The Daily Moth 9-23-19
President Trump’s call to Ukraine about Joe Biden; Three die, four hospitalized from drug overdoses; Man drowns after underwater proposal; International Day of Sign Languages; Update from Bahamas Survivors
[Transcript] Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! I’m Callie Frye taking Alex’s place today for top news. Alex is still recovering from his illness and hopes to be back tomorrow or Wednesday. Ready for news?
———
President Trump’s call to Ukraine about Joe Biden
There is a big controversy between President Trump and former Vice-President Joe Biden about Ukraine.
It started several days ago when reports emerged that an anonymous member of the U.S. intelligence community filed a whistleblower complaint that said President Trump was asking the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to start an investigation into Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
President Trump said on Sunday morning that he did talk with the Ukrainian president in July about Joe Biden and his son being involved with corruption.
Joe Biden said on Saturday that Trump was abusing his power to smear him.
Democratic members of Congress are demanding to have access to the whistleblower complaint, The Trump administration is refusing to hand it over.
Some accuse Trump of using military aid as a bargaining chip with Ukraine. Trump said this was not true, that there was no quid-pro-quo offer.
It is a fact that Biden’s son, Hunter, worked for a natural gas firm in Ukraine. He was on their board and earned tens of thousands of dollars. Some suspect that Joe Biden used his top position in the Obama administration to stop an Ukrainian investigation on Hunter in 2014.
Biden has achieved top polling in the Democratic race for the presidential nomination for several months, but this controversy could negatively affect those numbers.
Now in separate but related news, Elizabeth Warren placed number one in a key Iowa poll released on Sunday. She led with 22% to Biden’s 20% and Bernie Sanders’ 11%.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/20/20875221/whistleblower-ukraine-trump-biden-military-aid
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-conversation-with-ukrainian-president-was-absolutely-perfect-touched-on-corruption-other-issues
———
Three die, four hospitalized from drug overdoses
In Pittsburgh on early Sunday morning, three people from a group that partied together at a venue and at an apartment died from drug overdoses. Four of them are now in the hospital.
Authorities say all seven were men between 30 to 50 years old. They were wearing orange wristbands from a venue they went out to the night before. They later went to an apartment where they overdosed on drugs. It is not known what substance they took.
One man died in an apartment complex elevator. There was another man who was half conscious outside. Police found the five other men in an apartment room.
The Pittsburgh police spokesman said they are concerned about a lethal batch of drugs in the community.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/22/us/pittsburgh-fatal-medical-emergency/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/22/763194831/3-are-dead-and-4-hospitalized-from-drug-overdoses-pittsburgh-police-say
———
Man drowns after underwater proposal
Kenesha Antoine, from Louisiana, posted on Facebook that her boyfriend died after proposing to her at an underwater hotel.
She and her partner, Steven Weber, were staying at the Manta Resort in Tanzania. It is a “floating” hotel room that has an underwater bedroom with glass windows.
Antoine posted pictures and video of Weber swimming down against a window, holding his breath while wearing a snorkel. He showed a zip-loc bag with a paper with a handwritten note on it that said, “Will you please be my WIFE? Marry me???”
She said she said yes and was excited, but that Weber never made it up.
The Manta Resort confirmed to BBC that Weber drowned.
Antoine said she would find Weber and marry him in the next lifetime, and the next, and the next.
https://www.facebook.com/KeneshaAntoine/posts/10101915267492163
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49783851
———
International Day of Sign Languages
Today, September 23, is the International Day of Sign Languages. There are many posts on social media to celebrate this. Several world leaders have posted videos of themselves signing.
The Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison, posted a video of him signing in Auslan and recognizing International Day of Sign Languages.
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido posted a video in Venezuelan Sign Language in which he said he was the country’s president and called for free elections.
The First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, posted a video in British Sign Language to say she supports sign language rights for all.
The Israel Defense Forces posted a video of people who volunteered to serve in the military signing Israel’s national anthem, Hatikva, in Israeli Sign Language.
