Bus Stops - December 1

I'm not the same person: Bus driver (The Province) 

(Bus driver Charles Dixon broke down repeatedly Tuesday as he told how his life was ruined by a sucker-punch from 21-year-old Del Louie. Dixon, 55, sobbed as he told B.C. Provincial Court in Vancouver of his fears for the future of his family as he deals with constant headaches, ongoing operations and the "extreme psychological damage" stemming from the unprovoked Feb. 15 assault.)

Should school buses carry traffic cameras? (Washington Post) 

(It’s rush hour. The roads are swamped. You’re running late. When the big yellow bus in front of you stops — for the umpteenth time — and extends its red stop sign so children can board, do you wait patiently behind it? Or do you change lanes and zoom ahead? In a one-day survey covering a majority of school buses in the state, drivers reported that about 7,000 people ignored the red stop sign and flashing lights and motored on. That includes 1,645 violations in Montgomery County alone.)

Activists held for trying to block Kerala govt bus (IBN Live) 

(Twenty two activists of Periyar Dravida Kazhakam were arrested here today when they allegedly attempted to lay siege to a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation bus at the bus stand here, to protest the "attitude" of the Kerala government on the Mullaperiyar issue. The activists raised slogans against the Kerala government and wanted it to abide by the Supreme Court decision on the issue and also to drop its demand to construct a new dam at Mullaperiyar, police said. However, they were arrested before they could near the bus, police said.)

Bus crash kills Togo soccer players and officials (USA Today) 

(Former national team goalkeeper Charles Balogou was among six people killed when a bus carrying players and officials from a topflight club plunged into a ravine and caught fire. Togo football federation spokesman Aime Ekpe said another 25 people from the Etoile Filante delegation — 19 of them players — plus the driver were injured in Saturday's crash.)

52 injured in bus accident in Kollam (The Hindu) 

(More than 52 persons were injured when a Thiruvananthapuram-bound KSRTC fast passenger bus lost control and crashed into a shopping complex near the Taluk Office junction here on Wednesday morning. The injured have been admitted to the nearby district hospital. One of those injured, Harison, is critical. He was running a way side tea stall at the accident site. The bus crashed through the tea stall spilling the boiling water over Harison. Twenty of those injured were discharged after first aid. The remaining 32 have been admitted.)

Report shows fewer traffic fatalities after states pass medical-pot laws (Denver Post) 

(The passage of state medical-marijuana laws is associated with a subsequent drop in the rate of traffic fatalities, according to a newly released study by two university professors. The study — by University of Colorado Denver professor Daniel Rees and Montana State University professor D. Mark Anderson — found that the traffic-death rate drops by nearly 9 percent in states after they legalize marijuana for medical use. The researchers arrived at that figure, Rees said, after controlling for other variables such as changes in traffic laws, seat-belt usage and miles driven. The study stops short of saying the medical-marijuana laws cause the drop in traffic deaths.)

Man Faces Jail After Stealing Guitar From Coffin (Sky News) 

(A cemetery worker could spend 10 years in jail after he admitted stealing an electric guitar from a coffin. The cream-colored Fender Telecaster was laid upon the body of Randall Jourdan, who wished to be buried with his "pride and joy," the criminal complaint said. The guitar was recovered from the suspect's home the next day.)

Kids call 911 to ask for Santa Claus (NY Daily News) 

(No, Virginia, you can't call 911 and ask for Santa Claus. That's what two young children in New York's Hudson Valley have learned. The Daily Freeman of Kingston reports that around 11 a.m. Sunday, police in the city of Kingston responded to a home after two children, ages 4 and 6, called 911 asking to speak to either the police chief or Santa Claus. Police say officers interviewed the family and kids, and instructed the youngsters on the proper use of emergency services.)

India corruption protesters dump snakes in busy tax office (Guardian UK) 

(Four deadly cobras among 40 snakes unleashed by farmers in latest anti-corruption protest in northern India. Two farmers fed up with bribery demands have dumped three sacks filled with snakes on the floor of a busy tax office in northern India. The 40 or so snakes of different sizes and species, including at least four deadly cobras, sent clerks and villagers climbing on to tables and scurrying out of the door to escape the office in Basti, 185 miles south-east of Lucknow, according to local official Ramsukh Sharma.)

