Bus Stops - November 3

'Dirty Divas' girl gang named and shamed after turning town centre bus station into no-go zone for elderly passengers (Daily Mail) 

(A teenage girl gang who waged a campaign of terror against commuters and elderly passengers have been banned from a town centre bus station after dark. The group, all aged between 14 and 16, would turn up after school and begin abusing people waiting to catch their bus home. Dubbed the ‘Dirty Divas’ for their vile and filthy language, the five-strong gang would get drunk and skateboard or play football in the forecourt of Cheapside bus station, Oldham.)

North Van commuter claims bus driver stormed off without reason (Vancouver Sun) 

(A North Vancouver commuter has filed a complaint with TransLink after he says a bus driver overreacted to grumbles that his bus was running late by dressing down the passengers, then refusing to drive any further. “To treat a busload of adults like a carload of kids, it’s really not appropriate,” said Greg Robinson, who was heading to work at Capilano University on the 239 bus when the incident happened recently. “If people have legitimate complaints, you have to hear them out.”)

British Couple Killed In Bus Blaze During Pilgrimage to Mecca (My Fox DC) 

(A British couple taking part in a pilgrimage to Mecca died on a bus in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after a fire broke out on the vehicle. Aboo Talhah Daawood and his wife, who had seven children, were killed when the blaze took hold on a trip from Jeddah Airport to the holy shrine of Mecca, the Birmingham Mail reported.)

State to drop charges against mom who wouldn't get off school bus (Orlando Sentinel) 

(Seminole County prosecutors are dropping charges against Laura Booker, the anti-bullying Sanford mom who climbed aboard her daughter's school bus in April and refused to leave when the driver wouldn't listen to her, prompting police to handcuffed her and force her to the ground.)

MSP Elaine Murray raises alcohol price 'booze bus' fear (BBC) 

(An MSP in southern Scotland has warned of "booze buses" heading to England if plans for a minimum price for a unit of alcohol north of the border go ahead. Labour's Elaine Murray, who represents Dumfriesshire, said it could "increase the incentive" for people in her area to shop in Carlisle.)

Schoolgirl hit by bus was sharing headphones (NZ Herald) 

(A Northland school girl was sharing a pair of headphones with a friend when she was hit by a bus outside her school on Monday. Taimania-Rose Marie Martin-Heke, 14, is in a stable condition in Auckland's Starship Hospital where she underwent surgery yesterday.)

Lindsay Lohan given 30 days in jail for probation violation (LA Times) 

(Lindsay Lohan avoided a lengthy jail sentence Wednesday when a judge ordered her to serve 30 days behind bars for violating her probation, which will probably be reduced to only about a day because of overcrowding. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner warned the troubled actress that she would receive plenty of jail time if she slips up again.)

Poop Transplant Could Save Arizona Man's Life (Phoenix New Times) 

(Figuratively speaking, a lot of guys take a lot of shit from their wives. Jerry Grant, 33, is literally taking shit from his wife -- and it will likely save his life. Grant's had some poop problems for the past several months -- bleeding rectally, and what not -- and the procedure that will likely "save his life" involves taking his wife's feces and transplanting it into his body.)

Man dressed as superhero arrested following M8 incident (STV) 

(The 24-year-old is accused of causing major disruption on the motorway on Tuesday during rushhour. Two lanes of the motorway were closed near Charing Cross in the city centre for over four hours in the morning. Police were called to the scene shortly before 5am following reports of a man sitting on a ledge over the road below. He came off the bridge shortly before 9am.)

Man Delays Suicide Until After Lindsay Lohan Playboy Shoot (SMEW) 

(Local resident Jeffrey Knutson, 34, was all set to commit suicide this week, until he learned of Lindsay Lohan’s deal to pose nude for Playboy. “I had the pills on the table,” said Knutson. “I was literally doing the final edits on my suicide note in Google Docs.”)

