kscarbel2

Teens beat good samaritan to death The Washington Post / August 17, 2016 Authorities in South Carolina say two teenagers have been arrested on murder charges after one of them shot and killed a man who had just helped them pull their SUV from a roadside ditch. Michael Odell Anthony Dupree-Tyler, 19, and Deon Antonio Frasier, 17, were denied bond on Tuesday in the shooting incident, which occurred Monday night in North Charleston. A witness asked the victim, Chadwick Garrett, to help the teens pull a 2016 Dodge Durango from a ditch along a narrow road. Witnesses said he agreed to help, for a $20 fee, according to court documents cited by CBS affiliate WCSC. After Garrett, 45, helped pull the SUV to the road, he asked the teens for his money. Frasier then drew a gun and shot Garrett in the chest. Frasier got into the vehicle with Dupree-Tyler and drove away. Police arrived at the scene about 11 p.m. Monday and found the victim lying on the roadway. Garrett was pronounced dead at the scene. After the shooting, a woman from the apartment where the suspects live called police and said the two teens had stolen her SUV. She gave a description of the vehicle as well as of Dupree-Tyler and Frasier, according to documents cited by the Charleston Post and Courier. Once the woman got the vehicle back, however, she tried — unsuccessfully — to call off the police response. Officers found the suspects at the apartment. After a brief standoff, police took the teens into custody. Dupree-Tyler admitted to police that he had been at the scene and Frasier admitted that he had shot the victim. In addition to the two murder charges, Frasier faces a charge of possession of a firearm during a violent crime, according to online booking records. At the bond hearing on Tuesday, Moses Garrett, the victim’s father, called the teens “cowards.” “It’s so sad; these young babies here, they’re getting more and more terrible out there on the streets,” he said in court. “You guys killed a man. Only cowards carry guns.” .

Father punches infant daughter to death The Washington Post / August 18, 2016 Cory Morris was home with the baby over the weekend, he told investigators. His girlfriend had gone to work and Morris was watching television. Then, the 4-month-old child, a girl named Emersyn, started to make some noises. Morris described it as baby talk in his interview with authorities. The Minneapolis father said he took Emersyn out of her swing, carried her into her room and placed her on a changing table. But Emersyn kept making noises, Morris later told authorities. So to quiet her down, Morris began to punch the baby. “He admitted he punched her approximately fifteen times in the face with a closed fist,” the documents state. “He stated he punched her approximately seven times in the chest with a closed fist. Defendant admitted squeezing her chest with both hands.” Emersyn was later pronounced dead. Morris, 21, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his baby daughter. “None of us can comprehend what this is all about,” said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. “And I’m a proud father of five and a grandfather of two. There’s nothing more important in my life than my children and my grandchildren. What is this? Why? Frankly, right now, we don’t know.” Freeman said there were “suggestions” of mental health issues, which would be evaluated. “But right now, we have charged him with second-degree intentional murder,” said Freeman Authorities responded to a Minneapolis home after a man called 911 and said he had killed his baby. Emersyn was unconscious when police arrived, and covered in blood. “The firefighters were the first to arrive to the residence and they found the baby on the changing station, lying in a pool of blood.” “Officers observed the blood spatter all over the wall and floor near the changing station in the baby’s room.” Morris was taken into custody and said he had repeatedly hit the baby. “His clothing, hands and arms were covered in dried blood and officers observed swelling to his right hand,” the police complaint notes. Emersyn was rushed to a hospital but died from blunt force trauma. Morris’s girlfriend told investigators that he watched the child about three to four times a week, while she is at work. She “stated Defendant can go from happy to mad easily” and had thrown things in the past. After police arrived and spoke with Morris, he expressed no remorse. .

Man beats 7-month-old girl to death The Washington Post / August 24, 2016 The 7-month-old girl had two burst blood vessels in her eye when she was dropped off at a day-care center in March. The center’s staff noticed more injuries when she was dropped off over the next few days at the center in the Minneapolis suburbs: bruises and scratches on the baby’s cheek the next day, and more on her back the following day. When the staff asked the baby’s caretaker, the live-in boyfriend of the girl’s mother, about the injuries, he said the child was injured at home. The next morning, on March 24, the man, Chris McMorris, didn’t bring the child to day care. Instead, he called 911. When emergency responders arrived at a home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, they saw McMorris sitting on a bed as he talked on the phone. The 7-month-old was lying on the floor, motionless. She was pronounced dead less than two hours later. Details indicate that the infant died a painful death. She had 11 rib fractures, plus bruises on her scalp, abdomen, back and buttocks. Her lacerated liver bled into her abdominal cavity, the document says. Based on her injuries, authorities said she was struck in the abdomen multiple times. They ruled her death a homicide. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says McMorris killed the child after finding out he wasn’t her biological father. A paternity test confirmed as much just three days before the child was killed. McMorris, 24, was charged last week with two counts of second-degree murder, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. “I’ve been in this business for 18 years as a prosecutor,” Freeman said. “If you don’t get upset by cases like this, you should get out of the business.” When police arrived at the home in March, McMorris was unable to explain why the baby had bruises or why she suddenly stopped breathing. He only said that the child was vomiting a white substance. The child’s mother told investigators that she didn’t notice the bruises and scratches that the day-care workers had spotted. The mother was unable to explain why her daughter had several injuries. Oddly, the mother is not named in the charging documents. The mother was living with McMorris and another child, a 12-year-old relative. McMorris is in custody in the Hennepin County Jail and is scheduled for a court hearing on Sept. 22. His total bail has been set at $1.5 million. .

