The Daily Moth 2-24-2020
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Monday, February 24. Ready for news?
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Bernie dominates Nevada
Bernie Sanders won big in Nevada’s caucuses on Saturday with 47% of the popular vote. In second place is Joe Biden with 20%, in third place is Pete Buttigieg with 14%, and in fourth place is Elizabeth Warren with 10%.
Bernie received 14 delegates, Biden got four, and Buttigieg got two. Warren did not get any delegates.
Bernie is now the leader in the Democratic presidential nomination race, and many political analysts say that he may be unstoppable through Super Tuesday, in which 14 states vote.
Bernie and Warren have very similar liberal political leanings and visions for America, but Bernie is clearly more popular. He also had plenty of experience with campaigning from when he lost the Democratic race to Hillary Clinton in 2016.
There is a “logjam” of moderate Democrats — Biden, Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Michael Bloomberg — that seems to help Bernie with standing out and maintaining his lead. Bernie also has, so far, raised the most money out of all Democrats — not including the self-funded billionaires Tom Steyer and Bloomberg.
The next state to vote is South Carolina on Saturday, February 29. There are 54 delegates that are up for grabs. So far, Biden seems to be the favorite to win the majority of votes in the state.
To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate must have at least 1,991 delegates by the Democratic National Convention this summer.
Bernie has 35 total delegates. In second place is Buttigieg with 24. Biden has 10, Warren has 8, and Klobuchar has 7.
Bloomberg’s name has not been on the ballot for any of the early states — he will start competing on Super Tuesday on March 3.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/484199-sanders-projected-to-win-nevada-caucuses
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/10/799979293/how-many-delegates-do-the-2020-presidential-democratic-candidates-have
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Harvey Weinstein convicted of rape
Harvey Weinstein was found guilty by a jury on two out of five charges in his rape trial in New York City.
Weinstein is guilty of first degree criminal sexual act and third degree rape. He was ordered to be detained while he waits for his sentencing on March 11. He faces 5 to 25 years in prison.
Weinstein was accused of sexual assault by multiple women two years ago, which led to his downfall from a top Hollywood movie producer and sparked the #MeToo movement.
Weinstein was acquitted of two of the most serious charges — predatory sexual assault — which has a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Weinstein will still have to face four charges of felony sexual assault in Los Angeles.
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Vanessa Bryant gives speech during Kobe memorial
Today there was a memorial service to honor Kobe Bryant and her daughter Gianna at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Today’s date, 2-24 matches with Kobe and Gianna’s basketball jerseys — Kobe used No. 24 as a Laker and Gianna used No. 2 in her youth league games.
Over 20,000 people were in the stadium after they won a lottery to purchase tickets. The proceeds went to Kobe’s Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. There were many well-known celebrities, musicians, and notable figures in the sporting world who attended.
Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s wife, gave an emotional speech. She said Gigi and Kobe naturally gravitated towards each other. Vanessa said Gigi would have made a huge difference for women’s basketball.
Vanessa said Kobe was her soulmate and was very romantic, especially on Valentine’s Day or anniversaries. She said she didn’t view Kobe as a celebrity or an incredible basketball player, but as her sweet husband and the beautiful father of their children.
She closed by telling Kobe to take care of Gigi in heaven, while she would take care of Natalia, Bianca, and Capri on Earth, and that they are still the best team.
Beyonce, Alicia Keys, and Christina Aguilera performed songs.
Michael Jordan gave a speech and tears streamed down his face as he described their close relationship despite their rivalry. Shaquille O’Neal said he and Kobe deeply respected each other despite their complicated relationship.
In separate but related news, news reports said Vanessa Bryant filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that operated the helicopter that Kobe and Gianna were riding when they died along with seven others when it crashed in foggy conditions on January 26. All nine people, including the pilot, died. The company is “Island Express Helicopters.”
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/28766451/kobe-bryant-memorial-live-updates-reaction-staples-center
https://nypost.com/2020/02/24/michael-jordan-tears-up-in-moving-speech-at-kobe-bryant-memorial/
-helicopters-lawsuit-vanessa-bryant/?b2np=d&utm_source=heavy-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=02/24/2020
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Trump draws massive crowds in India visit
President Trump visited India and gave a speech at the Motera Stadium that was filled with over 100,000 people. He was invited by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two countries are discussing a possible $3 billion military deal.