Family sues after gravediggers 'jumped on 91-year-old's casket to squeeze it into hole that was too small' (Daily Mail) 

(Gravediggers jumped up and down on the coffin of an elderly woman to force it into a tight hole as her family looked on in horror, it has been claimed. The workers at a Roman Catholic cemetery near Pittsburgh are also accused of poking the coffin with poles. They are alleged to have carried jumped on 91-year-old Agnes Zimmick's coffin after her funeral of on December 1, 2009.)

Bedtime with Hitler: Nazi leader's linen for sale (Reuters) 

(Two pieces of Adolf Hitler's personalized bed linen, complete with swastikas and the Nazi leader's initials, are together expected to fetch up to 3,000 pounds ($4,700) at a sale in Britain next week. A single white bedsheet and pillowcase embroidered with the image of an eagle perched on a swastika inside a circle, flanked by the initials, will be sold by auctioners Dreweatts in the southwestern English city of Bristol on Tuesday.)

Miami's Federal Jail Overrun With Strippers Posing As Paralegals, Lawyers Say (Miami New Times) 

(Stripteases, sexual favors, booze, porn mags, and fat stacks of cash would be run-of-the-mill in many Miami strip clubs. But at downtown's maximum security Federal Detention Center? Multiple attorneys interviewed by Riptide say the FDC visitor rooms have been taken over by South American pole dancers posing as paralegals for wealthy drug lords inside. Lawyers hired by the accused narco dons allegedly list the scantily clad women as "legal assistants," and the FDC lets them in.)

Teacher Probed Over Bra And Panties Party (The Smoking Gun) 

(Police are investigating an Oklahoma elementary school teacher who hosted a tree trimming party at her home attended by several third graders whom the educator videotaped wearing Christmas-themed bras and panties she provided to the girls. In the face of a Shawnee Police Department probe, Kimberly Crain, 48, submitted her resignation as a third grade teacher at McLoud Elementary School. The resignation of Crain, pictured at right, was announced yesterday by school administrators.)

Diner chews live frog inside Nando’s wrap (The Sun UK) 

(The horrified diner managed to spit out the 4in-long animal, but fears he may have already eaten one of its legs. Accounts manager Ross, who was with his girlfriend Karen and a pal, said: "I bit into the wrap, but couldn't chew through it. I excused myself and got it out of my mouth. "There was a whole frog there. It was still alive. I felt really ill.")

Bin Laden bread a hit for Malawi bakers (CNN) 

(Naming a product after the world's most notorious terrorist may not seem like a surefire route to commercial success. For bakers in the Malawian city of Blantyre, however, this marketing ploy is helping to reel in customers while ensuring that their produce has an unmistakeable identity. "We make bin Laden buns," said Mahomed Hanif Valimamade, co-owner of a patisserie within the city named the Portuguese Bakery.)

Happy Meal Ban: McDonald's Outsmarts San Francisco (SFWeekly) 

(On Thursday, Dec. 1, the city's de facto ban of the Happy Meal commences. San Francisco has accomplished what the Hamburglar could not. Or has it? In order to include a toy with a meal, restaurants must now comply with city-generated nutritional standards. Those are standards that even the "healthier" Happy Meals McDonald's introduced earlier this year don't come close to meeting. (As SF Weekly noted in January, the school lunches our children eat aren't healthy enough to qualify, either).)

Ore. Man Aims For Squirrel, Hits His Foot Instead (KTVZ) 

(The thing to do if a squirrel runs up your leg is probably not to aim a .22-caliber rifle at it. A Benton County, Ore., sheriff's officer says a 36-year-old Monroe man told deputies he was startled by a squirrel that ran up his left leg so he fired at it but hit his foot instead. Sheriff's Capt. Greg Ridler tells the Corvallis Gazette-Times (http://bit.ly/rQykS7) that deputies contacted Ethan Bennett at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center and learned the story of the gunshot wound. Ridler said Bennett did not kill the squirrel.)

