With Deaf Students in Mind

The Washington Post offers its look at the new deaf-friendly dorms at Gallaudet University here.

Deaf filmmaker truly hears music for the first time

CNN interviews deaf filmmaker Austin Chapman here.

Saving Gallaudet Hall

Alumni from the American School for the Deaf in Connecticut have started an online petition to save a building that's more than 90 years old - Gallaudet Hall. Watch a video report on DeafNewsToday.com or read the story here.

More on Rochester Study

We told you this week about a study looking at Rochester's Deaf Community. WHAM-TV offers more detail in the video posted below on DeafNewsToday.com. Or you can read the story here.

Deaf Awareness Week in Rochester

WHAM-TV in Rochester takes a look at some of the events taking place in the area related to Deaf Awareness Week in the video posted below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Volleyball embraces tradition, legacy

Read about the team that has won 8 national deaf volleyball championshipshere.

Couple Gets $75k in suit settlement from Sheriff

A Sheriff in Denver has agreed to improve services for the deaf at the county jail. The Adam's county Sheriff's office is making the concessions to settle a lawsuit filed by a deaf couple - Timothy Siaki and Michaelee Owen. Siaki was arrested two years ago because the deputies claimed he wasn't listening and following their orders. He spent 25 days in jail with no way to communicate with his jailers - and then the charges were dropped and Siaki was freed. The Sheriff's department has agreed in the settlement to provide sign language interpreters to deaf inmates, to show the inmates an ASL interpreted orientation video explaining how to request an interpreter. The Sheriff will also install video phones and pay the couple $75,000.

2 Bison Standouts

Two Gallaudet football players are being honored by the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference. Senior defensive end Jared Pearce is Defensive Player of the Week and senior cornerback Tony Tatum is Special Teams Player of the Week. The school whipped Apprentice School this past weekend 35-7 and both players had major roles in the victory. Next up for the 2-1 Bison is Anna Maria College tomorrow (Saturday).

Noise Blindness

Hearing is our early warning system to new events, according to a new study. Researchers at the University College London's Ear Institute say their work shows we depend on sounds to alert us to things that are happening around us before we see them. In an effort to understand why hearing individuals take in some sounds and others are not noticed, they studied what people pay attention to when they are in busy environments. The Ear Institute team found listeners are pretty good at picking up on new sounds but don't pick up on noises as they are fading away. The scientists call this phenomenon "disappearance blindness". The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust and details are here.

Study: Early Sign Helps Implant Users

A new study finds "encouraging deaf children to communicate in sign language from a very early age, before cochlear implantation, appears to improve their ability to learn spoken language after cochlear implantation." Researchers out of Iran compared the spoken language progress of cochlear-implanted children with deaf parents to deaf children with "normal-hearing parents." They found the second-generation deaf children (the deaf children of deaf parents) exceeded the deaf children with hearing parents. Read more here.

Gang Beats Deaf Man

A deaf man was beaten by a gang of teenagers outside a UK pizza joint for bumping into one of them. The attack took place in St Helens, just outside of Liverpool. A large fight broke out as a result of the attack between people outside the restaurant and people inside of it. Police arrested two teens who are now out on bail. The unnamed deaf man was not seriously injured.

Coaches Learn Sign for Deaf Swimmers

Coaches in Frederick, Maryland are signing to their swimmers to make sure everyone has a chance in the poo Rled the story or watch the video report here.

Deaf motorcross rider succeeds, inspires

CNN interviews deaf motocross rider Ashley Fiolek in the video posted on DeafNewsToday.com.

Campus Falls Silent

The bells on one campus will remain silent starting at 5pm today in honor of Silent Day, part of the International Week of the Deaf. The chimes that normally ring on the University of Illinois Quad will stop for 24 hours. Dozens of faculty members and students are pledging to turn off their voices all day to raise awareness about communications barriers for the deaf. The documentary See What I’m Saying will be shown at 6pm. During Saturday's football game against Penn State, 25 children from the Illinois School for the Deaf will perform the National Anthem with the Marching Illini band.

Deaf professor teaches campus’s first yearlong ASL course

The student newspaper at Berkeley takes a look at the new ASL course on campus here.

The Deaf Community in Rochester

Rochester, New York has one of the largest populations of deaf residents in the country and the highest percentage enrolled in secondary education, according to a new report from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf. There are 43,000 deaf or hard of hearing residents in the Rochester area. That's about 3.7% of the population. The national average is 3.5%. More than six-out-of-ten deaf people age 18-to-25-year-olds in Rochester are enrolled in higher education.