It is clear that Trump is very popular in India, as news images and video show thousands of people lined up along a roadway waving at Trump’s motorcade. There were massive posters of Trump and Modi shaking hands.
Trump also visited the ashram where Mohandas Gandhi lived for 13 years and the Taj Mahal, which is one of the most important cultural and historical sites in India.
Here is an interesting fact — Trump used to own a hotel and casino named the “Trump Taj Mahal” in Atlantic City before it filed for bankruptcy and was sold to Hard Rock International.
There are news reports of violent and deadly protests in New Delhi, the capital city, but they were not related to Trump. People were protesting about India’s new citizenship law, which critics say discriminates against Muslim individuals. A policeman was killed.
It is the second time that Trump and Modi had a rally together — the first was when Modi visited Houston in September.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/02/24/trump-india-live-updates/
https://www.axios.com/trump-india-visit-namaste-rally-photos-71a779a9-395d-4ac0-85e4-d57f7b2ad80d.html
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-arrives-in-india
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Mavrick Fisher murder trial scheduled for June 3
CALLIE FRYE, DAILY MOTH REPORTER
Hello. It is Monday, February 24. I’m here at the Lakeport Courthouse and I’m here to film Mavrick Fisher’s pretrial hearing, which was postponed from two weeks ago.
(Clip of Mavrick walking into the courtroom with other inmates and taking a seat in the jury box)
When it started, Mavrick and another hearing inmates walked into and sat in the jury box. Right away, Mavrick’s attorney called Mavrick and their interpreter to go into a private room to have a meeting.
(Clip of Mavrick, attorney Thomas Feimer, and a female interpreter walking out of the courtroom into a side door)
CALLIE:
After this, Mavrick went back to his seat. Eventually a hearing inmate was called to sit before the judge. But for some reason, the judge asked to hold things up and asked for Mavrick’s attorney and the District Attorney Susan (Krones) to approach him. Mavrick remained seated at the jury box. The hearing male inmate remained seated at the table where the lawyer and the inmate usually sits at — he stayed there as I was filming. I found it interesting and continued filming.
(Video clip of Mavrick walking into the courtroom and sitting in the jury box. Feimer is seen calling someone to come. A man in a suit gets up and walks towards Feimer. Mavrick remains seated. The camera zooms into Mavrick, who is silent.
INTERPRETER:
I’m Holly, interpreter #4008.
Judge: So, I have a motion to continue.
Krones: Yes, your honor. Susan Krones for the People, we filed a motion to continue (postpone).
I have a copy, do you need it?
Judge: Yes.
Judge: Oh, my bad. I have it.
Judge: Any objections?
Feimer: I have no disagreements. I am not yet prepared. Right now (Krones) has a lot of information and papers. There’s a lot of paperwork. I haven’t had the opportunity to look through it all… and she told me there is more paperwork coming. There is also a lot of investigation that is still ongoing. It means I can’t oppose a continuation.
Judge: There’s also a general time waiver. For her reasons in the motion and for his reasons, I have decided that we will continue. Yes. Have both of you discussed when is the next date?
Krones: We had a brief discussion for it to be at the end of May.
Judge: Do you need more time?
Feimer: I do feel we can be ready at the end of May. I would prefer early June.
Krones: That’s fine. June 3rd or 10th?
Feimer: June 3rd is fine.
CALLIE:
After some deliberations, Susan (Krones) asked for another postponement. The defense attorney said he had talked with Mavrick and they would go forward with moving it forward. They had discussions on if the schedule worked for everyone, including the interpreter. The interpreter looked at her phone and checked her calendar to confirm that the date worked. They decided on May 12th for what seems to be a conference between the attorneys, May 29th for a pretrial hearing that was supposed to be today but was postponed again, and June 3rd for the trial. It’s scheduled.
(Video clip of Mavrick sitting in the jury box. He looks at someone in the gallery and makes facial expressions that seems to express frustration. He is shaking his head while looking down to the floor, then makes a quick glance to the gallery).
CALLIE:
There were no Certified Deaf Interpreters present. There was only one hearing interpreter. This was interesting. There was no temporary barrier set up, just like before.
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!