The Daily Moth 6-18-2019
Dallas courthouse shooting; Raptors parade shooting; Trump says ICE will remove millions of illegal aliens; Facebook to launch Libra, a new global cryptocurrency; Patrick Shanahan no longer considered for Defense Secretary after USAToday report about domestic violence; Spate of American tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic; Rochester Deaf Festival recap; Guest #DeafBing: Telephone Numbers
[Transcript] Hello, welcome to the Daily Moth! It is Tuesday, June 18. Ready for news?
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Dallas courthouse shooting; Raptors parade shooting
Yesterday there were shooting incidents in Dallas and Toronto.
In Dallas, a 22-year-old man with a large rifle, dressed in combat gear with plenty of ammunition, opened fire outside of a federal courthouse.
Federal security officers returned fire and killed him. Nobody except the shooter was seriously injured. It is not clear what the man’s motive was. He used to be in the Army.
In Toronto, during a massive parade to celebrate the Raptors’ NBA championship, there was gunfire that caused a panic. Police arrested three suspects and recovered two firearms. Four people were wounded.
News reports say the crowd eventually calmed down and resumed celebrating. Up to two million fans were in the streets to honor the team. The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was there.
https://apnews.com/18ca30714fcf41cd9cc9188ade692b32
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48672104
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/18/733592587/4-wounded-in-shooting-at-toronto-raptors-victory-celebration
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Trump says ICE will remove millions of illegal aliens
President Trump tweeted that next week ICE will begin the process of removing millions of “illegal aliens.”
Fox News said they reached out to ICE for specific details, but did not get an immediate response.
An official from the Trump administration told Fox that there would be a new effort focused on more than 1 million people who were issued a final deportation order but still remained in the country.
NPR reported that the Trump administration plans to target recent migrant arrivals who skipped court dates.
Reuters reported that there are an estimated 12 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
Tonight Trump will host a campaign rally in Orlando. It will kick off his 2020 presidential re-election effort.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ice-to-remove-millions-of-illegal-aliens-in-us-trump-says-scant-on-details
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/18/733661860/trump-threatens-to-deport-millions-as-he-kicks-off-campaign-for-reelection
http://news.trust.org/item/20190618011308-vmh1j
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Facebook to launch Libra, a new global cryptocurrency
Facebook announced they will launch a new global cryptocurrency called the Libra. People can purchase goods and services with their smartphones. The symbol looks like three waves.
The Libra is still in its testing phase with the rollout expected to happen in 2020.
Facebook said they hope to provide cheap, accessible financial services to the 1.7 billion people around the world that don't have bank accounts.
The money can be sent and received through Messenger, WhatsApp, or through an app/online wallet, Calibra, when it’s available.
One Libra will be valued about the same as a dollar, euro, or pound, but the exact value has not been set.
Facebook founded and is a part of an independent, nonprofit group called the Libra Association to govern the currency. This association has many giant companies, such as Visa, Mastercard, Uber, Lyft, PayPal, eBay, and Spotify. Each member of the association paid a minimum of $10 million to participate.
A government ID is required to set up an account. People will be able to convert their local currency into Libra or go to a store to convert cash into Libra into your smartphone wallet.
There are concerns about privacy because Facebook has gone through several controversies in recent months on users’ personal information exposed to outside groups. The Sun branded it as Facebook’s most “invasive and dangerous form of surveillance yet.”
What do you think? Would you be comfortable with using Facebook products for financial transactions?
https://www.businessinsider.com/what-facebook-currency-libra-will-look-like-and-how-work-2019-6
https://twitter.com/i/moments/1140956221048086528
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/9319668/facebook-launch-libra-cryptocurrency/
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Patrick Shanahan no longer considered for Defense Secretary after report on domestic violence
Patrick Shanahan, who became the acting Defense Secretary in January after Jim Mattis resigned, is now no longer considered to become the permanent Defense Secretary.
This morning USA Today reported that the FBI has been looking at a domestic dispute between Shanahan and his ex-wife, Kimberley, in which both sides claimed they were punched. This happened in 2010 in Seattle. Kimberley was arrested but had the charges dropped due to lack of evidence.
There was a separate incident a year later where the couple’s son, who was 17 at the time, beat Kimberley with a baseball bat, fracturing her skull. Patrick helped to defend his son from police investigators.
The FBI was looking at those incidents as a part of their background check before Shanahan’s confirmation hearings.
President Trump tweeted this afternoon today that Shanahan decided he will not go forward with his confirmation process so he can focus on his family.
Shanahan released a statement saying he is withdrawing because “a painful and deeply personal family situation” has been brought up in “a misleading way.
Trump said he will name the Secretary of the Army, Mark Esper, to be the new Acting Secretary of Defense.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/18/defense-secretary-fbi-patrick-shanahan-wife-domestic-violence-altercation/1470811001/
https://wapo.st/2KXwLwY
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1141027593774346240
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/18/politics/shanahan-out-defense-secretary/index.html
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American tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic
There have been news reports about at least seven American tourists dying in the Dominican Republic in the past couple months. CNN did a report and I will summarize.
The most recent death was Joseph Allen (55). He was found dead on June 13 in his room at the Terra Linda resort after he told his friends he did not feel well.
The second one is Leyla Cox (53). She died in her hotel room at the Excellence Resorts on June 10. The hotel said she died of a heart attack, but her family doesn’t believe this.
The third incident is a couple who both died in their hotel room at the Grand Bahia Principe on May 30, Nathaniel Holmes (63) and Cynthia Day (49). Dominican authorities said both had internal bleeding and fluid in their lungs.
The fifth person is Miranda Schaup-Werner (41). She died at the Grand Bahia Principe, the same hotel, but five days earlier on May 25. She became ill after drinking from the minibar while vacationing with her husband.
