Nashville Voice

Dan-el Padilla Peralta, author of the memoir Undocumented: A Dominican Boy’s Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League, will deliver the Hispanic Heritage Month Speaker lecture at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 15, in Sarratt Cinema. This program is free and open to the public.

Peralta, a Princeton University classics professor who identifies as Dominican, immigrated to the United States when he was four years old. The Association of Latin American Students, or ALAS, is sponsoring the event in partnership with many campus organizations.

The lecture is part of the Vanderbilt community’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which began Sept. 15 and ends Oct. 15 and featured a series of events across campus, including celebrations, lectures and visiting speakers. The 30-day period, which is observed nationally, recognizes Hispanic and Latinx histories, cultures and contributions.

Many of the Hispanic Heritage Month programs this year were sponsored by ALAS, a student organization formerly known as Vanderbilt Association of Hispanic Students, recently changed its name to be more inclusive of a broader array of identities, including students with ties to Brazil, Afro-Latinx culture and indigenous populations of the region.

A highlight of Hispanic Heritage Month was a visit by Gabby Rivera.

Rivera is the award-winning writer of Juliet Takes a Breath and the Marvel Comics series America, which features the first queer, Latinx teen-girl superhero.

Latinx, a term often used in lieu of Latino or Latina, is a more inclusive term that encompasses multiple identities, including race, gender and culture.

During her visit, Rivera gave a keynote centered on the importance of empowering diverse voices to tell their own stories and cultivating radical creativity and joy. She also held a meet-and-greet breakfast and led an interactive writer’s workshop with students, faculty and staff.

The Sept. 15 start date for Hispanic Heritage Month coincides with the Independence Day celebrations of five Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

In addition, Mexico and Chile observe their independence on Sept. 16 and 18, respectively.

It was a “Saturday Night Live” GOP locker room party for Brett Kavanaugh after the Senate confirmed his seat on the Supreme Court.

By Holly Yan, Elizabeth Joseph and Darran Simon
CNN Newsource

A limousine carrying several couples to a birthday party failed to stop at an intersection in upstate New York and struck a parked vehicle, killing 20 people in the deadliest transportation accident in the United States in nearly a decade, according to authorities and a family member.

The 2001 Ford Excursion limo was traveling southwest on State Route 30 when it didn’t stop at the intersection with State Route 30 A and collided with an SUV in a parking lot shortly before 2 p.m. Saturday in Schoharie, New York State Police First Deputy Superintendent Chris Fiore said.

All 18 people in the limo, including the driver, were killed, Fiore said Sunday. Two pedestrians near the unoccupied parked 2015 Toyota Highlander also were killed, he said.

Valerie Abeling told CNN her niece, Erin Vertucci and Erin’s husband Shane McGowan, who were married in June, were among the victims in the limo.

“My family is just going through a lot,” Abeling said. “It’s a horrible tragedy and there’s no words to describe how we feel.”

Authorities are still notifying the families of victims and declined to release the victims’ names, according to Fiore.

‘These were young couples’

Abeling said the group was heading to Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown — located about 43 miles away — to celebrate the 30th birthday of Vertucci’s and McGowan’s friend, who got married last month. That friend and her three sisters and their spouses were all killed, Abeling said.

“These were young couples, just got married and had their whole lives ahead of them,” Abeling said.

Vertucci and McGowan “were very much in love,” Abeling said.

“My niece was four years older than him, and she said she found the love of her life,” she said. “He was very sweet and very kind and very funny.”

Fiore said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families following this horrific tragedy.”

He said authorities were able to figure out the direction the limo was traveling and what occurred, based on evidence found at the scene. He said there were witnesses.

Fiore said authorities couldn’t answer several questions at this point, such as whether the limo’s occupants were wearing seat belts, whether the vehicle’s brakes were working or whether the driver was speeding.

The speed limit at the intersection is 50 mph, Fiore said.

‘I heard a loud bang’

A National Transportation Safety Board team arrived Sunday to investigate. The team expects to remain on the scene for about five days, NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt said.

“Twenty fatalities, it’s just horrific,” Sumwalt said. “I’ve been on the board for 12 years and this is one of the biggest losses of life … that we’ve seen in a long, long time. Colgan Air up at Buffalo killed 40 people, 50 people, but this is the most deadly transportation accident in this country since February of 2009.”

