Newspaper Thinks NFL should reward Student

How a student hopes to become the NFL's first deaf coach and why the Denver Post thinks he should get tickets to the Super Bowl. Read the story here.

The FBI Exploits Trader's Deafness To Make a Bust

Read the story at Business Insider here.

First Victory

After 20 tries, the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind has won a boys' basketball game this season. The Cardinals lost their first 20 games before beating the North Carolina School for the Deaf by a score of 37-26 yesterday at the 59th annual Mason-Dixon Tournament taking place at the South Carolina School for the Deaf. The Virginia School for the Deaf lost its first game in the tourney to the Mississippi School for the Deaf, 28-23.

Gally Makes it 16-0

Gallaudet's women's basketball team had to come from behind to win Sunday night. Here's a video about the Bison victory from CBS news. You can read the story here.

India's Implant

A government run Indian company says it will offer it's own cochlear implant by the end of the year. The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) hopes to produce a less expensive model than the ones already on the market. The annoucement was made at the 63rd annual conference of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India.

New Implant Technology

Some cochlear implant users will soon have a new way to control the device. Researchers at the University of Texas have come up with a way to modify the settings using a mobile device. It would take the place of the speech processor that cochlear implant users wear behind the ear. A user of a Cochlear Ltd implant could change the setting for a quiet location or noisy one. There are ten health-care and research facilities taking part in clinical trials Cochlear Implant Lab at UT Dallas is leading the $2.5 million project with funds from the National Institutes of Health. Here's a video showing it in action.

The SoundBite

The FDA has cleared a dental hearing aid for people who experience deafness in a single ear, following two successful clinical studies of the device. The SoundBite is made by California's Sonitus Medical. The behind the ear device wirelessly transmits audio from the affected ear to a small, removable receiver attached to a tooth. The teeth then resonate both cochlea. The major difference between this hearing system and a cochlear implant is that there is no surgery involved with the SoundBite.Read more about the device here.

More on Life Sentence

We told you yesterday about the Kentucky deaf man given life in prison for the murders of two men. WLKY-TV in Louisville has this video of the sentencing.

Cyberstalking

Prosecutors in North Carolina are charging a deaf man with cyberstalking. They say Leroy Farr of Kings Mountain threatened through e-mail to inflict bodily harm on a deaf woman from Shelby. The case comes to court February 18th.

CSI at a Deaf College

One week from today, CSI will feature Marlee Matlin as a guest star. Episode 13 of Season 11 is titled The Two Mrs. Grissoms. When the director of a scholarship foundation for the deaf is killed by a deadly car bomb, an investigation begins with students and faculty of the college where her mother-in-law works. Matlin plays a deaf professor and the former girlfriend of the victim while Phyllis Frelich guest stars as her deaf mother-in-law.

Valley College Students to Gally

An Arizona TV station profiles two hearing college students heading to Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. Read the story here.

Disabilities Survey

About 4 out of 10 (27%) of Americans say they live with a disability that interferes with their daily lives, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. The survey was conducted last fall by telephone and focused on activities like using the Web and daily errands. While 8 out of 10 (81%) who said they had no disabilities also said they used the Internet. But just over half (54%) of those who said they were living with a disability also said they used the Internet.

Data Compromise Warning

Private information about some deaf persons in North Carolina has been compromised. State health officials say records from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services were accidentally thrown away during a recent renovation. The computer disks contain information about clients who applied for services from the Equipment Distribution Service between 2005 and 2009. These clients will be sent letters warning them of the possible compromise of their data and potential for scams and other criminal activity to come their way should the discs fall into the wrong hands. If you have further questions, call 800-662-7030 or TTY 877-452-2514.

Life Sentence

A judge gave a Kentucky deaf man a life sentence yesterday. Last month, a jury found Jeston Murray guilty of murdering an elderly man during a robbery at a military surplus store in Louisville during December 2008. He also was found guilty of fatally stabbing of Marcus Penny about a week later. Another man was given the same sentence for his role in the crimes. Murray claimed the other man committed the murders, not him.

Gally Swimmers Recognized

A Gallaudet swimmer is the student-athlete of the week for the 4th time. The North Eastern Athletic Conference picked junior Brian Bennett for the week of January 24th. He made two first-place finishes in a loss on the road against Hood College over the weekend. Bennett took first in the 500-yard and 200-yard.

