Competing at Wimbledon

A deaf teenager from South Korea competed this weekend in Wimbledon junior boys division. Lee-Duck Hee who is 15 year old, was beaten in the first round yesterday by Christian Garin in three sets. Hee is still alive in the boys doubles. He told interviewers, "Through my eyes I’ve got the instinct and can get the sound of the opponent." The right-hander is ranked 930th in singles and 1283 in doubles. He has won a series of junior titles and earned his first ATP ranking point in April. He got the attention of the tennis world when he was eight years of age. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played an exhibition in Korea. Hee was invited to watch and ended up sparing with the two players on the court. Read Hee's Wimbledon profile here. Below is a short video of Hee in action this year.

State to Open D&B Center

John Mizuno

Hawaii's Governor signs bill for new center 

Hawaii's governor has signed a bill that will spend $400,000 on a deaf and blind service center. Sponsor John Mizuno says the new center will solve an on-going problem for deaf and blind residents--the creation of a centralized place to meet and share resources to replace locations that are scattered. The center will offer vocational and financial advice, counseling and audiologists.

Rally against cuts in Hawaii

Hawaii's the deaf and the hard of hearing are trying to stop state plans to cut living assistance and interpreter referral services. They rallied at the state capital yesterday. Here's a video report from KITV or read the story here.

TV reporter's daughter get implant

A traffic reporter at KTVK-TV in Phoenix tells about her daughter's cochlear implant surgery in the video below. No captions but you can read the story here.

“Music’s Hottest ASL Interpreter”

A week ago we showed you the video of an interpreter at a Wu-Tang Clan hip-hop concert at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Tennessee that went viral. The clip of Holly Maniatty was even shown on Jimmy Kimmel Live and it has led to many interviews. An entertainment website called 32-year-old NTID grad “Music’s Hottest ASL Interpreter.” Now, Salon is offering some insight into what motivates her. Read the article here or watch the video below of her interpreting at the concert.

American School For The Deaf Graduation

Learn about the 31 students who graduated from the Connecticut school yesterday in an article posted here
.

Helen Keller Fest

The annual Helen Keller Festival starts today (June 26) in Tuscumbia, Alabama and continues through Sunday (June 30). There will music, exhibits, vendors and a stage presentation of The Miracle WorkerFind out more here.

Ruling on what GA must do for deaf

The state of Georgia must make changes to provide equal access to the deaf. That's the order a federal judge just issued--giving the state five years to get in compliance. Among the requirements: Set up an Office of Deaf Services with a full-time director and staff six regional offices to assist the deaf in locations near their homes. We told you a year ago about the judge's finding that the state was in violation of ADA law related to how it was treating developmentally disabled individuals who are deaf (you can read the story here). Both sides in the controversy couldn't come to terms so the judge appointed someone to monitor the situation and he says this ruling is based on the information gathered by the monitor.

Honoring a Deaf Pro Ballplayer

The life of a deaf major league pitcher will be celebrated this Thursday (June 27) in Kansas. KTKA-TV has a video report on the event honoring Luther Taylor posted below. No captions, but you can read the story here.

Helen Keller Fest

The Helen Keller Festival that takes place annually in Tuscumbia, Alabama begins tomorrow (June 26) and runs through Sunday (June 30). Find out more here.

Bloomberg Terp talks ASL

Interpreter Lydia Callis explains why sign language is so important to her in the video posted below. She became known around the country after she interpreted for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg during the city's trouble with Superstorm Sandy.

Online Course Accommodations

Not making online course material accessible to all students is a violation of ADA law. That's the message to schools contained in a letter from the Department of Education and Department of Justice in 2010. Now, college lawyers are emphasizing the need to take action immediately because
inaccessible education technology violates the Act. Colleges have faced a number of discrimination lawsuits since then, because of the lack of specifics. Some of these lawsuits did not involve courses but challenged the fact that prospective students couldn't even access enrollment applications for online classes. A federal study conducted in 201, which you can read here, found that some new technology places "unintended and nearly impenetrable barriers" to disabled college students.  At the annual meeting of the National Association of College and University Attorneys last week in Philadelphia, attorneys were encouraged to get rid of barriers to accessibility soon than later. It's just a matter of time before the Office for Civil Rights tightens the rules on compliance, according to L. Scott Lissner president of the national Association on Higher Education and Disability and the American Disabilities Act coordinator at Ohio State University. He told the audience that instructors themselves should be working to design courses that are equally accessible to all students. If schools wait until students self-identify, it will likely be too late to redesign online courses, Lissner advised.

