Bus Stops - October 5

Bus driver who forgot boy seeks to retire (Herald Tribune) 

(School Superintendent Lori White wants to fire a bus driver who failed to notice for two hours that she had forgotten to drop off a 3-year-old boy last month. Driver Sandra Runck's future with the district will be decided by School Board members at a meeting on Oct 18. If the board decides to fire Runck, she would still be eligible for her retirement benefits, according to district officials. She has submitted a request to retire early.)

Bag on bus near NY's Times Square declared safe (WSJ) 

(Police evacuated a New York City bus and closed off a street near Times Square during rush hour after a passenger left behind a backpack. The bomb squad found nothing dangerous inside. According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the driver of an M7 bus called police after spotting the abandoned backpack at about 8:25 a.m. on Tuesday.)

Methadone left on GRT bus (The Record) 

( Police are warning the public after a quantity of methadone was accidentally left on a Grand River Transit bus. A patient of a Kitchener methadone clinic left the bus at the Charles Street terminal on Monday at about 6 p.m. He left behind two lockboxes carried in a black canvas grocery bag. The boxes contain 20 100 mg bottles of methadone.)

Snoop Digs Record-Breaking Vegetable (Sky News) 

(A Welsh gardener has told Sky News he would be happy to share his vegetable-growing secrets with Snoop Dogg, who paid tribute to his giant swede. Last month, Ian Neale from Newport earned a place in horticultural history by cultivating the 38.8kg (85.5lb) swede.)

Pizza delivery man from Papa John's turns in Aurora pot user (Denver Post) 

(A man who ordered a pizza after using medical marijuana got more than he bargained for when the delivery man called police. The pizza delivery man says he called police because he was worried about the welfare of a 9-year-old child in the house.)

‘Sesame Street’ Special on Hunger Introduces New Muppet Character (Artsbeat) 

(The familiar address of Sesame Street is about to get a new visitor, one who could surely benefit from the sunny days and friendly neighbors there. For a prime-time special to raise awareness about hunger faced by American families, Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization that produces “Sesame Street,” has created a new Muppet character named Lily, a 7-year-old girl representing one of the 17 million American children that the Department of Agriculture estimates are “food insecure,” meaning their access to food is limited or uncertain.)

Buddhist nuns embrace the power of kung fu (Guardian) 

(A Buddhist monastery near Kathmandu is enjoying a surge in popularity after its spiritual leader directed its 300 nuns to use martial arts techniques. Enrolment is rising and Buddhist nuns as far afield as the Himachal Pradesh in India want to become kung fu instructors.)

Restaurant deliveries no longer allowed at Tampa's MacFarlane Park Elementary (Tampa Bay) 

(At MacFarlane Park Elementary School, children are encouraged to reason, challenge, use their powers of inquiry. The same goes for parents, said principal Denyse Riveiro, which is why she is not surprised about an outcry over the end of meals from the Evos restaurant chain.)

Theme park 'super sizes' its coaster seats for overweight riders (USA Today) 

(Responding to an increase in its customers' girth, a popular British theme park is accommodating overweight riders with two larger seats on its Nemesis Inferno rollercoaster. "The reality is we are super sizing - that's a fact we're embracing," Thorpe Park's Mike Vallis told the Daily Mail. "Why shouldn't people be comfortable when they are enjoying a day out with their friends or family?")

Jensen Beach internet prostitute's customer shot by husband (CBS 12) 

(A 33-year-old man who claimed to be a mixed martial arts fighter was incapacitated by a shotgun after a fight with an internet prostitute and her husband early Monday morning, according to the Martin County Sheriff's Office. Authorities say they were called to a mobile home on Northeast 15th Terrace at 1:12 a.m., alerted by a 9-1-1 made by the husband, Daniel Jason Diodato, 27, after the shooting.)

Cook medical examiner to donate bodies left in morgue 2 weeks (Chicago Tribune) 

(Bodies left at the Cook County medical examiner’s office for longer than two weeks will be donated to a medical research organization, according to a memo from the county’s chief medical examiner. The practice, which was to go into effect last week, applies only to bodies that have been identified and have not undergone autopsies. About 50 to 60 percent of the bodies brought to the morgue are autopsied.)

Culprit sought after whale shot, washes up in NJ (AP) 

(Federal wildlife officials are looking for whoever shot a whale at sea, leaving the animal to wander the ocean in agony for a month or more before it beached itself in New Jersey and died. The culprit could get a year in prison and a hefty fine. Scott Doyle, an agent in charge of the National Marine Fisheries Service's New Jersey shore office, said his agency is hoping someone comes forward to report the shooter.)

