Building scaffolding collapses on New York bus (Reuters)
(Eighteen people suffered minor injuries when scaffolding at a building under demolition in Harlem collapsed onto a New York City bus on Tuesday. The New York City Fire Department could not confirm the location of each of the 18 injured at the time of the collapse. They were taken to nearby hospitals.)
Pakistani Shia pilgrims killed in gun attack on bus (BBC)
(At least 26 Shia Muslim pilgrims have been killed by a group of gunmen who opened fire on a bus in western Pakistan, officials said. The pilgrims had been travelling through Mastung in Balochistan province on their way to the Iranian border when the attack happened.)
No water for Pasco school bus drivers (My Fox Tampa)
(More than 400 Pasco County school bus drivers say a new rule is unfair and unsafe. Now their union, The United School Employees of Pasco, has filed an official grievance. The drivers are upset about a rule they say prohibits them from drinking water while they are behind the wheel.)
Cross-Dressing Gang Terrorizes Florida in Search of Drag Queen Essentials (Gawker)
(A marauding gang of cross-dressing bandits stand accused of stealing "thousands of dollars of filmy fabrics, sequins, feather boas and other accessories" from stores across Florida. This loathsome act of scrunchie-jacking larceny has produced some of the best eyewitness quotes from any single news story in recent memory. Orlando Sentinel, you are the best.)
Toddler fired shotgun during mom's drug deal (AjC)
(Prospective drug dealers, take note: When setting up a score, it’s a bad idea to bring along a couple of young children and a loaded shotgun. A drug deal going down in the parking lot of a Cobb County pharmacy earlier this month was interrupted by a terrific blast when children brought to the deal by their mother, and left in the back seat of a minivan, got hold of the firearm, police said. A 3-year-old pulled the trigger.)
Miracle babies: Mother defies odds of one in five million to deliver twins from double uterus (Daily Mail)
(A mother has beaten odds of one in five million to give birth to twins from two separate uteruses. Andreea Barbosa, 24, and her husband Miguel welcomed non-identical twins Nathan and Natalie on September 15, 2011. Doctors at Morton Plant Hospital in Florida, where Andreea gave birth four weeks early, said both mother and children are healthy.)
Runaway steer creates chaos on Arizona interstate (AP)
(A runaway steer stopped traffic on a major highway, hurtled over a brick wall and damaged two police vehicles during a chase that had four Arizona law enforcement agencies scrambling.
Yuma County sheriff's Capt. Eben Bratcher says the male bovine escaped from a livestock trailer Tuesday morning on Interstate 8 just east of Yuma in southeastern Arizona.)
Cumberland County Judge Thomas A. Placey under fire for having too many Facebook friends (Penn Live)
(Two weeks ago, Cumberland County District Judge Thomas A. Placey made a routine court decision.
He continued a preliminary hearing for a Hampden Twp. defendant accused in a standoff with police.
Also routine, some people in the gallery weren’t happy with his decision. So, they went home and Googled “Placey” and found his Facebook page.)
An odd way of remembering: Japanese disaster tourism (Telegraph)
(Sunshine, ice cream, beaches – and 22 million tones of rubble. This may not sound like a winning formula for a much-needed relaxing holiday. But for many Japanese, life simply hasn’t been the same since March 11’s tri-fold earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster – and it’s clear that taking a holiday is no exception. This summer, hordes of Japanese holidaymakers jumped into cars, bullet trains or planes and headed not to southern beaches – but to the tsunami wreckage of the damaged Tohoku region in the northeast. Testimony to this? Visitor numbers in Tohoku reportedly peaked during August’s O Bon – a perhaps aptly-timed national holiday for remembering the spirits of deceased ancestors.)
Kindergartner brings Mom's crack pipe, drugs to show and tell, police say (KCTV 5)
(The task for the fresh-faced kindergartner students was to bring important family items for show and tell. But one kindergartner floored his teacher and local law enforcement officers when police say he pulled his mother's crack pipe and an ounce of drugs from his backpack.)
Two-day rescue operation to save kitten in Sweden (Telegraph)
(A team of five rescue workers worked continuously for two days to rescue a frightened feline trapped in a concrete tube for two days in Gothenburg. The kitten, believed to be about seven or eight weeks old, became trapped in a concrete tube measuring only 15 centimetres in diameter, under a supermarket store on Sunday.)
Titanic necklace stolen from Danish exhibit (MSNBC)
(A gold-plated necklace recovered from the Titanic has been stolen from an exhibition at Copenhagen's Tivoli amusement park.
Park spokesman Torben Planks says the alarm did not sound when the jewelry disappeared Saturday morning. "The showcase has not been broken into and the alarm didn't go off," Plank said, adding police were investigating the theft. "It is pretty embarrassing.")