 

Women's Hoops Camp

The 2nd annual National Deaf Girls Basketball Camp takes place at the Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick, Maryland starting Wednesday (June 26). It runs through Sunday (June 30). The camp is open to high school girls’ basketball players and coaches. The cost of the camp is $200. The Gallaudet University women’s basketball program will be taking part this year.

Deaf-Blind Awareness Week

The UK’s Deaf-Blind Awareness Week begins today (June 24).

Brainstem implants

We've told about the first US auditory brainstem implant in a child. Here is a CBS news interview with a New York specialist explaining how it works (captions available).

More on 1st US child to get stem Implant

WBTV-TV in Charlotte has a video report about the local three-year-old who has got his brain stem plant turned on--the first child in the US to get one (captions included).

WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC

NC boy gets first brain stem implant turned on

Last month, we told you about the first child in the U.S. to receive an auditory brain stem implant - Grayson Clamp. The three year old just had his implant turned on, which you can watch in the video below. The surgery is designed to help children born without cochlea or without certain cochlear nerves. The only two places conducting the FDA trials for the procedure are the University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill and the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles. Len and Nicole Clamp adopted Grayson as a newborn after he was placed in foster care. Grayson has Charge syndrome, which can cause multiple health problems.

Video of Terp at Rap Show Goes Viral

The ASL interpreter At Wu-Tang Clan's Bonnaroo appearance a week ago today is getting lots of props for her work at the Tennessee music festival. You can see Holly in the video posted below and a Vine below that. Music news website Stereogum put her on its list of the "9 best things at Bonnaroo" this year. If anyone has more info about Holly, let us know.

FCC updates its Captioning Order

The FCC is clarifying its order from last year about captions. The FCC's Report and Order of 2012 came in response to Congress's 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, which directed the FCC to establish how and when video programming must be captioned. The rules describe captioning requirements for video owners, providers, and distributors, a compliance schedule, complaint rules; and requirements for manufacturers of devices that are used to view the video programming. These devices have a compliance deadline of January 1, 2014. But now, the Commission says the deadline applies to the manufacture of the devices and not to their "shipment or sale” dates.

The Commission also said the closed captioning rules do not apply to devices “primarily designed for activities other than receiving or playing back video programming transmitted simultaneously with sound.” This would include “digital still cameras, digital video cameras, baby monitors, security cameras, [and] digital video camera microscopes." The FCC says it will decide whether a device has to be able to provide captions based on its purpose--is the display of video programming a primary function of the device or an incidental one?

The FCC also says it is trying to decide whether to put a burden on manufacturers, saying they must ensure their devices will work with closed captioning. In the original order, the Commission say the requirements were on the distributors and programmers. You can read this recent FCC order here.

Conan's 1st Deaf Guest

The first deaf guest appeared on Conan one year ago today (June 19). It was Ashley Fiolek who is a two-time women's Moto X Super X gold medalist. Her father served as her interpreter during the Conan interview. After practicing in the green room, Ashley said to her dad, "You have fun, too." A video of her appearance on Conan is posted below.

New Mexico services for children

A look at Albuquerque's Presbyterian Ear Institute, it's work with cochlear implants and its oral school on KOB-TV's morning show in the video posted below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Molly is Passionate about Deaf Ed!

It all started one summer when Molly was working as a lifeguard and swim instructor. She overheard her boss and a mother who wanted to enroll her son in swimming lessons. The boy, standing at his mother’s side with hopeful eyes, waited patiently as she explained that her son would need a little extra help in the pool because he used only sign language to communicate. They were about to be turned away, but Molly chimed in, “I’ll do it!” That day was a turning point for her. Find out more about Molly's story here.

Dozens Fired from Canadian Schools

Deaf educators in Ontario are up in arms over the layoff of 56 workers from Ontario’s Provincial Schools. Full-time social workers, residence counsellors, maintenance workers and support staff are being forced out while part-time workers are expected to make up the slack. Reaction from Ontario's Public Service Employees Union here, , a video from a hearing mom with a student in the system below (text included), and a deaf man below that (no captions for non-ASL viewers).

Report: "Legal Rights of Deaf Discouraging in Iceland"

You'll be surprised to find out how the rights of the deaf are limited in Iceland, compared to other Scandinavian countries. Read more here.