WOMAN FINDS MOTHER ALIVE IN THE MORGUE (Madam Enoire) 

(The authorities have told you that your mother has passed and you have to identify her body at the morgue. This was Rosangela Celestrino’s story. But her story didn’t end like most people in the morgue. She actually left with her mother. Celestrino, the young Brazilian woman, said she went to kiss her mother and noticed she as breathing.)

100-year-old requests a male stripper for her birthday (Mirror) 

(WHEN Clare Ormiston’s relatives asked her what she wanted for her forthcoming 100th birthday, they weren’t prepared for her cheeky reply. The centenarian-to-be wasn’t content with just a card from the Queen and some nice classical music – she wanted a male stripper instead. Clare’s daughter Marguerite recalled: “We asked mum in June what she wanted for her party. And she came up with a couple of suggestions.)

Tynemouth lifeboat search after planet Jupiter mistaken for flare (BBC) 

(A rescue search was carried out off the coast of Tynemouth Longsands after a member of the public mistook the planet Jupiter for a distress flare. Tynemouth RNLI and an RAF Boulmer rescue helicopter were called out to search for a possible vessel in distress six miles from the coast.)

Ga. woman wins $25M with 'wrong' lottery ticket (Savannah Now) 

(A store clerk’s mistake led to a Lithonia woman’s $25 million lottery win. Kathy Scruggs, 44, matched all of the winning numbers in the Sept. 14 Powerball drawing after trying to purchase a Mega Millions ticket. “I asked for a Mega Millions ticket, and the lady gave me a Powerball ticket,” she explained. “I just took it anyway. So I bought Powerball and Mega Millions.”)

The only reason to keep the tacky Marilyn Monroe statue? She protects from the rain (Daily Mail) 

(It has been panned as one of the world's worst public art eyesores, but from Chicago's enormous Marilyn Monroe statue is a community service - protecting tourists from the rain. The statue, which captures the iconic moment when the movie star bashfully held her dress down as a gust of wind billows the fabric around her was recently photographed as a safe haven for those looking to avoid a Chicago downpour.)

Bull rescued from manhole in Chile (Telegraph) 

(Rescue workers had to remove a section of concrete before winching the bull out of the drainage ditch on the outskirts of Santiago today. Witnesses said the animal had tumbled into the underground water system after a manhole cover was left off.)

Donald Gartner Arrested In Jail Parking Lot Hours After Being Released (Huffington Post) 

(Donald Gartner has become a familiar face at the Pasco County Jail. The St. Petersburg Times reports that Gartner was arrested Oct. 2 for criminal mischief, released and then re-arrested for allegedly trying to break into cars in the jail parking lot less than two hours after he was freed.)

In Memoriam: The Career of Kevin Smith (University Observer) 

(At the premiere of his final film, Red State, at the Sundance Film Festival in January, Kevin Smith announced that he would retire after the production of his next film, Hit Somebody. What with various directors retiring all the time, it would be easy not to pay his departure much attention, and considering the standard of his more recent works (Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Cop Out) it may even be a good thing. However, it cannot be denied that Smith has had a significant impact on contemporary culture throughout his career.)

How to protect your business from Twitter damage (Globe and Mail) 

(With Twitter hitting 100 million active users, according to their latest report, it’s a force companies can’t ignore. If customers believe they have been treated badly, with one tweet, they can let the world know instantly. When Southwest Airlines Co. turfed Kevin Smith off a flight last year for being too fat, the American film director and actor, known for his role as Silent Bob in Clerks and Mallrats, was anything but silent.)

Juno Temple Quiet About Role (Metro UK) 

(Juno Temple is keeping tight-lipped about her role in The Dark Knight Rises but said it was 'sensational' to be working on the new Batman movie. The British actress, who has starred in Atonement and Kaboom, said it was 'cool' to be on the set but she couldn't say anything else. She told MTV about working on The Dark Knight Rises: 'It's sensational. Truly. It's a very, very cool thing to be a part of, [but] I'm not allowed to talk about it.')

Lee Bermejo’s BATMAN: NOEL Re-imagines The Dark Knight With A Christmas Carol (What Culture) 

(An event I thought would never happen has come to pass: DC Comics have announced word of a new book that is not directly related to the new 52 reboot! Unveiled on The Source, the original graphic novel Batman: Noel is a new take on the classic Charles Dickens story ‘A Christmas Carol‘. The project was first mentioned in February of this year, but nothing else was said about it until now. Covering similar ground to the Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale story Ghosts, collected in ‘Batman: Haunted Knight’, Noel has Batman coming face to face with villains from his past, present, and future during the holiday season.)

Anne Hathaway Reveals Gruelling Diet To Fit Into Catsuit For New Batman Film (Entertainment Wise) 

(Anne Hathaway has revealed that she's had to switch up her eating habits and her exercise routine to make sure she looks good in her costume for Batman: The Dark Night Rises. The actress, who plays Catwoman in the new film, has confessed that she's worried about her lumps and bumps showing in the her tight catsuit and now her stunt double has given her tips.)