Meanwhile, another Bison, Carlisle Robinson, took the women's student-athlete of the week award. The team finishes its regular-season Sunday at home against Virginia's Marymount University.

Take Shelter

A new film about a man raising a deaf daughter is getting attention at the Sundance Film Festival. Take Shelter tells the story of a man driven to build a tornado shelter in his backyard. Heavy on special effects, this psychological thriller was bought by Sony Pictures Classics before the festival. Several reviewers have given it an "A". The Hollywood Reporter calls it a "devastating" film and a "knockout prestige picture" in it's review which you can read here.

Miracle Worker at Alabama College

The Miracle Worker is being performed this week at Birmingham-Southern College. It tells the story of Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan. Find out more about the Alabama school's theater production here.

Movies Worth Knowing About

The 1968 film The Heart is a Lonely Hunter earned 4 Golden Globe nominations and two Academy Award nominations. The film is an adaptation of the Carson McCullers novel of the same name and tells the story of a deaf man who moves to a Southern town where he changes the lives of several people with his compassion. The book set the story in the Depression era while the movie changed the setting to the contemporary 1960s.

The Miracle Worker on Stage

Oklahoma City's Jewel Box theater is offering performances of The Miracle Worker through February 13th. The community theater is a outreach of the city' First Christian Church. Find out more here or read a review here.

Stadium Near Gally?

A new stadium for DC's soccer team may be built near Gallaudet University. Local media are reporting the proposed new location for DC United is at the Capital City Market in Northeast Washington which is near the intersection of New York and Florida avenues, just a couple of blocks from the school. Another proposed location is Buzzards Point in Southwest Washington. The decision to move out of RFK Stadium is likely to come soon because the professional team is considering moving to Baltimore if Washington, DC can't find a place for them to play in the District.

Beaten to Death

Prosecutors in St. Paul, Minnesota are charging a deaf man with the murder of a prostitute. They say Michael Sherman beat a women to death with a baseball bat in his home Friday. He allegedly admitted to police admitted he killed Leila Kim Scott through sign language. Officers say they found a note was found in the house indicating he had made a deal involving sex and money.

Virus Linked to Hearing Loss

Some childhood hearing loss may be caused by a virus. A new study finds some children may have been exposed to cytomegalovirus or CMV when their mothers were pregnant. A team, led by researchers from Nashville's Vanderbilt University say about one out of ten children with some hearing loss were exposed to CMV. It's a common virus that can be avoided by regular hand washing. A woman already exposed to the virus before pregnancy is unlikely to pass it on to the fetus. But when it is picked up after pregnancy, the chances are about one in three that the baby will get it, according to the researchers. Right now, there is no effective treatment or vaccine for CMV. Details of the study are in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Online Captioning

Over the next two years, the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act will be phased in. Designed to make digital media more accessible to the deaf and blind, the law expands Section 255 of the Communications Act. It requires certain products and services to be accessible). Now Section 255 includes technology like VoIP. Among other things, the new law requires:

• Smart phones must be compatible with hearing aids.
• Accessibility to the next generation of 911 emergency services.
• Major broadcasters and cable networks will be required to provide 50 hours of programming per week with video description.
• TV shows with closed captioning must include captions when reshown on the Internet.

Fighting the Long Sorrow

There's a new book about DPN (Deaf President Now). Deaf author Russell Kane titled his first novel Fighting the Long Sorrow: A Journey to Personhood. He intertwines a fictional characters experiences with that pivotal event at Gallaudet University the week of March 6-13, 1988. Kane teaches ASL at New York's Nassau Community College. There is more information about the book here.

Award-Winning Teacher

Seattle's public TV station is honoring a teacher of the deaf. KCTS-TV gave Debbie Tygart one of its Golden Apple awards last night. She has worked with the deaf and hard of hearing for more than 2 decades and is now at the Mt. Tahoma High School in the "Tacoma School District. The award site says:

When several deaf students arrived in her classroom from Russia, Debbie had a hard time communicating with their parents. She sought to build a stronger relationship with these families to benefit her students, so with the help of friends, language programs and a local church, she taught herself to speak Russian.."

The Golden Apple Awards is a way to honor successful teaching models and programs among Washington state educators.

Inside a Brain Injury Recovery

CNN describes the recovery process of a deaf teen who suffered a serious brain injury when she was hit by an 18-wheeler here.

