The Daily Moth 10-21-19
Trump drops G7 Doral plans; Hillary Clinton suspicious of Tulsi Gabbard; Shaq covers one year rent for family of boy paralyzed from shooting; Coach disarms, then hugs student with loaded gun; Hard Rock hotel collapses in New Orleans; Deaf interpreter at Atlanta Pride goes viral
[Transcript] Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Monday, October 21. Ready for news?
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Trump drops G7 Doral plans; Hillary Clinton suspicious of Tulsi Gabbard
Here are two political news briefs.
The first — President Trump announced on Saturday night that he is dropping his plans of hosting next year’s G7 summit at his Doral golf resort in Miami.
There was a lot of criticism that said Trump was crossing an ethical line and using his presidency to enrich himself.
Trump said that he offered that he was willing to host at no profit or zero cost, but that the hostile media and their “Democrat Partners went CRAZY!”
The second — Hillary Clinton made news headlines for saying in a recent interview that the Russian government is grooming a female Democratic candidate for president to become a third party candidate and ruin Democrats’ chance of beating Trump in 2020. Clinton did not mention which candidate she was referring to, but many in the media pointed to Hawaiian Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.
Gabbard defended herself by making social media posts announcing that Hillary is using her “gang of rich, powerful elite” to go after her and destroy her. She asked for donations to support her campaign.
NBC News reported that Gabbard does have support from Russian state channels. When asked if she disavows the support, Gabbard said she doesn’t control them and that all she could do is focus on her message and her campaign.
President Trump tweeted that “Hillary’s at it again” and that she’s “gone Crazy!”
https://www.axios.com/trump-doral-miami-resort-no-longer-hosting-g-9edbb885-c809-4768-87c3-cce1db492eb5.html
https://www.axios.com/tulsi-gabbard-hillary-clinton-russia-bernie-2016-34a94640-bd90-49e1-af58-384450aeb128.html
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1185941964270833665
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Shaq covers one year rent for family of boy paralyzed from shooting
Shaquille O’Neal is in news headlines for donating a year of rent at a new home for the family of a 12-year-old boy from the Atlanta area who became paralyzed when a stray bullet hit him in August at a high school football game.
The boy’s name is Isaiah Payton. He was at the football game with a 15-year-old friend and when they were leaving, they were hit by bullets from another 15-year-old who was trying to shoot another person.
Two bullets hit Payton, one in the chest and another in the liver. Isaiah’s friend was hit in the leg, but will recover.
Payton was hospitalized and was paralyzed from the chest down. He required medical interventions to breathe and had a feeding tube inserted. He will need long-term disability care.
Payton couldn’t be released from the hospital to go home because his mother lived in a home that was not on the first floor. The home was not accessible for Isaiah’s disability.
O’Neal told 11 Alive News that he was watching this story on the news and was touched so he decided to reach out to the family. He said the boy could have been his son or your cousin. He helped to find the family a home that was accessible and covered a year’s worth of rent along with furniture and TVs and ring cameras.
A GoFundMe for Isaiah raised over $6,500 and its cover image shows O’Neal visiting him in a hospital room.
The suspected shooter was arrested several days ago and charged with aggravated assault. He is in a youth detention area. His isn’t released because he is a juvenile (15).
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shaq-donates-handicap-accessible-house-to-family-of-atlanta-boy-isaiah-payton-paralyzed-in-shooting/
https://www.11alive.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/the-a-scene/shaq-donates-home/85-c25e6e49-f13d-4409-ac9d-d54f5682db25
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/crime/lakewood-stadium-shooting-arrest/85-d32fb782-8c97-49b9-8701-0c09466315cd
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Coach disarms, then hugs student with loaded gun
A high school football coach in Portland, Oregon is hailed as a hero for stopping a high school student from firing a loaded shotgun he brought on campus in May.
Surveillance video that was recently released by KOIN 6 News shows a 18-year-old student, Angel Granados-Diaz, entering the school with the gun covered by a garment bag. It seems like it was not his intention to carry out a mass shooting but to commit suicide because there was only one round in the gun.
The coach, Keanon Lowe, also works as a security guard at the Parkrose High School. He said he was called to go to a specific building to get Angel because there was a report that he made suicidal statements and was experiencing a mental health crisis.
Lowe said he went into a classroom and asked where he was. At that moment, Angel walked out of a restroom, tried to fire the gun at himself but was unsuccessful, and went back to the classroom while holding the shotgun.
Lowe quickly grabbed the shotgun from him and gives it to a staff member, then hugged him and talked with him. Lowe said the student broke down. He told the student that he was there for a reason, to save his life.
Students ran out of the school screaming. The school went on lockdown with students eventually evacuated and picked up by their parents or guardians.
Lowe told KOIN news in May that he feels that his life experiences helped him with that moment and that he was happy he could prevent tragedy.
Angel was charged with two weapon-related counts and was sentenced this month to 36 months of probation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/20/us/oregon-football-coach-student-shotgun.html
https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/watch-parkrose-coach-keanon-lowe-disarms-student/
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Hard Rock hotel collapses in New Orleans
On October 12, a Hard Rock hotel that was under construction in New Orleans collapsed while there were 112 workers inside. Three people died, but only one body has been recovered with two bodies still at the site. 30 people were injured.
Yesterday workers were able to conduct a controlled explosion to bring down two cranes because they were damaged and prevented searchers from going into the building to retrieve the bodies out of safety concerns.
Pictures and video shows the two cranes breaking down into parts after the explosives. One crane crashed to the floor while another broke apart but stayed upright.
