The Daily Moth 1-15-2020
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Hello, welcome to the Daily Moth! It is Wednesday, January 15. Ready for news?
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House passes impeachment articles; Trump signs deal with China
The House has voted on and passed the articles of impeachment against President Trump and will deliver them to the Senate. They named seven representatives who would be the managers (prosecutors) in the Senate trial.
They are Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler, Hakeem Jeffries, Jason Crow, Val Demings, Zoe Lofgren, and Sylvia Garcia.
The trial is expected to start next week and will focus on if President Trump abused his power in his dealings with Ukraine and if he obstructed justice.
President Trump will have to name his defense team. Some of them may be House Republicans.
President Trump said it is an “impeachment hoax” during a speech from the White House in which he announced the signing of a trade deal with China.
This trade deal is called “phase one.” Axios explained that the deal is basically an agriculture purchase agreement. It is not something that immediately solves the trade war and tariffs between the two countries, but it may be a step in an improved economic relationship.
Trump previously said he would go to China to talk on a “phase two” deal.
https://www.axios.com/house-articles-of-impeachment-senate-trial-c9c6debd-19fc-4448-8230-75625c526fb2.html
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-transmits-articles-of-impeachment-to-senate
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-impeachment-live-01-15-2020/index.html
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Delta plane dumps fuel on schoolchildren near LAX
On Tuesday afternoon a Delta plane dumped fuel near the Los Angeles International Airport during an emergency landing. Some of the fuel landed on about 20 students and adults at an elementary school.
There was a large response from firefighters and emergency crews, but nobody was seriously injured. The children and adults were treated for skin irritation.
Delta said “Flight 89 from LAX to Shanghai experienced an engine issue requiring the aircraft to return to LAX. The aircraft landed safely after an emergency fuel release to reduce landing weight.”
The Los Angeles Times printed a photo of a 11-year-old girl crying and wiping away her eyes as firefighters walked behind her.
There are now city officials in Cudahy who are demanding answers on what happened, as federal rules say pilots can only dump fuel in areas with no people.
The FAA said they are investigating. They said planes should dump fuel over unpopulated areas and at higher altitudes so the fuel "atomizes and disperses before it reaches the ground.”
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-01-15/delta-says-pilots-were-forced-to-dump-fuel-on-schoolchildren
https://www.wpxi.com/news/plane-reportedly-dumps-jet-fuel-over-elementary-school-students-report-skin-issues/IHDT4I3V7JE5VNOQBMCX6UX2WQ/
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/14/796354560/lax-bound-aircraft-dumps-fuel-on-a-los-angeles-elementary-school
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Jay-Z sues Mississippi prison officials
Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, has filed a lawsuit against the head of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the warden of the Mississippi State Penitentiary to represent 29 prisoners who say there is nothing being done to stop violence within prison walls.
NBC News reported that five inmates died within the past two weeks from stabbings and fights in state prisons. There are reports that gangs rule the prison and that prison staff are allowing it to happen, and reports of filthy conditions.
Jay-Z’s lawyer said the deaths happened because Mississippi doesn’t care about incarcerated people’s constitutional rights.
Jay-Z is one of the most successful rappers and businessmen out there with 22 Grammy Awards and a net worth of $1 billion. He has been giving back through his philanthropic organizations for over 15 years.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jay-z-goes-bat-mississippi-prisoners-files-federal-lawsuit-n1115616
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Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders feud
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, who are running for president in 2020, have clashed in recent days over reports that Bernie told her in 2018 that he didn’t think a woman could win the presidency.
Warren said it is true that he said it, Bernie said it is not true.
After last night’s Democratic debate in Iowa, Warren refused to shake Bernie’s hands and the two seemed to have a short argument.
This spate started last weekend when Politico reported that Bernie’s campaign were pushing out talking points that said Warren appealed to highly educated voters.
On Monday, CNN reported about Bernie’s remarks on a woman becoming president and Warren confirmed that he said it. Bernie said he didn’t say it.
It is considered the end of the the two’s “nonaggression pact.” This is happening three weeks away from the Iowa caucuses. Warren has been a frontrunner for a long time, but Bernie has recently surged in fundraising and polls.
This controversy has spilled on social media where there are debates between those who support Warren or Bernie on which one is being truthful.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/us/politics/sanders-warren-debate-handshake.html
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Deaf activists in Virginia pushing for movie theater open captioning bill
Virginia hopes to become the second state in the nation to have an open captioning bill.
Deaf activists and the Northern Virginia Association of the Deaf (NVAD) have worked with state legislators to introduce a House and a Senate bill that aims to require movie theaters with four or more screens to provide open captioning at least twice a week per movie, with at least one of them during peak attendance hours.
The bills, SB 274 and HB 747, are similar with Hawaii’s open captioning law that was signed last year by Gov. David Ige to make them the first “open captioning” state.
The Daily Moth was in touch with Jamie Berke, who is the Vice President for the NVAD and a leader in this effort.
She explained that she reached out to Del. Vivian Watts (D) and Sen. George Barker (D) in May and told them about Hawaii’s law and said “we need one in Virginia.”
Berke said Del. Watts said she was willing to work on this and told her she had mild hearing loss. The bill writing process involved a disability rights lawyer and edits to the language, and now a bill is introduced in both chambers.
I asked Berke what kind of opposition she is facing or expect to get against the bill. She said the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) doesn’t want to see a bill passed.
Berke also said there may be some Virginia legislators who may not want to see regulation of movie theaters.
She said the easy part was getting the support of a lawmaker in both chambers, but the hard part is getting people in the community to support the bill and take action.
Berke said her “only weapon” to convince lawmakers to support the bill is a change.org petition for open captions that has just under 13,000 signatures right now. The link is above in the description or in the transcript.
Berke said we need “permanent legal protection for open captions as an additional option besides already-mandated closed caption equipment. “
The Virginia legislative session only lasts from January 8 to March 5, so the NVAD is hoping for community activism “now” to push legislators to support the bill.
The House version is now referred to the Committee on Health, Welfare, and Institutions.
The links to the bills are below. For more information, you can reach out to the NVAD — their link is also in the transcript.
Virginia is not the only state trying to get an open captioning law passed. Deaf activists in the District of Columbia have pushed for a bill and faced opposition from NATO. A captioning bill was also introduced last year in the Vermont legislature.
Petition: https://www.change.org/p/movie-theaters-movie-theaters-support-open-captions
NVAD:
House Version of Bill: https://legiscan.com/VA/bill/HB747/2020
Senate Version of Bill: https://legiscan.com/VA/bill/SB274/2020
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
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