The sixth person is John Corcoran, who was the brother of “Shark Tank” star Barbara Corcoran. He died at the end of April in his hotel room from natural causes.
The seventh person is Robert Wallace (67), who died after becoming sick at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on April 12. He was with his family for a wedding.
There was a 45-year-old man from Maryland who died last year at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Several tourists said they have become ill after trips to the Grand Bahia Principe or at the Hotel Riu Palace Macao.
The U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic said they are actively working with Dominican authorities to make sure American citizens are safe. The FBI is assisting with the investigation.
The U.S. State Department has not issued a travel warning. They have issue a “Level 2” alert, saying tourists should exercise increased caution due to crime, but there is nothing about health dangers.
The Dominican Tourism Minister said the cases are very regrettable but isolated.
The Washington Post said over 2 million Americans visited the Dominican Republic last year.
The Daily Moth reached out to Anthony Di Giovanni, the owner of Deaf Resorts, who is organizing a “Deaf International Resort Week” at the Riu Palace Bavaro in Punta Cana on July 29 to August 4, for his thoughts on potential concerns by travelers.
Here is his response.
“Our resort Riu Palace Bavaro has nothing to do with the recent incidents that occurred at Baha Principle and Hard Rock Cafe. Our team of staff and sign language interpreters will work very hard to be sure we are safe at all times. Fortunately Riu Palace is one of the best resorts there is and keep in mind there are over 500,000 visitors every month in the Dominican Republic.” — Anthony Di Giovanni
Thank you for your response. For more information, you can check out www.deafresorts.com
I hope everybody traveling there or planning a trip will remain safe there.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/18/americas/dominican-republic-deaths-questions-trnd/index.html
https://wapo.st/2XUoQnT
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/dominican-republic-travel-advisory.html
https://www.facebook.com/Deaf-Resorts-180533972570923/?ref=br_rs
https://deafresorts.com/product/international-deaf-resort-2019/
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Rochester Deaf Festival recap
Last Saturday was the 10th anniversary for Rochester Deaf Festival (RDF). It was hosted at Genesee Valley Park and there was over 1,000 attendees. RDF’s media team captured various moments at the festival and made a video to share with us.
[Video: Aerial view of Rochester Deaf Festival at Genesee Valley Park]
Arlene: Hi! I’m Arlene Sankey, the President of Rochester Deaf Festival.
Chad: Hi, I’m Chad Ludwig (the founder of Rochester Deaf Festival). Our team founded this festival 10 years ago.
Arlene: Wow! 10 years!
Chad: Yes, that’s right, wow. It’s been 10 years since then. Our goal has been to gather the Deaf community to celebrate sign language, identity, and culture. We want to continue providing that sense of community. I moved to Rochester, NY, from Washington state years ago. There was already a deaf festival in Washington that I operated with Kay Amos. So, I felt there was a need for one here in Rochester. I reached out to community key players and established the first one in 2009. Ever since, it has been running and it has passed down to Arlene.
Arlene: Look around here! Over 50 vendors/booths, children’s activities, petting zoo, ice cream and food trucks. Isn’t that cool?
Chad: Yes! A lot of things here to check out, especially vendors.
Roc That!’s Doug: Rochester is known for being signed, “That! That!” How many times have you heard people in Rochester saying, “That! That’s Rochester. Yes, that’s Rochester.” People are amazed at the Deaf community here. That’s Rochester!
Father & son: Rochester. Deaf. Festival!
Greg: I’m a Deaf firefighter here.
[Video clip of Sunshine 2.0 performance at the Roundhouse Shelter]
[Video of Avi (CODA Cirque performer) with LED circle]
[Video of Heidi & Hedy show opening]
Hedy: I’m stuck in the screen!
[Text with Credits to RDF’s media team:
Youmee Lee (Rochester Deaf Festival’s media coordinator)
Hunter Luther (Rochester-based filmmaker)
Moises Tobias (RIT student)
Spencer Ragona (Student video editor)
Stacy Lawrence (Media consultant)]
Renca: Thank you, RDF media team, for sending in the video. Seems like it was a fun event!
Youmee Lee, RDF’s media coordinator, mentioned that RDF collaborated with Roc That! team to host Heidi & Hedy show with a special cirque performance by Avi who is a CODA and was a former Cirque du Soleil performer. Chad Ludwig (the founder of RDF) was the MC. That event had 300 people show up to watch.
RDF said that they are proud to support Deaf Rochester Film Festival that will happen next year, April 2020.
RDF happens bi annually so the next RDF will be in June 2021. Mark your calendars!
https://www.facebook.com/pg/RochesterDeafFestival/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2233789953336036&ref=page_internal
https://www.facebook.com/RocThat
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Guest #DeafBing: Telephone Numbers
Here are two guest #DeafBing videos about phone numbers. Here is the first from Bob D.
Bob: I want to share something. I’ve noticed a Deaf Bing. It’s when we share on VP our phone numbers. For example, I’ll say my number is “O.” It should be 0 (zero).
O 9 O 5 4 3 1 O. We use the letter “O.” That’s a Deaf Bing.
Alex: That’s true. Deaf people’s phone numbers have a mix of zeroes and O’s.
Please call 1-80O-40O4-O01.
The next video is from Dylan K.
Dylan: I want to share a Deaf Bing. It’s when we write a word or number on a piece of paper. Deaf people tend to look up and back down repeatedly to make sure the number is correct. While hearing people can just use their ears. Deaf people have to look up and down.
Alex: True. Deaf people have to do more work to write down numbers. Our necks.
Thank you two for the videos!
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!---
Supported by:
Convo [https://convo.click/2mVhM8h]
Gallaudet University: [gallaudet.edu]