Hearing Aids and Cell Phones

The FCC is looking for consumer comments on its rules related to hearing aid compatible (HAC) cell phones. Since 2008, the agency has obligated wireless carriers and handset manufacturers to make and sell a certain percentage of compatible handsets. The FCC also requires a detailed annual report on the devices which have been offered during the previous year. The agency is now revisiting these rules to look at whether they are providing the help for the deaf that they are intended to provide. One concern is that, under the current rules, device that works in conjunction with hearing aids do not count for HAC compliance. So, the FCC wants to know:

• Are the FCC's HAC rules effectively and efficiently resulting in improved HAC handset availability with a wide range of features?
• Are the special compliance circumstances of smaller carriers being appropriately handled?
• Is the system effectively and efficiently gathering needed HAC information and disseminating it to those who need it?
• Are point of sale disclosure and testing requirements effective and useful?
• Do wireless headsets create any special problems?
• Are the Commission’s rules stimulating innovation and investment in HAC technology?

For more information, click here.

School Director Stepping Down

The head of Rhode Island's School for the Deaf is quitting. Lori Dunsmore took a 90 day leave of absence during the fall and returned to work this month. She wouldn't say why she is leaving, only that her last day with be June 30th. Dunsmore came to the school in 2007 as its 2nd deaf leader and had a contentious relationship with the faculty over changed designed to raise test scores. The school's Board of Trustees will get the search started for a new director.

Person of the Week

ABC News has picked YouTube sensation Allyson Townsend as its Person of the Week. Read about her here.

Osmond Finds a Way Despite Hearing Loss

The Mormon Times tells how Justin Osmond has dealt with his hearing loss in an article here.

Rochester Theater

You can see the stage production of Prelude to a Kiss this weekend at the Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Performances are free tonight, tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon at the Lab Theatre in the Lyndon Baines Johnson Building. The play by Craig Lucas is about a couple that falls in love despite the girl's pessimistic outlook on life. Shortly after their wedding, a supernatural event tests the strength of their love.

Hoax at Deaf School

A hoax led to the evacuation of the California School for the Deaf in Fremont this morning. A caller reported a shooter on campus who had wounded 40 people. Officers surrounded the school and the buildings were cleared. While the emergency notification system at the school worked well, no gunman was found. Many parents picked up their children, even though classes resumed. An investigation is underway to determine who made the call.

New RIT Student Center

There's a new student center at the Rochester Institute of Technology. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held yesterday at the American Sign Language and Deaf Studies Community Center located inside the Student Alumni Union. More than 1,300 deaf students are enrolled at NTID along with some 200 hearing students who are in its interpreting and master's of education programs. During a typical year, several thousand students from other schools visit RIT to learn more about a deaf college or deaf students.

A Video Profile of Gally's Women's Basketball Team

Flash Mob!

40 Students from the Iowa School for the Deaf created their own flash mob at 12:45 today. At a predetermined time, they all froze in place for 5 minutes at a grocery store in Council Bluffs. Their drama teacher sees it as a unique way for students to express themselves. Here's a video about it from a local TV station.

Cochlear Celebration 2010

Cochlear Americas is holding a contest for implant recipients. Participants record a video telling how Cochlear technology has changed his or her life. The winner gets a free trip to Cochlear Celebration 2011 taking place February 17-20, 2011 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. A dozen finalists have been selected in the nationwide contest. Online voting continues through Sunday. You can vote here.

Workplace Noise Proposal

OSHA's plan to tighten workplace noise level standards is being delayed. The federal agency withdrew its proposal today, which was based on evidence that ear plugs are not enough to protect worker's hearing. OSHA says it will review the comments it has received on the issue with experts before moving forward with new regulations.

The Hoops Secret

Why is the Gally woman's basketball so successful? The Washington Post explains in this story here.

Deaf Lawyer Gets Major Post

The new head of the FCC's Disability Rights Office is deaf. Gregory Hlibok has been profoundly deaf since birth. After studying engineering, he later became the first deaf law student at Hofstra University and at the age of 43 has become the first chief of the office to have a disability. His job is to help put into place a law that requires digital technology creators to make their materials available to the blind and deaf. Hlibok is best known in the Deaf community as the student body president of Gallaudet University during the 1988 Deaf President Now protest.