Next Animated Batman Series To Be Titled Beware The Batman (Comic Book Movie) 

(Warner Brothers has plans to debut a new animated Batman series in the year 2013 that will be titled Beware The Batman and that will be a CGI cartoon just like Green Lantern The Animated Series.)

Texas' famed bat colonies at risk due to drought (USA Today) 

(The historic drought in Texas is changing the behavior of the stars of one of the state's natural summer marvels, raising fears the spectacle next year may be less spectacular. A depleting insect population has forced millions of bats around Texas to emerge before nightfall for food runs, making them more susceptible to natural predators.)

Best evidence so far that humans are still evolving, scientists say (CNN) 

(Ordinary people evolve to have extraordinary capabilities on TV shows like “Heroes” and movies like the "X-Men" franchise. In real life, people don’t have genetic mutations that give rise to wings or telepathy, but scientists say human evolution is still happening. A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science offers some of the best evidence so far. Researchers at the University of Quebec at Montreal examined a very detailed database of church records for residents of Ile aux Coudres, a tiny island northeast of Quebec City, Quebec, between 1799 and 1940.)

Russian and US Scientists Gather to Hunt Down Yeti(Fox News) 

(Scientists from several countries, including Russia and the U.S., will gather in the Kemerova region of Siberia to hunt down the Yeti, after alleged sightings of the legendary creatures increased threefold in the area over the past 20 years. Scientists from Russia, the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Estonia, Mongolia and China were invited to evaluate evidence of the creatures -- the existence of which has never been proven -- at a conference later this week, according to Russian radio station the Voice of Russia.)

Drunken Students Who Post Facebook Photos Could Be at Risk, Study Says (ABC) 

(College students who post the details of their drunken nights on Facebook can end up with a few problems on their hands – embarrassment, regret or explanations to mom and dad. But a new study from researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests those Facebook postings may also signal that a student is at clinical risk of having a drinking problem.)

Contraceptive Injections Double HIV Infection Risk in Study (Business Week) 

(Using contraceptive injections such as Pfizer Inc.’s Depo Provera doubles the chance women will catch HIV and transmit it to a male partner, a study found. Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle followed 3,790 African couples in which one partner was infected with the AIDS-causing virus.)

New Discovery Could Lead to Arthritis Treatment (IB Times) 

(A breakthrough by Australian researchers could be the first step in a new treatment for people with arthritis. Australian scientists have discovered the gene that causes the severe form of osteoarthritis. The gene called TRPV4 acts like guard to how much calcium can enter a cell and is important to cartilage function. When the gene fails to act properly, the cartilage doesn't get the required amount of calcium and consequently breaks down, causing severe pain and stiffness in the hands and feet.)

Daily Aspirin Tied to Risk of Vision Loss (FOX News) 

(Seniors who take aspirin daily are twice as likely to have late stage macular degeneration, an age-related loss of vision, than people who never take the pain reliever, according to a new study. The data do not show that aspirin causes vision loss. But the findings, published in Opthalmology, are of concern if aspirin somehow exacerbates the eye disorder, given how many seniors take it daily for heart disease.)

How the brain makes memories: Rhythmically! (Xenophilius) 

(The brain learns through changes in the strength of its synapses — the connections between neurons — in response to stimuli.Now, in a discovery that challenges conventional wisdom on the brain mechanisms of learning, UCLA neuro-physicists have found there is an optimal brain “rhythm,” or frequency, for changing synaptic strength. And further, like stations on a radio dial, each synapse is tuned to a different optimal frequency for learning.)

Apple's next iPhone makes its debut (CNET) 

(The iPhone 4S is here. Finally. Apple released its first new iPhone in nearly a year and a half at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters today. The iPhone 4S looks identical to the current version, but with improved components, such as camera, processor, and memory. The company also updated its iPod lineup and said its updated software, iOS 5, and iCloud service would launch on October 12. Lastly, it confirmed that Sprint Nextel would be a new carrier partner.)

Texting while bicycling in Chicago could soon equal a ticket (Chicago Tribune) 

(Chicago cops could ticket bicyclists who text while riding on city streets under a proposal endorsed today by a panel of aldermen. The proposal, recommended by the Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee, also would make it illegal to talk on a cell phone without a hands-free device while biking on the road. If approved Wednesday by the full council, the ban will go into effect next month.)

Now online: Half a billion Chinese (CNN) 

(A senior government official says China’s total number of Internet users is now more than 500 million people, state media reported. That’s more than 60% higher than the entire population of the U.S., where much of the Internet infrastructure was first developed and home to the giants of the industry such as Google, Facebook and Youtube – sites whose services are largely blocked in the world’s largest Internet market.)

