The Daily Moth 5-23-2019

Deadly tornadoes hit Missouri; Interview with Deaf survivor; “American Taliban” released from prison; Michael Avenatti charged with stealing $300k from Stormy Daniels; Political News Briefs: Trump adm. to give $16B farm aid package; Indian PM Modi expected to win election; Bank CEO indicted with bribing Manafort for job in Trump’s administration; New film about famous Deaf baseball player featuring Miles Barbee; Guest #DeafBing: “Ex”

Hello, welcome to the Daily Moth! It is Thursday, May 23. Ready for news?

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Deadly tornadoes hit Missouri; Interview with Deaf survivor

Last night a large EF3 tornado ripped through Jefferson City, Missouri with wind speeds of about 160 mph. Several people were trapped in collapsed buildings.

A Deaf man, Sean Coatney, was in an apartment building that was damaged by the tornado. He is okay, but was not able to enter his apartment building today because of the damage.

The Daily Moth reached out to him to share his experience.

Sean Coatney:

It started about 11 pm. My phone buzzed and had a notification that said, “Tornado Warning.” I was like, hmm… I was curious and went outside. I saw two men and I told them I was Deaf. I saw heavy rains.

[Video clip of heavy rains pounding an apartment front area. The camera pans right to show two individuals standing outside of their ground-level apartment]

Eventually the power went out. I saw the two men run inside their apartment, so I ran into my apartment to take shelter. I looked out the window and it was still pouring outside. My phone buzzed with an emergency notification. I went into my bathroom. My mom sent me a text to touch the tub. I said fine, sure, and when I touched it, it felt like heavy rumbling. It shook very powerfully. I was stunned. It felt like a real earthquake. I had no idea what it means but it looked like a tornado hit this area. I didn’t know. My heart was pounding. Later, the notifications stopped. I looked out the window and the rains and wind stopped. When I opened the door, there was damage everywhere.

[Video clip of a flashlight beam shining on a woman talking on a cellphone, tipetoping through debris on the grass. Images of damage to apartment building walls, debris scattered everywhere, a bent light pole, and a car with a busted rear glass window]

I live in the west area. The tornado went northwest. I was fortunate that it missed us. My apartment is safe but I’ve seen others severely damaged compared with mine.

[Image of a bird’s eye view of Sean Coatney’s apartment]

My car was slightly damaged in the rear. It is blocked by a fallen tree, which means I can’t use my car. I saw a lot of rocks and fallen trees. I’m now staying at my mother’s apartment.

[Video clip during the daytime, showing debris scattered on an apartment lawn.]

Coatney: This is my apartment.

[Video clip that shows a middle-aged woman and then a corner first-floor apartment unit with a brick exterior. Another clip that shows a wide view of debris and damage in an apartment complex.]

Coatney: My apartment’s interior is all intact, but I noticed two things.

This is broken.

This is also broken.

It’s a setback that they are broken, and I have to wait for them to order replacements. But my apartment’s interior was saved. But for the others… Ooh.

[Images of damaged apartment buildings and debris on the streets. An image of a helicopter flying overhead]

Alex: Thank you, Coatney for sharing. That is a very scary experience, and we are glad you are okay.

AccuWeather reported that there was another tornado that hit Golden City, Missouri that killed three people. Two of them were an elderly couple, a 86-year old man and his 83-year-old wife. Their bodies were found 200 yards from their home. The third person was a 56-year-old woman who died when her mobile home was destroyed. Her husband was seriously injured.

Since Monday, there were almost 100 tornado reports across Missouri and the surrounding states. A total of 7 people died, including the three I just mentioned.

The others are:

A young married couple, a 24-year-old woman and her 23-year-old husband died in Missouri in a car accident during heavy rains.

One 53-year-old woman died in Oklahoma by drowning after she drove her car around a barricade and into a flooded roadway.