No I don't. Jerry C. Warmkessel and Terry L. Warmkessel are two different people. Jerry is younger.

10-year old drugged, sexually assaulted, killed The Washington Post / August 25, 2016 When police were called early Wednesday to an apartment complex in Albuquerque, they thought they were responding to a battery call. When police entered the apartment, it was filled with smoke and they discovered the body of Victoria Martens partially wrapped in a burning blanket, inside a bath tub. The child had no pulse, her left leg was almost completely cut off and both arms were missing. She was pronounced dead at the scene. She had been killed hours before her 10th-birthday party, her body injected with methamphetamine, sexually assaulted, strangled and stabbed before being dismembered. The girl’s mother, Michelle Martens, 35; Martens’s boyfriend, Fabian Gonzales, 31; and Gonzales’s cousin, Jessica Kelley, 31, have been charged in connection with her death. Martens told police her boyfriend drugged her daughter 'to calm her down' so that he and Kelley could have sex with her. Martens told police that Gonzales choked her daughter to death after having sex with her. Gonzales claims that Kelley, who he identified as his cousin, stabbed and dismembered the 10-year-old girl. “This homicide is the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career,” says Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden Jr. “A complete disregard of human life and betrayal by a mother.” Police said the girl had been drugged with methamphetamine, sexually assaulted and stabbed. Police were called to the Arroyo Villas Apartments in northwest Albuquerque about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. The call was about an aggravated battery. A woman, later identified as Martens, told police after they arrived that “someone killed her daughter” and the woman was still inside the second-floor apartment. Gonzales, who was wearing bloodstained shorts, told police that he was cleaning himself up before officers got there. When the officers tried to get inside the apartment, another woman, later identified as Kelley, slammed the door shut and locked it with a chain. She then jumped from the apartment’s balcony, but was later arrested. Meanwhile, the fire alarm inside the apartment went off. Officers went inside the smoke-filled unit to try to look for the child, and found her body in the bathroom. They also found bloodstains on the carpet of the girl’s bedroom. The the mother, who also has a younger son, told police that Gonzales and Kelley dismembered Victoria. One of the police officers who arrived at the apartment found the girl's body in a bathroom, rolled up in a blanket that had been set on fire. The officer put it out. Some of her remains were found in a plastic bag in a hamper near the kitchen. Martens, Gonzales and Kelley are facing several charges, including child abuse resulting in death, kidnapping, tampering with evidence and conspiracy. Gonzales also is charged with criminal sexual penetration of a minor. Gonzales denied any involvement in the child’s death and pinned the alleged crimes on Kelley. “Jessica Kelley did it,” he said during his arrest Thursday morning. Tanner Tixier, spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department, says what Gonzales said isn’t a lie. “Not the whole truth,” Tixier said, “but it’s not a lie.” Tixier said that Martens, who has a cut between her eyes, showed no remorse when talking to detectives, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Kelley remained at a hospital Wednesday night. “This is a horrific tragedy for our community. When something like this happens to our community, it has an effect on each and every one of us,” Eden, the police chief, said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “I want to assure the public that we will pursue justice, and we will make sure that we exhaust every resource into this investigation.” He said there are no other suspects in the case. Methamphetamine, much of it provided by Mexican drug-trafficking organizations, is the foremost drug threat in New Mexico, according to a 2011 report by the Justice Department. Methamphetamine represented about 25 percent of all drug reports in Albuquerque during the first half of 2013, according to a 2014 report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. That’s a higher number than for drug reports involving cocaine and heroin and a bit lower than marijuana reports. Victoria Martens’s death has rattled the northwest Albuquerque community where she lived. Laura Bobbs, a minister and close friend of the family, was sobbing and yelling when she arrived at the Arroyo Villas Apartments, which had been cordoned off with crime-scene tape, the Albuquerque Journal reported. “No, no, no, say it ain’t so,” Bobbs said, according to the paper. “Who does this to a little child? What is happening to this world, that they would kill a little child?” She had planned a birthday party for the girl, who wanted manicures and pedicures instead of toys, Bobbs told the paper. She also bought her lip gloss and a necklace with the words “From Aunti Laura” engraved on the back, Bobbs said. A neighbor, Paulina Quintana, said that the day before Victoria was killed, she seemed excited about her upcoming party. “My stomach has been hurting. I’m crying off and on,” Quintana told the paper. “I think we’re all freaking out.” By Thursday morning, a memorial of flowers, teddy bears, candles, butterflies and balloons had been set up outside the apartment. A bouquet of yellow flowers sat by a tree outside Petroglyph Elementary School, where Victoria was a student. “We cherish and protect our students and, like the rest of Albuquerque, are having a hard time wrapping our heads around the fact that someone could treat one of them so horrifically,” said a brief message on the school’s website. In a statement, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) called the manner in which Victoria was killed “atrocious.” “What happened to this little girl is unspeakable,” she said, according to media reports, “and justice should come down like a hammer on the monster who committed this murder.” [but it will never happen] Kelley was recently released from prison and was staying with Martens at the time of the slaying. Both Kelley and Gonzales have extensive criminal records. .

