The Daily Moth 10-29-19
White House official testifies on Trump’s Ukraine call; federal judge blocks Alabama abortion ban; 36 dead from vaping-related illnesses; Man wins $200k lotto ticket on way to final chemo treatment; Arizona man charged with selling 75 babies; Puerto Rico judge orders Indiana grandfather’s arrest for toddler cruise ship death; How much money did Democratic presidential candidates spend on interpreting services?; Interpreters at Mavrick Fisher’s preliminary hearing
[Transcript] Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Tuesday, October 29. Ready for news?
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White House official testifies on Trump’s Ukraine call; federal judge blocks Alabama abortion ban
Here are two political news briefs.
The first -- a White House National Security Council official who listened in to President Trump's call with Ukraine's president testified behind closed doors as a part of the House's impeachment inquiry.
He is Army Lt. Col Alexander Vindman and was the NSC's Director of European Affairs. He said he was concerned by the call because he did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen. He was also concerned about the U.S. government's support for Ukraine.
He is the first current White House official to testify and ignored a White House directive for staffers to not testify.
President Trump said on Twitter that Vindman is a "Never Trumper" and accused him of lying about being on the call.
Vindman was born in Ukraine and moved to the U.S. when he was a child. When he joined the Army, he did a tour in Iraq and was wounded in an IED attack and received a Purple Heart.
The second news brief -- a federal judge has ordered a temporary block on Alabama's strict new law that would ban almost all abortions and punish doctors 10 years to life in prison.
The Alabama law was signed into law in May by Gov. Kay Ivey (R). It was supposed to go into effect next month, but it is blocked for now.
Abortion rights activists said this was a victory because the ban is unconstitutional.
Anti-abortion activists said the judge's ruling was expected and they welcome it because it is another step towards the Supreme Court where they hope Roe v. Wade can be overturned.
Alabama has three abortion clinics and the judge's order means abortion remains legal for now.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-calls-white-house-official-trumper-ahead-impeachment/story?id=66607913&cid=clicksource_4380645_null_hero_hed
https://www.al.com/news/2019/10/federal-judge-blocks-alabama-abortion-ban.html
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36 dead from vaping-related illnesses
The number of deaths related to vaping has increased to 36. There are over 1,600 people nationwide with lung injuries.
Public health officials have not figured out exactly what is causing this, but 84% of those who died used vaping products that only had THC in it or used both THC and nicotine.
The Centers for Disease Control said most of those with lung injuries are young, white males.
Vox explained that most of those who are sickened used pre-filled THC vape cartridges that were not made in a legal way, those that are made and sold in the "black market."
The CDC said they don't know what exactly is the substance in the vaping products that is causing the lung damage and are recommending people to not use any vaping products with THC in it, or refrain from using any vaping product.
https://cnn.it/31Xn4n8
https://www.vox.com/2019/10/28/20936888/vaping-lung-illness-symptoms-death-cdc-report
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Man wins $200k lotto ticket on way to final chemo treatment
A North Carolina man, Ronnie Foster, won a $200,000 scratch card lottery ticket that he bought while he was on his way to a hospital for his final round of chemotherapy treatment for colon cancer.
Foster said he first bought one "Win It All" scratch card for $1 at a gas station store and won $5. So he decided to buy two more. The first one had nothing, but the second one had many zeroes. He said he "froze" and that it was his "lucky day."
Foster will keep $141,000 after taxes. He said he will use some of the money for medical expenses. He is a retired transportation department worker and has health insurance, but said there were still medical costs because of his cancer treatment.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-50210581
https://www.nclottery.com/News/2019/10/27/Lenoir-County-cancer-patient-wins-200000-instant-prize
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Arizona man charged with selling 75 babies
In Phoenix, Arizona, a man who worked for the Maricopa County government, Paul Petersen, was charged with running a scheme that would pay pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to come to the United States to give birth and give them up for adoption so Paul could sell the babies for $25,000 to $40,000 to families.
Paul faces charges in federal court and in Arkansas, Arizona, and Utah. He is accused of human smuggling, sale of a child, and other crimes.
Authorities said his criminal case spans three years and involves 75 adoptions with about 30 more pending. The pregnant women would come from the Marshall Islands for them to be placed in cramped spaces in homes that Paul owned or rented.
The women were promised payments of $1,000 a month for every month they were pregnant in the U.S. and up to $10,000 to give up their child for adoption.
Paul used to be a missionary at the Marshall Islands with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He then worked with an adoption agency and later became an adoption attorney.