A 78-year-old woman died in Iowa after severe storms hit her farm. Her husband was severely injured and airlifted to the hospital.

Those are the seven who died.

There is still a risk of severe storms and tornadoes in the Central states.

https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/live-intense-thunderstorms-erupt-over-oklahoma-as-new-round-of-severe-weather-unfolds/70008345

https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2019/05/21/willard-couple-named-victims-car-crash-springfield/3759607002/

https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/woman-who-died-in-perkins-flooding-identified/article_be0fbcba-7ce9-11e9-8963-df672f112840.html

https://thecount.com/2019/05/23/betty-betty-berg-killed-storm-golden-city-mo-ken-opal-harris/

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“American Taliban” released from prison

John Walker Lindh, as known as the “American Taliban,” was released from a prison in Indiana after serving 17 years on terror-related charges.

He was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 fighting with Taliban after the 9/11 attacks. His sentence was 20 years, but he was released three years early based on good behavior.

There are concerns that he is still a violent extremist because he wrote a letter in 2015 that ISIS was doing a spectacular job.

Lindh will have strict monitoring on his internet usage, cannot travel outside of the country, and has to undergo mental health counseling.

He will live in Northern Virginia. He grew up in California.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/letter-american-taliban-john-walker-lindh-said-isis-doing-spectacular-n1008871?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_np

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Michael Avenatti charged with stealing $300k from Stormy Daniels

Michael Avenatti was charged with stealing almost $300,000 from Stormy Daniels that was meant for an advance for her book.

Federal prosecutors in New York said he forged Daniels’ signature to get the money, then used it to pay for his Ferrari, airfare, hotels and restaurant bills, and to pay his law firm’s employees.

Daniels is no longer Avenatti’s client. This adds to a growing list of federal criminal charges for Avenatti, as he was charged in New York with trying to extort $20 million from Nike and in California with stealing funds from another client.

Avenatti has denied all of the accusations

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/feds-expected-charge-avenatti-dealings-stormy-daniels-sources/story?id=63203832

https://twitter.com/i/moments/1131288805439201281

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Political News Briefs: Trump adm. to give $16B farm aid package; Indian PM Modi expected to win election; Bank CEO indicted with bribing Manafort for job in Trump’s administration

Here are three political news briefs.

The first — the Trump administration will give $16 billion in an aid package to U.S. farmers who were affected by the trade war with China. This is in addition to the $8.5 billion already given out to farmers starting last year. Some farmers say this isn’t enough, that they prefer there to be trade deals.

The second news — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to easily win the country’s elections and be in power for five more years. The elections lasted for five weeks with 900 million eligible voters. Modi is a member of the BJP party, who is also expected to win the majority of the seats in the Indian Parliament. President Trump tweeted a congratulatory message and said he looks forward to continuing to work with Modi.

The third news — a CEO of a bank in Chicago, Stephen Calk, was indicted on federal charges for allegedly approving $16 million in loans to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in exchange for help to get a top position in the Trump administration. Prosecutors say the two met in July 2016. Calk faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Manafort is now serving a 7 year prison sentence for bank and tax fraud.

Farmers: https://www.axios.com/us-china-trade-war-farming-aid-trump-administration-36a8d6bf-764e-4a8b-b8bd-b431ee3ac39d.html

Modi: https://www.axios.com/india-election-narendra-modi-landslide-victory-e396ef5e-599a-48a9-979c-5d007baae7ee.html

Calk: https://wapo.st/2VM0o6f

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New film about famous Deaf baseball player featuring Miles Barbee

Last September, a movie trailer was released about the life of a famous Deaf baseball player, William E. Hoy, best known as “Dummy” Hoy. The movie is called, “The Silent Natural,” It is produced by David Risotto. Miles Barbee, a Deaf actor, portrays the main character, Hoy. There are some other familiar actors in this movie such as Anne Lockhart from “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and Courtney Gains from “Back to the Future.”

