police officers on Friday night, after he appeared to be flagging them down for assistance.
A passerby recorded graphic video of the incident from a car, and then posted it on Twitter. The video showed officers turning over the man, who appeared to be unconscious and lying on his face, and handcuffing his hands behind his back as his head bled profusely.
The Los Angeles police department said the man, who was not immediately named, had a towel wrapped around his hand and the two officers believed he was concealing a weapon.
The man reportedly waved over the officers in their patrol car in the quiet Los Feliz area of LA, north-east of Hollywood, at about 6.30pm. The officers got out of their vehicle and one ordered the man to “drop the gun”, LAPD lieutenant John Jenal told local television news on Friday night.
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Opinion analysis: Is the New Deal in new trouble?
One of the more durable legacies of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s was the idea that the farm economy can be bolstered by paying growers to keep some of their crop off the market, or paying them not to grow some of it at all. One of those programs ran into a high constitutional fence on Monday, raising at least some question about how long the idea can continue unchanged.
Depending on how farmers, and their lawyers, interpret the new decision in Horne v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, it could pose a threat to a wide range of government subsidy programs that seek to keep crop prices up by keeping supply down. That formula has been used since 1949 for the California raisin industry under a 1937 farm law, but its future is in doubt. What happens to other farm regulatory programs will have to await further development.
The feature of the raisin program that a Court majority condemned constitutionally is that growers are required to turn over full control of a part of their annual crop to the government, to be held off the market temporarily to push up prices for the annual crop as a whole. Whether the growers get anything back, after the government finds ways to dispose of those put in the set-aside bin, was the feature that led the majority to say it is a form of government seizure for which the growers must get fair compensation under the Fifth Amendment.
Although eight of the nine Justices agreed that the raisin program does involve a form of “taking” private property for public use, three of those eight split off from the others on the question of whether the amount the growers were now due for the takeover of their raisins could be settled now.
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Judge Assigned In Freddie Gray Case; Next Week's Arraignment Cancelled
The Maryland Judiciary named Baltimore City Circuit Judge Barry Williams to hear the case.
The arraignment for the six officers which is set for Thursday of next week has been cancelled, with a deadline set for Friday for the officers to submit not guilty pleas in writing.
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Obama Uses N-Word: US 'Not Cured' of Racism
President Barack Obama said the United States has not overcome its history of racism and is using the N-word to make his case.
In an interview, Obama weighed in on the debate over race and guns that has erupted after the arrest of a white man for the racially motivated shooting deaths of nine black church members in Charleston, South Carolina.
"Racism, we are not cured of it," Obama said. "And it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say nigger in public. That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It's not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don't, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior."
Obama's remarks came during an interview out Monday with comedian Marc Maron for his popular podcast, where crude language is often part of the discussion.
The president said while attitudes about race have improved significantly since he was born to a white mother and black father, the legacy of slavery "casts a long shadow and that's still part of our DNA that's passed on."
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In an interview, Obama weighed in on the debate over race and guns that has erupted after the arrest of a white man for the racially motivated shooting deaths of nine black church members in Charleston, South Carolina.
"Racism, we are not cured of it," Obama said. "And it's not just a matter of it not being polite to say nigger in public. That's not the measure of whether racism still exists or not. It's not just a matter of overt discrimination. Societies don't, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior."
Obama's remarks came during an interview out Monday with comedian Marc Maron for his popular podcast, where crude language is often part of the discussion.
The president said while attitudes about race have improved significantly since he was born to a white mother and black father, the legacy of slavery "casts a long shadow and that's still part of our DNA that's passed on."
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Kayaker Catches Shark Off Ocean City NJ
The catch was made about 200 yards from the 58th Street beach according to WCAU TV.
The shark, a 6-foot Thresher, was released back into the ocean after people gathered around the shark and took pictures as it lay on the beach.
Willdlife experts tell WMGM TV that Thresher sharks are not known for attacking people.
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CONSERVATIVE SOUTH CAROLINA STATE SENATOR PREVIEWS PLANS TO BATTLE ESTABLISHMENT PUSH TO RIP DOWN FLAG
This is what it will take to defeat “that damn Confederate flag.” Is that worth it to the taxpayers of South Carolina?
Senator Tom Davis, of Beaufort, says that “debate on the Confederate Battle Flag in the Senate it would likely take a minimum of two weeks, and perhaps longer,” and, considering Davis’ last cause (defeating a gas-tax increase), may actually take longer given the State Senate’s desire to give every member his or her own say. “This isn’t an issue where the State Senate will cut off debate in any sort of expedited manner,” says Davis. “There will be every effort made to ensure that senators will have every opportunity to say everything they want to say.”
