The Daily Moth 10-30-19
Forensic expert doubts that Epstein died from suicide; Oldest of I-75 rock throwing suspects sentenced; Missing hiker rescued after “SOS” message using rocks; Top News Briefs: John Witherspoon dies; Simi Valley wildfire; Fed cuts rates again; Vindman testifies Trump removed key words from rough transcript/memo
[Transcript] Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Wednesday, October 30. Ready for news?
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01 Forensic expert doubts that Epstein died from suicide
A forensic expert, Dr. Michael Baden, said he observed the autopsy of Jeffrey Epstein and thinks that his neck fractures are more consistent with homicidal strangulation than hanging.
Dr. Barden used to be the New York City medical examiner for a brief time and was recently hired by Epstein’s brother.
Epstein was very wealthy man and a sex offender who died in a Manhattan jail cell while facing multiple sex trafficking charges involving underage girls. Authorities said he hanged himself, but there is speculation that he was murdered because he knew too much about the habits of other wealthy and powerful people.
Dr. Barden told Fox News that Epstein had three fractures in his neck area. Two were on the left and right sides of his larynx and one fracture on the left hyoid bone above Adam’s apple. He said he has not seen in 50 years where that occurred in a suicidal hanging case. He said the investigation is still ongoing and he is still waiting for more information.
New York City’s chief medical examiner, Dr. Barbara Sampson, told the New York Times that she stands firmly behind their determination of the cause and the manner of death. She said “in general, fractures of the hyoid bone and the cartilage can be seen in suicides and homicides.”
Two weeks before Epstein died in the summer, he was found on the floor of his cell with marks around his neck and was placed on suicide watch. A week later, he was taken off watch and was placed in a cell with a cellmate, but the cellmate moved out a few days later. This meant Epstein was left alone, which violated jail protocol. On the night Epstein died, the prison guards were said to be sleeping and did not check the cell every 30 minutes like they were supposed to. Security cameras in the hallway of Epstein’s cell also malfunctioned, so there is no footage.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/forensic-pathologist-jeffrey-epstein-homicide-suicide
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/30/nyregion/jeffrey-epstein-homicide-autopsy-michael-baden.html
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02 Oldest of I-75 rock throwing suspects sentenced
In 2017, five teenagers in Michigan were accused of throwing rocks on cars passing under an I-75 overpass in an area north of Flint. A 32-year-old man, Kenneth White, died when a 6-pound rock crashed through the windshield of a van he was a passenger in.
The oldest of the teenagers, Kyle Anger, was sentenced to 39 months to 20 years in prison after agreeing to a plea deal for second-degree murder. He was charged as an adult and he will turn 20 this week. He received credit for 740 days he served in jail since his arrest.
Kyle is accused of throwing the 6-pound rock that killed Kenneth White. He told the judge in his case that he was just doing dumb stuff and was not thinking about the outcome.
The other four suspects are younger and have also accepted plea deals, but for manslaughter. ABC 12 news said their cases are in “limbo while a judge decides whether they can be moved down to the juvenile court system.”
https://www.abc12.com/content/news/Oldest-of-I-75-rock-throwing-suspects-scheduled-for-sentencing-Tuesday-564042511.html?fbclid=IwAR1hcb6_zxDD1elqcv78RX66821lsWlU42GakWNolKn2E7_xtU4p2jjLnzY
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03 Missing hiker rescued after “SOS” message using rocks
A Mississippi woman was rescued in Kings Canyon National Park in central California after being missing for almost a week. A California Air National Guard spotted a “SOS” message that was spelled out with rocks.
The woman’s name is Mary Gomez (56). She is a nurse and her family reported her missing on Friday after they did not hear from her since the day earlier. Gomez is a traveling nurse who works in the Bay Area. She went to the park on Wednesday and Thursday on her off days and was supposed to work on Friday, but never showed up.
Search teams tried to find her, but were only able to locate her car at the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park on Saturday evening.
On Monday, a C-130 aircraft saw the “SOS” message. It was over 3 miles away from her vehicle in rocky and steep terrain. Rescuers were able to find Mary, who was thirsty and hungry but in stable condition.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/missing-california-woman-found-alive-rocks
https://kmph.com/news/local/nurse-from-mississippi-missing-in-sequoia-national-park
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04: Top News Briefs: John Witherspoon dies; Simi Valley wildfire; Fed cuts rates again
Here are three top news briefs.
The first — John Witherspoon, an actor best known for his role in “Friday” films and on the “The Wayans Bros.” series, passed away at the age of 77. The cause of death is not known. Ice Cube, Marlon Wayans, and Arsenio Hall posted mournful tributes to honor him.
The second news — there is another major wildfire in California in Simi Valley that is raging very close to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The fire is named the Easy Fire and has forced evacuations. The library is not damaged so far and firefighters are using aerial water drops. The library is also protected by a fire break on the ground, which is vegetation that is chewed down by goats. The Kincade Fire in Sonoma County is 30% contained and the Getty Fire near Los Angeles is 27% contained. The fires are spreading fast because of very strong winds that have downed trees and killed at least three people.
The third news — the Federal Reserve has cut down their benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point for the third time in the past three months. The rate is now 1.5% to 1.75%. This will help the economy by making it cheaper to borrow money, but it means lower returns from bank savings accounts. The Fed said weak business investment has slowed the economy.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/10/30/john-witherspoon-death-mourned-stars-celebrities/4095069002/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/30/getty-fire-kincade-fire-california-extreme-winds/2502402001/
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/fire-in-california-latest-getty-kincade-sonoma-tick-fires-evacuations-today-live-updates-2019-10-30/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/10/30/interest-rates-fed-cut-credit-card-home-equity-savings/2500219001/
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05 Vindman testifies Trump removed key words from rough transcript/memo
Yesterday Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who is the National Security Council’s expert on Ukraine, said yesterday in his testimony that the White House’s rough transcript/memo of President Trump’s call in July with Ukraine’s President Zelensky omitted crucial words and phrases.
Vindman is the first official from the White House who listened to the phone call to testify in the House impeachment inquiry.
He said the rough transcript/memo did not include Trump talking about recordings of Joe Biden discussing corruption in Ukraine and of Zelensky mentioning Burisma Holdings, which is the energy company that Biden’s son, Hunter, was on. He said those pieces were missing.
Vindman said there were ellipses in the memo — where there are three periods to indicate that a sentence has trailed off — where the missing parts were supposed to be in. He said he tried to add the “missing” words and phrases, but couldn’t.
President Trump has maintained that his phone call was an appropriate call and that he was transparent by releasing the “transcript.” He also said Vindman was someone who never supported him, calling him a “Never Trumper.”
https://www.axios.com/nyt-vindman-trump-ukraine-memo-edited-claim-09eeefff-44f9-40c8-8ce8-c6b117337854.html
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/468199-vindman-testified-he-believed-trump-demanded-quid-pro-quo-from-ukrainian-aid
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
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