October 18 Top Stories and Deaf News
[Transcript] Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Friday, October 18. I’m going to do a simpler video today at the new studio setup at DPAN.
This week has been good, it’s a big change obviously to come from Austin to Detroit, but it’s going smoothly. The air is very nice outside, a bit cold, with fall leaves, but people have warned me that winter is coming. I haven’t seen any zombies yet though so I think I’ll be OK.
I will share some top stories, then some deaf news and announcements.
The first top news — there is a lot of excitement with NASA today because it is the first time there is an all-female spacewalk. The astronauts are Christina Koch and Jessica Meir. They were live-streamed repairing a battery unit on the outside of the International Space Station. They were wearing spacesuits and floating outside. It is not the first time a woman carried out a spacewalk, but it’s the first time that a woman is not paired with a male but with another woman. There was an all-female spacewalk scheduled in March, but it was dropped because NASA did not have two of the size of spacesuits (medium) that fit both of them. Meir told President Trump in a call that they are just doing their jobs and that credit was owed to the female trailblazers who came before them.
The second news — in Mexico, there was a massive gun battle when Mexican security forces tried to arrest the son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is imprisoned in the U.S. At least 8 people died and more than 20 people were wounded. What happened? It appears that Mexican security forces were able to arrest the son, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, but then they were overwhelmed by armed members of Guzman’s drug cartel. The Mexican security forces gave up the battle and withdrew, and the son is still at large. Pictures of the scene showed several vehicles burning in what looks like a war zone. Mexican President Obrador said he supports the decision to pull back because they don't want deaths or war. Many in this city in western Mexico are scared and hiding out at home.
The third news — here are two updates from the Middle East. The first — in Afghanistan, at least 62 people died in a mosque explosion from a mortar round. It is not known who is responsible, but it appears to be either from the Taliban or the ISIS. The second update is on Syria. Yesterday Vice-President Pence said there was a deal on a temporary ceasefire, but news reports say there is still shelling at the Turkish border and that Kurdish forces have not withdrawn. A Turkish official also said this was not a ceasefire, but just a pause in Turkey’s operation. President Trump said he spoke with Turkish President Erdogan on phone and that the reported gunfire and explosions was “minor sniper and mortar fire that was quickly eliminated.” Trump said the U.S. has secured the oil and that the detained ISIS fighters are double secured by Kurds and Turkey. Turkey has warned that if Kurdish fighters did not retreat, they would restart their military operation. There is a lot of concern for Kurdish civilians in areas near the border.
Now let’s cover deaf news. Today Mavrick Fisher is scheduled to appear in the Lake County Superior Court in Lakeport, California ahead of his preliminary hearing this Wednesday. A court clerk told me that today is called a “Master Calendar Call” to determine which courtroom the preliminary hearing will be held and that Mavrick was ordered to appear for both dates. The preliminary hearing is on October 23 at 8:15 am. I will be there and will be giving a report after the hearing. The preliminary hearing is when the District Attorney (prosecutor) will show more of the evidence the state has against Mavrick, and we will see what Mavrick’s public defender says in response. They pleaded not guilty in their arraignment hearing on September 9th. Mavrick is charged with murdering Grant Whitaker. There will be more coverage on Mavrick Fisher’s case next week.
The next deaf news — I got feedback from a Moth viewer about how I signed “sexual orientation” in recent news stories involving LGBTQ+ individuals. I signed it like “sexual preference,” but the person suggested me to sign it like this, “sexual attraction.” Orientation is about attraction not preference. I’d like to thank the person for the feedback. So going forward I’ll sign orientation as attraction.
Now, two things about “The Daily Moth.” The first — our store is open again. If you’d like to buy a Moth t-shirt (not this one) but the one with the colorful hands on the bottom of this bulb is available online. We’re out of L size though, we’ll order some more in the near future. We also have white t-shirts and mugs available. Check it out on www.dailymoth.com/shop.
The second thing — I have created a simple, one-page survey to gather feedback on “The Daily Moth.” I want to hear back from you on what you like and what you think can be improved or added. I am in the process of brainstorming of potential improvements to this show, so I’d love to read your feedback. The survey is at the link in the status description or in the transcript. I won’t be collecting names or email addresses so you can do it anonymously. If you want to tell me who you are, you can do that, but you don’t have to. Thank you for your time.
That’s all for this week. Have a wonderful weekend and stay with the light!
Moth Survey: https://forms.gle/ZZyaTSfXiEQLZThR6
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