Report: Deaf Man Refused Citizenship for being Deaf

Canada has refused to allow a Russian painter to immigrate because he is deaf. Dmitri Smirnov was unable to pass the verbal language test--although he performed well on the test when allowed to answer in American Sign Language. Smirnov has been working as a commercial and residential painter but his work permit was expiring soon, so he applied last year to stay in Canada as a permanent resident. When an immigration officer refused his application in November, Smirnov appealed to the Federal Court of Canada, arguing the rules requiring the test be taken verbally discriminate against the deaf, but the court turned him away. The Canadian Hearing Society's Chris Kenopic says he is shocked by the decision and is quoted by the National Post as saying, “The federal government is not recognizing sign language as a means of communication." Before coming to Canada seven years ago, Smirnov lived in the U.S. where he learned ASL. Read a detailed review of the case here.

Summer Camps get big Donation

NTID is getting $55k from Honda charitable arm. The donation from the American Honda Foundation will go to support the National Technical Institute for the Deaf's summer camps for 7th, 8th and 9th graders who are deaf or hard of hearing. The TechGirlz and TechBoyz programs run for six days and focus on students who are interested in science, technology, engineering and math. There are 65 campers signed up for this summer's program from July 28 to August 2. Read more about the TechBoyz events here and the TechGirlz events here.

GA Bball Camp Opens

The 34th annual Mike Glenn basketball camp starts tomorrow. Find out more here.

Cyclist Makes it to Washington State

Jacob Landis is making a bike ride of more than 10,500 miles to raise money for children who need cochlear implants. The 24-year-old has implants himself that he received at the age of ten. He started in Maryland and now is in Spokane. You can find out what unique thing he's doing on the way in a post where we first told you about his journey here.

When educating a deaf five-year-old meant sending him 868 miles from home

In honor of father's day, essayist Bob Brody writes about his father in a post on the Atlantic. He writes in part:

Bob Brody's Dad

Ultimately, then, my father learned to make do with his hearing loss. He never told me what those years away from his parents and two sisters felt like. He left me to imagine how lonely he must have felt, how homesick and abandoned, almost orphaned. Indeed, he never spoke a word against his parents about having been a five-year-old boy sent 800 miles away for 10 years. He felt nothing but gratitude for getting the opportunity to better himself.

Read more here.

Daniel Radcliffe joins BSL campaign

Actor Daniel Radcliffe is offering his support for a sign language awareness campaign in the UK. It started today (Friday). He supports the Life & Deaf Association's Sign Good Morning campaign. Find out more here.  Below is a video from the effort.

BSL students at Remark! from Life & Deaf on Vimeo.

CoCo's Letter to the airline

We told you earlier today about the trouble a deaf-blind Canadian woman had during a recent flight. She detailed what she went through in a letter here.  The Airline disputes her account of what happened. CTV offers those details in an article here.

CoCo: "How Air Canada Mistreated Me"

Here's a video of Coco Roschaert explaining in ASL what happened when she was kicked off a flight a week ago (no transcript). There's more on the story here.

Woman Kicked of Flight for being Deaf-Blind

A Deaf-blind motivational speaker says her rights were trampled by Air Canada during a recent flight. 'Coco' Roschaert is filing a formal complaint after what happened to her in Ottawa. Watch a video about her ordeal or read the story here.

Strong Deaf

Lynn McElfresh

Lynn McElfresh has written a new book for young readers called Strong Deaf.  The unique aspect of this book is that it is partly written from the perspective of a deaf girl. Her American Sign Language is translated into English exactly as she expresses herself. In the book, her sister is the only hearing person in her family. McElfresh wrote Strong Deaf out of her own experiences. She grew up with a deaf sister herself.  You can listen to an interview she did with a public radio station here (no transcription) or read more about the book on her web site here.

Accused Sexual Abuser in Court

A former dorm aide at the Maryland School for the Deaf is due in court this morning. The hearing for Clarence Taylor is about charges he inappropriately touched girls when they were students. Several girls came forward at the end of last year. They are now ages 15 and 16 but the alleged assaults took place between 2008 and 2010, when the girls were between the ages of 10 and 13. In January, four more girls said they had been sexually abused by Taylor, who now faces seven counts of sexual abuse of a minor. He worked the evening shift at the Columbia school.

