Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Hello, it is Tuesday, September 29. Here are today’s top news briefs.
Tonight: First Trump vs Biden debate in Cleveland
Tonight is the first presidential debate between the President Donald Trump (R) and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden. It’ll be 90 minutes long. It will take place in Cleveland on the campus of the Cleveland Clinic, a large medical center. DPAN.TV will provide ASL interpreters via live-streaming on their website or on Facebook and “The Daily Moth” will share it.
All eyes will be on Donald Trump because he is the sitting president and he is the one who have to defend his performance the past four years. We should expect hard questions on why the U.S. is the worst-affected country in the world with coronavirus cases and deaths. The recent news reports about Trump avoiding paying taxes and being hundreds of millions of dollars in debt may become a hot topic.
Joe Biden will make his biggest appearance on a national stage since his string of primary election victories in March that solidified his lead over rival Sen. Bernie Sanders. Since that time, the coronavirus pandemic has forced him to stop hosting rallies and limited him to mostly filming speeches from his home or in isolated places. Biden may face attacks about his son Hunter’s work in Ukraine or about his mental fitness.
Both Trump and Biden are not shy from confronting people, so we should expect plenty of confrontations and interruptions. The debate moderator, Chris Wallace from Fox News, will have quite a job to keep the debate flowing and make sure both candidates have their turns.
Three killed in Zogg Fire
In Northern California, three people died in the Zogg Fire, which is a new wildfire that has consumed over 40,000 acres in Shasta County. The fire started on Sunday and winds are making it difficult to stop.
There is another fire, called the Glass Fire, that has burned through more than 57 square miles in Napa and Sonoma counties, which is in “Wine Country.” News images show destroyed homes, charred vineyards, and exhausted firefighters.
Update on Camp Taloali
A few weeks ago I did a report on Camp Taloali, a Deaf-owned and run camp in western Oregon, because it was threatened by the Beachie Creek Fire. The camp posted an update on their Facebook page on Saturday that the camp was “lucky not to sustain any damage from the recent fire, but (they) did receive significant wind damage.” There was a clean-up day with volunteers that removed fallen trees and branches. The Beachie Creek Fire is 58% contained and is not spreading.
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Police break up crowded events that violated coronavirus restrictions
In New York City, there was an indoor wedding reception with 284 people in it, which is a violation of coronavirus restrictions. Police officers got an anonymous tip and broke up the event. Two people were charged with several offenses — the owner and the manager of the venue.
There was a similar situation in Tallahassee, Florida where multiple police officers and a helicopter responded to a party with over 1,000 people who were gathered outside in an apartment complex two miles away from the Florida State University campus. There were 700 vehicles parked around the apartment. Police officers broke up the party.
Tennessee Titans players test positive for coronavirus
NFL team Tennessee Titans announced that three players and five team staff members tested positive for the coronavirus and would be closing their facilities until Saturday. They played against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, and the Vikings are also closing their facilities for now, but there were no positive tests among the Vikings team. This is the NFL’s first coronavirus outbreak.
Grand jury deliberations in Breonna Taylor to be made public
The grand jury’s secret deliberations in the Breonna Taylor case will be made public after one juror said they felt the Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron did not accurately represent what happened behind closed doors in his public remarks last week when he announced that there would be no murder charges. The unnamed juror said the grand jury panel was not offered an option to indict two officers who shot and killed Taylor with homicide charges. The audio tapes of the deliberations will be released tomorrow. There is sure to be analysis of why the grand jury came to a conclusion of no charges and whether Cameron represented them accurately. That’ll be coming tomorrow.
Oregon man falls 100 feet to death while trying to pose for picture
On Sunday, a 43-year-old man in Oregon fell 100 feet to his death after he climbed a tree by an oceanside cliff to pose for a photograph. A limb on the tree broke and the men fell into the ocean. First responders found the man’s body and he was pronounced dead at a hospital. His name was Steven Gastelum and the place it happened was the Oswald West State Park.
That is all the top news briefs for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.facebook.com/BeachieCreekFire2020
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nyc-sheriffs-break-indoor-wedding-nearly-300-guests-n1241245
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nyc-sheriffs-break-indoor-wedding-nearly-300-guests-n1241245
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/28/us/breonna-taylor-grand-jury.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8785141/Oregon-hiker-plunges-100-feet-death-tree-branch-snapped-posed-photo.html