Not-for-profit group used state funds to buy decked-out Hummer (Sun Times)
(With its custom red paint job, on-board TV, public-address system, game consoles and sparkling chrome tire rims, the 2003 Hummer was no ordinary vehicle. The $45,196 SUV was designed to deliver an eye-catching, AIDS-awareness message to people in poor African-American neighborhoods on behalf of the Illinois Department of Public Health, then headed by Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, one of President Barack Obama’s closest friends.)
'I'm alone in the world. I don't know who I am': The first words of 'forest boy' who now wants to go back to live in the wild (Daily Mail)
(The first words of Germany's mystery English-speaking ‘forest boy’, who is is said to have lived rough for five years, were: 'I'm alone in the world. I don't know who I am. Please help me.' The teenager, known only as Ray and believed to be about 17 years of age, made his heartbreaking plea to German guards after walking out of the wilderness and presenting himself at Berlin City Hall.)
Nose bitten off in Darwin fight (News Au)
(A MAN is recovering in Darwin after his nose was bitten off during an early-morning fight. The 23-year-old was taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital about 5am (CST) after police were called to Smith Street in central Darwin. When officers arrived they found the man holding his head in his hands with his nose lying on the ground nearby.)
Local school board ends ban on Slaughterhouse Five (Reuters)
(A school board in southwest Missouri on Monday restored two books it had banned from public schools for being contrary to teachings in the Bible. The Republic School Board voted 6-0 to make the two books - "Slaughterhouse-Five" and "Twenty Boy Summer" - available to students for independent reading as long as they are kept in a secure section of the school library.)
B.C. man sued by mother for parental support (CBC)
(A B.C. man who was abandoned as a teenager is being sued by his elderly mother for parental support. Ken Anderson, 47, has been fighting a lawsuit by his mother, Shirley Anderson, 73, since 2000. Shirley, who has not had a relationship with Ken or his two siblings for decades, is asking for $750 per month in support from each of them.)
French prisoner manages to kill himself with anti-suicide paper pyjamas (Daily Mail)
(A French prison inmate has succeeded in killing himself with his government issue anti-suicide kit. The 23-year-old convict managed to hang himself with his 'paper' pyjamas - specially designed to prevent depressed prisoners from harming themselves. The unnamed man at the Sante prison in Paris found a way of making the paper capable of holding his weight, prison sources said.)
Bargain coffins from Transylvania. Where else? (Boston.com)
(Times are so hard in Romania that people joke they cannot afford to die. Yet in the mountains of Transylvania, carpenters are churning out cut-price coffins in a bid to beat the rising costs of death. Ilie Troanca says he's beating the recession blues with bargain coffins that sell for around euro100 ($136) in Transylvania, home of the Dracula legend.)
Paint can inside hot oven sparks fire and police investigation (Syracuse.com)
(Syracuse police and fire investigators are looking into an incident Sunday night that brought both police and firefighters to the 200 block of Catawba Street. A smoke detector in an apartment at 208 Catawba St. was sounding for about two hours before a concerned neighbor called 911 about 10:15 p.m., according to police records.)
Australian airman injured in July portable-toilet explosion dies (Stripes)
(An Australian airman, injured in a portable-toilet explosion in July, has died. Sgt. Michael “Mick” Dunn was participating in a joint exercise with the U.S. military. Dunn, a 27-year veteran of the Royal Australian Air Force, died in an Australian hospital Tuesday morning, a release from the Australian Department of Defense said. Dunn suffered third-degree burns to his head, face, arms, chest and airways after a portable toilet he was in exploded during Talisman Sabre, a bi-annual joint military and humanitarian exercise.)
Czech statue of ‘topless’ Virgin Mary stolen
(Ceskapozice)
(Thieves have made off with a rare 2.5-meter bronze Czech statue depicting the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary — in a state of undress. The unconventional statute, created by Prague sculptor Pavel Purkrábek, had been perched on a hilltop overlooking the town of Bohdaneč in the Kutná Hora region since 2007.)
Did the War pave the way for female binge drinking? Women born after WWII more likely to become alcoholics (Daily Mail)
(We usually think of binge drinking among women as a modern-day problem, fuelled by cheap alcohol and relaxed licensing laws. But the real causes may in fact go back to World War II, scientists say. The Second World War opened up the workplace to women, altering their role in Western society forever.)
'Peeping Tom' doctor banned after rigging up cameras in bathrooms and filming female medics showering (Daily Mail)
(A hospital doctor rigged up spy cameras in his bathroom and a female colleague's and videoed two colleagues showering. Cardiologist Vivek Baliga, 33, who appeared before Leeds Crown Court, recorded the doctors naked scenes on his laptop. The Peeping Tom has now been ordered to undergo a 10-year sex offender treatment programme.)