Sorenson Gets Obscene Calls

Sorenson is suing a man for making more than 300 obscene phone calls to 30 of its employees in Utah. The lawsuit doesn't reveal the man's name, but the video relay company claims he started calling female employees this summer calling himself Rick Smith, though Sorenson that is not his real name. What it has determined is that he's using different Verizon phone accounts and calling from the Sacramento, California area. Sorenson wants to subpoena phone company records to figure out the caller's identity. It says he breathes heavily and uses vulgar, indecent language and makes obscene and sexual proposals.

Forced to Wear Implant

An Idaho judge is threatening a deaf man with a contempt charge for refusing to make his deaf daughter use her cochlear implant. Shaun McLaughlin isn't making her wear the external portion of the implant when she's with him, so Orton Miller went to court to force him to do it. A judge signed an order requiring the girl to wear the external portion during waking hours because doctors told the mother this will improve her speech.

TN Hospital Settles Terp Suit

A Nashville hospital will pay $19,000 to a deaf man after failing to provide him with an interpreter during his time as a patient at the facility. Michael Gournaris spent four days at Baptist Hospital in 2010 after he suffered stroke-like symptoms. During his stay, the hospital only provided him with an interpreter for five-and-a-half hours. Hospital workers tried to communicate with him through written notes. Even though Baptist maintains it was working within the law and its own policies, it has agreed to better provide interpreters to patients like Gournaris, not to charge patients for those interpreters, to post signs explaining how to get an interpreter, and to train staff members on its new interpreting policies.

Deaf Man Shot in Robbery Attempt

Philadelphia Police say a deaf man is in critical condition following a robbery attempt. The suspect announced he was robbing the story, but the deaf man didn't understand. WCAU-TV has a video report posted below on DeafNewsToday.com. Or read the story here.

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

Underdogs

Sports Illustrated offers a video profile of the California School for the Deaf football team. See it on DeafNewsToday.com (with captions).

Two Deaf Children and an Impossible Choice

A father has to choose which of his deaf children gets a hearing aid, since he can only afford to pay for one. The video report from CBN is posted below.

NZ Building code changes

The first deaf member of New Zealand's Parliament says her country's building codes could take a step backward if legislation is approved that would "mean property developers are no longer required to install visual fire alarms." Read the story here.

Emergency Planning: An Uphill Battle

A look at how RID is working with emergency management officials here.

Deaf Football Coach Leads Defensive Line

Read about Kevin Bella's special challenge at California high schoolhere

Implant Speaker

A cochlear implant researcher will speak at the Milwaukee's Woman's Club this coming Thursday (Sept 27). Dr. Christina Runge is part of the Medical College of Wisconsin’s 6th annual Women in Science series. She is an associate professor of otolaryngology and communication sciences and the director of the Koss Cochlear Implant Program.

Deaf cyclists ride to meet challenge

Read the story in today's Columbus, Ohio newspaper here.

School Demands Proof of Service Dog

North Idaho College refused to allow a man use his service dog on campus until he proved it was really a service dog, according to a complaint he has filed against the school. Anthony Cruz suffers from spinal stenosis and diabetes and says his dog alerts him if his blood pressure drops too low. Cruz wants to study to become a paralegal, but The school, which maintains it is working within ADA law, declared his dog was a companion animal and that it could not attend class with him. Since Cruz missed the first meeting day, he was dropped from the class, forcing him to withdraw from the college.

UK School hits Year 220

The Royal School for Deaf Children Margate started its 220th school year this month. Read about the school's anniversary here.

Bullied Suit Settled

A couple will get $87,500 because their deaf son was bullied at school. The Rochester School Board has agreed to make the payment to settle a lawsuit brought by Judd and Deanna Grafe. Their son was bullied many times in the Willow Creek Middle School locker room. At one point, his cochlear implant was damaged by an attacker who was later convicted of assault in juvenile court. The Grafes got $32,000 from the insurance company of the attacker's parents.

Football Team's Secret Weapon

An Idaho high school football team is undefeated so far this season and according to KWVT-TV "some of the thanks for that perfect record is due to the Senators' own style of communication." Read about the team's deaf player in the video below (no captioning).

Heard the one about the deaf mugger?

Read about the British director behind The Deaf Mugger video here or watch the video below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Canada's VRS

Here's a video in sign about Canada's Video Relay Services from Deaf Youth Canada.

