The Daily Moth 1-27-2020
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Monday, January 27. Hope your weekend was good. Ready for news?
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Updates on Kobe Bryant helicopter crash
On Sunday morning, the world was shocked to find out that Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Southern California. The crash also killed his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other people. I did a LIVE news report yesterday on Facebook, and here are updates.
There was another family that died in the crash — Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri, and their daughter Alyssa, who was 13 years old.
Both Gianna and Alyssa played on the same basketball team and the helicopter was headed for a basketball game. Kobe was also the coach for their team.
There was another 13-year-old girl that died who was also on the basketball team, Payton Chester. Her mother, Sarah, was also on the helicopter and died. She leaves behind a husband and two sons.
Also killed was Christina Mauser, who was an assistant girls basketball coach. She was 38. She leaves behind a husband and three children.
The pilot of the helicopter was Ara Zobayan and gave lessons on flying helicopters, including on how to fly in bad weather.
Kobe leaves behind a wife, Vanessa, and three other daughters.
The helicopter was a Sikorsky S-76B that was manufactured in 1991 and was owned and operated by a business that provided helicopter charter flights.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The helicopter had a clean history.
News pictures show crews on a hillside in Calabasas removing a body among wrecked debris.
It was very foggy in Calabasas at the time of the crash — in fact it was so foggy that local law enforcement grounded their helicopters. But Kobe’s helicopter was given special permission to fly in bad conditions.
Reports say that the helicopter received a radio call from an air traffic controller that the helicopter was flying too low to be detected by radar and right before it crashed. It was climbing and making a left turn before it crashed. It was moving about 184 mph when it struck the ground.
There were thousands of people who flocked to the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where Kobe played for the Los Angeles Lakers. Many of them placed flowers and memorials. There was a large screen outside of the stadium of a black-and-white photo of Kobe smiling.
Many well-known athletes, such as Shaquille O’Neal and others, posted tributes on social media. There was supposed to be a game tomorrow between the LA Lakers and the LA Clippers, but it was postponed because of the death. The impact is felt worldwide.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/01/27/victims-calabasas-helicopter-crash/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/01/27/kobe-bryant-crash-investigation/
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-01-27/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-becomes-focus-of-intense-federal-investigation?fbclid=IwAR3ZIjY_dp4PQPNM8zc7K9ovrwXVxNULWd4lA9fbmJU5UCT2mJZ1LTZgJD0
https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-01-26/what-happened-kobe-bryant-sexual-assault-case
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Impeachment updates: Trump legal team presents defense; Bolton controversy
On Saturday, it was President Trump’s legal defense team’s turn in the Senate impeachment trial.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone said there was no evidence to prove that President Trump committed wrongdoing and that if he was removed from office, it would mean all the ballots from all the states (from the 2016 election) would be torn up. He said the evidence must be “unquestionable” but that it was not.
Trump’s lawyers said Trump’s dealings with Ukraine was within his powers as president and that he did eventually release the almost $400 million in military aid that was withheld without a promise from Ukraine to do certain investigations that Trump wanted.
They also pointed to Ukrainian President Zelensky’s remark that he never felt pressured by Trump.
Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow said that there were Ukrainian government officials that were opposed to Trump in 2016 and wrote an op-ed in a newspaper. It is possible that Trump’s team will accuse Ukraine of interfering in the 2016 elections by supporting Hillary Clinton.
They presented their case in only two hours on Saturday and continued today. I will give a recap tomorrow of what they said today as the trial is going on as I sign.
Now in separate but related news, The New York Times reported on Sunday that former national security adviser John Bolton wrote in a book that is not yet published that Trump told him that he withheld the $400 million in military aid from Ukraine because he wanted Ukraine to agree to investigate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter.
President Trump tweeted that he never told John Bolton that the $400 million was tied to investigations and that if Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book.
Democrats said this shows that there needs to be witnesses during the impeachment trial because Bolton has “vital information to provide.”
Republican Senator Mitt Romney (Utah) said it is increasingly likely that he and at least three other Republican senators will vote to call for Bolton to testify. If they do vote for it, then their four votes would total with 47 Democratic votes for a 51-to-49 simple majority to call witnesses.
But if there are not enough votes to call witnesses, then the impeachment trial could end this Friday. But if there are witnesses, then the trial is likely to continue for at least another week.
