Latest in NAD vs Netflix

Netflix is asking a Massachusetts judge to be allowed to appeal his decision about ADA law. The ruling Federal Judge Michael Ponsor requires the streaming company to put captioning on its Internet videos. The NAD (National Association of the Deaf) filed the lawsuit against Netflix a year ago. Netflix says the ruling is:

"..the broadest-ever extension of the ADA's scope, thereby opening the door to amorphous and seemingly limitless regulation of the Internet in a way Congress did not envision and no other court has accepted. In addition to these troubling consequences for Internet providers, this ruling now opens this case to broad-ranging litigation into every detail of, in particular, Netflix's streaming video business — from the technology it invents to make streaming possible, to its relationships with third parties in the complex supply-chain ranging from upstream video content owners to downstream manufacturers of end-user devices. Interlocutory review, to allow either confirmation or reversal of the Court's decision by the First Circuit, would help settle many of the questions raised by this case — not to mention reduce the spiraling costs of this case, which, as Plaintiffs' recent filings make clear, seeks to open Netflix's entire streaming business to scrutiny and litigation."

Netflix says ADA does not apply to the Internet but the Video Accessibility Act does.

Implants and developmental delays

Doctors shouldn't wait to give implants to children with developmental delays. That's the advice of Stanford researchers who say their findings show implants could substantially benefit babies that have indications of mental retardation later in life. These children’s intellectual development would be helped, the researchers say, even if they never learn to speak. Details are in the August issue of Otology & Neurotology. The research now moves to a systematic look of whether cochlear implants benefit a large cross-section of developmentally delayed deaf children. This effort is being funded by the National Institutes of Health.

USA Gold

CNN reports on the US Deaf Woman's Soccer team victory over their Russian counterparts in the championship in the video posted below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Giving Back

Two implant recipients in the UK are now working at the South of England Cochlear Implant Centre located at the University of Southampton. Samantha Johnson and Anna Lyford received their cochlear implants in 2007. Johnson is a hearing therapist who began losing her hearing in childhood but didn't get a hearing aid until she was 21 years old. Lyford is a rehabilitationist who was deaf from birth. Her mother also had an implant. The two new employees can relate to patients in a more personal way, since they understandi what is like to have a cochlear implant.

US Deaf Women's Soccer Victory

CNN offers a video report on the US women's Deaf US soccer team posted below on DeafNewsToday.com about their win over Germany.

Subtitle App

Makers of an app in development claim it will use crowdsourcing to create subtitles for everyday life. Researchers from the University of Rochester say Scribe sends an audio track from the user's phone to a central server where Amazon's Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing service transcribes the information. They are hoping that adding the human element will cut out some of the mistakes that computers alone will make when transcribing audio. The team says a beta version will be ready for release soon. Here's a video about it.

Oakland Court Terps

An article about court interpreters in Oakland here. Posted below on DeafNewsToday.com is a video showing ASL students visiting a courthouse. 

Miss Deaf International

Natalia Ryabova from Belarus has won the crown for Miss Deaf International 2012. The 18-year-old model competed with girls from more than 20 countries in Ankara, Turkey. She was also awarded the titles of Miss Photo and Miss Europe. You'll find more photos from the contest here.

Olympics Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremonies of the Olympics included several deaf participants. Here's a video showing some of their effects, including percussionist DameEvelyn Glennie and the Kaos Signing Choir.

Deaf in 2012 Olympic Open Ceremony from ASL inside ATL on Vimeo.

Deaf Olympian

One of the players on the US Olympic team is deaf. David Smith uses hearing aids to help with his 80-90% hearing loss. The six foot seven player was a star on the UC Irvine volley team that won the 2007 national championship and this is the first time he'll compete in the Olympics. The team opens play today (Sunday) against Serbia - but Smith wasn't originally on the May roster for the U.S. team, so his presence is surprise. His team is ranked 5th and just won a silver medal in the World League. Smith played professionally last year in France and graduated from UC Irvine with an engineering degree.

Teacher Drowns in NC

A teacher of deaf children has drowned in the waters of North Carolina's Outer Banks. Jill Bailey Chenet taught 2nd grade students at The River School in Washington, DC. She was 5 months pregnant with her first child when she and her husband were caught in the rip current. Her husband survived, but was hospitalized in serious condition. Someone found the couple floating just a few yards from the beach and called 911. The school has placed a statement about her death on its website here.

Deaf NBA player at Cali School

A local paper takes a look at Lance Allred's visit to the California School for the Deaf here.

UN Treaty moves forward

The UN treaty on people with disabilities moved out of committee Thursday and it may make it to the Senate floor before Congress takes its summer recess next week. The agreement will need a two-thirds majority (67 senators) to pass. It enjoys the support of the National Association of the Deaf and other advocacy groups in the deaf community. The 10 Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted in favor of it - along with three Republicans: Senator Dick Lugar of Indiana, Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming and Georgia's Senator Johnny Isakson. Some opponents say it will impose international standards on Americans related to abortion and home schooling.

the Balloon Artist

KGAN-TV has a video report on deaf ballon artist Ricky Rowray below on DeafNewsToday.com or read the story here.
 

Katie Couric: Very Humiliating

Playing a dancing bear is better than playing a Deaf person, according to talk show anchor Katie Couric. It was "humiliating" to be cast as a deaf person in a high school musical, Couric says. After the former morning talk show anchor objected to playing the role, she was given the part of a dancing bear. She says playing that part was acceptable to her. Couric made the remarks to the LA Times during a promotional tour of her new TV talk show. Read the full story here.

Reds To Honor "Dummy" Hoy

WKRC-TV has a video report on how the Cincinnati Reds plan to honor one of its a deaf players. The video is posted on DeafNewsToday.com or read the story here.

Empowered by Attending School for the Deaf

A New York paper profiles a Rochester School for the Deaf graduate in the video below posted on DeafNewsToday.com (captions included).

10k for No Terp

A doctor will pay $10k to an unnamed deaf patient for failing to provide an interpreter for her. The woman complained to the New Jersey Civil Rights Division, saying that when she asked a staff member at David Bullek's office in Westfield for a sign language interpreter, she was given a note saying the patient would have to bring her own interpreter and that the doctor was not obligated to hire one for her. Dr. Bullek has agreed to attend training on providing reasonable accommodations to patients, as required by law.

Mice Research

A look at how studies of mice at UC Berkeley are advancing research into blindness and deafnesshere.

CODA International

The CODA International Conference takes place in Miami one week from today (Aug 2-5). Click here for more info.