The Daily Moth 9-5-19
Hurricane Dorian spinning near Carolina coast, Bahamas death toll up to 21; Chanel Miller reveals herself as survivor in Brock Turner sexual assault case; Ohio woman arrested after trying to smuggle 6-day-old infant at Manila airport; Updates on California boat fire and Alabama family shooting; Kevin Hart seriously injured in car accident; Philadelphia hard of hearing woman stabbed to death by boyfriend
[Transcript] Hello, welcome to The Daily Moth! It is Thursday, September 5. Ready for news?
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Hurricane Dorian spinning near Carolina coast, Bahamas death toll up to 21
Hurricane Dorian is now a Category 2 storm and its eye is just 25 miles off the South Carolina coast. It has 110 mph winds.
There were reports of over 12 tornadoes in the Carolinas today. A waterspout moved on dry land and severely damaged several mobile homes and RVs.
There are hurricane and storm surge warnings in effect for most of the Carolina coastline.
The death toll in the Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian has increased to at least 21 people. The hardest hit areas are the Grand Bahama and Abaco islands.
One father said he lost his 5-year-old son when he was pulled away from the storm surge. He said the boy tried to reach out to him and called, “Daddy,” before he disappeared. He hasn’t been found.
Authorities said they will go door to door in both islands. It is likely that they will find more deceased bodies. There are many people who are waiting for updates from loved ones who they have not been able to contact.
The U.S. Coast Guard said it has rescued 135 people and six pets as of Thursday morning. There are nine helicopters working to search and rescue people.
Images showed completely destroyed neighborhoods. Those areas were covered by over 10 feet of water caused by the then-Category 5 hurricane.
Authorities say it will take billions of dollars to reconstruct everything from homes to infrastructure.
https://weather.com/news/news/2019-09-05-hurricane-dorian-bahamas-crisis-abaco-grand-bahama
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2019-09-05-hurricane-dorian-south-carolina-north-carolina-georgia-virginia
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Chanel Miller reveals herself as survivor in Brock Turner sexual assault case
Do you remember former Stanford University student Brock Turner, who was found guilty in 2016 of sexually assaulting a female student on campus in 2015?
The survivor’s identity was never revealed until now. Her name is Chanel Miller and she made the decision to reveal herself. She will release a memoir, “Know My Name,” on September 24. CBS will air an interview with her on September 22.
During Turner’s sentencing hearing, Miller wrote an impact statement that described how the rape caused her to lose her independence and natural joy and made her closed off and angry. It touched many people and helped to raise awareness for survivors months before the #MeToo movement took off.
Turner faced a maximum of 14 years in prison, but was sentenced to only six months in prison, and served only three months. The judge, Aaron Persky, said he was concerned that a lengthy sentence would have a severe impact on Turner. Persky was criticized and eventually recalled (removed from his position) by voters in 2018.
Miller lives in San Francisco, is a writer and an artist, and has a degree in literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
https://people.com/crime/chanel-miller-brock-turner-sexual-assault-survivor-reads-from-victim-impact-statement/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chanel-miller-woman-sexually-assaulted-brock-turner-reveals-her-identity-n1049901
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Ohio woman arrested after trying to smuggle 6-day-old infant at Manila airport
A 43-year-old woman from Ohio, Jennifer E. Talbot, was arrested at an airport in Manila, Philippines after airline personnel found that she was trying to carry a 6-day-old baby that was hidden in a sling bag.
Authorities in the Philippines said she was charged with human trafficking. She was presented to reporters in a news conference where she was handcuffed and wiping away tears.
Talbot is said to pass through the airport immigration counter without declaring the baby, but when she tried to move through another gate, the baby was somehow discovered. She had a ticket for a Delta flight to Detroit.
Talbot did not have any passport, boarding pass, or government permits for the baby. She did show a paper that she said was from the baby’s mother that gave her consent to bring the baby to the U.S., but there was no signature.
Officials in the Philippines said they are searching for the baby’s parents and have charged them under a child protection law.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-woman-arrested-after-trying-smuggle-six-day-old-n1049466
https://wapo.st/2lwPvst
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Updates on California boat fire and Alabama family shooting
Here are updates on the California boat fire and the Alabama family shooting.
All of the 34 previously missing people from the boat that caught on fire on Monday early morning have been confirmed dead. The 75 foot boat was on a three-day diving trip and burned up near Santa Cruz Island.
There are only five survivors — who are the captain and four other crew members who managed to jump off the boat. All of those who died were sleeping below deck. There was only one small stairwell between the upper and below deck. It is not yet known the cause of the fire and there is an investigation.
So far, seven victims have been identified. Their ages range from 41 to 16.
Now, let’s turn to the Alabama family shooting.
A 14-year-old boy has confessed to police that he shot and killed five members of his own family early Tuesday morning.
