The Daily Moth 2-12-2020
Bernie, Buttigieg, Klobuchar tops New Hampshire; Dwayne Wade, Gabrielle Union supports daughter’s gender identity; Denver ends ban on pit bulls; Mavrick Fisher murder case update
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Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Wednesday, February 12. Ready for news?
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Bernie, Buttigieg, Klobuchar tops New Hampshire
Bernie Sanders got the most votes in the New Hampshire primary with 25%. Pete Buttigieg came in a very close second place with 24%. The difference between them was only about 4,000 votes. Amy Klobuchar had a strong, surprising third place finish with 19%.
Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden had bad nights — both were almost 50,000 votes behind Bernie Sanders.
Andrew Yang announced last night that he is dropping out after getting less than 3 percent of the vote. He is known for his “universal basic income” concept where every American was to get $1,000 a month to boost the economy and as a response to future job losses due to automation/robots. Yang thanked his “Yang Gang” and tweeted that “we’ll be back.”
Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick also announced he was dropping out. He joined the presidential race three months ago and had hoped to win a substantial percentage of the vote in New Hampshire, but only got less than 1 percent.
Now that Yang and Patrick have dropped out, there is only one Democratic candidate of color — Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI). She finished in seventh place in New Hampshire, behind billionaire Tom Steyer.
The Democratic field is very different now from the diversity seen during the October 15 debate in Ohio — where there were 7 white candidates and 5 candidates of color.
It was not a surprise that Bernie won New Hampshire, because he also finished ahead of Hillary Clinton in 2016 and is from Vermont. Bernie thanked his campaign volunteers and said their hard work was the reason why they won.
Buttigieg’s second-place finish in New Hampshire — combined with his win in Iowa, although it is not yet final — shows that he has powered his way through the crowded Democratic field and has the lead in delegate totals. He is the first openly gay candidate for president to win delegates for a major party convention (Democratic or Republican).
Klobuchar received almost 20% of the vote and six delegates. Bernie and Buttigieg received nine delegates each. The New York Times explained that Klobuchar invested heavily in New Hampshire after Iowa. She also had a strong debate performance. She said last night that “we have beaten the odds.” Her challenge will be to maintain that momentum.
President Trump had almost 120,000 people come out to the polls to vote for him, which is double than what Obama had in 2012 as an incumbent and running for re-election. Trump gave a rally in Manchester, N.H. on Monday and said it was to “shake up the Dems a bit.”
The next election events are the Nevada caucuses on February 22 and the South Carolina primary on February 29.
https://apnews.com/3d16640da86f6e5c30b1b5fba8d91936
https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/state/new-hampshire?xid=ec_crm_nh_d
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/12/us/politics/amy-klobuchar-new-hampshire.html
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/12/798296505/deval-patrick-ends-his-presidential-bid
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Dwayne Wade, Gabrielle Union supports daughter’s gender identity
Dwayne Wade, a well-known retired NBA star, and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, have given interviews to talk about how they have supported their 12-year-old child Zaya in her decision to use she/her pronouns and identify as a transgender girl.
Wade said on “The Ellen Show” that Zaya had a birth gender of male. Wade said that Zaya (recently) came home and asked to have a discussion about changing her name and using she/her pronouns.
Wade said “when our child comes home with a question, when our child comes home with an issue… it is our job as parents to listen to that, to give them the best information we can, the best feedback we can… and that doesn’t change because sexuality is now involved.”
Wade and Union said they reached out to people from the LGBTQ+ community to get more information and educate themselves.
Union posted a video on Twitter of Zaya talking with her father on a golf cart. Zaya said, “Just be true to yourself — what is the point of being on this earth if you’re going to try and be someone you’re not.” Zaya said it is worth it when you can look in the mirror and say “hi” to yourself.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28681410/dwyane-wade-supports-daughter-gender-identity
https://people.com/parents/gabrielle-union-introduces-zaya-to-the-world-we-are-so-proud/
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Denver ends ban on pit bulls
The Denver Post reported that the Denver City Council has voted 7 to 5 to repeal a ban on pit bulls that has been in place since 1989.
Owners will have to apply for a “restricted” pit bull license and show proof that it is microchipped and vaccinated. If there are no major issues with animal safety in three years, then the “restricted” license is no longer needed and the dog can be registered the same as any other dog breed.
The mayor said he has not decided to sign the ordinance or not.
The Denver Post said during a city council public meeting, there was an equal amount of people speaking out in support for ending the ban and those who wanted the ban to stay in place.
A veterinary expert told the Post that “there is no specific data to show that one breed is more dangerous than another,” that it is not true that pit bull-type dogs have “locking jaws” that cause more damage, and that responsible pet ownership is key.
More than 900 U.S. cities have breed-specific ordinances, most of them targeting pit bull type dogs.
Denver will reevaluate the decision to legalize pit bulls in two years with data analysis from animal control.
https://www.denverpost.com/2020/02/10/denver-council-pit-bull-ban-repeal/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2020/02/11/denver-pit-bull-ban-lifted/
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Mavrick Fisher murder case update
On Tuesday afternoon, deaf man Mavrick Fisher, who is charged with murdering deaf man Grant Whitaker in northern California, appeared before a Lake County judge for a pretrial conference.