Research supports Bilingual education

Children who learn sign from birth are more successful at learning language than those who are exposed to it later, according to Australian researchers. Dr Adam Schembri, Director of the National Institute for Deaf Studies and Sign Language at La Trobe University says that finding held true even when hearing aids and cochlear implants were involved. A press release from the school quotes him as saying:

Bilingual education is the best way of ensuring that deaf children have early exposure to both a signed language and a spoken/written language, which will provide the deaf child with the best chance for successful language acquisition, in either or both languages. We know that bilingualism comes with a range of cognitive benefits, so we would advocate early bilingualism in both signed and spoken language for all deaf children.

The study was a joint effort by the La Trobe University and University College London and published in the journal Cognition. Read the press release here.

Researcher claims breakthrough: capturing voices without a mic

Scientists say they have figured out how to decipher a person’s words without relying on a microphone. Rather than lip-reading, a conversation can be understood using a high-speed camera zoomed in on the throat, according to researchers at Waseda University in Tokyo. Yasuhiro Oikawa, who reported his findings at the International Congress on Acoustics earlier this month, said by snapping 10,000 frames per second (a movie projected is typically set at 24) he was able to record every movement that accompanied the sound coming out of a person’s voice box. A computer program then translates these vibrations into sound waves. This goes beyond a transcript of the speaker's word to the subtle inferences in intonation, pitch and volume. This process also has the advantage of weeding out the type of background noise that accompanies microphones.

New Boss at Deaf Center doesn't sign well

The Vermont Association of the Deaf is not happy with who's been hired to lead the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing which is headquartered at Brattleboro's Austine school for the Deaf. The advocacy group says William Gurney, the new president and CEO, is not deaf and doesn't know sign language. He's presently an associate superintendent in the Keene School District of New Hampshire. Mary Essex of the Vermont Association of the Deaf says the entire process of hiring Gurney was flawed. She wrote in a letter to the Board of Trustees:

"VCDHH has so many resources and is capable of being a strong asset to the state of Vermont. We seek to collaborate our resources and work together as a team to improve the quality of life for all deaf and hard of hearing Vermonters."

Essex says parents of students and alumni were not told of the change. Gurney is taking over for Bert Carter, who is moving to the Willie Ross School in Massachusetts. The school has hired an ASL teacher for Gurney.

A Peek inside the Deaf Lounge

Lsat week we told you about the bar where you can order in sign language-the Deaf Lounge in North London that just opened--which you can read about here Below is a peek inside the new club.

Deaf Woman on Trial for Prostitution

Prosecutors say a Texas woman was caught by an undercover police officer trying to offer sex for money. KIII-TV has a video report on the story (no captions).

KiiiTV3.com South Texas, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend

Protest at Connecticut School

A protest took place at the American School for the Deaf this morning. The Connecticut school is making changes that some alumni don't care for. Several dozen of them picketed on the sidewalk in front of the school, carrying signs like "ASD Not For Sale." The focus of their concern is Gallaudet Hall, which is slated to be torn down soon. Some of the property is being sold while two other buildings are up for sale as well. The protesters say the alumi were not told about the changes--something the school denies. Even though American is the oldest deaf school in the country, it was actually founded in the city of Hartford in 1817. It moved a few years later to West Hartford and in 1921 Gallaudet Hall became the symbol of the school. The state approved the demolition and land sale in April and a new building is supposed to be open this fall. The protesters say they'll be back tomorrow.

Survey Identifies Barriers to Deaf Ed

There are fives significant barriers to K-12 deaf education, according to a new study out of Gallaudet University. The Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, housed at the Washington, DC school, went through 1400 comments from 775 people, most of whom work or live with with deaf and hard of hearing children. The Critical Needs of Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: A Public Input Summary contains analysis and statistics that educators, academic researchers, service providers, grant seekers, and policymakers can use to gain insight into "the wide and diverse range of perspectives regarding the needs of deaf and hard of hearing children, their families, and the professionals who work with them across the nation,” according to Dr. Christen Szymanski, who led the led the data analysis and is director of Research and Evaluation at the Clerc Center. Here are the barriers identified in the survey:

1. Knowledge and education of caregivers, professionals, and the general public
2. Collaborative efforts
3. Qualified professionals and services
4. Meeting the needs of the student within the school system
5. The child’s self-development

Switched Returns!

The Switched at Birth summer premiere is this Monday (June 10). The one-hour cable network show has been a surprise hit for ABC Family. The stories revolve around two teenagers who were accidentally switched in the hospital and grew up with wrong family. One of the teens is deaf. ABC Family says it is "the first mainstream television series to have multiple deaf and hard-of-hearing series regulars." Some scenes are shot entirely in ASL and one recent episode was "all ASL." Here's a short video promo for the show and a video that explains the premise behind the show.