Paul was arrested on October 8 and is in federal custody. He is the county assessor and was elected in 2016. The county's Board of Supervisors has suspended him without pay for 120 days for "neglect of duty." The Board does not have the power to fire him and Paul's attorney is fighting against the suspension.
https://apnews.com/822d161dba6a4f3db53b7068a03338d1
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/10/paul-petersen-adoption-scheme-arizona-how-big-operation/3932481002/
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Puerto Rico judge orders Indiana grandfather to be arrested for toddler cruise ship death
A judge in Puerto Rico has ordered a grandfather from Indiana, Salvatore Anello, to be arrested and charged with negligent homicide for dropping her 2-year-old granddaughter from an open window on the 11th floor of a cruise ship in July.
The girl's name was Chloe Wiegand. The ship was a Royal Carribbean cruise ship that was docked in San Juan. The girl is reported to have fallen over 100 feet and landed on a concrete floor.
An attorney for the family said the girl asked her grandfather to lift her up so she could bang on a glass window in a children's play area and that it was the cruise ship's fault for leaving the window open. He said the family would sue soon.
The family is from Indiana. Anello is the husband of Chloe's mother. Chloe's father is a police officer with the South Bend Police Department.
Anello's bail will be $80,000 if he is extradited to Puerto Rico. He is scheduled to appear in court on November 20.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/grandfather-charged-in-death-of-toddler-who-fell-on-cruise-ship-in-puerto-rico
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article236769333.html
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How much money did Democratic presidential candidates spend on interpreting services?
The Des Moines Register did a nice analysis on how much money Democratic presidential candidates spent on ASL interpreting services from July 1 to September 30, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
The candidate that spent the most is Sen. Bernie Sanders with over $23,000. The second is Sen. Cory Booker at over $10,000 and the third is Sen. Elizabeth Warren at over $5,000.
Look at this list.
TEXT:
Sanders: $23,302.65
Booker: $10,798.81
Warren: $5,550.64
Harris: $5,099.6
Buttigieg: $4,530.08
Biden: $1,895
Yang: $1,712.48
Steyer: $670.28
O'Rourke: $544.9
Williamson: $110
The Des Moines Register said Democratic presidential campaigns have spent more than $54,000 on interpreting and translation services from July 1 to September 30. They explained that the actual amounts could be different because some interpreting services could be included in general event expenses.
I looked at the FEC website and was able to see a list of disbursements that political campaigns made. There is an ability to put in specific search terms such as "interpreting," "interpreters," or "sign language."
I was able to pull up over 70 results for expenses for interpreters by various campaigns. Most of them were between $300 to $700, but there were multiple instances of costs going over $1,000 and some went above $2,000. Some of the expenses went directly to individual interpreters while others went to agencies.
The highest amount was $5,530 which was paid by the Democratic National Committee in two payments to D.C. based agency "The Wright House Co" on March 1 of this year. It is not clear what event this was, but the DNC hosted a "winter meeting" in D.C. on February 16 to 19. So this could be the event.
The two second-highest payments are when Bernie's campaign paid $2,840 to Cedar Rapids based "Hands Up Communications" on April 25. The other was when Sen. Kamala Harris' campaign paid $2,824 to San Diego based "Interpreters Unlimited, Inc" on May 28.
The president of the Cedar Rapids Association of the Deaf, David Legg, told the newspaper that every political event should have an interpreter prearranged because there is no reason "we should have to tell them to have an interpreter."
Catherine Crist, who is the disability caucus chair for the Iowa Democratic Party, said people with disabilities often don't risk the time, money, and energy to go to political events if they are not sure if they are able to participate. Crist said it is an improper question to ask, "How many people need ASL?" She said it is a civil right to provide accommodations and that the cost is the cost of doing business.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2019/10/28/presidential-candidates-using-more-sign-language-interpreters-in-2019/4066278002/
https://www.fec.gov
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Interpreters at Mavrick Fisher’s preliminary hearing
I posted a video of the preliminary hearing of Mavrick Fisher’s murder case on Saturday. The video showed that there were two CDIs at the beginning on the floor, but then two hearing interpreters took over, switching with each other until the end of the hearing.
I got a question about this and I’ll explain what happened.
There were six interpreters in total, 3 CDIs and 3 hearing interpreters. One team of CDI/HI was assigned to the table for Mavrick Fisher to communicate with his attorney. There were two teams of CDI/HI for the floor proceedings.
After about an hour into the hearing, Mavrick's attorney asked for the HI to come up on the floor instead of using a CDI reading from a HI. The reason was that Mavrick was watching the HI all the way with his head turned. After a bit of a discussion with the judge, it was decided that the HI would move to the floor while the CDI sat on the side. That continued for more than half of the hearing.
At the end of the hearing, the judge said CDIs would not be needed because Mavrick did not use them, but he said Mavrick had the right to request them.
Additional note: the judge also decided that the barrier would be removed because he was concerned that the jury would somehow be distracted by it or that it would interfere on Mavrick's "right to a fair trial.”
There were two communication advocates from Deaf Counseling Advocacy and Referral Agency (DCARA) at the preliminary hearing last week and they have worked with the Lake County Superior Court on interpreting arrangements.
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
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