I’ve talked to many a legislator regarding “the flag,” and they are saying 99% of the emails, snail mail, or phone calls they are getting, come from people who are not South Carolinians. They do not have a say in this matter. Much like what actually spurred on the Civil War, these people are coming in from a national level and telling South Carolina how to run its government—and, as it did then, it’s working.
As Governor Nikki Haley is known to do, she is predictably kowtowing to national pressure. For instance, as Haley said in her ’04 House election, “It was settled and it has been put away. And I don’t have any intentions of bringing it back up or making it an issue.” (Emphasis mine.) In addition to her damning quote, her spokesman Rob Godfrey said, “if the people aren’t focused on the flag, it’s hard to see why the governor and General Assembly should be.”
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As Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Treats Cancer, Lt. Gov. Thrust Into Bigger Spotlight
The man on the other end of the line, Larry Hogan, wanted to know whether Rutherford -- who had never before considered seeking public office -- would be his running mate in a statewide campaign almost no one thought was winnable.
Once again, the 58-year-old Rutherford will be thrust into the spotlight unexpectedly, as Hogan undergoes weeks of treatment, including chemotherapy, and recovery. The governor announced Monday he has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.
"We keep piling more and more work on him," Hogan said of Rutherford after announcing he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. "Boyd has my back, there's no question about that."
And, Hogan added, "He is going to step up and do even more."
For Rutherford -- the third African-American to serve as Maryland's lieutenant governor -- taking on a more public role will represent a departure from a career that has largely played out behind the scenes. Colleagues describe Rutherford as reserved, level-headed and animated more by the inner workings of government than by politics.
Rutherford once called himself as an "operations person" who enjoys "making the trains run on time."
"He has a keen understanding of how the processes of government work," said Michael S. Steele, who was lieutenant governor under Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., and who worked with Rutherford during that time.
"He has a keen understanding of the difference between what government should do and what it does do," Steele said.
The Maryland Constitution is clear on the transfer of power in the governor's office, even in temporary circumstances. If Hogan is unable to serve his full term, Rutherford would become governor for the rest of it.
If the governor is temporarily unable to perform his duties, the lieutenant governor would become acting governor "when notified in writing by the governor" or if the governor is "disabled" and "unable to communicate."
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Columbia, South Carolina Rescinds Decision To Criminalize Homelessness
Columbia, South Carolina has decided to rescind its controversial decision tocriminalize homelessness after facing major backlash from police, city workers and advocates.
Columbia’s city council decided on Tuesday to reverse its unanimous vote that would have given homeless people the choice to either go to a remote shelter or get arrested, according to the Free Times. The council apologized, backtracked on its decision and said it would give homeless people the option to go to the shelter, but would not force them to.
“I will take responsibility for that getting into the public discourse,” Councilman Cameron Runyan said on Tuesday about his suggestion to force homeless people into confinement, according to the Free Times. “That is not the desire…We are not going to forcibly confine anyone.”
Runyan’s softer stance is a far cry from his stern Aug. 13 declaration.
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Columbia’s city council decided on Tuesday to reverse its unanimous vote that would have given homeless people the choice to either go to a remote shelter or get arrested, according to the Free Times. The council apologized, backtracked on its decision and said it would give homeless people the option to go to the shelter, but would not force them to.
“I will take responsibility for that getting into the public discourse,” Councilman Cameron Runyan said on Tuesday about his suggestion to force homeless people into confinement, according to the Free Times. “That is not the desire…We are not going to forcibly confine anyone.”
Runyan’s softer stance is a far cry from his stern Aug. 13 declaration.
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Walker Wows Social Conservatives, Puts GOP Rivals On Notice
Mr. Walker sought to convince the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s 2015 Road to the Majority Conference he may be the best choice for president, repeatedly citing his record of success in Wisconsin that includes a balanced budget, concessions from unions and pro-faith policies.
“We fight the good fight and win those fights over and over and over again,” he said.
Mr. Walker also mocked the president on national security, citing Mr. Obama’s recent speech in which he said climate change was the biggest threat facing America.
“I’ve got a message for you, Mr. President. The number one threat to the military, the number one threat to America, the number one threat to the world is radical Islam. It’s time we do something about it,” he said to roaring cheers.
More here
Why Is Rachel D. Less 'Authentic' Than Barry O.?
If the least attentive of news watchers this past month can identify only two people by sight, one of them is surely Rachel Dolezal (pronounced DOLE-uh-zhal).
Rachel, of course, has spent the last decade passing for a black woman. And say what you will about her authenticity or lack of it, she, unlike other famous transitional types in the news, is not insisting we call her by a new name like, say, “Shamiqua.”
