The Daily Moth 8-2-19
Judge recommends NYPD officer in Eric Garner case to be fired; Trump appears to mock Rep. Cummings’ Baltimore home break-in; A$AP Rocky released from Swedish jail; Kennedy family granddaughter dies; CBS “The Stand” casts hearing person for deaf role; Deaf Fortnite player Ewok turns pro with FaZe
———
Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Friday, August 2. Ready for news?
———
Judge recommends NYPD officer in Eric Garner case to be fired
A judge has recommended the New York City police officer who is accused of choking Eric Garner to death in 2014 to be fired. The officer’s name is Daniel Pantaleo.
A video shows Garner saying, “I can’t breathe,” as Pantaleo uses his arm to choke him from behind. Other officers swarmed on top of him.
Garner was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Officers first approached Garner to question him about selling single cigarettes on the street.
A chokehold is banned by the NYPD. Pantaleo has denied he used excessive force. After the incident and during investigations, his gun was taken away and he was put on desk duty, but still earned more than $120,000 in 2017.
A Staten Island grand jury decided not to indict him in 2014. A few weeks ago, Attorney General Bill Barr decided to not charge him with federal civil rights charges.
Now that the judge has made a recommendation for his firing, the NYPD Commissioner will make a final decision in about two weeks.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/02/eric-garner-nypd-chokehold-death-judge-fire-cop-daniel-pantaleo/1900251001/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2014/dec/04/i-cant-breathe-eric-garner-chokehold-death-video
———
Trump appears to mock Rep. Cummings’ Baltimore home break-in
President Donald Trump appeared to mock Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md) because someone tried to break into his home in Baltimore. Trump tweeted that this was “Really bad news,” then said “Too bad!”
Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., replied on Twitter by saying, “This is so unnecessary” with an eye roll emoji.
Rep. Cummings said a person tried to enter his home about 3:40 am on Saturday, July 27, and that he scared him away by yelling at him.
This attempted break-in happened before Trump’s tweets that were critical of Cummings and his hometown of Baltimore.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1157259424794324992
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nikki-haley-trump-tweet-cummings-robbed
———
A$AP Rocky released from Swedish jail
American musician A$AP Rocky and two other Americans were arrested and accused of beating a 19-year-old man several weeks ago in Sweden. After a trial, he and the other two have been released from custody and can come to the U.S. until a judge makes a verdict on August 14.
Rocky has been in custody since July 3.
President Donald Trump has intervened in the case, using Twitter to call for his release and reached out to the Swedish Prime Minister. Trump sent a top U.S. official to monitor the court proceedings.
Today Trump said Rocky was on his way home to the United States. He said it was “a Rocky Week, get home ASAP.” Trump said he learned about Rocky’s case from his wife, Melania, and from Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West.
Rocky’s real name is Rakim Mayers. The person who was allegedly assaulted is Mustafa Jafari.
There are videos of one of Rocky’s bodyguards confronting Jafari with a chokehold, and a video of Jafari punching back at him. Later there was some kind of fight where Jafari had several serious lacerations on his arms that apparently was from a broken bottle.
Rocky and two of his bodyguards have pleaded not guilty and that they were acting in self-defense.
A Swedish prosecutor said Rocky should be jailed for about six months. We’ll see what the judge says on August 14, but his release gives us a hint that he might be cleared.
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/455950-trump-tells-rapper-aap-rocky-to-get-home-asap-after-release-in-sweden
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-49204862
https://www.tmz.com/2019/07/31/asap-rocky-bodyguard-chokeslam-video-alleged-victim-mustafa-jafari/
https://apnews.com/a6b20829db7d442aa53b2541c62d604c
———
Kennedy family granddaughter dies
Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the 22-year-old granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, was found dead at the Kennedy family’s compound in Massachusetts from an apparent overdose.
She lived at the compound with her grandmother, Ethel Kennedy, who is the widow of Robert.
The Kennedy family said their hearts are shattered by the loss of our beloved Saoirse and that the world is a little less beautiful today.
Saoirse had struggles with depression and mental illness and was open about it by talking about it in an article in high school in 2016.
This death is yet another unexpected, early death to hit the family.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/us/kennedy-compound-overdose.html
———
CBS “The Stand” casts hearing person for deaf role
CBS All Access announced the four lead characters for their new TV series, “The Stand,” and one of them will be a hearing actor playing a deaf role.
