Bus Stops - September 20

Pasco school bus drivers file grievance over drinking and driving rules (WTSP) 

(Land O'Lakes, Florida - Pasco school bus drivers arrive for their afternoon shift. Nearly everyone has a cold drink in their hand to stay cool while picking up kids from school. Bus drivers are not allowed to drink and eat while "operating" a vehicle. Operating: it's a term Gary Saywer, the district's director of transportation says the district has recently clarified.)

Indian bus crash kills 22: Report (Canada.com) 

(New Delhi - A head-on collision between a bus and a trailer carrying iron rods killed 22 people in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, a report said Monday. "The bus . . . collided with the trailer around 3:30 am, killing 13 people on the spot. The rest succumbed to injuries in hospitals," police superintendent A. V. Minz, said, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI).)

22 bus passengers missing in North Sikkim (Times of India) 

(Twenty-two people, travelling in a bus, went missing since last evening in north Sikkim where the epicentre of the 6.8 magnitude earthquake lay. They were believed to be travelling in a GREF bus which is still to be traced by the rescue teams.)

Man stabbed defending London bus passengers (BBC) 

(A man was stabbed after standing up to a gang abusing a pregnant woman and a pensioner on a bus in east London. The 32-year-old was stabbed in the stomach and leg and punched when he went to the aid of the two women on the number 488 bus on Wednesday morning.)

Bus driver taped sex assaults, police say (Union Leader) 

(A bus driver who transported students throughout the Seacoast in recent years has been charged with sexually assaulting a disabled boy on his bus on two separate occasions, videotaping both incidents, police said. Investigators discovered the videos among a trove of about 10,000 images and movies seized from an external hard drive owned by John Allen Wright, 45, of 52A Charles St. in Milton, N.H.)

BT Tower turned into a giant lightsaber (Ubergizmo) 

(Last week, the BT Tower in London was turned into the biggest lightsaber in the world, to commemorate the release of the Star Wars complete saga on Blu-ray disc. While many fans probably won’t agree with the edits done to the movie (Han shot first, no?), being at the launch event was a whole different story. It featured a guest appearance by Anthony Daniels – the voice of one of the world’s most droids: C-3P0 – who got to press the button that activated the humongous lightsaber.)

John Travolta's vintage Mercedes stolen in Santa Monica (LA Times) 

(After parking his vintage Mercedes Benz 280-SL on a residential street in Santa Monica on Sunday afternoon, John Travolta stopped in at a nearby Jaguar dealership for about 10 minutes. But that's all time it took for a thief to act, Travolta learned when he returned about 3:46 p.m. to find an empty parking spot where he had left the 1970 sports car in the 1400 block of Berkeley Street, said Santa Monica Police Sgt. Richard Lewis.)

PETA to launch porn website to fight animal cruelity (All Headline News) 

(Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is no stranger to controversial and attention-grabbing advertising campaigns featuring naked women. So it may come as no surprise that PETA plans to launch a pornography website in the name of animal rights.)

Pinellas clown the first Lady Gaga? (Clearwater WTSP) 

(Pinellas County, Florida -- She's 81, a volunteer, a writer for her community newsletter, a singer and a clown. Meet Gloria Walz, also known as "Gaga." "It's funny, I think, that we have the same name," she laughed when asked about sharing a name with a music sensation. "I've had it [name] for 24 years." She's been performing as Gaga for as long as Lady Gaga has been alive, so you could say she's the original Lady Gaga. Her friends don't let her forget that... even if they're just clowning around.)

Forget cremations or being buried, how about being liquidised? Funeral home brings in machine which turns dead bodies into 'brown syrup' (Daily Mail) 

(A Florida funeral home has introduced an eerie alternative to burial or cremation - body liquefaction. The stainless steel machine can dissolve a corpse in just under three hours, and the 'brownish, syrupy' liquid is then pumped into the municipal water system. The bones remaining can be ground down and returned to the family, rather like ashes from a cremation.)

