The Daily Moth 1-29-2020
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Wednesday, January 29. Ready for news?
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Coronavirus spreads across globe; airlines cancel flights to China
The New York Times reported that China has confirmed over 6,000 cases of novel coronavirus and that the virus has spread overseas with people who have never visited China falling ill in Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
The case in Japan is a tour bus driver in his 60’s who drove two different groups from Wuhan. He had never visited Wuhan but was still sickened.
The case in Germany is a 33-year-old man who became infected when he was in a “training session” with a Chinese co-worker at a company in Bavaria. There are three other co-workers from the same company who are also infected.
The case in Taiwan is a man who got the infection from his wife, who worked in Wuhan.
The case in Vietnam is a 27-year-old man who got the virus from his father, who had recently visited Wuhan.
At least 132 people are confirmed dead in China from infection. There are likely many more infected and the number is not known because there are not enough test kits. There have been no reported deaths outside of China.
The Washington Post reported that several international airline companies have either reduced or cancelled flights to and from China — such as American Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air Canada, and multiple other airline companies in Asia.
The Times said that there was a plane with 201 Americans who were evacuated from Wuhan that landed in an U.S. air base in Riverside County, California yesterday afternoon. All the passengers will remain at the base until they are screened by authorities.
You can see from this image that there is a team of at least 10 people wearing a hazmat outfit with three charter buses waiting.
The plane did stop at Anchorage to be checked by a team from the Centers for Disease Control. The passengers are diplomats and businesspeople.
There is a team of scientists and health workers who are working to develop a vaccine that can stop this virus. They are either government scientists or scientists from large pharmaceutical companies.
The CDC confirmed that there are five infected people in four states in the U.S. There are 92 cases that are still pending results. There were 68 cases that were investigated and confirmed negative.
The outbreak is expected to make some kind of impact on the global economy, since so many things are imported from China.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/world/asia/coronavirus-china.html
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html
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Swarms of locusts in east Africa
In eastern Africa, there is a serious invasion of locusts, which are grasshoppers that fly in swarms and can rapidly consume entire fields of vegetation. It’s the worst that Kenya has seen in 70 years and the worst in 25 years for Ethiopia and Somalia.
The Globe and Mail reported that the infestation has already devastated regions in multiple African and Middle Eastern countries. The swarms have already started breeding the next generation and the infestation could reach several more countries in the next few months and grow up to 500 times its current size.
The biggest swarm in northeastern Kenya is over 800 square miles. There could be up to 190 billion individual locusts and the group is capable of eating as much food daily as 90 million people. The bugs live for three to five months.
There is plenty of history of massive locust swarms, and scientists say this swarm is made worse by climate change from heavy rains which are caused by rapidly warming waters in the Indian Ocean. The rains creates ideal soil conditions for nymphs and gives them more food when they become adults with wings.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said the situation seriously threatens food security and livelihoods in the Horn of Africa and could lead to hunger in East Africa.
Officials are trying to control the locusts by spraying pesticides from airplanes, trucks, and by hand, but have challenges with limited resources.
A reporter for NPR who is in Kenya said the locusts are normally solitary brown desert grasshoppers but have turned bright yellow, are high on serotonin, and are on a “sex and eating binge.”
There is a fundraising effort today in Rome with a goal of raising $70 million to help with stopping the locusts.
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/27/800158062/giant-swarm-of-locusts-from-middle-east-now-threatening-kenyas-farms
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Dangerous “outlet challenge” on TikTok
ABC News reported that at least three high school students in Massachusetts destroyed electrical outlets from doing an “outlet challenge” video that they posted on TikTok.
It is when you insert a mobile device charger in an outlet and then slide in a penny so it touches the metal prongs. The goal is to see it explode in electrical sparks.
I will show you a video from WCVB Channel 5 and then a video that I saw on TikTok.
[Video clips]
One student in Westford was charged with burning a building, property destruction, and disorderly conduct after he allegedly did the “outlet challenge.”
The state fire marshal said the challenge could cause electrical system damage and possibly fire. The marshal warned that it could seriously injure people and/or cause damage that is expensive to repair.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/authorities-warn-dangerous-tiktok-outlet-challenge/story?id=68531391
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=57&v=C5XJ1RThaVw&feature=emb_title
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Iowa caucuses on Monday to kick off 2020 election season
The 2020 presidential election season will officially begin this Monday, February 3 with the Iowa caucuses. I’ll share some results from polls.
Joe Biden has maintained his frontrunner status, but Bernie Sanders has been surging while Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren seem to be falling behind.
The other candidates — Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang, Tom Steyer, Tulsi Gabbard, and Michael Bloomberg — are even further behind.
Fox News reported that a Monmouth University poll had Biden leading at 23%, followed by Bernie at 21%, Pete at 16%, and Warren at 15%.
A Quinnipiac University poll had Biden at 26%, followed by Bernie at 21% and Warren at 15%.
An Iowa State University poll had Bernie in the lead with 24%, followed by Warren with 19%, Pete with 17%, and Biden with 15%.
So you see that there are varying numbers.
Andrew Yang said he would not be surprised if many of his supporters end up choosing Bernie. This could make an impact on Bernie’s numbers because Yang does not have “viable” numbers but does have enough supporters that could help Bernie gain a lead over Biden.
The New York Times reported that Biden and Klobuchar are discussing the possibility of an alliance so both can have enough support to win delegates.