Accused Hooker Busted By Phony Member Of Force (Smoking Gun)
(Undercover vice squad officers routinely come into contact with skeptical prostitutes wary that their prospective john may actually be a police officer. So, before discussing business, a hooker will often ask the purported sex-seeker to first expose himself, since that is a no-no for a cop. Anticipating this demand, a Florida detective “attempting to solicit prostitutes” last night hit the Sarasota streets with a “flaccid rubber replica of a penis” stuffed into his pants, according to a marvelous Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report.)
Human skull on Craigslist under investigation (AZ Family)
(A human skull posted for sale online got the Phoenix Police Department's attention. Police seized the skull from the owner and are trying to determine if it is in fact a human skull or just a prank. A local man posted an ad on Craigslist listing the skull for $300. The seller, Mike Hale, said he bought the skull for $1 at a garage sale and hoped to sell it for $300.)
Kevin Smith, seeing ‘Red’ (Miami Herald)
(Ever curious about what makes Kevin Smith tick? Ask away Sunday night when the director takes the stage virtually for a Q&A at Bill Cosford Cinema. Why not in person? Busy schedule, yes. Moreover, we all know Smith doesn’t like to fly since he was kicked off a Southwest flight last year for taking up too much room.)
Comic Review: Kevin Smith’s The Bionic Man #2 (Geeks of Doom)
(When tackling an existing property, creators throughout all mediums often find themselves in an unenviable position. They are forced to walk the line of fan expectation to honor the source material, yet their final product must also be fresh and original. This is never an easy feat, as many Hollywood scribes will tell you, but in Dynamite Entertainment’s The Bionic Man, Kevin Smith, Phil Hester, and Jonathan Lau manage to not only meet expectation, but exceed it as well.)
Win Merchandise from Kevin Smith’s Red State (Hey U Guys)
(To mark the release of Kevin Smith’s new movie, Red State in cinemas 30th September, Entertainment One have given us some rather great merchandise to give away. We’ve been given one Kevin Smith signed Red State poster and 5 sets of merchandise which includes a poster, t-shirt and cool silver cross USB stick.)
Putting the Caped Crusader on the Couch (New York Times)
(RESPONDING to years of declining readership, DC Comics — the publisher behind Superman, Batman and other superheroes — recently reintroduced itself with 52 new titles, featuring characters and story lines that better reflect today’s diverse sensibilities. But it remains to be seen whether that diversity will include more accurate portrayals of mental illnesses. Although the reintroduction is in full swing, it’s not too late for DC to use its unique and influential position in American pop culture to combat harmful stereotypes.)
Batwing Attacks Bane On 'The Dark Knight Rises' Set (Splash Page)
(Batman has a great track record of beating down the bad guys, especially when it comes to destroying his villains' vehicles. Remember all the way back in "Batman Begins" when Bruce crushed Ra's al Ghul and his speeding train of vaporizing doom? Or the time in "The Dark Knight" when our hero used his Tumbler-ejected Batpod to manhandle the Joker and his crew of massive trucks?)
More Than a Sign of Sleepiness, Yawning May Cool the Brain (Science Daily)
(Though considered a mark of boredom or fatigue, yawning might also be a trait of the hot-headed. Literally. A study led by Andrew Gallup, a postdoctoral research associate in Princeton University's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, is the first involving humans to show that yawning frequency varies with the season and that people are less likely to yawn when the heat outdoors exceeds body temperature.)
Brain may sabotage efforts to lose weight (Science News)
(In obese people, even when the brain knows the body isn’t hungry, it responds to food as if it were, new brain-scan data show. That means that when obese people try to shed weight, they may find themselves on the losing side of a battle with neural centers that unconsciously encourage them to eat. For instance, in normal-weight people a neural reward system that reinforces positive feelings associated with food turns off when levels of the blood sugar glucose return to normal after a meal — a signal that the body’s need for calories has been sated.)
Stopping Smoking Boosts Everyday Memory, Research Finds (Science Daily)
(Giving up smoking isn't just good for your health, it's also good for your memory, according to research from Northumbria University. Research published in this month's online edition of Drug and Alcohol Dependence reveals that stopping smoking can restore everyday memory to virtually the same level as non-smokers.)
Facebook plans huge makeover, music and video upgrades
(USA Today)
(Facebook is turning up the volume — in a big way — in its high-pitched battle with Google+. The social-networking giant is undergoing a massive site makeover that brings music services and mobile advances along with some big steps in next-generation video sharing. The features are expected to be unveiled by Facebook on Thursday at its F8 developers conference, USA TODAY has learned.)