More on Cali Graduation

We shared a video from the California School for the Deaf at Riverside yesterday. If you want to find out more about the 61 graduates, including valedictorian Dominique Yeboah, click here.

Graduation in MA

The Willie Ross School for the Deaf in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, held its graduation ceremony Friday night. Here's a short video report from WWLP-TV (captioning available).

Graduation at Willie Ross School

Bilingual Education in Central India

Deaf Can Foundation in Bhopal, India will hold a deaf bilingual education gathering in two weeks (June 22 and 23). Here is a video about the event.

Thesis on Deaf Culture wins Award

A masters student at Cal State Fullerton has won an award for his thesis titled Lend Me Your Eyes: Attending to Deaf Culture and the Maneuverability of Identity. The award committee called Ian Barraza's work “excellent, lucid, interesting, well-written and exceptionally well-researched.” For his effort, Barraza will receive the Giles T. Brown Outstanding Thesis Award which is named in honor of Giles T. Brown, associate vice president emeritus for academic programs and graduate studies, professor emeritus of history and recipient of the university’s Outstanding Professor Award. Here's a video from a few years back of Barraza when he was first learning to sign.

New Leader at State Deaf School

Joel Coleman

The Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind have a new superintendent. State Board of Education member Joel Coleman will resign that position next month so that he can take over leadership at the schools which have about 1700 students attending at three campuses. Coleman will make $130,000 a year. He's taking over for the retiring superintendent, Steve Noyce. The board decided not to reappoint Noyce but has not said why. Noyce was criticized by some parents when he started four years ago for being overly focused on spoken language over sign, something Noyce denied.

 The board voted unanimously for Coleman today to take the helm, who has a master's degree from Brigham Young and teaches in the Mormon seminary program. Members also considered the Utah director of Title I, Karl Wilson, who was once the state director of special education. The third candidate was executive director of the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and Center for Community and Professional Services, Larry Taub.

ASL caught in video from Cali School Graduation

One of the students from the California School for the Deaf at Riverside offered an effusive interpretation of the National Anthem at the school's graduation ceremonies today (June 7). Watch a video of student Maela Corley-Gamble below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Judge Rules in favor of Deaf Inmates

Deaf California prison inmates must get access to sign language interpreters when they are put in solitary confinement, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken says the ADA rights of deaf prisoners are being violated. She said the state is also violating section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. In 2001, a state plan to deal with the issue was put in place, but over the years, various courts have said California corrections officials have not hired enough interpreters to provide for the needs of prisoners. In her ruling, the Northern District of California judge wrote:

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken 

Plaintiffs also have offered declarations from deaf prisoners who have been in administrative segregation, who felt depressed and who wanted or attempted to hurt themselves. They said that they wanted to tell the mental health staff about their feelings but could not communicate with them. To the extent that Defendants argue that deaf prisoners were not harmed because none have actually succeeded at committing suicide since this policy was implemented, the court need not wait until a death to require compliance with its orders. The court already found in the 2007 order that Defendants had consistently and systematically denied sign language interpreters to deaf prisoners, including to suicidal prisoners, causing them significant harm.

Wilken warned corrections officials that she wants to see the problem quickly addressed.

Michigan Seniors

Graduating students at the Michigan School for the Deaf celebrated Thursday at their commencement ceremony. Watch a slideshow here.

How Hearing Works

Pressure waves enter the ears through the curved and lobed pinna (everyone's is different like fingerprints). It gauges the vertical contours of an incoming wave to figure out the distance of the sound. The displaced air molecules move through the ear canal and across the membranous ear drum. The vibrations wiggle three tiny bones in the middle ear. They amplify the wave’s energy as it goes into the shell of the inner ear. The wave is then turned into electrical signals by pulsing arrays of hair cells.

Graduation performance at Deaf School

Here's a taste of what went on today at the Delaware School for the Deaf as the class of 2013 celebrated getting their diplomas.

Students join with Boston Orchestra

Students from Boston's Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing performed with the Boston Landmarks Orchestra at the Strand Theatre last week. More than one thousand students from other schools saw the Mann students perform ASL poetry to reflect the emotions represented in the orchestra's music.