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/25/799535269/trump-impeachment-recap-white-house-team-vows-to-deflate-dems-case
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/25/797321065/president-trumps-legal-team-to-begin-impeachment-defense
https://www.axios.com/mitt-romney-john-bolton-testimony-impeachment-501ebcd9-1105-491d-b280-e7fcfa5d3ccb.html
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Coronavirus updates
Here are updates on the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
The death toll is now up to 82 people in mainland China with more than 2,700 reported cases. One person recently died in Beijing — a man in his 50’s who traveled to Wuhan on January 8 and returned to Beijing.
There are now at least five people in the U.S. who are infected — in Washington state, Illinois, California (Los Angeles County), and Arizona. There are over 100 people in 26 states who are under investigation for the virus.
China’s health minister said people can spread the virus before they show symptoms, which makes the disease much more difficult to control. But a Centers for Disease Control official said there was no clear evidence of this yet.
The U.S. State Department put out a “Level 3: Reconsider Travel” alert for people who might have travel plans for China because of the outbreak.
In Ontario, Canada, there are 19 people who are under investigation for coronavirus.
There is no official name for the virus yet. It is now called “novel coronavirus” or “2019-nCoV.”
https://www.cnn.com/asia/live-news/coronavirus-outbreak-01-27-20-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/01/27/coronavirus-death-toll-china-wuhan-virus-outbreak-spreads/4586403002/
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Florida deaf man charged with DUI manslaughter in wrong-way crash
I received multiple news tips that a deaf man, Alexander B. Jacobson, was charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter after he crashed into another car and killed two men inside of it.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that police said Jacobson was intoxicated and driving the wrong way about 3 a.m. on Sunday morning at Tampa International Airport when he collided head-on with a sedan.
Tampa Police Department tweeted yesterday early morning an image of an overturned SUV on one shoulder of a two-lane road with a wrecked vehicle on the other shoulder.
A Fox 35 news video showed a completely flattened sedan and a totaled black Jeep Wrangler being towed. The sedan was a ride-share vehicle, driven by probably either an Uber or a Lyft driver, who had a passenger. It is not yet known their identities. Jacobson drove the Jeep.
Fox 35 also shared a person who posted on Facebook a photo of Jacobson sitting on the side of the road and wearing beads. It seems like the beads were from a Tampa-area festival called Gasparilla.
Hillsborough County Jail records show that Jacobson was charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter and two counts of vehicular homicide.
Spectrum 9 News reported that police records show that police tested his breath four times. He breathed just over the .08 legal limit twice, but also breathed below the limit twice. There was a blood draw and the results are pending.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that records showed that Jacobson smelled like marijuana and that his blood alcohol tests were taken more than four hours after the crash. Jacobson was not seriously injured. He told police that he had two IPA beers about four hours earlier at an Ybor City bar. Police said he “performed poorly on field sobriety exercises.”
A person from the deaf community sent me images of a Snapchat account named “Alex Jacobson” that had posts of a man that resembled the mug shot from the arrest. The posts included pictures and videos of alcoholic beverages, rolling papers, a party scene, and a final post that shows a hand on a steering wheel of a black SUV-looking vehicle as it traveled on a highway by a vehicle. There was a caption that said, “Slow a**.”
WFLA reported that Jacobson appeared in Hillsborough County Court this (Monday) morning and had his bond set at $150,000. Judge Catherine M. Catlin said a report said he had Gasparilla beads and a band and “here we are, post-Gasparilla.”
As of this afternoon, he is still in jail. Each of his four charges has a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, so he is facing up to 60 years if convicted on all charges.
Jacobson’s current residence is in Land O Lakes, Florida.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that Jacobson was arrested in 2012 in Minnesota with a DUI, leaving the scene of a traffic crash and driving with an expired registration, but was convicted on a careless driving charge and had his other charges dismissed. Two years earlier, he was found guilty of marijuana possession in a motor vehicle.
Fox 35: https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/police-wrong-way-drunk-driver-kills-2-in-tampa-airport-crash
WFLA: https://www.wfla.com/news/local-news/double-fatal-crash-at-entrance-to-tampa-airport/
Tampa PD Twitter: https://twitter.com/TampaPD/status/1221387021203263488/photo/1
Spectrum 9: https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/public-safety/2020/01/27/driver-charged-with-vehicular-homicide-in-wrong-way-crash-at-tampa-airport-to-face-judge
Hillsborough County Judge: https://www.fljud13.org/JudicialDirectory/CatherineMCatlin.aspx
Tampa Bay Times: https://www.tampabay.com/news/breaking-news/2020/01/26/two-dead-in-crash-outside-tampa-airport-entrance-closed/
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!