Obama brews his own beer at the White House (News Lite) 

(Barack Obama has once again made history -- this time by becoming the first US President to brew his own beer in the White House. Historians say Obama's 'White House Honey Ale' -- which lists honey from Whit House bees as an ingredient -- marks the first time 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has been used as a micro-brewery.)

Mystery boy claims he lived in the forest for years (DW World) 

(A teenager has popped up in Berlin, speaking English, very little German, and claiming he lived in the woods with his father until he was killed two weeks ago. The boy doesn't know his last name or where he's from. Berlin police say they're looking into the story of an English-speaking teenager who showed up at city hall claiming he'd spent the last five years living in the woods with his father.)

Rob Home, Use Toothbrush, Wash Dog, Eat Birthday Cake and Get Caught Because You Left Photos On Camera. OOOPS! (My Fox DC) 

(Authorities in Georgia say three young intruders broke into a home, washed a dog in the bathroom, used a toothbrush and ate some birthday cake in the kitchen before leaving behind a key piece of evidence: pictures of themselves on the homeowner's camera. WSB-TV in Atlanta reports that Roderick Ward says he was gone for 10 days and became suspicious after returning home to find his air conditioner running and his back doors unlocked.)

Butchers targeted by shoplifting gangs (ABC) 

(Police say well-organised gangs of shoplifters are travelling across Tasmania to satisfy a lucrative black market that supplies a highly sought after product - meat. Five shoplifters, who have allegedly stolen more than $1,000 worth of meat each, have been arrested over the past fortnight.)

Breast Slapping – A Thai Beautician’s Alternative to Plastic Surgery (Oddity Central) 

(If you’re serious about making some changes to your appearance but are to afraid to go under the knife, you might want to book a flight to Thailand and give Khemmikka Na Songkhla’s government-approved slapping techniques a try. I know what you’re thinking – yet another breast-enlargement scam, I was inclined to think that as well, but after doing some research on Khemmikka Na Songkhla’s slapping treatments I found the Thai Health Ministry conducted a six-month study on them and acknowledged her technique as a viable alternative to plastic surgery.)

Suspended N.Y. assistant prosecutor doubled as paid fetishist (WTSP) 

(A lawyer for the New York State Attorney General's Office has been suspended after the New York Post inquired about word that she was leading a double life as an S&M dominatrix. Alisha Smith, 36, had been working as a prosecutor by day and as a paid performer for fetish events in her free time, the Post reports it learned from a source active in New York's fetish world.)

No jet lag for 120 donkeys after Hawaii-LA flight (Times Online) 

(Most people have been on a plane with a few jackasses before. But 10 dozen donkeys on one flight? One hundred and twenty donkeys have arrived at a sanctuary in California on a plane from Hawaii chartered by the Humane Society of the United States.Tracy Miller, manager of Peaceful Valley Do nkey Rescue in Tehachapi, said Sunday the donkeys are "none the worse for wear" after the long flight and a two-hour drive Saturday that followed it.)

(BUS DRIVER NOTE: Oh, so THIS they allow on a plane!)

Backgammon game to blame for Phoenix flight diversion (AZ Family) 

(A US Airways flight from New York to Phoenix was diverted to St. Louis Tuesday morning after three passengers acted suspiciously, and it turns out it was all because of a board game. A Transportation Security Administration statement said US Airways flight 457 from New York's JFK International Airport landed at Lambert Field in St. Louis shortly before 6 a.m. Arizona time due to the suspicious behavior of three passengers.)

Customs Tries to Take Aussie Diplomat's Vegemite (NBC Bay Area) 

(Men at Work sang about it, and it's Australia's favorite sandwich spread, but U.S. Customs agents had no idea what Vegemite was when a Down Under diplomat had a jar in his carry on bag. Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd was on his way from Mexico to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly when he was stopped by U.S. Customs and questioned over the sandwich spread, which authorities feared could be a dangerous liquid, according to the Telegraph.)