New ADA limits in CA

California has a new law in place designed to reign in ADA lawsuits in the state. Two out of every five ADA lawsuits are filed in California. Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law yesterday. It is supposed to protect small businesses from predatory ADA lawsuits. The law directly bans letters demanding that a business pay a fee or face a lawsuit over alleged violations. The law also cuts the amount of damages business owners must pay when they correct a violation following a complaint.

ASL courses at Berkeley

UC Berkeley is offering its first sign language classes this fall. Funding for the trial run as part of the foreign-language curriculum comes from the campus’s Common Good Initiative. A video of the instructor is posted below on DeafNewsToday.com with captions.

Looking for another President

A Florida man has collected the autographs of U.S. presidents on a baseball, all the way back to Herbert Hoover. Read Tom Cooney's story here.

Bad News For Kansas School for the Deaf

State budget cuts will have an impact on KSD. KSHB-TV in Kansas City has a video report, posted below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Deaf Woman Fights off Attacker

A deaf woman was attacked in a DC suburb near a metro station this past weekend. Police say the unnamed woman was at the Rosslyn Metro Station in Alexandria when she was sexually assaulted. She had just been dropped off by a taxi and entered the station, but decided not to wait for a train. She started walking along a main road but was forced into an alleyway where a man put his hand down her pants. She was able to escape before he could do anything else because she bit his hand.

Deaf Employee Fired After Being Denied Interpreter

A Wisconsin company will pay a former employee $95,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit. The problem started in 2007 at the Miles Kimball Company when Laura Nejedlo was assigned to use a new software program, but managers refused to provide her with an interpreter for training. She was later fired, even though she had worked for 13 years at the company. Miles Kimball agreed to train managers and supervisors to better understand their employer's responsibilites related to ADA law. The company is based in Oshkosh and is one of America's largest direct marketers of consumer gifts and household products.

Preserving the Language of Signs

What role should interpreters have in the preservation of ASL? Read one CODA's opinion here.

TX school bans Service Dog

A Texas school is refusing to allow student to have service dog on campus. Read the story here.

Signing: Black & White

Blacks sign differently whites, reports the Washington Post. Read the story here.

City Settles with Deaf Man's Family

Denver will pay $695,000 to the family of a deaf inmate who attempted suicide while in custody and later died. Shawn Vigil was in jail hung himself after a month in jail sexual assault charge seven years ago. Among other things, the city didn't provide an interpreter or provide accommodations for a deaf inmate. Video phones have since been installed.

Deaf School Sex Crime

An employee at a deaf school in Cincinnati will be sentenced next month for molesting two deaf students. Joshua Bort pleaded guilty to sex crime charges he committed at St. Rita School for the deaf. The 24 year old from Maineville, Ohio admitted to "gross sexual imposition and sexual imposition charges". Prosecutors dropped two other of the counts against him in exchange for the guilty plea.

Whatever Happened to.. Jane Fernandes

When the Gallaudet Board decided to appoint provost Jane Fernandes as president, students protested until she withdrew from the position. She now holds the same position at UNC Asheville. Fernandes, who was born deaf, served in the post for Gallaudet for six years. Read what's happened to her since here.

From silence to spirituality

A look at the Jewish faith of some deaf people in the DC area including Gallaudet's president published in Washington Jewish Week here.

Study: ibuprofen, acetaminophen tied to hearing loss

A study linking ibuprofen and acetaminophen to hearing loss among women may be only one piece of a much larger puzzle. Watch a video report from KARE-TV in Minneapolis. Or read the story here.

British Troops

Phonak is giving British soldiers free hearing aids when their hearing has been damaged in battle and they are coming back into civilian life. Troops also see specialists from the Association of Independent Hearing Healthcare Professionals about their condition. Phonak is one of the three main manufacturers of tiny hearing aids, along with Widex and Oticon.

Docu about Abuse Gets Film Fest Attention

One of the documentaries causing a stir at the Toronto film festival this weekend is about the abuse of deaf boys in the Catholic church. Alex Gibney's Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God accuses the Vatican of a cover up. You'll be able to see it in U.S. theaters in November, while HBO will show it next year. The film focuses on four deaf men who were sexually abused by a Milwaukee priest. Despite accusations that he assaulted nearly 200 children, the priest was never defrocked or brought to justice in court. Here is a trailer for Silence in the House of God:

Implant Debate

Are cochlear implants a godsend, or a threat to deaf people's way of life? The Vancouver Sun explores the issue here.