W. Colin Chisholm, 78, Mack Trucks Executive and Museum Curator August 14, 1997 / The Morning Call W. Colin Chisholm, 78, of Allentown died Wednesday, August 13, at his home. He was the husband of Mary (Vinson) Chisholm. They were married 54 years in April. Mr. Chisholm was vice president of product quality and warranty at Mack Trucks Inc., Allentown, before retiring in 1983. After retiring, he was curator of the Mack Antique Truck Museum until his death. As a young man, he went to work for Mack Truck’s Salt Lake City, Utah factory branch as a mechanic, and later became the service superintendent. Subsequent positions included division service manager of Mack Trucks Canada Limited, Allentown product evaluation engineer and general service manager. Born in Ogden, Utah, he was a son of the late William Colin and Jessie E. (Trenam) Chisholm. A U.S. Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, he was secretary and treasurer of the 71st Squadron of the Army Air Corps. He was treasurer of the American Truck Foundation in Allentown, and a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers. Survivors include his wife; son, James Colin of Canton, Ga.; daughter, Joan K., wife of Timothy M. Gehris of Allentown; two granddaughters and two great-grandsons.

I was about to suggest Winton J. (Win) Pelizzoni, but I see he passed on March 18, 2011. Our one-time sales manager of Sales Engineering*, Terry Warmkessel could tell you. * Not to be confused with Mack "Service Engineering".

On immigration, Trump suddenly sounds like rivals he once ridiculed The Washington Post / August 25, 2016 Donald Trump suddenly sounds a lot like Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio on immigration For more than a year, Donald Trump took the hardest line on immigration — vowing to deport 11 million illegal immigrants en masse and pillorying his GOP primary rivals as favoring “amnesty.” But 11 weeks before the election, Trump is suddenly sounding a lot like the opponents he repeatedly ridiculed. The nominee and his campaign aides are now talking openly about requiring illegal immigrants to pay back taxes and potentially allowing those without criminal records to stay in the country — lines that Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida repeatedly used in the GOP presidential primary. Trump also says that any softening of his position won’t include a path to citizenship — consistent with the way former Florida governor Jeb Bush described how he would provide legal status for undocumented immigrants. The shift, if it sticks, marks a dramatic turnabout for a nominee who repeatedly attacked Bush, Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and other primary rivals as weak and spineless on immigration, and who repeatedly vowed that he would never waver in his push to deport everyone in the United States who is here illegally. It was unclear Thursday evening if it would. In an interview with CNN, Trump said “there is no path to legalization unless they leave the country and come back,” apparently returning to at least some version of his original position. Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for more clarity on his views. In a Thursday radio interview with WABC in New York, Bush said Trump’s views seem to be constantly changing, making it difficult to read where he stands. But he said Trump seems to have turned his back on the positions that have defined his candidacy. “Sounds like a typical politician, by the way, where you get in front of one crowd and say one thing, and then say something else to another crowd that may want to hear a different view,” said Bush, who has refused to endorse Trump. “All the things that Donald Trump railed against, he seems to be morphing into. It’s kind of disturbing.” When pressed on the similarities between his position and Trump’s new stance, Bush said with a laugh: “Well, I’m sure I influenced his position.” Republican advocates of immigration reform came out of the woodwork Thursday to draw attention to Trump’s changing stance. Former House majority leader Eric Cantor, who supported Bush’s campaign, wrote on Twitter: “Pleased to see @realDonaldTrump embrace @JebBush’s immigration plan.” Cantor lost his seat in a 2014 primary upset in part because of his support for immigration reform. Meanwhile, Democrats are in rare agreement with many Trump defenders in saying that the nominee has not actually flip-flopped. They argue that he is merely trying to paper over ugly remarks that can’t be taken back, such as labeling illegal immigrants from Mexico “rapists” and killers bringing drugs and crime into the United States. “I don’t think anything has changed,” said Rep. Luis V. Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), a staunch advocate of immigration reform. Following a staff shake-up last week amid worsening poll numbers against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump has sought to move to the center — at least rhetorically — in a number of areas, including immigration. Although the nominee has been cagey on the details, Trump’s remarks so far have borne remarkable similarities to the positions that Bush and others held on immigration reform. For example, Bush wrote in a 2013 book on immigration reform that he supported “a path to earned legal status, not citizenship,” in which undocumented immigrants could obtain “a provisional work permit, where they pay taxes, they pay a fine, they learn English, they work.” He advocated the same in the GOP primaries. In a town-hall-style interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity that aired this week, Trump described a similar set of policies. He said there would be “no citizenship” and “no amnesty,” but at the same time he suggested that some otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants could be allowed to stay if they pay back taxes. “No amnesty, but we work with them,” Trump said. In an interview on CNN on Thursday morning, Trump’s new campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, tried to distinguish what Trump is saying from what Rubio, Bush and others advocated. “Senator Rubio is a particularly different case because he led the Gang of Eight with [Democrats] Chuck Schumer and — and I think Dick Durbin. The Gang of Eight, their plan was amnesty,” she said. Rubio was part of the Gang of Eight senators who co-sponsored a comprehensive immigration reform bill that included a path to citizenship in 2013. But he backed away from the sweeping approach by the time of his presidential campaign and repeatedly insisted that he did not support “amnesty.” Rubio also emphasized during his presidential campaign that he would not hesitate to deport illegal immigrants who have committed serious crimes. But he took a more tolerant attitude toward those who did not commit serious crimes. “If you’re a criminal alien, no, you can’t stay,” he said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” in January, specifying that he meant those who committed felonies. He added: “I don’t think you’re gonna round up and deport 12 million people.” In that interview, Trump said he would deport illegal immigrants who are “gang members.” But polling the audience, he seemed open to a different approach to those who have not broken laws aside from being in the country without proper documents. “So now we have the person, 20 years been an upstanding person, the family is great, everyone is great, do we throw them out or do we work with them?” Trump asked the crowd to a mixed reaction. Trump said Thursday that he will lay out an “exact plan” on immigration in an upcoming speech. “I will be doing that, I’d say, over the next week or so,” Trump told reporters at Trump Tower in New York. “I look forward to it.” He insisted that he is “very strong on illegal immigration” and warned not to be fooled by the news media. “You either have a country or you don’t. We either have borders or we don’t,” Trump said, adding that he would still build a massive wall along the southern border, and make Mexico pay for it, if elected president. At a Thursday afternoon rally in Manchester, N.H., Trump sought to project strength in his immigration positions, reiterating his commitment to building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. But he did not offer any new details on his revised stance. “We will end illegal immigration, and we will restore the constitutional rule of law,” Trump pledged. The wavering marks a sharp departure from last year, when Trump said in television interviews on NBC and MSNBC that illegal immigrants “have to go” and he vowed to create a “deportation force.” The tone he has adopted lately no longer includes that language. As a candidate in the primary, Trump hammered Bush and Rubio for being soft on illegal immigrants. The issue Bush and Rubio ran into with the GOP base was that many conservatives saw anything short of deporting all illegal immigrants as a form of “amnesty,” which has become one of the most damaging words to be associated with in Republican circles. Now, Trump risks having the same problem in the final stretch before the general election.