The percentages are important because of how the Iowa caucuses process works. As I explained in a video two weeks ago, it is not a normal voting process using voting booths. People in an Iowa caucus vote with their bodies by walking to a certain area in a room for a candidate they support.
For example, a caucus room leader might say, “Those who support Biden, go to that corner. Those who support Warren, go to that corner.” And so forth for the other candidates. If a certain candidate only attracts a small number of supporters — usually if it is less than 15% of the attendees — the candidate is not considered viable and is dissolved. The candidate's supporters can walk to choose their second favorite candidate.
CNN explained that there are 1,678 precinct locations in Iowa. There are a total of 41 pledged delegates that are up for grabs. This is not a “winner-take-all” election as a candidate will get a proportionate amount of votes based on the results from the precincts.
Here is a reminder that deaf people in Iowa can participate in an ASL satellite caucus in Des Moines at the Center for Independent Living at 100 E Euclid Ave Suite 104. There will be a deaf leader and interpreters will be provided. The results from this caucus will count towards Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. You can email access@iowademocrats.org for more information or check out links below in the transcript.
Iowa Caucuses Info:
https://www.thecaucuses.org/caucusgoers
https://www.thecaucuses.org/
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/with-days-until-iowa-dems-in-knots
https://www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2020-01-29/bernie-sanders-opens-lead-in-iowa-poll
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Google and Comcast provide services in ASL with CSD’s Connect Direct
We all like direct communication, right? Google and Comcast now provide technical support services in ASL for deaf and hard of hearing people. When you go into Google and Comcast websites and click on “support,” you will see an ASL option that will lead you to a specialist who will communicate with you directly in ASL.
[Video by Google about Connect Direct support]
This was made possible by Connect Direct, a business that is under Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD).
The Daily Moth reached out to Craig Radford, the director of business development and strategy for Connect Direct and CSD, for an interview. We were curious to know more about Connect Direct. The first question we asked Radford was why is the business called Connect Direct.
CRAIG RADFORD:
I started about 3 years ago and I tried to come up with a name that fit what we’re trying to do. Our goal with the deaf and hard of hearing community was to be able to connect directly with someone via face to face sign language communication. That concept created its own name, Connect Direct. Then we decided to trademark the name and now it’s growing into a well-known brand.
RENCA: How does it work with Google and Comcast hiring Connect Direct, but Connect Direct has their own employees to provide the technical support in ASL?
CRAIG RADFORD:
Sure, they’re employees of Connect Direct. You know how sometimes you’d call customer support and they’d tell you to “press 1 for English, press 2 for Spanish”. If you pressed 2 for Spanish translation, you’d be connected to someone fluent in Spanish. That person speaking Spanish is typically a third-party company that is contracted with the main company. So, we’re like a third-party contractor providing customer support for them. We represent companies like Google and Comcast. So, we needed to build a facility center that would be staffed with deaf and hard of hearing representatives working in-house. People who call a company like Comcast would be connected to representatives from Comcast, or Google, located at our center or theirs. We’re like a third-party contractor.
So, Google hired our company to provide customer support for their deaf and hard of hearing customers. Our representatives typically go through training where they learn about the products and/or services that the company provides, and they provide the training also. As our representatives learn, we work more closely with these companies. While a deaf person calls via videophone, we would introduce ourselves on behalf of Google. You would think that we’re actually a part of Google, but it’s really Connect Direct behind the scenes doing contractor work.
RENCA: Are there more companies that Connect Direct will contract with?
CRAIG RADFORD:
We are talking to a lot of companies right now. So, there are more coming and a lot of them are expressing interest in contracting out to Connect Direct. I think it’s important that the deaf community knows that it’s available and that they can use it! Because if they use it, it can be used as evidence that the deaf and hard of hearing customers prefer direct sign language communication. There will be companies who will recognize the value in providing these services and they will continue these practices. So, I think it’s important that the deaf community is behind this.
RENCA: How can the deaf community show our support?
CRAIG RADFORD:
I would, if you were a current Comcast customer, and if you needed tech support or you might have questions with the billing. Typically, you’d call these companies through VRS, but not anymore because you can connect with them directly via videoconferencing in sign language. If you have Comcast services available in your area, you should consider switching to Comcast. We are not trying to support Comcast by directing customers to them. No, we are encouraging to consider taking a look at them because they are providing support to our community. Secondly, with Google, I would research what sort of products they have like the Nest which is a home security device that is owned by Google. So you can look into the products that they offer and benefit from our direct support services whenever you have questions or have issues that you need to solve. You can just call us. Oh yeah, I’d encourage you to utilize this feature as much as you can!
RENCA: Radford mentioned that nothing beats direct communication. Thank you Radford for your time. The link to Connect Direct’s website is in the transcript below.
We also learned that Microsoft provides services in ASL too. Microsoft is separate from Connect Direct. Microsoft has provided this access for several years now.
I personally have gone in all three sites: Google, Comcast, and Microsoft, and checked to make sure the ASL support option worked. Yes, they all do! I was able to chat with a live person in ASL. I really had a good experience and everything went smoothly.
Looking forward to more growth in companies having specialists who can communicate with us directly in ASL.
Connect Direct website:
https://getconnectdirect.com/about/
Google ASL Support website:
https://support.google.com/accessibility/answer/7641084
Comcast ASL Support website:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/asl-help-videos
Microsoft ASL Support website:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/disability-answer-desk
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!