Stem Cell Fears

KOKI-TV in Tulsa offers a video commentary about stem cells and deafness (no captions). It's posted below on DeafNewsToday.com.

CSD Victory

The California School for the Deaf won their football game this week against Richmond by a score of 47-0. The Eagles scored four touchdowns in the first quarter, taking 31-0 lead. The closest the Oilers got to scoring was shortly before halftime, recovering a fumbled kickoff on the 20 yard line. But Richmond wasn't able to get it into the end zone. The California School for the Deaf next plays Upper Lake at home.

"They don’t support deaf athletes"

Deaf British footballer Claire Stancliffe talks about the struggles of Great Britain’s Women’s Deaf Football team. Read it here.

Netflix Suit Update

Settlement talks are under way in the lawsuit against Netflix filed by the NAD (National Association of the Deaf). The judge in the case is putting the legal proceedings on hold while the parties try to work out a compromise. NAD wants the video streaming service to provide captioning for all of its videos - something Netflix says it is working on, but not as quickly as the NAD would like to see. Read more about the lawsuit here.

Marlee Matlin Speaks out

The Deaf community is reacting to a story we told you about Wednesday, where a potential break through in stem cell research could lead to the process being used on humans. You can see the story here. Actress Marlee Matlin offered a series of Tweets on the issue that included these comments:

• 'Deafness cure' is trending (on Twitter). My concern is that it's bigger than a 'trend.' It involves people & not as simple as the 4 letters in 'cure.' For those who think being deaf is a handicap, there are millions of Americans who sign, who are deaf, and are not a 'disease' to cure.

• "Think about this. What if someone told you that you could've been made different than the content person you are with genetics. Would you? Now think how millions of deaf people who lead productive lives, would feel when told that babies born deaf can be 'cured'."

• "Be proud of who you are, regardless of what people think is a 'handicap' or 'normal.' Normal is what you want to be. Don't let anyone tell you who or what you should be."

A link to another opinion from the UK from a partially deaf freelance reporter is here.

School Cancels Football Season

The Oregon School for the Deaf has fielded a football team every year since the end of World War Two - until now. The Portland school did not have enough interest in eight-man football this season to put a team on the field. It was one man short. Only seven students came out to play - and that included a female student from the volleyball team. Only about 60 students attend the school.

Deaf School Blocked

A Colorado school district is holding off on plans to move deaf school to a new location. Jeffco Public Schools told the Lakewood City Council that it no longer wants to fight to put the Rocky Mountain Deaf School on a piece of property that it promised the Deaf School. The issue became heated after opponents gathered nearly 6000 signatures against it. However, the issue may still not be settled. A video report on the battle is posted on DeafNewsToday.com from KUSA-TV.

'Switched' Star Shines in Role As Deaf Teen

This interview with Actress Katie LeClerc, who stars on the ABC Family TV show Switched at Birth includes her explanation of how she decided what sounds her deaf character could say in the show.

Newspaper: Why Not All Deaf People want to be Cured

The U.K's Telegraph has published a provocative article titled Why Not All Deaf People want to be Cured. You'll find it here.

Deaf Woman Describes Hearing for First Time

Remember that viral video of the woman who started sobbing when her Esteem implant was first turned on? It has been viewed more than 14 million times. She's now got a book coming out about her experience called Powered on. The ABC show 20/20 interviewed her and you can watch it here. It's the third story on the show. Or read the story here.

Stem Cell Breakthrough?

Deaf gerbils can hear again thanks to implanted human stem cells. This could be a step toward overcoming some causes of hearing loss in people, according to researchers led by Dr. Marcelo Rivolta of the UK's University of Sheffield. He says this could lead to using embryonic stem cells to repair the ear. If animal testing continue to show promise, human trials could begin within a few years. While a cochlear implant can help with some types of hearing loss, such as genetic disorders, prolonged exposure to high-decibel noise and infections like bacterial meningitis, the implant is practically useless if without the auditory nerve. Details are in the journal Nature. Read more here.

School Prez Leaving

The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind is losing its president. Terry Graham says he plans to retire February first. He's been a part of the school for 35 years, serving as the president the last ten. A search for the next president will begin soon.

Service Dog Taken

Police in Missoula, Montana are looking for a couple who allegedly stole the service dog of a deaf couple. Jalita is a 18-month-old husky/wolf mix that responds to sign, last seen at a campground near the city. Authorities say the suspects are Sam and Kim Goodwin who are believed to be driving a 1993 blue Chevy pickup with an Oklahoma license plate.