Volkswagen may have to buy back more US cars The Financial Times / August 25, 2016 The US court handling the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal turned up the heat on the German carmaker by ordering lawyers on both sides to begin “plan B” negotiations in case 85,000 cars that violate US pollution rules cannot be fixed. Judge Charles Breyer called it “intolerable” that Volkswagen cars with 3.0 litre engines that do not meet US standards continue to be driven on the road with no solution in sight. The cars are among nearly 600,000 vehicles that were fitted with illegal “defeat devices” and exceed Environmental Protection Agency standards for nitrogen oxide. Last month, the judge gave preliminary approval to a $15 billion settlement in which VW agreed to buy back or fix almost half a million of the cars, those with 2.0 litre engines. But the 85,000 3 litre cars were not part of the deal. VW has been adamant that it can fix those cars without any affect on their performance. “What makes this case a bit different from the run of the mill case is that having the car on the road in violation of EPA standards is, in the court’s view, intolerable,” the judge said. “It’s something that must be addressed and corrected as expeditiously as possible.” VW has submitted several proposals to fix the cars, but after weeks of testing they have all been rejected. On July 13, the California Air Resources Board called VW’s latest proposal “incomplete, substantially deficient, and . . . far short of meeting the legal requirements to return these vehicles to the claimed certified configuration.” VW now has until October 24 to offer a new proposal, the court said. “It’s an iterative process, they’ve been going back and forth,” said a person familiar with the negotiations between VW and environmental regulators. Judge Breyer said that finding a fix was still “plan A”, but given that the progress was slow and he wanted the cars off the road, he ordered that a contingency plan, including settlement talks, be developed. “I am directing the parties to participate forthwith, and to come back on November 3 [with an update],” he told the lawyers. If Volkswagen were forced to buy back all 85,000 cars, it would be likely to add several billion dollars to the costs of the scandal. VW has estimated it will cost about €20,000 per vehicle to buy back the 2 litre cars. If the same price is applied to 3L cars, the cost would be €1.7 billion — but the 3 litre cars are generally newer and more expensive, so that total could be higher. VW has set aside about €18 billion for the scandal, which involves 11 million cars worldwide but the costs are centred in the US, where regulators first discovered the misbehaviour and emissions standards are high. Separately, lawyers told the court that VW had agreed to settle with 650 US dealerships which had sued the carmaker in April for fraud over the scandal. The dealers had sued the carmaker, seeking compensation for a drop in the value of diesel-engined cars and in their ability to sell new models. Volkswagen confirmed the settlement and said that it had agreed to “make cash payments and provide additional benefits to the dealers to resolve alleged past, current and future claims of losses in franchise value”. Hagens Berman, the law firm representing VW franchise dealers in the proposed settlement, said that the dollar amount of the deal was still up for discussion. In a statement on the law firm’s website, it said: “The payout formula is still under refinement and will be fully disclosed in the coming weeks.”