Or “Barack.”
In his memoir, “Dreams from My Father,” Barack Obama tells the story of how he transitioned from “Barry” to “Barack.”
“Regina,” a coed from Chicago’s South Side, somehow found her way to Southern California’s pricy Occidental College. In “Dreams,” Obama described her as “a big, dark woman who wore stockings and dresses that looked homemade.”
Although the character was largely fictional, Obama assigned Regina a tangible real-life task. It was she who convinced Obama to abandon the name “Barry,” a name that presumably sounded much too white and middle class.
“Do you mind if I call you Barack?” she asked. “Not as long as you say it right,” he answered. Coming straight from the motherland, Obama’s baby daddy, Barack Obama Sr., pronounced his name bear-ick, not buh-rock.
Barack Senior himself was known as “Barry” when he was in Hawaii. When Obama visited Africa, well after he became “Barack,” all of his kin called him “Barry.” It was Obama who would contrive the new pronunciation, perhaps because the new pronunciation sounded more forceful, more revolutionary, more black.
In February 2001, as part of an oral history on black America, Julieanna Richardson interviewed then-state Sen. Barack Obama. Obama told Richardson that his childhood in Hawaii was “idyllic” and that “the image that [he] had of being a black American was almost exclusively positive.”
He added, “All the children around me were of some mixture, and so I was not unusual or untypical in Hawaii.” He mentioned not a single racial affront.
Obama was either deceiving Richardson or deceiving the readers of “Dreams.” The evidence suggests the latter. David Remnick, the author of “The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama,” conceded that Obama “darkens the canvas” in “Dreams” and that many of the grievances cited were “novelistic contrivances.”
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Rachel, of course, has spent the last decade passing for a black woman. And say what you will about her authenticity or lack of it, she, unlike other famous transitional types in the news, is not insisting we call her by a new name like, say, “Shamiqua.”
Or “Barack.”
In his memoir, “Dreams from My Father,” Barack Obama tells the story of how he transitioned from “Barry” to “Barack.”
“Regina,” a coed from Chicago’s South Side, somehow found her way to Southern California’s pricy Occidental College. In “Dreams,” Obama described her as “a big, dark woman who wore stockings and dresses that looked homemade.”
Although the character was largely fictional, Obama assigned Regina a tangible real-life task. It was she who convinced Obama to abandon the name “Barry,” a name that presumably sounded much too white and middle class.
“Do you mind if I call you Barack?” she asked. “Not as long as you say it right,” he answered. Coming straight from the motherland, Obama’s baby daddy, Barack Obama Sr., pronounced his name bear-ick, not buh-rock.
Barack Senior himself was known as “Barry” when he was in Hawaii. When Obama visited Africa, well after he became “Barack,” all of his kin called him “Barry.” It was Obama who would contrive the new pronunciation, perhaps because the new pronunciation sounded more forceful, more revolutionary, more black.
In February 2001, as part of an oral history on black America, Julieanna Richardson interviewed then-state Sen. Barack Obama. Obama told Richardson that his childhood in Hawaii was “idyllic” and that “the image that [he] had of being a black American was almost exclusively positive.”
He added, “All the children around me were of some mixture, and so I was not unusual or untypical in Hawaii.” He mentioned not a single racial affront.
Obama was either deceiving Richardson or deceiving the readers of “Dreams.” The evidence suggests the latter. David Remnick, the author of “The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama,” conceded that Obama “darkens the canvas” in “Dreams” and that many of the grievances cited were “novelistic contrivances.”
More here
Former Red Light Camera CEO Pleads Guilty To Bribing Officials
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WTVN) -- The former CEO of a red-light camera company has pled guilty to issuing bribes to city officials in Columbus and Cincinnati, to keep the cameras up and running.
Karen Finley, of Arizona, admitted in court that between 2005 and 2013, the company made campaign contributions to elected officials.
According to the Dispatch, the bribes were taken by the Ohio Democratic Party, and the campaign of Andrew Ginther solicited for the bribe to keep the cameras operating in late 2011.
In a release from the US District Attorney's Office, "According to admissions made in connection with her plea, Finley and others, including another executive of the company, agreed to provide the conduit campaign contributions with the understanding that the elected public officials would assist the company in obtaining or retaining municipal contracts, including a photo red light enforcement contract with the City of Columbus."
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Karen Finley, of Arizona, admitted in court that between 2005 and 2013, the company made campaign contributions to elected officials.
According to the Dispatch, the bribes were taken by the Ohio Democratic Party, and the campaign of Andrew Ginther solicited for the bribe to keep the cameras operating in late 2011.