Suspended N.Y. assistant prosecutor doubled as paid fetishist (WTSP) 

(A lawyer for the New York State Attorney General's Office has been suspended after the New York Post inquired about word that she was leading a double life as an S&M dominatrix. Alisha Smith, 36, had been working as a prosecutor by day and as a paid performer for fetish events in her free time, the Post reports it learned from a source active in New York's fetish world.)

Md. man who faked death gets 7 years in prison (CBS) 

(A Maryland man who faked his death by jumping into the Chesapeake Bay was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison for conspiracy and communicating a false distress signal. Larry Deffenbaugh, who was arrested in Texas last year after his case appeared on the TV show "America's Most Wanted, said his punishment for his May conviction amounted to a death sentence because he's become ill since his arrest and he already faces a 9-year prison sentence in Maryland. He is 60 years old and confined to a wheelchair.)

Man with rubber snake arrested after causing crash, deputies say (WTSP) 

(A 20-year-old man is facing charges after deputies say a practical joke with a fake snake caused two people to crash in York County. According to the Sheriff's Office report, deputies were called to the 1798 West Highway 55 in Clover on Tuesday evening around 6:39 p.m. to help the Highway Patrol with a crash.)

Hunter shoots himself in foot with crossbow, becomes pinned to ATV (TC Palm) 

(Gulf Hammock, Florida -- A Florida man shot himself in the foot with a crossbow while hunting on Sunday night. Florida Fish and Wildlife says 21-year-old John Champion was alone hunting from his ATV at the Fiber Factory Hunt Club in Levy County. Champion, who is a paraplegic, was reportedly cocking his crossbow when he accidentally fired the bolt through his left foot, pinning it to the floor of the ATV.)

Drunk Woman on Lawnmower Howls Like Dog (TC Palm) 

(A woman said to have howled "like a dog" and harassed neighbors was arrested on a disorderly intoxication charge in a situation involving a lawnmower, recently released records show. The case against accused dog howler Merrilee Schwarz, 51, began before 11 p.m. Sept. 14 after complaints that the owners of a home in the 4500 block of Southwest Cacao Street were "riding a lawnmower down the roadway, back and forth," a Port St. Lucie police report states.)

Greeley woman receives friend request from man who stole her phone (Greeley Tribune) 

(A Greeley man accused of breaking into a woman’s home and stealing her cellphone was arrested after he began texting one of her friends with the phone and even sent her a friend request on Facebook. Police said they used the cellphone signal to help track him down. Juan Gonzales Jr., 22,was arrested Wednesday and is being held at the Weld County Jail on second-degree burglary and felony theft charges after a woman reported that she found him standing over her bed at 3 a.m., according to police reports.)

Father and daughter burned in alleged electrical theft (LA Times) 

(A father and his teenage daughter were in critical condition after receiving severe burns during an alleged attempt to steal electricity from high-voltage power lines in Inglewood, a police official said Saturday. L.A. County Fire officials and police responding to an explosion at a power transformer late Friday found the 52-year-old man and his 17-year-old daughter with extensive electric burns, Inglewood Police Lt. Neal Cochran said.)

'BORED' TEEN FACES CHARGES FOR SHOOTING AT COPS (Short List) 

(18-year-old gang-member Malo Dashaunta Gomez wouldn’t be the first teenager to whip out his weapon at the first pang of boredom. But he’s most likely the only one looking at decades in prison for doing so. The Minneapolis-based dufus elected to take pot shots at a squad car with two policemen inside, telling the authorities he did so because he was ‘bored’.)

Hollywood sign neighbors to tourists: Make legal U-turn, go away (LA Times) 

(Tourists who want to experience the real Hollywood might want to make a stop at a Fountain Avenue community room on Tuesday. That's where Hollywood residents and Los Angeles leaders will debate how best to deal with hordes of sightseers who daily clog the narrow hillside streets beneath the Hollywood sign.)