The crash happened outside an Apple Barrel Country Store & Cafe. Resident Bridey Finnagen said the crash was loud enough to hear from down the road.

“I heard a loud bang. I came out my front door to see what was going on,” Finnagen told CNN affiliate WTEN.

“I saw a lot of people here at the Apple Barrel out in the parking lot. Then I heard screaming. Then I saw this large van, a very unusual looking vehicle, out here in Schoharie in the bushes and really wrecked, hit a tree.”
State and local authorities respond to the scene about 40 miles west of Albany.

State and local authorities respond to the scene about 40 miles west of Albany.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo praised the first responders who “worked through the night to help.”

“I join all New Yorkers in mourning these deaths and share in the unspeakable sorrow experienced by their families and loved ones during this extremely difficult time.”

CNN’s Madeleine Thompson, Keith Allen, Tony Marco, Tonju Francois and Mimi Hsin Hsuan Sun contributed to this report.

By Eric Bradner, Manu Raju, Phil Mattingly and Dana Bash
CNN Newsource

Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation was suddenly thrown into doubt Friday after Republicans and the White House agreed to a one-week delay so the FBI can investigate sexual assault allegations facing President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.

“I’ve ordered the FBI to conduct a supplemental investigation to update Judge Kavanaugh’s file,” Trump said in a statement. “As the Senate has requested, this update must be limited in scope and completed in less than one week.”

The fast-moving developments Friday mean that the full Senate will not vote early next week, as expected.

Members voted Friday night to formally open consideration of Kavanaugh’s nomination, a procedural move that allows Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to keep his options open.

The delay is the result of a last-minute change of heart by Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, whose stunning move to force an investigation was quickly backed by several senators considered swing votes on Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Flake made the demand for the FBI probe after a chaotic scene at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting in which the panel advanced Kavanaugh by an 11-10 party line vote — saying his vote was conditioned on a probe taking place, and that he would oppose Kavanaugh on the floor of the Senate unless his demand was met.

Swing votes Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin subsequently backed an FBI investigation before they’ll vote to confirm Kavanaugh.

The Judiciary Committee officially requested the FBI investigation, saying it should probe “current credible allegations” against Kavanaugh, and Republicans said it would be up to the FBI to decide what allegations are considered credible.

It was Flake, Collins and Murkowski who set the terms of the investigation, three sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

A separate Republican source familiar with the matter told CNN that the undecided GOP senators believe a key FBI focus should be on, but not limited to, Mark Judge, Kavanaugh’s friend who Christine Blasey Ford has alleged was also in the room during the alleged assault and is also named as a witness to other incidents alleged by Julie Swetnick.

Judge has said he does not recall incidents alleged by Ford or Swetnick. Kavanaugh has denied allegations made by Ford and Swetnick.

The FBI is looking at the accusation of another woman, Deborah Ramirez, who has alleged Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at dormitory party while the two were undergraduate students at Yale.

The FBI has reached out to Ramirez, her attorney said, confirming a report in The Washington Post.

“We can confirm the FBI has reached out to interview Ms. Ramirez and she has agreed to cooperate with their investigation,” the attorney, John Clune, said in a statement. “Out of respect for the integrity of the process, we will have no further comment at this time.”

Kavanaugh has denied Ramirez’s allegation, which was reported by The New Yorker.

“This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen, Kavanaugh said in a statement last Sunday when The New Yorker published the article. “The people who knew me then know this did not happen and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple.”

Separately, on timing, a senior GOP leadership aide told CNN the agreement among the three key Republican senators and GOP leadership was to take the first key procedural vote on the Senate floor on the nomination no later than next Friday. It could happen earlier if the FBI is finished before then.

The expectation is that like other FBI background checks, the results of the FBI’s investigation will be private and put in Kavanaugh’s file and made available to senators but not the public, the aide said.

The tumult came just hours after Kavanaugh appeared to be on solid footing, with Republicans rallying to his side after his denials of Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation in a Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday.
In a statement Friday, Kavanaugh said he would “continue to cooperate” with the FBI.