Prison for Couple in Child's Death

A deaf West Virginia woman faces as much as 15 years in prison for the death of her infant son. Jessica Skupnick pleaded no contest. The man she lived with, Dominic Hall, was sentenced to 40 years in prison earlier this year for shaking and injuring the baby by bouncing it off of a bed.

Just don't call them Hearing Aids

A new wave of devices is about to hit the market designed to help users with hearing loss. The PSAPs or "personal sound amplification products" are not really hearing aids, so the FDA agreed recently to let manufacturers sell them over-the-counter, allowing consumers to bypass audiologists who have controlled the U.S. hearing aid market. PSAPs are very small and often look similar to other devices - Bluetooth headsets or MP3 players. Often they come loaded to boost high frequencies - the ones most people lose first as they age. PSAPs often utilize the same technology found in hearing aids costing thousands more. Here are some PSAPs that will be available soon:

Able PlanetPersonal Sound AMP 2500 - This tiny device uses the company's technology it puts into noise-canceling headphones. No volume control, but users can cup their ear and tap to change the setting for a different environment. $499 each, $899 for a pair. Find out more here.

RCA's Symphonix - Similar to behind-the-ear hearing aids, a plastic dome slides into the ear canal. Volume control for three settings. Designed to amplify area noises. $299. Available at retailers like Radio Shack.

MDHearingAid - This one works like the Symphonix, but has FDA approval. Preset for typical moderate hearing loss. $180 or $329 for a pair. More info here.

Walker's Game Ear, Elite HD Pro - Designed to help hunters who are trying to hear prey, but want protection from loud noises. $209. More info here.

Soundfest's Real Clarity - Not yet available, this app turns an iPhone or Android smartphone into a hearing-assistance device, using the phone's built-in mic and earphones. less than $20.

The Panasonic JZ - A couple of inches wide and long, this MP3 player look alike uses headphones. Includes a volume control. $1000. FDA-approved and sold by audiologists.

Bell + Howell Silver Sonic XL - Like many older and cheaper devices, this Bluetooth-looking device boosts sound indiscriminately. $19.99 each.

NY man's video confession

Gabriel Thompson wants his murder confession thrown out because of an interpreter. The 48-year-old deaf man allegedly admitted to killing a man a quarter of a century ago. Thompson was supposidly enraged because the man was having an affair with his girlfriend. But Thompson now says the videotaped confession should not be used at his trial because he was confused by the interpreter - a police officer. Thompson says Officer Julio Vasquez never revealed he was with the police and was not impartial. Watch the video in question below on DeafNewToday.com and decide for yourself.

Why AT&T’s FaceTime Blocking Hurts the Deaf

Read the story from Wired here.

Brainstem Implants in U.S.

Auditory Brainstem Implants will be studied by LA's House Research Institute and Children's Hospital Los Angeles in cooperation with Italy's University of Verona. Children with no hearing nerve cannot use hearing aids or cochlear implants. This is where the Brainstem Implant can help. It works around the inner ear and hearing nerve to go right to brainstem. If the research goes well, children who require this type of surgery will not have to travel outside the U.S. in order to receive one.

Accused of Raping Deaf Boys

A Frenchman is on trial in Paris for raping deaf boys in Indonesia. Gerard Carayon says he is not guilty of the charges. Carayon led a humanitarian organization. Eight years ago, a French diplomat told authorities that he suspected Carayon of sexually abusing deaf children at his home or a hotel. Carayon was arrested at the Paris airport in 2008. He was held for a year and a half and then disappeared. Authorities caught up with him last month at the border of France and Italy. Several students have testified that they told their teacher that Carayon had raped them or given them money for sex. One alleged victim claimed to have been a "sex slave." Carayon is now 75 years old.

Paralympics: Missed Opportunity for Deaf Athletes

There is no category for deaf athletes at the Paralympic games in London. Read the story here.

Deaf Man Kidnapped & Locked Away

A deaf man in Philadelphia is free after being held captive for months while another man stole his Social Security checks. Dwayne Young is accused of locking up William Richardson in a basement for 4 months. Young allegedly did the same thing to Young's common law wife. She died earlier this year. Here's a video report from WCAU-TV or read the story here.