Deaf Suffer More Abuse

You are more likely to have been neglected or abused as a child if you are deaf or hard-of-hearing than if you are hearing. That's the finding of a new study out of the Rochester Institute of Technology. A survey of college students found:

• 77% of those with a hearing loss reported some kind of maltreatment before the age of 16.
• 49% of those with a hearing loss reported some kind of maltreatment before the age of 16.

Maltreatment was defined as physical or sexual abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect or emotional abuse. Read more about the study here.

Hospital Settles Out-of-Court

A New Hampshire hospital has settled a lawsuit over its treatment of deaf patients. Portsmouth Regional Hospital has agreed to pay a $20,000 penalty and will pay one deaf patient $35,000, her husband $15,000, and another deaf patient will get $10,000. Among the changes Portsmouth has agreed to make:

• Free use of interpreters
• Modified admission forms
• Creation of a list of nearby interpreters
• TTY availability
• Staff training
• Video Relay options
• Advertisements for deaf and hard-of-hearing patients

The lawsuit claimed a deaf woman who suffered a heart attack spent four days in the hospital without an interpreter. Her husband was asked to translate. On other occasions, they were given a notepad to write on and was even given a pregnant interpreter who could not perform her duties because of radiation used in the procedure. The lawsuit also revealed other instances where the patients were not provided interpreters.

Pinocchio

Deaf West Theatre will use both deaf and hearing actors in its presentation of The Adventures of Pinocchio starting February 19 at its North Hollywood location. ASL and Deaf culture controversies are part of the production including the Milan Conference which discouraged sign language. The show runs through March 26. Find out more about getting tickets here.

A New Resource for Deaf Immigrants

The video below shows how a new program is designed to help the deaf from other countries better understand how to adjust to America. Read the story here.

#24 in the Country

Gallaudet's women's basketball team has cracked the top 25 for the first time since 1999. The USA Today/ESPN Division III Top 25 coaches' poll puts the undefeated Bison at 24 in the country. The Bison received 26 points to put them ahead of #25 Louisiana College and behind #23 William Paterson.

Adding YouTube Captions

Here's an explanation of how to add captions to YouTube video.

No Jail Time for Rape

A deaf man convicted of sexually assaulting a deaf and partially-blind woman at his house will not go to jail. Joshua Jerome Newman of St. Paul, Minnesota pleaded guilty to the crime a few months ago. Today, a judge gave him 10 years probation. The charge will be reduced to a misdemeanor if he completes the term. Although he will not be serving time behind bars, Newman will not be a free man. He'll be in a program for people with a developmental disability who have shown risky behavior.

Federal ADA Rules Coming to Internet

The Department of Justice is warning websites to get ready for ADA rules that will apply to websites. The federal agency says businesses must remove “barriers to accessibility." The advance notices of proposed rules include:

• Speech recognition software

• Font color and size adjustments to accommodate the visually impaired

• Captions for pictures, videos, or other multimedia presentations, which prevents “screen readers” from reading the information aloud to individuals who cannot see

• Options for increasing the limit on timed responses

• Options besides CAPTCHAs (Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart) where users are given distorted text to decipher

Read more about the coming rules here.

Hit & Run Charges

A deaf woman is accused of hitting a cyclist with her car and then driving off. Tracey Salter pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Kansas woman was supposed to appear in court last week, but didn't show up. She was arrested Monday and brought to court yesterday. Salter is accused of hitting Joseph Szymanski with her Chevrolet Malibu in La Quinta, California. He died at the scene. Salter was arrested a short time later, after she left the scene of the accident, Prosecutors say.

What's She Doing Now?

Chelsea Paulson competed in the Miss Deaf America pageant in 2006, representing South Dakota. She's now a teacher at the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind. You can read more about what's happened to her since the competition here.

Junior Wins Award

A promising football player from the Alabama School for the Deaf was named the National Player of the Year by DeafSports Digest. Read a profile here.

Inmate Sues Over Rights

A deaf prisoner is suing the federal prison system. David Bryant says the US Bureau of Prisons should provide him regular meetings with an interpreter, a vibrating alarm and access to a TV with closed-captioning. Bryant starting serving a 99-year sentence in 2005 for breaking into a woman's home in Washington, DC and raping her. He has been at the Penitentiary in Adelanto, California for almost a year. Before that, he served time in West Virginia and Florida. None of the prisons have meet his request.