Officials say the site is still dangerous, but with the cranes downed, they can send the National Guard to search and recover the bodies, which is thought to be in rubble.
The next step after the recovery will be full demolition. The hotel was set to be open this spring with 350 rooms and condos.
It is not known the cause of the construction collapse. There is now a major investigation led by the New Orleans Police Department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
https://www.wdsu.com/article/city-demolition-at-hard-rock-went-as-good-as-it-could-have-next-phase-is-search-and-extraction/29522865
https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/20/us/hard-rock-new-orleans-crane-demolition/index.html
https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-orleans-hard-rock-hotel-crane-implosion
https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-orleans-hard-rock-hotel-collapses-injuries
https://www.fox8live.com/2019/10/18/osha-nopd-begin-investigation-into-hard-rock-hotel-collapse/
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Deaf interpreter at Atlanta Pride goes viral
A deaf man, David Cowan, who is a freelance deaf interpreter, became an internet sensation for the last week.
Atlanta Pride celebration weekend took place on October 11 to 13. There was a concert and when Beyoncé’s song “Get Me Bodied” came on, Cowan interpreted the song. Someone in the audience filmed a short clip of Cowan signing that song. Actor and model Nyle DiMarco shared that short video clip and it went viral. The video currently has 2.4 million views.
Cowan has already been interviewed by CNN, TIME magazine, Narcity, and Reddit.
The Daily Moth reached out to Cowan for an interview about his video.
COWAN:
Actually, I’d been interpreting at that event since 2000. So, soon it’ll be 20 years and the event is hosted at the Atlanta Gay Pride festival. It’s typically hosted every year during the month of October. I’ve been interpreting for drag shows and live performances. It just so happened that video went viral and my interpreting performance was being filmed by a hearing person. That particular song I was signing is called “Get Me Bodied”. I didn’t know if that meant ‘body’ or something, but luckily I got to read the lyrics then I knew just what to do! When I went up onstage, I tried to do the lyrics justice. I didn’t want to just “sign”, my interpretation needed to be equivalent to what the performers were doing. That song was written by Beyonce. Do you know her famous moves that’s done like this?
[Cowan shows Beyonce’s dance moves]
RENCA: (while chuckling)
Right, right! Yes, I know what you mean.
COWAN:
That’s from her song! The lyrics in her song was actually rather graphic, very sexy and very sultry. That’s a theme of her song and hearing people already know this, but my deaf friends along with myself and the audience were pretty taken aback and shocked. However, I cannot minimize or revise anything in the song. My interpretation needs to match the song.
RENCA:
Yes, your presentation needs to match the song.
COWAN:
Yes! I want our deaf audience to have equal access to what the hearing audience would hear. That was my goal. So I did my thing and the deaf audience seemed taken aback. I’m just passing on the message! And there were lyrics where it said “slap my booty”. While I was figuring out the translation, I knew the word ‘booty’ isn’t commonly used in the deaf community so what I did was use this interpretation for ‘slap my booty’. That’s an appropriate interpretation because it captures the message. So the deaf audience could fully understand what was happening. It just so happened that there was a hearing person there filming me on the phone and the video went viral. Keep in mind that when the video went viral, there was no sound. That was the actual reason why the video went viral. It created a guessing game for hearing people who wanted to watch, but there was no sound so they started complaining. These hearing viewers had no choice, but to rely on their eyes instead of their ears. Doing this, they’re starting to understand the message I was sending. Hearing people will still be able to see the message itself using their eyes.
RENCA:
Wow, I’m wondering about what you just said about the song “Get Me Bodied” written by Beyonce. I wonder if Beyonce herself has seen that video clip?
COWAN:
Yes.
RENCA:
Really, she did?!
COWAN:
Yes. Beyonce’s mother, Tina Knowles, actually contacted the Atlanta Gay Pride committee and asked them for my contact information.
RENCA:
Wow!
COWAN:
Then the committee told me to be ready to be contacted by Tina Knowles. I was very touched, but I actually still haven’t received any messages from her. Either way, I’m still very honored! Wow.
The weird thing that I noticed when the video went viral was that it lead to many hearing people asking me a lot of questions. Most of the time, I’m able to respond and explained the difference between Deaf Interpreters and Certified Deaf Interpreters. I also explained why they were different from hearing interpreters and all that. It’s so cool to be able to educate hearing people about our field. This one time, two people asked me some very odd questions. The first person asked me that since I didn’t hear, was I able to smell the music? This really perplexed me. Then I asked that person if they could smell something in the music? This left that person speechless. Such an unusual question! The second question, from another person, since you can’t hear, can you taste the music? Another perplexing question for me. I said, “What?!”
. Then I asked this person if they saw me licking and slobbering over the speakers in the video while I interpreted. Again, another speechless reaction. Like really?! So odd, but I’m realizing there’s information that’s not accessible to the hearing community about how we value American Sign Language and Deaf Culture. So, I’ve been taking every opportunity I can to teach, but at the back of my head, it can be really aggravating! But I got to put on this big, beautiful smile on my face as I teach! The reason why I can do this is because I have the support I need from my deaf friends.
RENCA:
Thank you Cowan for your time.
Cowan added that he wanted to thank DiMarco for sharing that video or all of this would not have been possible.
Cowan has been honored as Atlanta Pride Grand Marshal, which is considered the top award at the Atlanta Pride for the year 2017. He has been involved with ASL related films. He is also known for interpreting for politicians such as Representative John Lewis and Governor Brian Kemp.
https://time.com/5700042/atlanta-pride-david-cowan/
https://mobile.twitter.com/NyleDiMarco/status/1183776022287634433
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
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