Latino Gathering

The National Council of Hispano Deaf and Hard of Hearing will hold its 3rd Biennial National Conference a week from today in Austin from Sept 13-15. For more information click here or watch the video below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Deaf Man Attacked in Bar

Police in the UK city of Preston are looking for man who attacked and beat a deaf man at a bar. The attacker became enraged when the deaf man accidentally stepped on his girlfriend's toe, and then failed to respond to the man's shouting. The confrontation took place at the Lane Ends pub in the Ashton section of Preston. Here's an image of the man police are looking for.

The Better Hearing App

A South Korean company called The Good Ear (which is part of a larger company called Earlogic) is now offering an Apple app for free that tests the users hearing. The Better Hearing app also can treat the issue for a one time fee of $4.99 using Threshold Sound Conditioning. It targets the frequencies in which the user has the weakest hearing. The company claims 30 minute daily treatments can improve hearing in just two weeks. Find out more here.

Deaf football players overcome odds

WFLD-TV has a video report on two deaf football players. Watch the story in a video posted on DeafNewsToday.com or read the story here.

MobileSign app

A new British Sign Language app offers the largest BSL lexicon of any app - and it is free. MobileSign was developed by experts from the University of Bristol's Centre for Deaf Studies. The searchable database of more than 4,000 signs. The user selects a word from a predictive word search, then a video of a person signing the selected word is shown on screen. The app is available online or can be added to your mobile device.

Deaf Couple Wants Answers

A San Antinio couple says two off-duty Bexar County Sheriff's deputies handcuffed them and roughed them up as they were shopping at a convenience store. Below on DeafNewsToday.com is a video report from WOPAI-TV with surveillance footage. Or read the story here.

School Protest Broken up by Police

Police were called this morning to break up a protest over the closure of Detroit Day School for the Deaf. Some 50 people came out to the building that housed the school until it closed a few months ago. The building is being used for administrative offices by public school officials. The police were called after protesters started a sit-in. They refused to leave at first, but eventually did.

New DC Housing for the Deaf

A housing development designed for the deaf will be located about two miles northwest of Gallaudet University in the Columbia Heights section of Washington, DC. Dantes Partners says its plans for the 28 unit (eight studio units, 16 one-bedroom units), four two-bedroom units, $11.5 million apartment building include an audio-video entry system, open floor plans, and well-lit spaces, avoiding dark and sharp corners. The firm plans to market the housing to deaf professionals - however, the law related to fair housing requires the units to be available to anyone on a first-come, first-serve basis. Ground-breaking should take place early next year and open for renters to move in about six months later. In the Google map below on DeafNewsToday.com, "A" is Gallaudet and "B" is the location of the new housing.

Switched is Back!

A new episode of Switched at Birth airs tonight on ABC Family. If you've never seen the show before, or just want to get a reminder as to who is who in the cast, here are two videos called The Beginner's Guides to Switched at Birth: Parts One and Two.

Emergency info MUST be captioned on Broadcast Videos

The FCC has issued a notice to video distributors, reminding them of their obligation to make all emergency information accessible to the deaf and hard-of-hearing. The Commission grants no exceptions to this requirement and accepts no excuses, even when it comes to breaking news - even when news reporters are ad libbing and not speaking from a prepared script. This rule covers broadcasters, cable systems and satellite television services - even those located in places away from areas affected by the emergency. Those emergencies include natural disasters such as tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and wildfires, along with man-made disasters such as discharges of toxic gases and industrial explosions. How serious is the FCC about this? One TV station was fined because, during coverage of wildfires, it aired a American Lung Association representative who gave the unsurprising advice that viewers should stay indoors, run their air conditioners with a filter, and avoid exercise. The station’s failure to include a visual presentation of that advice led to a whopping $20,000 fine. The FCC also requires video distributors to give the Commission contact information so that anyone in the audience - and that means you - who sees a problem with closed captioning can reach the video distributer directly to tell them about it. To file a complaint with the FCC about captioning, go here.

Her first word: "mama"

The BBC reports on a UK child whose auditory brainstem implant surgery was a race against time. Read about it here.

Hospital Marks Milestone

Nebraska's WOWT-TV has a video report on the child who received the 500th cochlear implant surgery performed a local hospital. The video is posted on DeafNewsToday.com. Read the story here.

Comedian has no issue with hecklers

Wales comedian Dave Parton is deaf and can't hear hecklers. Read about him here.

A Life of Dedication and Patience.

Read about the dedication of a teacher of the deaf in Wyoming here.

Deaf But Not Quiet

NPR profiles deaf rapper Sean Forbes. Listen or read the story here. You can see Sean's new video, titled Bob Dylan (Was The First Rapper) on DeafNewsToday.com.