Family battles insurance company

Parents of a newborn in Tustin, California have started an online petition to get out the work about their child's hearing loss. The couple's insurance company is balking at paying for the child to get cochlear implants. Here's a video report from KTLA-TV. No captions but you can read the story here in the UK's Daily Mail.

Deaf actress in new film The East

Here's a video of deaf actress Hillary Baack on the red carpet at the premiere of the new film The East, an Ecoterrorism Thriller. She talks about her role as Eve in this video.

Arrested Development Captioning

Fans of the revived TV show Arrested Development will find extra jokes hidden in the subtitles. In addition to hinting at certain plot connections, the subtitles also play on certain recurring jokes, or hint at jokes outside of the show. Read the story here.

Woman beaten by Police

A woman with hearing loss says police beat her for not responding to their verbal orders--orders she couldn't hear. The altercation took place last week in Federal Way, Washington and it left Megan Graham visibly bruised. Graham claims she was just driving to her apartment and didn't hear an officer who was sitting in the parking lot tell her to get back in the car. When he got out and grabbed her wrist, she felt attacked. She called 911 for help. During the call she said:

"You attacked me before you said anything! There is no point whatsoever for you to touch me like that, especially with my condition, so how dare you even touch me?"

The officer can be heard saying, "You are under arrest" while another who punches her in the face, yells at her to stop resisting. She can be heard saying "I'm not resisting!" Local police tell a different story. They say she took a fighting stance and tried to hit the officer with her fist before he took her down. Graham is due in court Monday morning (June 10).

Sign Languages Around the Globe

There are more than 200 different sign languages being used in the world and some 70 million people worldwide communicating with sign language, according to Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Wisconsin Support group

A Green Bay non-profit called Hand-N-Hand serves some 50 families across Northeast Wisconsin affected by hearing loss. WLUK-TV files this video report (captions available).

Help for children with hearing loss

Teacher Gets Award

A teacher at the New Mexico School for the Deaf is being honored for her work. The school and Partners in Education honored Kimberly Hand with a Teachers Who Inspire award yesterday. Read more about why she won it here.

Beethoven

Composer Ludwig van Beethoven was angered by his growing deafness. Even so, some of his most inspired works were written when he could no longer hear. He cut the legs off a piano and composed on the floor to feel the instrument's vibration. At his death in 1827, his last words reportedly were "I shall hear in heaven."

Order in Sign Language at this Bar

London's Deaf Lounge

A unique bar opened this past weekend in North London. At the Deaf Lounge, everyone knows sign language. That includes all the bartenders, the security guard and even the DJ is partially deaf. Although hearing patrons are welcome as well, the owners wanted a place where BSL users would feel comfortable. Unlike most bars, the lighting is bright to help with signing. Paper and pens can be found throughout the Deaf Lounge for writing messages. There's a flashing light fire alarm and posted signs are in BSL and English. Paul Cripps, deaf since birth, is co-owner along with Domani Peir, who is not deaf. Cripps and Peir plan to start salsa, zumba and DJ workshops where deaf people will be taught to read beats and play instruments. The bar's Facebook page is here.

Taylor Swift Caption Fail

YouTube’s automatic closed captioning doesn't always get it right. In fact, it can be so far off that it makes for good comedy. The Internet comedy duo Rhett and Link just uploaded a video where they sing the failed captioning for Taylor Swift’s I Knew You Were Trouble. It's posted below on DeafNewsToday.com.

Andrew Solomon on Deaf Culture

A TED talk in which Andrew Solomon talks about "plunging into the deaf world" (closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages here).

Deaf Fest in Rochester

The 5th Annual Rochester Deaf Festival 2013 takes place this Saturday (June 8) in Rochester, New York at Genesee Valley Park. For more info click here.

Dogs for the Deaf in Oregon

Switched at Birth star Ryan Lane and his hearing assistance dog, Zero, were grand marshals at yesterday's 22nd Annual Dog Walk in Jacksonville, Oregon. It raised money for Southern Oregon's Dogs for the Deaf. KOBI-TV has this video report.

Events this weekend

The Greater St Louis Association of the Deaf meets this weekend in Maryland Heights, Missouri while the Mississippi Association of the Deaf Conference takes place in Pearl, Mississippi.

Man Who Allegedly Tried to Kill Four Deaf People Will go to Trial

A Pennsylvania man will go on trial for allegedly setting a house on fire while four deaf people slept inside. Joe Shuman waived his right to a Preliminary Hearing yesterday. WBRE-TV has a video report here.