(SUBMITTED BY: @g0db3rry)

Japanese Lawmaker Drinks Fukushima Water To Prove It’s Safe (Inquistr) 

(Japanese lawmaker Yasuhiro Sonoda drank a glass of water on Tuesday that had been taken from puddles underneath one of the Fukushima’s reactors. The Japanese lawmaker drank the water so he could prove to journalists that the decontaminated water from the area was safe to drink. During the news conference Yasuhiro’s hands were visibly shaking as he drank the water...)

(SUBMITTED BY: @fitzman73)

Future gang members 'can be spotted at age three' (Telegraph) 

(Theresa May, the Home Secretary, unveiled plans to cut off gang violence at the root by intervening in “problem families” from the moment children are born. A new Home Office report said the beginnings of teenage violence lie in the “very earliest childhood experience”. It found warning signs are “already clear” by the time a child enters primary school, including neglect, aggression, absence from class and slow development.)

Little horrors: City kindergarteners being suspended for misbehaving (NY Post) 

(Apparently, even 5-year-old tots can be terrors. A number of city public schools suspended kids in kindergarten for misbehaving last year — including three schools that hit the double-digit mark. PS 212 in Brooklyn registered 13 suspensions of kindergarten this past school year, followed by PS 13 in Staten Island with 12 suspensions and PS 115 in Brooklyn with 10.)

Sailor falls off boat, saved by mobile call (Reuters) 

(French sailing star Florence Arthaud fell off her boat during a pee break but rescuers whisked her from Mediterranean waters in the early hours of Sunday after she called her mother by mobile phone. Arthaud, winner in 1990 of the Route du Rhum single-handed transatlantic sailing race, was located and rescued near the island of Corsica thanks to a headlamp and the GPS system on her phone.)

Marriott hotel guest checks out — after 10 years (Yahoo) 

(Last week, 79-year-old Joy Bricker checked out of the TownePlace Suites in Virginia. She had been living there for 10 years. The former pilot made headlines when movers came to her Falls Church, Virginia, hotel room to mark the end of her stay. Now ailing with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, the otherwise active woman is leaving her decade-long home to move in with her daughter, Christy Winton.)

Helenan accused of making up kidnapping (Helenair) 

(A Helena man attempting to trick his girlfriend into believing he was kidnapped by men in skeleton masks on Halloween was treated by authorities to a jail cell after it was discovered he made up the whole ordeal. Police tracked the man’s cellphone, which he had allegedly used to text and call his girlfriend repeatedly throughout the early morning implying that he was being held captive, and found him safe and sound in his downtown Helena apartment.)

Concern over 'act less gay' anti-bullying advice (BBC) 

(Claims that some school children in Essex have been told by teachers to "act less gay" to avoid being bullied have been as labelled as "worrying". The anecdotal evidence came from a report to Essex County Council about an anti-bullying conference in March organised by the Young Essex Assembly.)

Putin hails Russian boy as world's "7 billionth" (Reuters) 

(Prime Minister Vladimir Putin hailed a two-day old Russian boy as the world's seven billionth person Wednesday, weighing into a bizarre scramble to claim a title that is almost impossible to verify. Russia's Pyotr Nikolayev was born on Oct 31, two minutes after midnight in a maternity hospital in Russia's Western exclave of Kaliningrad, wedged between Poland and the Baltic Sea.)

Former West Elgin resident animates on highly anticipated Batman video game sequel (The Chronicle) 

(Not everyone gets to work on one of the most hotly anticipated video games of the year. Not every is Simon Warwick. Warwick, 29, grew up on Fleming Line, outside Rodney, and was the Senior Technical Cinematic Animator for Batman: Arkham City, released in North America Oct. 18 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 game consoles. Arkham City is the sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum, which was released in 2009. Akrham Asylum hit a high note with fans, praised as one of the best Batman games of all time. Arkham Asylum received a 92% average on GameRankings, a game review aggregator, and holds a Guinness World Record for 'Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever'.)

Old people today have more sex (Times of India) 

(As the number of elderly rises worldwide, researchers find that old people today have more sex, are more likely to be divorced, are cleverer and feel better, and are more outgoing. An extensive research project at Sweden's University of Gothenburg compared the elderly of the 1970s with those of today.)