Saying the INS is dysfunction and out of sync with the times would be generous. Here's the PDF version from your government. https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/n-400.pdf

Gentlemen, I can't recall if the Super-Liner was designed in Allentown, or by the staff of Mack Western in Hayward (which was headed by Allentown engineers and included west coast engineers we'd lured away from competitors). Back then, it took us on average five years to design a truck from scratch and launch it. Introduced in 1977, the first generation Super-Liner program (RWL/RWS) was established under Zenon C.R. Hansen (he retired on July 31, 1974 from his positions as board chairman and CEO). It was obvious that Mack Western needed a long nose conventional to compete in the western market. Walter M. May would have been deeply involved in the project, being COO and Vice President of Engineering. Sadly, we lost this legendary member of the Mack family last year.

Does the Mack recall affect you? Big Rigs / August 25, 2016 In this latest recall Mack is calling back some 699 trucks made in 2015. Mack Titan, Granite, Super-Liner, Metro-Liner and Trident Trucks manufactured between February 9 last year and December 17 are being called back because of trailer issues. On the government's product safety website, where you can find a full list of Vin numbers, it says the defect is the trailer ABS malfunction light does not illuminate. "If a malfunction were to occur with the trailer ABS, the driver would not be alerted to the issue, posing a potential accident hazard.” Consumers are asked to contact Volvo Group Australia authorised repairing dealer to have instrument cluster software updated. Back in June, Mack Granite and Trident Trucks manufactured between September 1, 2011 through to April 30, 2014 equipped with Mack proprietary axle were recalled. That recall was instigated because the cap nut that retains the inter-axle driveshaft yoke to the rear axle input shaft may be subject to premature loosening. The potential risk if the nut comes off, is the yoke can separate from the axle input shaft and cause the driveshaft to disconnect, posing an accident hazard to the driver and other road users. .

Owner/Driver / August 18, 2016 Trailer warning issues force VGA to recall most models sold in 2015 Volvo Group Australia (VGA) has recalled 699 Mack Titan, Granite, Super-Liner, Metro-Liner, and Trident models over trailer ABS alert issues. According to an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) notice, the affected trucks, which were manufactured between February 9, 2015 and December 17, 2015, are equipped with trailer ABS malfunction lights that do not illuminate. "If a malfunction were to occur with the trailer ABS the driver would not be alerted to the issue," the ACCC notice says, "posing a potential accident hazard." Sold nationally by VGA through authorised dealerships, the affected Mack trucks require an update to their instrument cluster software. VGA says consumers should contact an authorised repairing dealer. The recall marks the second in two months from Mack, the first affected Granite and Trident models made between 2011 and 2014.

Allison Transmission Press Release / August 23, 2016 The new Allison transmission-equipped Volkswagen Constellation 26.280 6x4 concrete mixer will be featured at three booths during Concrete Show South America August 24 thru 26 at the Sao Paulo Exhibition Center. Attendees can get a close look at the VW Constellation while visiting Liebherr Brazil, the Society of Industrial Thermoelectric Plants (SITI) and Convict Industry and Commerce. Developed in conjunction with Volkswagen Truck & Bus, the vocational truck includes a fully automatic Allison 3000 Series transmission. Construction requires trucks to haul massive loads, withstand heavy start-stop duty-cycles and endure day-after-day use without breaking down. This kind of work takes a toll on weaker transmissions. However, instead of a starting clutch that is prone to wear, Allison uses a patented torque converter technology for more time on the road and lower repair costs. Allison’s torque converter smoothly multiplies engine torque, delivering more power to the wheels. By multiplying the engine power, drivers get increased performance, faster acceleration and greater operational flexibility. An Allison fully automatic transmission delivers continuous power to the wheels while a manual or automated manual transmission (AMT) loses power with every shift. This Continuous Power Technology enables Allison transmissions to provide smoother, seamless, full-power shifts. By accelerating faster than manual and automated manual transmissions (AMTs), Allison Automatics allow fleets to operate at higher average speeds and complete more loads per day. In addition to reliability and increased productivity, the following are more reasons Allison is considered the top choice for construction vehicles: Improved maneuverability to creep in soft soil and navigate tight spaces Better on hills with 2nd Reverse and more control on steep grades with virtually no rollback Easier and safer to operate for less experienced drivers, expanding the driver pool Available with engine speed Power Take-Off (PTO) Be sure to check out the VW Constellation 26.280 6x4 during Concrete Show South America and learn more about the benefits of fully automatic Allison transmissions. .