Hotmail looks to eliminate 'graymail' (MSNBC) 

(Hotmail Monday announced changes to help users streamline email overload, some of which Microsoft refers to as "graymail." Those who work on Hotmail, which has tightened up email security and imposed stronger spam filters, "realized that getting rid of true spam wasn’t enough, because 75 percent of the email messages that people reported as spam are really legitimate newsletters, offers, or notifications that you just don’t want anymore," said Dick Craddock, group program manager for Hotmail on a Windows blog. "We call this type of unwanted email graymail.")

D'oh! Could 'The Simpsons' Be Coming To an End? (Time) 

(Usually, comedies come to an end when they stop being funny. And while you can argue that The Simpsons isn't what it once was, a lack of laughs is not the reason being cited in this case. So why would one of Fox's most reliable shows be coming to a premature end? It's all to do with a reported breakdown in negotiations between the studio and the six main actors who voice those Springfield-situated characters.)

Nobody Orders Fast-Food Salads, But That's Not the Real Problem (Time) 

(It doesn't take much to figure out why healthier menu options like salads and apple slices don't sell as well as the burgers, fries and Double Downs at fast-food joints. "If I wanted something healthy, I would not even stop in at McDonald's," Jonathan Ryfiak, a 24-year-old trapeze instructor in New York, told AP business reporter Christina Rexrode. Ryfiak "watches his diet at home, but orders comfort foods like chicken nuggets and fries when he hits a fast-food joint," Rexrode reported.)

'Magic Mushrooms' Can Improve Psychological Health Long Term (Time) 

(The psychedelic drug in magic mushrooms may have lasting medical and spiritual benefits, according to new research from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. The mushroom-derived hallucinogen, called psilocybin, is known to trigger transformative spiritual states, but at high doses it can also result in "bad trips" marked by terror and panic. The trick is to get the dose just right, which the Johns Hopkins researchers report having accomplished.)

Yahoo Partners with ABC for New Online News Organization (Time) 

(Yahoo's long-term future may still be uncertain, but the company has today announced a partnership that suggests it'll be just fine in the short-term. According to an announcement this morning, Yahoo is forming a strategic alliance with ABC News for online news programming designed specifically for the internet. The partnership launches today with the first episode of a web series based around sit-down interviews with important figures called Newsmakers. The first episode of which will see ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos interview President Obama live from the White House, streamed live at 2:35pm EST on Yahoo.com and ABCNews.com.)

The Rabbit Done Died: NBC Kills Playboy Club, Adds Brian Williams (Time) 

(As the 2011-12 TV season begins its third week, it has claimed its first victim: NBC's The Playboy Club, whose ratings plunged as low as its necklines, has been cancelled. Playboy was one of the most hyped new fall shows this year, though the attention was hardly all positive; Gloria Steinem, some local affiliates and groups like the Parents Television Council protested its turning Bunnies into heroines, all while claiming that Playboy "empowered" its female employees in the early '60s. In the end, though, the cancellation was a tribute to the power of voting with one's remote and not watching poorly-written scripts and Eddie Cibrian's impression of Jon Hamm as rendered by a wax museum.)

Mormons launch campaign to fight 'misconceptions' (AZ Family) 

(The Mormon Faith as taken several publicity hits with the conviction of self-proclaimed FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs, and the hit Broadway musical 'Book of Mormon.' But now the religion is fighting back with a new campaign launching this month in Phoenix. From a leading candidate for President in Mitt Romney, to a Broadway smash hit called 'The Book of Mormon', the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a hot topic, and the Church itself is taking advantage.)

Hogs and dogs top list of most stolen items during recession (WQAD) 

(A recent study shows the recession is causing people to steal some very weird things during hard financial times. The item stolen the most, hogs, followed closely bydogs. Pork prices are soaring to an all time high enticing thieves to walk away with more than just Miss Piggy. "A hog that is ready for market is worth about $200," said Gary Asay.)

Bidding war sparked for Tupac Shakur sex tape (CTV) 

(Two porn companies are locked in a battle for the rights to the newly discovered Tupac Shakur sex tape. A five-minute video has surfaced which allegedly shows the rapper walking into a room with his trousers around his ankles before receiving oral sex from an unidentified woman and website YouPorn has already made a $150,000 offer for the footage, according to its founder Corey Price.)

Tortorella didn't see fit for Avery with Rangers (NHL) 

(While admitting that Sean Avery had a good training camp, Rangers coach John Tortorella also felt 13 forwards were better. The Rangers placed Avery on waivers at noon ET on Tuesday. Avery, who is in the final season of a four-year contract, will remain on waivers for 24 hours, during which time another team can claim him. If he is not claimed, the Rangers can assign Avery to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Connecticut Whale, and his $1,937,500 salary will come off of their salary cap.)