Full Tilt Poker cheated players out of $300 million, WSJ says (CNET)
(The U.S. Department of Justice accused celebrity poker players Howard Lederer and Christopher Ferguson and other executives who ran the Web site Full Tilt Poker of defrauding players of more than $300 million, The Wall Street Journal reported today. The U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York amended an earlier civil complaint to allege that the players and two other directors of Full Tilt Poker ran a Ponzi scheme, in which the individuals illegally paid themselves with funds that were deposited by players supposedly for safe keeping.)
Japan defence firm Mitsubishi Heavy in cyber attack (BBC)
(Japan's top weapons maker has confirmed it was the victim of a cyber attack reportedly targeting data on missiles, submarines and nuclear power plants. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) said viruses were found on more than 80 of its servers and computers last month.)
Young people see online slurs as just joking (MSNBC)
(Is it ever OK to tweet that a girl's a "slut"? How about using an offensive name for gays on Facebook? Or texting a racial slur? Most young people think it's all right when friends are joking around with each other, according to a new poll. Jaded by the Internet free-for-all, teens and 20-somethings shrug off offensive words and name-calling that would probably appall their parents, teachers or bosses. And an Associated Press-MTV poll shows they don't worry much about whether the things they tap into their cellphones and laptops could reach a wider audience and get them into trouble.)
The Great Pumpkin Shortage: Stormy Summer Limits Supply In Northeast (Time)
(As much as we hate to admit we need pumpkins — NewsFeed answers to no vegetable — this time of year we really do. Unfortunately for those of you in the Northeast, pumpkins might not be so readily available for your Halloweening needs. Thanks to Tropical Storm Irene and an especially stormy summer, there are severe reported shortages in pumpkin crops across the region as bad weather conditions have led to higher numbers of rotten vegetables. Which means that pumpkin seekers could be paying double for their Jack-o'-lantern canvases in some places and, in others, they could be out of luck entirely.)
Lower Sales Forecast for Holiday Season (Time)
(It looks like retailers will have to work extra hard to keep this holiday season from turning into a bah humbug. A new forecast indicates that sales growth will likely not be as high as last year and that shoppers won't be hitting the stores as much.)
Buy This House, Get a Thousand-Dollar Bar Tab (Time)
(An Illinois homeowner has tried to sweeten the deal on her stagnant house sale with a free-booze offer at the local bar. Melanie Gravdal has promised $1,000 worth of food and drink at Grandpa's Place, the bar across the street from her three-bedroom townhouse in the Chicago suburb Glenview.)
Wreck takes life, unseen for days (WPSD Local 6)
(A Marshall County woman was killed and her husband injured after a Friday morning collision near Mayfield.Kentucky State Police responded to a call on Sunday, September 18 at 2:49 p.m. concerning a collision with injuries on KY 1241 at Old Plant Road in Graves County. When troopers arrived at the scene, they determined there were two occupants in the vehicle, one deceased, and one with life threatening injuries.)
Salisbury man kills wife, self inside Lowe's store (WBTV)
( A murder-suicide ended the lives of a Salisbury couple inside a Lowe's home improvement store Monday afternoon, a store spokesperson confirmed Tuesday morning. Por Ye Lor, 31 walked into the store on Dale Earnhardt Blvd. and got into an argument with his wife, Zoua Xiong, 25, a cashier at the store, Lowe's Spokesperson Karen Cobb told WBTV.com. Lor shot Xiong, then killed himself, Cobb said.)
35 bodies found in Mexican roadway during rush hour (CNN)
(At least 35 human bodies were found in a roadway during rush-hour traffic in the Mexican coastal state of Veracruz Tuesday, the state attorney general said. Police in the eastern state found two trucks carrying the bodies near a shopping mall in the municipality of Boca del Rio, Attorney General Reynaldo Escobar Perez said.)
Google opens its social network to all (CNET)
(Google+, the search giant's bid to boost its relevance in the socially networked world of the Web, is now open to the masses.Google had required invitations to the service since its debut as a "project" in June. But this morning, Google opened the doors of Google+ to all. Google+ has also graduated to being a "beta" product.)
Man stabbed defending London bus passengers has 'no regrets' (BBC)
(Tim Smits said he would "do it again" A man who was stabbed after standing up to a gang abusing a pregnant woman and a pensioner on a bus in east London said he would "do it again". Tim Smits, 32, 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.)
Kin settle last wrongful death 9/11 lawsuit (Boston Herald)
(The 9/11 attacks started here in the Hub and yesterday a Boston family ended the nation’s last wrongful-death case of a loved one murdered in the al-Qaeda airline ambush. “It’s overwhelming right now,” Mike Bavis told the Herald. The Bavis family settled for an undisclosed sum after a tireless fight to expose what went terribly wrong at Logan International Airport on Sept. 11, 2001, when United Airlines Flight 175 was hijacked with 31-year-old Mark Bavis onboard.)
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