In a release from the US District Attorney's Office, "According to admissions made in connection with her plea, Finley and others, including another executive of the company, agreed to provide the conduit campaign contributions with the understanding that the elected public officials would assist the company in obtaining or retaining municipal contracts, including a photo red light enforcement contract with the City of Columbus."
More here
Beached Hammerhead Shark Discovered In Fenwick Reportedly Birthed Pups In OC
It is unclear if the large hammerhead was caught by surf anglers or washed ashore deceased, but what is known is the shark birthed two or three healthy pups that were returned safely to the ocean. Witnesses report the pups were fine and swam off in the ocean.
The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) and the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) on Monday confirmed the hammerhead did have pups on the beach in north Ocean City early this morning. National Aquarium officials also reported they were contacted by the NRP early on Monday to consult with officials on the beach on how to handle the beached shark, but did not respond in a rescue capacity after learning the hammerhead was already deceased.
NRP Public Information Officer Candy Thompson outlined the sequence of events as her agency knows it according to its dispatch center log. At 1:22 a.m., a report of a hammerhead shark giving birth along the shoreline came in and was reportedly observed by a witness and police officers. National Aquarium staff advised at 1:42 a.m. the shark should be left near the shoreline. At 2:09 a.m. it was determined the shark was dead.
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Parents furious after Baltimore school throws away thousands of books
BALTIMORE, Md. – Officials in the Baltimore school district are taking heat from local activists and city council members for trashing Dumpsters full of usable books as part of a local school closing.
Teachers and community members were flabbergasted after Heritage High School principal Stephanie Farmer ordered staff to “recycle” every book at the school copyrighted before 1999 by tossing them in a massive dumpster at the now closed campus, WBALTV reports.
Terra Caf̩ owner Terence Dickson and an associate went to the school this week after learning of the book dump through social media and discovered thousands of books Рfrom math texts to classic literary works from John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemmingway and William Shakespeare Рset to be tossed out, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Others report many of the books were published after 2000, and appeared to be in new or like new condition.
Dickson and his associate, Sharron Childs, attempted to collect some of the books to distribute to community centers, schools and other places that could use them, but were reportedly turned away by officials.
The two were also heckled for inquiring about the books, with officials demanding to know their intentions for the books and they were eventually escorted out of the building, the Sun reports.
“I didn’t know Shakespeare got old,” Dickson told WBALTV. “I didn’t know algebra changed.”
“Our intentions with the books were to recycle the books into the communities,” Childs said.
The two contacted city councilman Carl Stokes, who immediately took school officials to task for the book dump.
“These books, first of all, were in good shape and second of all, they’re not out of date,” Stokes said. “I was greatly disappointed that they were throwing them in the Dumpster, when there were people wanting to take them.
“I couldn’t believe it – that I had just watched a loader take a Dumpster full of books,” he said.
Teachers and community members were flabbergasted after Heritage High School principal Stephanie Farmer ordered staff to “recycle” every book at the school copyrighted before 1999 by tossing them in a massive dumpster at the now closed campus, WBALTV reports.
Terra Caf̩ owner Terence Dickson and an associate went to the school this week after learning of the book dump through social media and discovered thousands of books Рfrom math texts to classic literary works from John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemmingway and William Shakespeare Рset to be tossed out, according to The Baltimore Sun.
Others report many of the books were published after 2000, and appeared to be in new or like new condition.
Dickson and his associate, Sharron Childs, attempted to collect some of the books to distribute to community centers, schools and other places that could use them, but were reportedly turned away by officials.
The two were also heckled for inquiring about the books, with officials demanding to know their intentions for the books and they were eventually escorted out of the building, the Sun reports.
“I didn’t know Shakespeare got old,” Dickson told WBALTV. “I didn’t know algebra changed.”
“Our intentions with the books were to recycle the books into the communities,” Childs said.
The two contacted city councilman Carl Stokes, who immediately took school officials to task for the book dump.
“These books, first of all, were in good shape and second of all, they’re not out of date,” Stokes said. “I was greatly disappointed that they were throwing them in the Dumpster, when there were people wanting to take them.
“I couldn’t believe it – that I had just watched a loader take a Dumpster full of books,” he said.
Child found unresponsive in locked car dies
Officials were called around 5:30 p.m. to the 3400 block of Juneway, where a 2-year-old girl was found locked in a car.
The child was taken in very serious condition to Johns Hopkins Children's Center, where she later died, WBAL-TV 11 News reporter Kai Reed reported.
Police said the girl was left in the hot car for at least 24 hours
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