Daily Moth reporter Callie Frye was able to attend the hearing in Lakeport and she described what happened in a call with me last night.
CALLIE FRYE:
I saw Mavrick seated among other prisoners in the jury seating area. I observed the room and it was interesting that the two interpreters did not interpret for other prisoners’ cases before the judge. The interpreters were seated and Mavrick was staring into space, passing the time. He did glance often at his mother and tried to communicate with her, but they knew they couldn’t talk with each other because it would violate the law if someone in the audience was to talk with a prisoner. Mavrick and his mother looked at each other often. I arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon, but waited until it was almost 4:00 pm. It was at the last part, at 3:45 pm, when it was finally Mavrick’s turn. He left to meet with his lawyer and interpreter twice -- they left the room and came back in, then left and came back again. They were confidential meetings with his lawyer. There was a long break of about 45 minutes in which the district attorney and Mavrick’s lawyer had a private meeting. The spectators had to wait. There was another 15-minute break where the lawyer, Mavrick, and his interpreter had a meeting. That was the second meeting. After all of us got back to the courtroom, Mavrick was visibly crying and wiping away his tears. I wondered what happened, but the discussions were private. Then Mavrick was called to approach. The district attorney asked for a postponement, but the defense lawyer said “no.” The district attorney said she needed more phone evidence and records from Grant’s phone. They needed more time to examine it. The defense lawyer explained to the judge that Mavrick was suffering isolation in jail and had emotional distress because of his disability and communication difficulties. He said Mavrick was lonely. The judge agreed and approved a postponement of the pretrial conference so the district attorney can have more time to gather additional evidence. It was postponed to February 24 at 1:30 in the afternoon. But the trial was not postponed, the date of March 11 will stay the same. After the hearing, I talked with Mavrick’s mother and asked her if she had any comments. She said she was touched by Mavrick’s incident and said it was because of self-defense. I asked if she wanted to share anything more. She said the trial was to happen on March 11. She said that Mavrick does suffer in jail from loneliness and isolation. That’s it. Mavrick’s mother said she wanted to stay behind to talk with the defense lawyer and I left. That’s all.
No, there was no barrier set up. I could see everything when Mavrick appeared before the judge. I could see the interpreter standing up between the judge and Mavrick. There was another interpreter seated between Mavrick and his defense lawyer. It was easy and clear to see everything. There were no CDIs.
ALEX:
Thank you Callie for your time to attend the hearing and for the report.
So, we see that there is no settlement — no deal of a reduced sentence for a guilty plea.
TEXT: Clarification: Mavrick Fisher pleaded not guilty to premediated murder and other charges. He accused Grant of trying to stab him and said the killing was done in self-defense.
The trial date is still scheduled for March 11 with another pretrial conference on February 24.
I reached out to the Lake County District Attorney Susan Krones and asked her if she could provide additional information.
Krones told me that yesterday was a “trial readiness conference” and that it was to determine if they were ready for trial. The district attorney said she proposed the trial to be postponed to May but that Mavrick did not want to postpone, so it is still set for March 11.
Krones said there would be further discussion on the February 24 “trial readiness conference” and there might be more discussion about whether or not the trial will start on March 11 or be postponed.
I asked Krones if there have been discussions with Mavrick’s lawyer about a settlement. She said there have been discussions, but that there have been no offers but that there will be more discussions before February 24.
Krones confirmed that she is waiting for phone data from various phones and will turn that in for the discovery process for the defense to have access to it. She also said there are a few other investigation areas that are ongoing so she wants to make sure she has all that done before the trial begins.
I also reached out to Mavrick’s defense attorney for comment, but did not get an immediate response.
Now, about the phone data that both Callie and DA Krones mentioned, it is possible that it has to do with a phone that was found in Grant’s grandmother’s car that he was driving in California.
The car was found abandoned by police near a Dollar General store at Clearlake Oaks after Mavrick had already fled to Mexico. Mavrick used the car to transport Grant’s body after the alleged murder on August 20. The car was found on August 24. Grant’s body was found a short time later at a ranch where the two worked.
Here is a clip from the preliminary hearing in October.
DETECTIVE RICHARD KREUTZER, via interpreter:
At that time the focus was to retrieve the cell phone. Someone told me that there was a phone.
DA KRONES, via interpreter:
Where did you find the phone?
DETECTIVE KREUTZER:
I found it in the glove box compartment.
DA KRONES:
Did you figure out who owned the phone?
DETECTIVE KREUTZER:
I am sorry, I couldn’t. The iPhone was locked. The sheriff’s office doesn’t have the technology to bypass Apple’s operating system and security.
ALEX:
So, we see that there is still additional evidence that the DA’s office is seeking.
Mavrick is charged with premediated murder, assault with a deadly weapon (a rock) with a special allegation of inflicting great bodily harm, removing and keeping possession of a car (that I just mentioned) from a dead body, and grand theft auto. He faces a maximum of life in penalty if convicted on the premediated murder charge. California has suspended capital punishment so there is no death penalty, only life in prison.
That is all the updates I have for now.
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!