The victims were the boy’s father and stepmother, John and Mary Sisk, and three of the boy’s young siblings. Their ages were six months old, 5, and 6.
A friend of a friend of the family said they had just arrived home from a trip to Pensacola.
The boy used a handgun. Authorities said it was illegally in the home, but did not say why. It is possibly because the father was recently charged with a felony for using a pistol in an assault against a man and was awaiting trial in November.
It is not known the motive for the shooting, but news reports say it could be related to the boy recently finding out that his stepmother was not his real mother. The boy’s real mother died in 2011 after a custody battle with John. The last time the boy saw his mother was when he was three years old in 2008.
The boy is in juvenile custody and could be charged as an adult.
The five family members will be buried on Saturday.
https://heavy.com/news/2019/09/santa-cruz-boat-fire-victims-names-photos-tributes/
https://heavy.com/news/2019/09/mason-sisk/
https://whnt.com/2019/09/04/friends-court-documents-provide-more-details-about-sisk-family/
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Kevin Hart seriously injured in car accident
Actor and comedian Kevin Hart seriously injured his back after he was in a bad car accident last weekend in Southern California.
TMZ reported that Hart has three fractures in his spine and that he is recovering and heavily medicated because of the intense pain.
The car that crashed is a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda that Hart had previously showed off on social media. He was not driving the car when it crashed — the driver is identified by CNN as Jared Black. There was another person in the car — Black’s fiancé.
Black also had back injuries and was hospitalized. Her fiancé did not have serious injuries. Police said Black was not under the influence. It is not known what caused the crash.
Pictures of the scene show the car embedded into trees by the side of a road. The car looked like it was crushed.
Hart’s wife, Eniko Parrish, told TMZ on Monday that Hart will be just fine.
https://www.tmz.com/2019/09/05/kevin-hart-fractured-spine-car-accident-recovery/
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/05/entertainment/kevin-hart-911-call-trnd/index.html
https://www.tmz.com/2019/09/02/kevin-hart-back-surgery-car-accident/
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Philadelphia hard of hearing woman stabbed to death by boyfriend
A hard of hearing woman Kimberly Wescott (32), from Philadelphia, was stabbed to death by her hearing boyfriend, 26, in an apparent domestic violence attack.
Police has identified the boyfriend as Rashall Jenkins.
Local news reported that Wescott was staying at a friend’s house with her kid because of domestic violence problems she was experiencing with her boyfriend.
Police said that Jenkins somehow got in the house and stabbed Wescott multiple times in the head, neck, and torso. Investigators said that there were three kids (ages 11 to 13) who were in the house during the time. One of the kids belong to Wescott. Jenkins is not the father of that kid.
After the stabbing, Jenkins fled the scene. Family members of Westcott suspected it was Jenkins and led police to his home, where he was arrested. Jenkins has multiple charges including murder and corruption of minors.
We did ask the police in Port Richmond to explain what corruption of minors meant for Jenkins’ situation. The police said they are not able to specify it since it is still under investigation. One possible reason is because Jenkins killed Wescott while the kids were in the house.
On Facebook, several of Wescott’s friends expressed grief and shared how much of a wonderful person she was. We reached out to a few of her friends.
A friend named Victoria posted a Facebook status about her. With her permission, we will show a screenshot of what she said.
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[Screenshot]
With my heavy heart, I am at loss for words. A childhood friend of mine passed away last night because of the domestic violence. I pray for Kim’s family including her daughter and her daughter’s father. I wanted to share what important lessons I learned from my homegirl in our early teen years were to show confidence and kindness. I remember all good memories with her and she will be remembered as always in my heart. Kim NicholeMissKimi Kim #domesticviolenceissoreal
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Victoria mentioned that Wescott was really a social butterfly.
Another friend mentioned that she was such a funny and sweet person. This friend saw her last year at church and said she seemed to be doing fine. This friend also mentioned that Wescott really had no bad bone. She really loved everyone even if some people did not like her, she still would love them back. She said it is really shocking to know this.
We have also reached out to DAWN, a non-profit organization that provides services to deaf and deaf blind survivors of abuse in the DC metro area to share a comment.
Rosina Garcia, a survivor resource specialist, explains the danger of when a survivor leaves a domestic violence relationship.
(Video)
Thank you for sharing. DAWN mentioned that those who plan to leave should develop a safety plan. You can reach out to DAWN or ADWAS or other DV/SA advocacy organizations for advice. There is a 24/7 ASL hotline, the link is in the transcript.
A third friend of Wescott said that the community in Philadelphia will always remember who she was and how much she really loved to be around people.
ADWAS link:
https://www.adwas.org/hotline/national/
DAWN link:
http://deafdawn.org
https://6abc.com/police-man-stabs-girlfriend-to-death-in-port-richmond/5510726/
https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/video/4158245-woman-stabbed-to-death-inside-port-richmond-home-police/
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That is all for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light!
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