The movie premiere will be hosted in Hopkinsville, Kentucky at the Alhambra Theatre on May 31st at 7:30pm.

Hoy was born in 1862 in Ohio. He became deaf when he was 2. He began playing professional baseball in 1886. His small body frame and speed made him an outstanding base runner. He was good at stealing bases during his baseball career. He was also good at hitting. He was ambidextrous - he threw with his right hand and batted left hand.

Hoy created arm signals for umpires to use and we still see them today! Thanks to Hoy.

Hoy played for several professional baseball teams in 4 major leagues, most notably the Cincinnati Reds. Eventually he retired from baseball and ran a dairy farm in Ohio. He died in 1961 at the age of 99. At that time, he was the longest-living former MLB player

The Daily Moth reached out to Miles Barbee to share his experience acting as Hoy.

How did you prepare yourself to act the role of Hoy?

MILES BARBEE: My preparation in taking on the role of Dummy was tough because there were no videos about Dummy Hoy. He lived during a time before film existed, so I kept looking at his pictures. Most of these pictures showed Dummy with a stoic face. So how could I take on his personality with what I had? I thought about it and decided to throw out my identity as Miles Barbee and assumed only Dummy Hoy’s identity. That helped me to do what I needed to do rather than dwell on the personality part. I’d rather doing less thinking than too much during every scene. Think less and more focus on what was more important; the relationships and what’s happening during these scenes instead of too much of that internal conflict.

Renca: Wow, no videos of Hoy to study from. Definitely challenging. Barbee also mentioned that there was an ASL translator, Linsay Darnall Jr., who is an expert with signs from the 1800's and made sure that Barbee's signs fit that era.

What did you find challenging in your role?

MILES: My most challenging experience with the role of Dummy Hoy was, after a full month, being able to stay in that role. We filmed for 21 days. My mood and feelings were changing, but I had to set these aside and focus only on the role. I’m impressed with myself being able to stay in this role continuously. Whenever I acted, I usually do it for the night or for just one day or it’s with the same show I’ve rehearsed many times. Every scene was different. I had to think and the same time, stay in the role. I couldn’t waver for a moment. That’s what acting is and it was really tough for me.

Renca: Was there something similar with your personal experience and Hoy's experience that you feel connected with?

MILES: I do think, I’ve noticed similarities between myself and Dummy in that he’s stubborn and he’s persistent. Even though he had obstacles, he didn’t give up. He fought through barriers and made it. When he made it, he still kept going. I’ve noticed his generousness towards the deaf community. We’re the same because I want the best for the deaf community and the best future for the kids. That’s what I want and we are similar in that way. He contributed a lot of money to the deaf community, but I’m not there yet.

Renca: Anything you would like to add?

MILES: I couldn’t do this film without my teammates whether they’re deaf or hearing, We all worked together in making this happen. Yes, I was in the lead role, but I saw everyone who was there and who left. I was always there from the beginning to the end. After all this, I’m deeply thankful to everyone who was there and made this happen. I would’ve not be able to do this without them.

Renca: Thank you Barbee for sharing.

In 2001, a baseball field at Gallaudet University was named after Hoy. In 2003, he was inducted in the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

You can find more information about this film on Facebook titled as “The Silent Natural.” The link is in this transcript.

Facebook Video:

https://www.facebook.com/thesilentnatural/

https://www.gallaudet.edu/tutorial-and-instructional-programs/english-center/reading-english-as-second-language/practice-exercises/william-hoy

https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/763405ef

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Guest #DeafBing: “Ex”

Curtis Griffin: Deaf Bing is when people sign with the word, “ex.”

Yeah, I EX lived there.

Yeah, I EX played basketball.

I EX football, yeah.

I EX worked just around the corner.

Yeah… I EX drive high end car.

I EX sprained, yeah.

EX, EX! Stop it!

Original video post: https://www.facebook.com/curtis.griffin.14289/videos/708588312890290/

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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!