Airports... By the Numbers

Of the 13,505 U.S. airports, 700 require radio communications. That means deaf pilots can fly into the other 12,805.

11 Straight Wins

The Gallaudet women's basketball team picked up 2 more wins over the weekend. Both games were on the road. The Bison are now 11-0 overall and 8-0 in the conference. In the 2nd matchup, they beat the SUNY Cobleskill 61-57. Gallaudet pays at home against the College of Saint Elizabeth Wednesday.

Gally Loses Tight One

The Gallaudet men's basketball team nearly knocked off the defending conference champions last night. A late rally by the Bison fell short. They lost to New York's SUNYIT by only 3 points, 68-65. Gallaudet is now 7-4 over all and 4-2 in the conference. They are back in action this afternoon against SUNY Cobleskill.

Sign Careers

Chicago's WLS-TV takes a look at job opportunities involving sign language in the video below. Read the story by clicking here.

Contacting Airlines

Most airlines offer assistance for hard-of-hearing passengers over the phone.

· American: TDD 800-543-1586
· Continental: TDD/TT 800-343-9195
· Delta: TDD 800-831-4488· JetBlue: TTY/TDD 800-336-5530
· Southwest: TTY 800-533-1305 and video relay at SWAVRS.TV
· United: TDD 800-323-0170
· US Airways: TTY 800-245-2966
· Virgin America: None

Of these airlines, only Continental and US Airways offer closed-captioned films.

Remodling Goes On

Renovations to the Georgia School for the Deaf are nearly complete. The work has taken nearly 3 years at a cost of more than $5 million dollars. Among the changes: new roofing, floors, ceilings, and windows, better lighting and a new gym. The Cave Springs facility is Georgia's only residential school for the deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Boy Scouts Complaint

The Boy Scouts refused to provide an interpreter for a deaf scout at meetings and outtings despite requests from his mother, according to a federal complaint filed by the NAD. The filing says this is a ADA violation. The student, Wolfgang Staley, lives in the District of Columbia.

Hoops Madness

Gallaudet will hold its 15th Annual Alumni Basketball Madness event Saturday, January 22.
Festivities include a brunch, opportunity to meet the basketball players doubleheader, then the Bison hit the floor with a women’s game starting at 1pm and a men’s game at 3pm against SUNY Cobleskill.

Air Force Base Installs VRS

An Oklahoma Air Force base has installed a video relay system for its deaf employees. Tinker Air Force base selected the Z-150 phone system which uses a relay interpreter service. This makes the Tinker less dependent on interpreting services since there is only one interpreter on the base. The phones were paid for by the Secretary of DefenseComputer/Electronic Accommodations Program.

Dragons Roll

A girl's basketball team has set a record at their Florida school. The Florida School of the Deaf & Blind's team picked up their 14th consecutive victory this evening. That's the most ever won in a row by the Dragons. The record of 13 wins has stood since 1938. The team is undefeated so far this year with 13 wins against no loses. All 14 wins in the streak have been against hearing teams.

Texas School Becomes Gally Center

Gallaudet University has picked Austin Community College as a regional center. That means the College will get $200,000 from the Washington, DC school to provide assistance and classes for the deaf or hard of hearing as well as ASL and deaf studies classes. Because the Texas School for the Deaf is located in the city, it has a large deaf population. Austin Community College has upwards of 150 deaf and hard of hearing students and more than a dozen of its faculty are Gallaudet alum.

NY School for Deaf Tackles Bullying

Read a report about how bullying on the campus of one school is being handled in this article.

Hybrid Implants

An experimental hybrid cochlear implant is proving helpful to patients who have partial hearing loss. There are nine medical centers in the US approved to try the hybrid as part of a study, and so far, the results are encouraging. People who can't hear high frequencies, but still can hear low frequencies are not good candidates for the traditional cochlear implants or hearing aids, but can benefit from the hybrid model which works like a typical implant. It is worn outside the ear and converts sounds into electric signals.

Looking for Snowboarding Gold

The Washington Post profiles, Lauren Benedict, a Deaflympics contestant here who is attending Gallaudet University. There will be 40 deaf or hard-of-hearing athletes representing the US in the competition. The 2011 Winter Deaflympics are set for Feb. 18-27 in Slovakia.

Caught Stealing AC Units

Police in Brevard County, Florida say 2 deaf men are behind bars for trying to steal air conditioning units from a warehouse to savage the copper wiring inside. The men were caught in the act, thanks to a tip from the public. The men have not been identified yet.