Is Kevin Smith really turning his back on Movies? (iTunes) 

(Find out in the Brand New ep of the Starburst Radio Show Podcast. Click on the September 18th show.)

Red State Finally Hits Cinemas Next Week! (Screen Geek) 

(We are gearing up for the release of Kevin Smith's Red State next week, having been eagerly awaiting the elusive horror all summer. The film has picked up tonnes of early buzz, with the word-of-mouth alone getting us excited about finally seeing the under-fire director's bloody take on right wing religious funadamentalism. Based on the unsettling Westboro Baptist Church, the film concerns three teenage boys who drive out to a remote corner of middle America on a promise of internet-arranged sex. Encountering Abin Cooper, a rabid preacher played by cult icon Michael Parks, the boys are drawn into the middle of a frightening confrontations between his sinister, cult like congregation and John Goodman's FBI team. The film looks like a truly exciting prospect, with the stylish visuals and tangible feeling of dread having us on the edge of our seats throughout the trailer.)

Red State to hit cinemas across the UK & Ireland on September 30th (Film News) 

(From cult writer/director KEVIN SMITH (Clerks; Dogma) comes his tenth film, the hotly anticipated RED STATE, a unique, intense thriller hell bent on leaving audiences feeling uncomfortable, tense and never knowing what’s going to happen next.)

Holy Batman book! Gary’s Dark Knight history (Shields Gazette) 

(HOLY film studies, Batman! When Gary Collinson starting writing movie reviews in his spare time he didn’t think it would lead to much – but not only does he now run a critically acclaimed website, he’s also about to have a book published. The 30-year-old, from Newbury Street, South Shields, has had the green light for Holy Franchise, Batman!, a book about the screen history of the Dark Knight, which will hit bookshop shelves next year.)

Oldman knows Dark Knight Rises ending (RTE Ten) 

(The Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy actor explained that director Christopher Nolan has been so eager to keep details of the project secret that scripts were sent out with pages missing. Oldman told Contactmusic: "Christopher doesn't want anyone to ruin it and I completely understand that. The newer people on the film go to his office to read the script.)

New Batman movie stunts played out on Los Angeles street (RTE Ten) 

(The action sequence, reportedly filmed on Sunday, sees a street in Los Angeles transformed into Gotham in the dead of winter, complete with fake snow. Shot from an adjacent building, the video shows a series of explosions on Grand Avenue as a truck crashes through a barrier and falls onto a subterranean road.)

WHO'S WHO? THE VILLAINS OF "BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY" (Comic Book Resources) 

(There's no question Batman will have his hands full when the long-awaited sequel to his 2009 masterpiece, "Batman: Arkham Asylum" hits stores next month. "Batman: Arkham City" expands the territory the Dark Knight has to cover, a city that's been turned into a prison (following the fall of Arkham) and kept under close observation by a sinister figure who makes his way to Gotham City.)

A chat with Adam West (Xtra.ca)  

(Some may see it as overstatement, but I consider interviewing Adam West sort of like to talking to God. The actor is legendary for having played Batman in the landmark ’60s TV series and 1966 movie, in which he and his trusted sidekick, Robin (Burt Ward), fought a bizarre gaggle of celebrity villains including Cesar Romero, Vincent Price, Milton Berle and Otto Preminger. The crazy show was such an integral part of my childhood and adolescence, I can’t imagine I’d be the same person had I been deprived of it.)

Batwoman Is the Black, Gay Sheep Of Batman’s Comic Family (Death and Taxes Mag) 

(On a superficial level, the DC Comics character Batwoman appears to be just as her name implies: a female version of Batman. And, yes, in many ways Batwoman’s origin story mirrors that that of Dark Knight. Like Bruce Wayne, Batwoman’s alter ego, Kate Kane, is a wealthy heiress and, as with Wayne and various other members of the extended Bat family, Kane turns to crime fighting in part because of a family member’s murder, in this case her mother and — maybe — her sister.)