Actor Henry Zaga will have the role of a deaf man, Nick Andros. Variety described the role as a “deaf and mute man.”
Marlee Matlin tweeted at Variety that the terms “deaf and mute” is offensive.
[Tweet @MarleeMatlin: “I realize @StephenKing “The Stand” was written years ago and the deaf character cannot speak. But “deaf mute” or “deaf and mute” is offensive. What was my Oscar breakthrough all about if we don’t refrain from using it? Thank you. @Variety"]
Nyle DiMarco tweeted that he posted a comment on Henry Zaga’s Instagram explaining the situation with a request for him to reconsider (his role), but that he deleted his comment. Nyle appeared to post another comment and as of this afternoon it was still there.
The California Association of the Deaf Media said they are disappointed and have been in touch with the appropriate CBS officials and are hopeful that this situation will be resolved.
The show is based on Stephen King’s book with the same title. It will be on CBS All Access, an over-the-top subscription streaming service.
There was a “The Stand” TV miniseries in 1994. Actor Rob Lowe played the deaf character of Nick Andros.
Text: Several other Deaf people in the entertainment industry also spoke up on Twitter.
@LaurenRidloff: “Marvel cast a deaf woman of color (me!) to portray a character that was originally the opposite. A Quiet Place is a cult hit because of its casting and honesty. The novel The Stand stands out because of the diverse characters. It’s time to look and listen.”
@ItsJoshFeldman: “Over 95 percent of disabled characters are portrayed by able bodied actors. @CBS continues the trend by casting a hearing actor in a deaf role.”
@DickieHearts: “If @MarvelStudios is casting IRL Deaf actor @LaurenRidloff as a Deaf superhero in Eternals, why can’t @CBSAllAccess @CBSEntDiversity cast a IRL Deaf actor as Nick Andros in @StephenKing #TheStand? #Authenticity #DeafTalent"
https://twitter.com/MarleeMatlin/status/1157129297028534272
https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/james-marsden-amber-heard-the-strand-cbs-all-access-1203288512/
https://twitter.com/NyleDiMarco/status/1157345410639376384
https://ew.com/tv/2019/08/01/the-stand-cast-stephen-king-new-ending/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6723114/
https://twitter.com/LaurenRidloff/status/1157386889982332928
———
Deaf Fortnite player Ewok turns pro with FaZe
Soleil Wheeler, a very talented Deaf Fortnite player with an online name Ewok, recently became the first female member of a professional esports organization, FaZe. She is 13 years old. This means she is a pro gamer.
FaZe announced this in a video tweet two weeks ago.
[@FaZeClan: “Usually we surprise our new members, but tonight we got surprised with the best news. Join us in welcoming the first girl EVER to join FaZe Clan: @EwokIts #FaZeUp”]
[@FaZeClan” “The time is now (ILY emoji)”]
FaZe’s twitter account has 4 million followers and they have added an ILY emoji on their handle ever since Ewok joined.
Wheeler/Ewok has received plenty of media attention in recent days. She’s already jumped up several levels in the gaming world since she gave an interview with “The Daily Moth” in May.
Today Ewok will play in a duos tournament against two of the world’s top Fortnite players — Tyler “Ninja” Blevins and Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, who is 16 years old and won $3 million by winning the Fortnite World Cup.
Wheeler/Ewok has played with at least two celebrities in Pro-Am tournaments — Atlanta Falcons QB Kurt Benkert and musician Jordan Fisher.
She and Benkert made a charity donation of $20,000 to NAD Youth Programs after a Pro-Am tournament in June.
You can follow Ewok on Twitter @EwokIts or on Twitch @Ewokttv. She has hundreds of thousands of followers.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/01/tech/ewok-fortnite-soleil-wheeler/index.html
https://www.polygon.com/2019/7/28/8933873/faze-clan-ewok-joins-soleil-wheeler-first-female-fortnite-esports
Moth interview with Ewok: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iijUm8WqVxY
https://twitter.com/EwokIts/status/1140502754269392896
———
That is all for this week. Thank you for watching “The Daily Moth!” Have a wonderful weekend and stay with the light!