Lizz Winstead on Hobby Lobby:

Has my GM vehicle been recalled? Check the full list here

Since January, General Motors has made 48 recalls covering some 21 million vehicles in North America, an unprecedented wave of safety defect repairs by a major automaker. And although GM has vowed to fix as many vehicles as possible, history shows many will never be properly fixed, and some will likely stay on the road with an open recall for years to come.

To help shovel through the recall blizzard, we've created a table listing every recall GM's announced this year, which we'll update as new recalls come this year. If you see your vehicle on this list, and you haven't received a letter from GM, you should call your nearby GM dealer and verify if your vehicle has any open recalls using its VIN code. Even if there is an open recall, it could be several weeks before a replacement part will be available; the dealer should have instructions on what to do until then, like taking heavy items off your keychain.

And when the repair time comes, don't be afraid to ask for a loaner.


https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/has-my-gm-vehicle-been-recalled--check-the-full-list-here-151617785.html

Ex-US Sen. Howard Baker Jr. Dies

Source: ABC News

Former Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr., a moderate Republican known as the politician who inquired what President Richard Nixon knew during the 1973 Senate Watergate hearings, has died. He was 88.

Baker, who served as U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2001 until early 2005, died Thursday at his home, according to an email distributed at the law firm where Baker was senior counsel. He died as a result of complications from a stroke suffered Saturday, the email said.

The scion of a political family, Baker served 18 years in the Senate, winning widespread respect from Republicans and Democrats alike and rising to the post of majority leader.

<snip>

But it was his instantly famous question — "What did the president know and when did he know it?" — that made him an enduring household name. It instantly focused the nation's attention on the cover-up that perhaps more than the Watergate break-in itself eventually brought down Nixon's presidency.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-sen-howard-baker-jr-dies-24318528

Berkeley may put climate warnings on gas pumps

Berkeley, long a vanguard of environmental activism, could become the first city in the nation to require warning labels on gas pumps that inform consumers of the potential impact of burning fossil fuels.

The city’s Community Environmental Advisory Commission, a panel made up of citizens, passed a motion last week requesting that the City Manager draft an ordinance within the next three months that would require climate change warning labels on gas pumps at filling stations throughout the city.

The idea, first floated earlier this year, comes from 350.org Bay Area, the local chapter of a national advocacy group fighting against climate change.

The stickers would remind drivers of the link between driving and global warming, said Jamie Brooks, who is managing the “Beyond the Pump” campaign for 350.org.

http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/06/19/berkeley-may-put-climate-warnings-on-gas-pumps/?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea

NY top court considers local bans on gas drilling

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s highest court is expected to decide by the Fourth of July whether municipalities can use local zoning laws to ban shale gas development using hydraulic fracturing within their borders.

The seven-member Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Tuesday in two cases where a midlevel appellate court unanimously concluded last year that state oil and gas law doesn’t trump the authority of local governments to control land use.

The challenges have been closely watched by an industry hoping to drill in New York’s piece of the Marcellus Shale formation and by environmentalists who fear drilling could threaten water supplies and public health.

The industry argues that allowing local bans will create a patchwork of regulation that will prevent effective extraction of gas resources.


http://fuelfix.com/blog/2014/06/04/ny-top-court-considers-local-bans-on-gas-drilling/

Japan oil tanker explodes off SW coast; 1 missing

Source: USA Today

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese oil tanker exploded Thursday off the country's southwest coast near Himeji port, leaving one of the eight people aboard missing, the coast guard said. Four others were severely injured.

Photos and video from the scene showed billowing clouds of black smoke as coast guard vessels sought to douse the fire, which gutted the middle of the Shoko Maru, a 998-ton tanker based in the western city of Hiroshima.

Seven people were rescued, though four suffered severe burns, public broadcaster NHK reported. A search was underway for the missing man, the tanker's captain, it said.

The cause of the explosion was unclear, said coast guard spokesman Koji Takarada. NHK said crew members were working on the deck of the tanker at the time of the blast.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/05/29/japan-tanker-explodes/9705851/?

Meet Congressional Candidate Aaron Woolf at May 12th Event in Queensbury

Please join Washington County Democrats for a Meet & Greet with 21st Congressional District Democratic and Working Families candidate Aaron Woolf on Monday, May 12th at the Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 773 training center. The evening will be the perfect opportunity to meet our candidate and learn how you can help keep District 21 BLUE!



Congressional District 21 Candidate Aaron Woolf


AARON WOOLF MEET & GREET
Monday, May 12th
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

LOCATION:
Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 773 New Office and Training Center Complex
37 Luzerne Road, Queensbury, NY – map

Appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.

Donations accepted but not required.

http://www.washingtoncountydemocrats.com/meet-congressional-candidate-aaron-woolf-at-may-12th-event-in-queensbury/

MAGNITUDE 5 EARTHQUAKE KILLS 1 IN PAKISTAN

Source: AP

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A moderate earthquake rattled several towns in southern Pakistan before dawn Friday, killing one person and wounding 70, a government official said.

The magnitude 5 quake struck the district of Nawabshah, about 400 kilometers (240 miles) northeast of Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, said Roshan Ali Sheikh, the top official at the province's rehabilitation and disaster management department. It hit around 4 a.m. local time (2300 GMT) while many still slept, causing panic, he said.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the temblor had a preliminary magnitude of 4.3 and struck some 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) north of Nawabshah. It said the quake had a depth of 15.6 kilometers (9.7 miles).

Sheikh said at least 25 mud-brick homes collapsed in the quake-hit district and authorities were still assessing the damage. Some of those injured were listed in critical condition at a government hospital, he said.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/magnitude-43-earthquake-rattles-southern-pakistan

Carbon Dioxide Hits Record High in April

The average level of CO2 in the atmosphere for the first time topped 400 parts per million for a full month, according to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Last May, the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii for the first time measured carbon dioxide at greater than 400 parts per million, averaged over one day. C02 exceeded 400 parts per million two months earlier this year than last year, according to researchers at NOAA.

But now we've hit an unwelcome milestone, with every day in April averaging more than 400 parts per million.

It's likely this record-breaking moment marks the first time in 800,000 years that the Earth's atmosphere contained this much CO2.

http://news.discovery.com/earth/global-warming/carbon-dioxide-hits-record-high-in-april-140502.htm#mkcpgn=rssnws1

Jon Stewart Rips Palin, LaPierre And Their Paranoid Friends At The Annual NRA Convention (Video)