Nasa: 'Dino-Killer Asteroid Not The Culprit' (Odd News) 

(Nasa believe the Baptistina asteroids did not kill the dinosaurs.
While scientists are confident a large asteroid did crash into Earth 65 million years ago, it now appears likely the original suspect, the Baptistina asteroid, was not to blame.)

Pet parrots, such as cockatoos, that are let loose in the wild are teaching native birds to talk (Australian Telegraph) 

(NO NEED TO THINK you're going bird-brained if you hear mysterious voices from the trees - it's likely just a curious cockatoo wanting a chat. Native parrots, especially cockatoos, seem to be learning the art of conversation from their previously domesticated friends. The Australian Museum's Search and Discover desk, which offers a free service to identify species, has received numerous reports of encounters with talkative birds in the wild from mystified citizens who thought they were hearing voices.)

Video games may not boost cognition (DC 101) 

(U.S. researchers say several influential studies showing action gamers' skills are superior to those of non-gamers suffer from a host of methodological flaws.
Walter Boot, an assistant professor at Florida State University, and Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois, and colleagues say many of the studies compared the cognitive skills of frequent gamers to non-gamers and found gamers to be superior.)

China Clones Sichuan Earthquake 'Hero' Pig (Sky News) 

(A pig who survived more than a month buried under rubble after the 2008 earthquake in China's Sichuan province has been successfully cloned, according to reports. A pig who survived more than a month buried under rubble after the 2008 earthquake in China's Sichuan province has been successfully cloned, according to reports.)

Is your teenager a pain? Sorry but they are born to be difficult and take risks with drinking and sex, parents are told (Daily Mail) 

(Being stroppy and breaking rules are inevitable parts of teenage behaviour, parents have been told. So they should stop condemning their offspring’s difficult behaviour and accept it as a necessary part of human development, researchers add.
Teenagers are more likely to take risks and are naturally inclined to heightened aggression, casual sex and binge-drinking, according to the American study.)

Orange peels could be made into biodegradable plastic (MNN) 

(Scientists have discovered a novel new way of using microwaves to turn orange peels and other plant-based waste into plastic. Plastic waste makes for one of the worst forms of trash because it takes so long to degrade, thus overflowing our landfills and polluting our oceans and waterways. But what if we could make plastic from a recycled, natural, biodegradable source?)

Gears of War 3: Gears of more (CNET) 

(Next to Halo, the Gears of War series is the most popular Xbox 360 exclusive title. Following in the footsteps of the 2006 original and its 2008 sequel, the inevitable Gears of War 3 is finally here. The third-person "duck and cover" shooter doles another healthy heaping of single and multiplayer chainsaw and machine gun ultraviolent action, as supersolider Marcus Fenix and his COG army are once again fighting to rid planet Sera of the murderous Locust Horde.)

Ex-Nasa Experts Create High-Tech Tricycle (Sky News) 

(Former Nasa scientists who lost their jobs when the space shuttle operation ended have teamed up to create a high-tech tricycle. The winding up of the shuttle programme left many top-level engineers out of work - but it seems their expertise is not going to waste. This design project has resulted in a futuristic tricycle - and this time the vehicle is for use on Earth rather than up in space.)

Google Wallet opens for business (CNET) 

(Google Wallet, which will allow people to tap or swipe their phones to pay for things, officially launches today on its first smartphone, the Samsung Nexus S offered on Sprint Nextel.While several other companies, including credit card giants Visa and American Express, as well as mobile wireless carriers, have also announced plans to launch their own digital wallets, Google is the first to take its digital wallet to market.)

No One Knows What 'Hooking Up' Entails — Not Even Those Who Are Doing It (Time) 

(NewsFeed is sure that we can all agree that college students are hooking up. Now if we could only figure out what that means.
Don't expect co-eds to help clarify the situation, either. A new study has examined the modern lingo often used by college students to describe a sexual encounter, and found that while 94% of the study's sample knew and used the phrase "hooking up," its definition is more a little hazy.)