Scania’s got a new truck, but not for North America. Not yet at least. Sean Kilcarr, Fleet Owner / August 24, 2016 It’s always a treat to watch a new truck get introduced, with all the flash and hype that’s usually only reserved for swanky new sports cars. That’s certainly the case for the new big rig being rolled out by Swedish truck maker Scania, which is part of Volkswagen Truck & Bus GmbH; an all-new platform that’s been 10 years in the making, with the OEM investing some US$2.39 billion over that time span to bring it to life. Scania’s executives felt that Paris served as an “ideal location” for the launch of its new truck, as the famed “City of Light” is a home for “design innovation.” Aside from all the glitz, however, and despite it being hailed as a “global truck,” North American fleets won’t see this ride anytime soon. Indeed, its cabover design doesn’t mesh with the conventional cab sensibilities on this side of the pond, though the new Scania is certainly going to fit well with fleet needs in other markets around the world. There are, however, a few takeaways worthy of note for North American fleet operators from this new truck – especially as Scania is trying to leverage its vertically-integrated truck platform to generate more savings for its customers. That’s not just in terms of better fuel economy, though the OEM touted that its new truck should achieve a 5% improvement in fuel efficiency compared to its current models (with 3% coming from powertrain improvements and 2% due to better aerodynamics). One of the bigger advances stems from the OEM’s “Scania Maintenance” program, which I’ve noted in this space before; a program that bases truck maintenance on data, not mileage, and purportedly can extend engine oil drain intervals out to 150,000 kilometers under the right circumstances – that’s 93,000 miles for fleets on this side of the pond. Those kinds of predictive maintenance abilities are only possible due to the rise of the “connected truck,” which is something Scania views as “unavoidable” in the European Union of 2016. Indeed, the OEM said it now has over 200,000 connected vehicles on the road, with 95% of all its trucks delivered in Europe now “connected” vehicles. “Our assessment is that within a few years, quality, user-friendliness and the actual benefit of the services that connectivity enables will mark the great dividing line in the industry between premium manufacturers and all the rest," noted Mattias Lundholm, head of connected services at Scania, during the OEM’s press event. “Offering a cleverly designed range of connected services and added value increases a hauler’s competitive edge and contributes to more profit," he explained. Certainly, Scania thinks this new truck will do that and more for European motor carriers, as well as others in selected markets around the world. We’ll see if those capabilities come to life as promised.

. .

You’ve got to wonder................ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters / August 24, 2016 German politicians on Wednesday criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel for saying that people with a Turkish background who live in Germany should show "loyalty to our country", calling her comment unnecessarily divisive at a particularly difficult time. Adding to mounting strains on relations between Germany and Turkey, a major partner in regional attempts to stem mass migration, a leaked government report last Wednesday stated [correctly] that Turkey was a hub for Islamist groups. German media have also reported that the Turkish government's MIT intelligence service had a network of 6,000 informants in Germany. In an interview published on Tuesday, Merkel had told the Passauer Neuen Presse newspaper: "We expect those with a Turkish background who have lived in Germany for a long time to develop a high degree of loyalty to our country." In exchange, she said, Germany was trying to be open to their concerns and to understand them. German integration commissioner Aydan Ozugus [German-born to Turkish parents], a member of the Social Democrats that rule in coalition with Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats, criticized Merkel’s comments. She said a clear majority of those with a Turkish background "felt allegiance to our country" and should not be assumed to have conflicting loyalties. Volker Beck, migration spokesman for the Green party, said: "Questioning the loyalty of your own citizens without any particular reason is a practice that we generally see only in authoritarian regimes." He said people with a Turkish background needed to support German values such as human dignity and human rights, regardless of language, religion and ethnic origin, not declare "loyalty" to one country. [?????] Tensions are already high in the 3-million strong Turkish community in Germany between supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and those of a U.S.-based cleric he blames for a thwarted coup on July 15. Erdogan backers have demonstrated in several German cities since the attempted coup, shops have been boycotted by rival sides and hate mail has been sent to anti-Erdogan politicians.

The Washington Post / August 24, 2016 A survivor of the 2007 Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people now faces terror charges. Authorities say he traveled to Syria to join ISIS, departing the U.S. just a few weeks after collecting over $91,000 in settlement money for his injuries. Mohamed Amiin Ali Roble, 20, was charged Wednesday with providing and conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. He was weeks shy of his 11th birthday when the school bus he was riding in plummeted about 30 feet as the bridge collapsed. Roble, one of 145 people who were hurt, received the settlement funds on his 18th birthday. Roble’s name first surfaced in May during the federal trial of three Minnesota men who were convicted of conspiring to join ISIS. The bridge collapse wasn’t mentioned at trial, but The Associated Press made the connection using public records. Court documents filed Wednesday show Roble received three court settlements when he turned 18 that totaled $91,654. That money included a $65,431 payment from the state’s settlement fund. According to evidence presented in federal court in May, Roble flew to Istanbul in October 2014 as part of an itinerary that included a trip to China. He was due to return to the U.S. in June 2015, but never did, FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force Officer Joel Pajak testified. “We received information that Mr. Roble ended up in Syria with his uncle, Abdi Nur,” Pajak testified. The FBI affidavit says Roble withdrew more than $47,000 from his accounts over three months in 2014 while he was in Turkey. “This large sum is consistent with previously mentioned CHS reports that Roble was financially supporting himself and other members of ISIS, including by purchasing vehicles to be used by members of ISIS,” the affidavit said. The “CHS” was a confidential informant working for the government. Nur is among 10 men charged in the case and is believed to have joined ISIS. Nine others have been convicted on terror charges in Minnesota. Prosecutors say the men were part of a group of friends in Minnesota’s Somali community who recruited and inspired each other to join ISIS. The FBI says around twelve young men have left Minnesota to join militant groups in Syria in recent years. The affidavit filed Wednesday says that Nur was last known to be living in Syria with ISIS. Authorities say Roble and Nur accessed internet accounts from the same computer IP address within minutes of each other in May 2015, supporting that they were in the same location. .