UNICEF Kenya posted a video of a woman signing in Kenyan Sign Language to call for more access to KSL.
The Maldives Police posted a video of a female police officer signing a message to explain that they have developed 34 police interpreters and hope to train more to provide access to services.
Emma and Lachy from “The Wiggles” did a video in Auslan for IDSL in partnership with The Deaf Society.
There are many videos out there on the internet if you look up the hashtag #IDSL2019.
The United Nations officially recognized this day in 2017 by approving a resolution from the World Federation of the Deaf and the UN Mission of Antigua and Barbuda.
Why September 23? It is the date that the WFD was founded in 1951. This week is also the “International Week of the Deaf.”
The WFD President Joseph Murray said that the theme of the International Week of the Deaf is “Sign Language Rights for All.”
So, here is a happy International Day of Sign Languages from “The Daily Moth!”
https://www.dailymotharchive.com/single-post/2017/12/21/UN-Declares-September-23-International-Day-of-Sign-Languages-Interview-w-WFD-President-Colin-Allen
http://wfdeaf.org/get-involved/wfd-events/international-week-deaf/
Australia: https://bit.ly/2mgLAjK
Venezuela: https://bit.ly/2l9x0ua
WFD: https://bit.ly/2mwFwDU
Wiggles: https://bit.ly/2mbCgOe
Kenya: https://bit.ly/2kZ26oy
Israel: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2447355662024880
Scotland: https://twitter.com/scotgov/status/1176069768379600896
Maldives: https://twitter.com/PoliceMv/status/1176080838003326977
———
Update from Bahamas Survivors
Two weeks ago we shared an update related with Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian.
We mentioned the two greatly affected areas- Abaco and Grand Bahama Islands. We reached out to a person named Johnathan Cooper who is the president of Grand Bahama Deaf Association. He is currently working with the deaf survivors in Freeport, an area in Grand Bahama.
Cooper mentioned there is still no running water or electricity. He sent us a video of some of the deaf survivors sharing their experiences with Hurricane Dorian. This video was taken at night time and it is dark due to them having no electricity. In the video you will see that they are using flashlights. Here is the video.
(Video)
EBBIE:
I’m not okay. It’s hard. In September there was a big hurricane and I was terrified. I prayed hard for God to protect me. The storm was four days long. The water almost got into my home. I thanked God when the storm was gone, but there is no food, no water, no water for bathing. No light. I’m praying for God, please. Thank you.
BRENAE:
I saw the water rising outside and I was scared. I held my baby niece in my arms. I later sat in a truck as it headed for a church. We waited for a day there for the flood to recede. I then went to my home and saw debris everywhere. I tried to clean it up, but it was soaked. Everything was wet. I had to clean it up. No water, no light, there is nothing.
CAROL:
No light, no water. There were winds. We have just a little food and we can’t cook too much. We have to ration the food.
MONIQUE:
I went to my sister’s house, right. The water there went up to my chest. All the chairs, the table, the bed, the drawers -- everything was wiped out. (Emotional moment) Pray for my family. Protect them and bless everybody.
EBBIE:
Thank you for the wonderful gifts.
CAROL:
Thank you. Thank you.
BRENAE:
Thank you for giving us something.
MONIQUE:
Thank you for helping with food and everything.
Thank you Cooper for sending us this video. If you want to make a donation or help them with what they need, you can contact Cooper on Facebook as Johnathan Cooper, his email, or his WhatsApp number. All of his information is in the transcript below.
We also want to thank the survivors for being willing to share their story. Our thoughts are with you.
JOHNATHAN’S CONTACT
Email: jcoops82@hotmail.com
WhatsApp: 242-441-5116
Facebook: Johnathan Cooper
———
That is all for today. I will see you later. Stay with the light!
———
Supported by:
Convo [https://convo.click/2mVhM8h]
Gallaudet University: [gallaudet.edu]