Fueled by Growing Painkiller Use, Overdose Deaths and Child Poisonings Are on the Rise (Time) 

(Drug overdose has now overtaken automobile crashes as the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., according to an analysis of government data. This is the first time that drugs have killed more people than car wrecks since the government began tracking drug-related fatalities in 1979. The increase in drug deaths can be ascribed largely to a surge in overdoses involving prescription painkillers. According to a separate analysis, that same increase in prescription drug use by adults may also be fueling a related trend in children under 5: from 2001 to 2008, accidental drug poisonings of young children increased 22%.)

D.C. Public Schools Put Sex Education to the Test (Time) 

(Controversy over standardized testing has popped up again in Washington. But this time it's the subject matter that has been called into question. Beginning in April, D.C. public and public charter schools will administer the nation's first statewide test on human sexuality, health and drug use, the Washington Post reports.)

U.S. Staging 40 Night Raids in Afghanistan Every Night (Time) 

(Counter-insurgency is so 2007. Everybody knows that Republicans and Democrats have quietly agreed that flooding some dusty foreign land with U.S. troops is too expensive, and we can't stomach the casualties any longer.)

Blacks and Whites Intermarrying More in the U.S. (Time) 

(We have yet to arrive in a postracial America, but a new study finds evidence that racial barriers are coming down: between 1980 and 2008, the rate of interracial marriage between blacks and whites increased rapidly, even outpacing marriage between whites and other ethnic groups, including Asians, Hispanics and American Indians.)

Gordon Ramsay’s Badger-Eaten Porn Dwarf: Just a Myth? (Gawker) 

(Looks like our skepticism regarding Percy Foster—the 35-year-old dwarf, Gordon Ramsay look-a-like, and porn star whose murder by hungry Welsh badgers captivated the world/Internet—was well-founded: Foster seems to be a made-up man, as mythical as the Gordon Ramsay look-a-like unicorn and the Gordon Ramsay look-a-like minotaur.)

Scarlett Johansson Pictures Alleged Hacker Tweets Response (Gather) 

(Monday the Scarlett Johansson pictures alleged hacker took to Twitter with a bold response. Basically, "Hollywood Leaks" (HL) tweeted for the public to just back off, as it did not release nude pictures of ScarJo. As the buzz around the posting of naked Scarlett Johansson pics swirled around the Internet, the supposed ring leader of the stolen photographs surfaced to defend itself against the leak.)

Ashton Kutcher joined 'Two and a Half Men' as Charlie Sheen was roasted into ashes: A review (Entertainment Weekly) 

(An absent Charlie Sheen stole the ninth-season premiere of Two and a Half Men from Ashton Kutcher without showing up. Much of the half hour was taken up with Charlie Harper jokes. He’d died in France, hit by a train; the early line “his body exploded like a balloon full of meat,” crafted by four writers including Chuck Lorre, made sure there was scant sentimentality over Charlie’s departure — Harper or Sheen. Kutcher made his entrance as the setup to an old sitcom standby, the someone-spilling-cremated-ashes joke. The spilling was done by Jon Cryer’s Alan, surprised at seeing a soaking-wet Walden Schmidt (Kutcher) appearing at the Malibu house window.)

Murdoch close to payout to hacking victim's family (AP) 

(Rupert Murdoch's company said Monday that it is in advanced compensation talks with the family of a murdered teenager whose phone was hacked by the now-defunct News of the World tabloid. News International, Murdoch's British newspaper division, said it hoped to reach agreement soon with the family of 13-year-old Milly Dowler, whose voicemail messages were accessed by scoop-seeking journalists after she disappeared in 2002. She was later found murdered.)

Apple is hiring security staff to protect against counterfeiting and theft (Inquirer) 

(CONSUMER ELECTRONICS GIANT Apple is hiring additional security staff to help protect it from counterfeiting and theft, following yet another incident of a lost Iphone prototype. The company is looking for two managers to bump up its "new product security", according to the Associated Press, joining an already tight security programme that includes personnel who used to work for the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.)