Chelsea Clinton Plans to Stay on Board of Family Foundation The Wall Street Journal / August 24, 2016 The Clinton Foundation is considering exceptions to its plan to stop accepting corporate and foreign donations and reduce family involvement as a way to insulate Hillary Clinton from potential conflicts of interest if elected president. As recently as this summer, the foundation was discussing with some allies plans for Chelsea Clinton to leave the board, along with former President Bill Clinton, if Mrs. Clinton should win. But on Wednesday, foundation spokesman Craig Minassian said Chelsea Clinton plans to stay on the board. Mr. Clinton told donors he still plans to leave. While the parent Clinton Foundation will stop accepting money from foreign governments and corporations, the foundation’s largest project, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, might continue to accept foreign government and corporate funding, Clinton health initiative officials said Wednesday. The moves are unlikely to appease critics who say the family should sever itself entirely to inoculate Mrs. Clinton from appearances of conflicts. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has ramped up his criticism of the Clinton Foundation in the past few days, accusing the Clintons of running a “pay for play” operation that grants political access to donors. Mr. Clinton, speaking to reporters Wednesday, defended the foundation’s work. “If there is something wrong with creating jobs and saving lives, I don’t know what it is,” he said. Mr. Clinton launched the foundation after leaving the White House in 2001. It has raised as much as $2 billion, mostly from corporations, wealthy donors, governments and other foundations. Its latest tax return showed it raised $338 million in 2014 and spent $250 million that year. The foundation’s aim is to form partnerships between governments, companies and other nonprofits to tackle projects that focus mostly on climate change, economic development, global health and opportunities for women and girls. A spokeswoman for Chelsea Clinton said she plans to remain on the board because she “is committed to ensuring that those benefiting from the foundation’s work will be able to continue receiving that often life-changing help.” Left unclear was whether she would continue to raise money for the foundation, which would be scaled back significantly if Hillary Clinton wins in November. A statement from the spokeswoman said Chelsea Clinton was remaining on the board to “steward the implementation of changes,” including “new fundraising policies.” The Clinton Health Access Initiative, which is run by longtime Clinton associate Ira Magaziner, hasn’t decided whether it will participate in the ban on foreign government and corporate gifts, a spokeswoman for the Clinton health program said. The health initiative, which has its own board of directors, will convene the board soon to decide its next steps, the spokeswoman said. The health initiative relies heavily on government donations to fund its public health programs. The possible exception to the new ethics rules was previously reported by the Boston Globe. Bill Clinton plans to resign from the health initiative’s board if his wife is elected, but it isn’t clear whether Chelsea plans to do so. Last year, when facing criticism for foreign government donations, the Clinton Foundation said it would restrict donations to six Western countries. However, the Clinton Health Access Initiative adopted a more lenient policy that could potentially permit any foreign government to donate. News of Chelsea Clinton’s plans, which NPR reported on Tuesday, is likely to intensify concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest if her mother wins the White House. Critics have raised questions about whether donors to the Clinton Foundation received special access at the State Department. Ray Madoff, a Boston College Law School professor and director of the Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good, said ordinarily it might make sense for Chelsea to remain on the board. However, in this case, it is complicated by its history. “The Clinton Foundation has been way too inattentive to the appearance of impropriety,” she said. “Chelsea clearly has access to her parents so the appearance of impropriety continues.” Ms. Madoff added, “If the Clintons didn’t have this ongoing problem, then it is a more difficult case. After all, Chelsea is a working adult and it makes sense that she would work on the Clinton Foundation.” A spokesman for the Republican National Committee said the exceptions demonstrate that the new policies are merely “window dressing.” An Associated Press report Tuesday based on a partial release of State Department calendars showed that at least 85 of 154 people outside government who met or spoke on the phone with Mrs. Clinton when she was secretary of state donated up to $156 million to the Clinton Foundation. Mr. Trump is himself a donor to the Clinton Foundation, having given between $100,000 and $250,000, according to the organization’s disclosures. His campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway, said in a CNN interview Tuesday that Mr. Trump’s donations weren’t a bid for access to the former secretary of state, and she praised the foundation’s efforts. “The Clinton Foundation does a lot of good work,” Ms. Conway said. Mr. Clinton told supporters in a letter sent Monday he would resign from the board and stop raising money for the foundation and that he and Chelsea had decided the foundation would “raise money only from U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and U.S.-based independent foundations.” Foreign government and corporate gifts, which have raised ethical questions in the past, wouldn’t be accepted. The purpose of these changes, Mr. Clinton said, was to eliminate “legitimate concerns about potential conflicts of interest.” Mr. Clinton also said that while leaving the board, “I will continue to support the work of the foundation.” People who have been briefed on the foundation’s plans said that the organization and Chelsea Clinton don’t intend to say whether she would raise money for the foundation until after the election. “They don’t think it makes sense to decide right now,” one person familiar with the plans told The Wall Street Journal. As recently as earlier this month, friends of the foundation told the Journal that there were plans for both Bill and Chelsea Clinton to stop fundraising. Those plans remain under discussion, however, and no final decisions have been made or announced. Mr. Clinton also said the foundation is changing its name from the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation back to the Clinton Foundation. The name changed when Mrs. Clinton left the State Department and began raising money for the foundation in the period before she launched her presidential bid. Bill Clinton told staff in a meeting on Friday that the foundation would discontinue, after this year, one of its signature events—the Clinton Global Initiative. Next month’s annual meeting, the 12th Clinton Global Initiative, aims to draw commitments from corporations, philanthropies and others to seek to remedy global problems such as poverty and AIDS. Before the 2016 election, Bill and Hillary Clinton had collected $250 million in pledges for an endowment intended to secure the foundation’s financing in the future. That fund is managed by Summit Rock Advisors, where Nicole Fox, Chelsea Clinton’s maid of honor at her wedding, is managing director. Ms. Fox’s husband, Michael Fox, was managing director of Chelsea’s husband’s investment firm. Summit Rock and Mr. and Ms. Fox declined to comment. A foundation official said Summit Rock was “one of the most respected firms” and was selected from among 13 fund managers that had submitted proposals. The official added that it is customary for foundations to continue to raise money even after they have amassed sizable endowments.