Live To Dance

Paula Abdul's new TV debuted last night with a deaf contestant. A hip hop dancer going by the name of C-Bunny appeared on Live To Dance. Despite a good performance and a vote of confidence from Paula herself, C-Bunny did not get through the auditions to the next round. The main difference between this show and other reality shows is that there is no age limit and the judges push a button on whether to approve the performer rather than holding a discussion. The grand prize is $500,000.

Archdiocese Goes Bankrupt

Because of the child abuse scandal related to deaf boys, The Catholic archdiocese of Milwaukee filed for bankruptcy protection today. A priest in the archdiocese, Lawrence Murphy, was accused molesting hundreds of children from the 1950s to the 1970s. The archdiocese has agreed to compensate victims. Murphy died more than a decade ago, but was never defrocked. The Vatican, including the current Pope, knew about the abuse, but never took action against Murphy.

Itchy Hearing Aids

Hearing aids often cause itchy ears. And it is possible to have an allergic reaction to the plastic from which it is made as well as from the polish used to coat the outside. The source of the itchy hearing aide could be as simple as discovering the aid is rubbing against your ear and irritating it.

Doctors suggest carefully wiping the hearing aids with alcohol before putting them on. Regular cleaning can make a difference as well. If the problem persists, switching to a smaller aid, perhaps one that does not wrap around the ear would make the difference.

New Service Animal Rules

The definition of a service animal will change starting March 15th. The Department of Justice is tightening its ADA rules because a variety of animals have been brought into businesses by people claiming their pets are service animals under ADA law - including pigs, horses, snakes, iguanas, parrots and monkeys. Under the new rules, only dogs will count as service animals. That means merchants will be in their legal right to ban animals other than service dogs from their places of business. This rule change will not apply to federal employment or housing laws.

Sky’s the Limit

A Chicago TV station offers a video about how an implant has changed a girl's life and an in studio interview with her doctor. watch it below or read it here.

Math Competition

The RIT 5th annual Math Competition for Students Who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing will take place April 8-10, at the Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the Deaf. The competition is for students in grades 6-8. Cash prizes will be awarded to team and individual winners in several categories. Social and fun activities will be offered by RIT to participates. Only 25 schools may enter and the registration deadline is January 15.

A Theater Milestone

Alabama's 50th anniversary edition of The Miracle Worker has been picked as one of the Top 10 Events of 2011 by the state's tourism department. It takes place in Tuscumbia, Helen Keller’s Birthplace and Home, from June 3rd to July 9th. This Broadway-style play recalls Keller's childhood and her gifted teacher, Anne Sullivan. Performances are on Friday and Saturday's only. Find out more information here.

A Defense Lawyer for the Deaf

Read a profile of a Texas defense attorney who represents the deaf here.

Amazing Race 18 - All Stars

Margie and Luke are coming back to the Amazing Race! The cast for the 2011 has been announced and the CBS show is bringing back teams from the past few seasons that didn't win the million dollar prize. Among them Margie Adams and her deaf son Luke who are from Denver. Luke is a now college graduate who gave the valedictorian speech at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind. Margie and Luke were part of the 14th season and were leading the competition going into the final let of the race. Over the 12 episodes, they traveled more than 40,000 miles in 22 days to nine countries, including Switzerland, India and Russia. Challenges ranged from a bungee jumping to the cold of Siberia and the heat of India. What challenges will season 18 hold for these returning contestants? You'll have to tune in to the show when it debuts February 20th.

Theater’s Unsung Heroes

Read a profile of theater interpreters in San Diego here.

New Year: New Law

A new New Hampshire law requires insurance companies to help pay for hearing aids. It took affect yesterday and provides as much as $1,500 in coverage per hearing aid every five years.

Football Player Plans Career in Deaf Culture

During today's Rose Bowl between TCU and Wisconsin, keep your eye out for safety Tejay Johnson. He has started 37 games, is the leader of his team's secondary... and knows sign language. Johnson is majoring in the rehabilitation of the deaf at Texas Christian. His motivation for picking this area of study was his cousin, who struggled to communicate with her family. None of her siblings or mother learned to sign. Two of Johnson's own siblings, inspired by their brother, are now learning to sign in high school. Johnson says his faith has helped him make the right decisions. Read more about him here.