The Daily Moth 3-28-2025
It is Friday, March 28, 2025. Here are today’s top stories.
———
Deadly earthquake strikes Myanmar-Thailand
Today, a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Southeast Asia, impacting those who live in Myanmar and Thailand. At least 150 people are confirmed dead with many more missing.
The epicenter of the quake was in Myanmar, which is currently in a civil war with information tightly controlled, so it is harder for news outlets to get information there — however AP said photos and videos showed extensive damage in their capital city of Naypyidaw and major city of Mandalay, with damaged highways, collapsed bridges, and damaged government buildings. Myanmar had several powerful aftershocks, which caused further damage.
In Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, some 600 miles away from the epicenter, a skyscraper that was under construction collapsed. There were over 300 workers on site at the time. Some have been confirmed to be killed and there are many missing and trapped. Other areas in Bangkok reported the ground shaking and various instances of damage.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/myanmar-thailand-bangkok-earthquake/
https://apnews.com/article/thailand-earthquake-bangkok-4fce87aced74b1fc0cf260fb5454d353
———
Trump withdraws Stefanik’s UN ambassador nomination
The Trump administration said it would withdraw their nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to be the UN ambassador because Republicans needed to maintain their thin majority in the House. If Stefanik became the ambassador, then there would have to be a new election in upstate New York, but New York’s Democratic governor doesn’t seem to want to announce one quickly — likely in a bid to limit Republicans’ power.
News analysts said Stefanik’s withdrawal is due to Republicans’ grave concerns about two upcoming special elections in Florida to replace former GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz (who left surrounding reports of sexual misconduct with a minor) and Michael Waltz (who became the White House National Security Adviser and is the one who inadvertently invited a journalist into a Signal chat about the Yemen airstrikes). The elections will happen on Tuesday, April 1. The Democratic candidates in Florida have received millions of dollars’ worth of support and hope to get fresh support by voters who may not be fans of the Trump administration’s many recent actions.
To understand the situation, the House has 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats. Suppose both GOP candidates lose, then it would be a 218-215 margin. That would make it more difficult for Republicans to pass bills because they could only afford only one defection.
There are two other vacant seats in the House for two Democratic representatives who recently died, Texas’ Rep. Turner and Arizona’s Rep. Grijalva. Arizona will hold a special election in September. Texas hasn’t scheduled a special election.
So, you can see that it’s a game of numbers and power. Fresh concerns about Florida’s elections is what led to Stefanik’s withdrawal. Stefanik was cool about the withdrawal, saying she’s proud to be a team player.
It’s not known who Trump plans to nominate to serve as a U.N. ambassador — it’ll be a Republican/conservative for sure, and for sure not someone who’s a current member of Congress.
https://www.axios.com/2025/03/27/trump-elise-stefanik-nomination-un
https://apnews.com/article/elise-stefanik-united-nations-ambassador-trump-96ef705d7498f080f9f399416b647f99
———
Sundance Film Festival moving from Utah to Colorado
The Sundance Institute announced it would move the Sundance Film Festival from its longtime home of Park City, Utah to Boulder, Colorado starting in 2027.
Sundance said Boulder is an art, tech, mountain, and a college town and believes the festival can flourish there. Event leaders have said the festival has outgrown the town of Park City.
Sundance has been a place where many successful films premiered and it made an impact on the Deaf community with films such as “CODA” premiering there in 2021 and more recently two Deaf-related documentaries about Marlee Matlin and Deaf President Now.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/2025/03/27/sundance-film-festival-new-host-city-boulder-colorado/
https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/thats-a-wrap-sundance-film-festival-leaving-utah-after-decades-in-park-city
———
Woman who murdered Selena denied parole
The woman who murdered Selena, the Mexican music legend who died in 1995, was denied parole and will continue to stay behind bars on her life sentence.
The killer is Yolanda Saldívar. She will be eligible for another parole review in 2030.
CNN explained that Selena was one of the first Mexican-Americans to make it into the mainstream music scene and was on the verge of crossing over into the English-language pop market when she was killed.
Yolanda managed Selena’s fan club and clothing sales but was fired after money went missing. She shot Selena in the back at a motel in Corpus Christi, Texas.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/27/entertainment/selena-yolanda-saldivar-denied-parole/index.html
———
Max to provide ASL stream of “The Last of Us”
Max / Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it would provide an ASL stream of HBO’s zombie apocalypse series, “The Last of Us,” when it premieres on April 13. There will be an ASL stream alongside the show’s episodes each week.
The ASL performers are Daniel Durant, who is best known for his role in “CODA” and as a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars,” and Leila Hanaumi, who performed the ASL version of “Barbie.”
Max also announced that the show’s first season will have all episodes with ASL available on March 31 with Durant signing and Hanaumi directing.
https://press.wbd.com/na/media-release/hbo-0/max-debut-hbo-original-last-us-american-sign-language-asl
https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/the-last-of-us-asl-edition-max-daniel-durant-interview-1235101572/
———
That is all the top stories for today. Have a nice weekend and stay with the light.