Where have all the females gone? (SMH) 

(It's a man's world - more than ever - and that spells doom for the future. As the global population hits seven billion, experts are warning that skewed gender ratios could fuel the emergence of volatile "bachelor nations" driven by an aggressive competition for brides.)

Toyota Shows Machines to Help Sick, Elderly Move (ABC News) 

(Toyota unveiled its ambitions for high-tech health care Tuesday, displaying experimental robots that the auto giant says can lift disabled patients from their hospital beds or help them walk. The company aims to commercialize products such as its "independent walk assist" device sometime after 2013 — seeking to position itself in an industry with great potential in Japan, one of the world's most rapidly aging nations.)

Facebook figures in Des Moines arson case (Desmoines Register) 

(The alleged motive in a Des Moines arson case is tied to actions on Facebook, a social networking site, according to police. Detectives have arrested Jennifer Christine Harris, 30, of Des Moines, on a charge of first-degree arson. She is being held in the Polk County Jail on $100,000 bond.)

Luxury iPad 2 comes covered in gold, diamonds and dinosaur bones (Digital Trends) 

(Luxury goods designer Stuart Hughes has come up with a gold iPad 2 encrusted with diamonds and bits of dinosaur bone. However, buyers may prefer to wait for the cheaper iPad 3, which should be out some time next year. If you’re thinking of buying an iPad 2 but feel rather uninspired by the regular black and white models currently available, then how about a gold one encrusted with diamonds and the thigh bone shavings of a 65 million-year-old T-Rex dinosaur?)

'Twitter Stories' tells dramatic tales behind the tweets (CNN) 

( Lives have been saved, small businesses have avoided shutting their doors and average folks have met their political leaders, sports heroes and other celebrities. All because of Twitter. That's the story the micro-blogging service wants to tell with Twitter Stories, a new site meant to showcase what Twitter calls the power of a single tweet. Because while good stories can begin with a tweet, most can't be told in 140 characters.)

Did an Italian Hospital Turn Away a Lesbian Blood Donor? (Time) 

(Donating blood is one more civic act that Italian gay-rights activists now say must be explicitly protected by law. The latest controversy comes after a woman in Rome says she was not allowed to give blood at one of the city's largest hospitals because she is a lesbian. The 39-year-old accounting-firm employee, referred to as Angela, says she was told by a hospital official at Policlinico Umberto I that she is "considered at risk" because of her personal life.)

CBS Vindicated over FCC Super Bowl Fine (Time) 

(In the latest court battle over the steamy 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that CBS should not be fined $550,000 for Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction." The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals held its ground even after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a review after its ruling in a related Fox television case. In that case, the high court said the Federal Communications Commission could threaten fines over the use of even a single curse word uttered on live TV.)

Safeway drops sandwich theft charges (Yahoo) 

(The Safeway supermarket chain is declining to press charges against a Honolulu couple whose arrests over stolen sandwiches led state workers to take their 2-year-old daughter and sparked nationwide outrage. Safeway told Honolulu police Tuesday that it won't press charges against Marcin and Nicole Leszczynski, company spokeswoman Susan Houghton told The Associated Press. The couple were arrested last week when Nicole, who is 30 weeks pregnant, ate a sandwich while shopping and walked out without paying.)

Casey Anthony takes Fifth 60 times in civil suit deposition (CNN) 

(Attorneys representing Casey Anthony invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 60 times during a deposition given in a civil suit against her, according to a transcript of the proceedings. In addition, Anthony's attorney Charles Greene asserted he would also invoke the Fifth Amendment on her behalf if questioning delved into the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.)

Angry Birds tops 500 million downloads (Reuters) 

(Mobile gaming firm Rovio said on Wednesday its hit game Angry Birds had reached a record 500 million downloads in less than two years since its launch. "It's more than any game ever before," Rovio's marketing chief Peter Vesterbacka told a conference in Helsinki.)