WikiLeaks to release 'significant' Clinton campaign data Reuters / August 24, 2016 WikiLeaks founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange said on Wednesday his organization planned to release "significant" information linked to the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton before the Nov. 8 election. Asked if the data could be a game-changer in the election, the Assange said, "I think it’s significant. You know, it depends on how it catches fire in the public and in the media.” WikiLeaks released files in July of what it said were audio recordings pulled from the emails of the Democratic National Committee that were obtained by hacking its servers. That release, during the Democratic National Convention where Clinton was officially named the party's presidential nominee, was the second batch in a series that deeply rattled the party and prompted the committee's chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, to step down. "I don’t want to give the game away, but it’s a variety of documents, from different types of institutions that are associated with the election campaign, some quite unexpected angles, some quite interesting, some even entertaining," Assange said when asked how the next revelations would compare with those in July.

It's sad that, although Hagerstown produced E9 engines thru 2003, Volvo has made a decision to discontinue E9 customer support. If you aren't willing to offer 20 years of "reasonable" support.................

Mack brand spokesman Christopher Heffner has worked for Volvo since August 2014. Previously, he was a “senior communications associate”, “community relations associate”, “communications associate” and lab tech at Dow Corning. Chris, who graduated from college in 2004, has zero background in the truck industry.

Rickard Lundberg Vice President and General Manager – Lehigh Valley Operations (aka. LVO, Macungie Assembly Operations) Volvo Group subsidiary Mack Trucks, Inc. October 2016 – ? Vice President, Köping plant Volvo Group Trucks Operations October 2013 – October 2016 (3 years) Manager, Volvo Production System and Deputy Plant Manager Volvo Powertrain September 2010 – October 2013 (3 years 2 months) Manager Assembly Volvo Powertrain January 2007 – August 2010 (3 years 8 months) Material control manager Volvo Powertrain April 2004 – December 2006 (2 years 9 months) Purchasing Manager Volvo Powertrain January 2001 – April 2004 (3 years 4 months)

Navistar recalls 3,952 ProStars over faulty fuse terminals Land Line (OOIDA) / August 24, 2016 Navistar is recalling 3,952 2014-2017 International ProStar trucks, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents. Affected trucks have an electrical issue with the battery fuse terminals. ProStars manufactured from June 11, 2013, to May 19, 2016, may have an issue with fuse terminals. According to NHTSA, “the battery mounted cube fuse terminal connection on certain ProStar model trucks built with the battery box mounted between the frame rails may possibly break resulting in loss of power to the cab.” Vibrations at the battery cable and terminal interface are the likely cause of the cube fuse terminal failure. Cab lights may flicker or gauges may become erratic before cube fuse failure. The recall was first discovered in March with several more reports received by May. Navistar officially declared the recall in July 18, and it was recently made official by NHTSA. Affected trucks will have the cube fuse replaced with a chassis-mounted power distribution module (PDM) inside the battery box. PDMs are not subject to the same vibrations. Customers affected by the recall should be receiving a letter from Navistar around Sept. 16. Owners can contact NHTSA at 888-327-4236 or visit SaferCar.gov.