Patrice O'Neal Remembered By Ricky Gervais, Kevin Smith (MTV) 

(When news broke on Tuesday that comedian Patrice O'Neal had died at 41 from complications of a stroke, those closest to him began to react to the sad news. Ricky Gervais is one of the many friends and celebrity fans who has reacted to the news, recalling a fondness for the comedian's sense of humor and wit. "One of my favourite stand up comedians," he tweeted. "So sad. RIP," Kevin Smith added. "I shared some air & some air time with the man on O&A & he was always funny & thoughtful. Patrice — he WILL be missed.")

Kevin Smith Tweets Anger At Independent Spirit Awards Snub Of 'Red State' (Huffington Post) 

(Kevin Smith has a very dedicated core audience for his comic books, podcasts and films, but the nominating committee at the Independent Spirit Awards, it seems, are not amongst the Smith fanboys. This does not please Kevin Smith. The director's religious drama, "Red State" was left off the slate of this year's Spirit Awards nominees, which instead highlighted films such as "Take Shelter" and "The Artist." That meant big name stars such as John Goodman and Melissa Leo did not receive recognition, and Smith took to Twitter to air his grievances. "How the f*ck did the @SpiritAwards NOT nominate Michael Parks? Nor John Goodman? Nor Melissa Leo? F*ck your idiotic organization. #FakeIndie")

Kevin Smith Calls Out Independent Spirit Awards After 'Red State' Snub (Movie Fone) 

(Kevin Smith is normally one to hold his tongue -- especially on Twitter -- so it's surprising that he took the Independent Spirit Awards to task after 'Red State' received a total of zero nominations from Film Independent earlier Tuesday. Pause here to insert your own comical strike-through over that sentence. Smith, who specializes in scorching earth, called out the Spirit Awards as "#fakeindie" on Twitter in the wake of the nominations, with special attention paid to his snubbed actors.)

Morning snacking may be damaging your diet (MSNBC) 

(Snacking between breakfast and lunch might ding your diet more than snacking at other times of the day, a new study suggests. Women taking part in a weight loss study who ate a midmorning snack lost an average of 7 percent of their body weight over the course of a year, whereas women who did not snack before lunch lost 11 percent of their body weight.)

$6M awarded for quake early warning research in US (Seatle Times) 

(Scientists studying earthquake early warning in the United States have received a financial boost. A foundation on Tuesday awarded $6 million in seed money to the University of California, Berkeley, California Institute of Technology and the University of Washington in a first step toward creating a West Coast warning system. Several quake-prone countries including Japan have a public alert system that provides a few seconds' notice after a big quake hits.)

Scientists ID ‘Morning Person’ Gene (ABC) 

(Napoleon Bonaparte, Margaret Thatcher, Leonardo da Vinci … history is full of names of famous figures who accomplished historical feats on reportedly few hours of sleep. Now, new research suggests they may have had a certain genetic advantage. Scientists at Germany’s Ludwig Maximalians University of Munich have found that one gene, called ABCC9, influences sleep duration and could explain why certain people seem able to operate on limited amounts of shut-eye. The researchers studied responses to a sleep survey from more than 4,000 Europeans in seven different countries and also scanned their genomes.)

Why do women fake orgasms? Study suggests surprising answer (CBS) 

(Do women fake orgasms to protect fragile men's egos? A provocative new study suggests another reason women fake it: to keep a man faithful. "One particular reason that emerges from a lot of studies is 'to keep my partner interested in this relationship,' or 'to prevent him from defecting [from] the relationship or leaving the relationship for another woman,'" study lead author Dr. Farnaz Kaighobadi, a postdoctoral research fellow at Columbia University in New York City, told Live Science.)

Scientists Brace for Media Storm Around Controversial Flu Studies (Science Mag) 

(Locked up in the bowels of the medical faculty building here and accessible to only a handful of scientists lies a man-made flu virus that could change world history if it were ever set free. The virus is an H5N1 avian influenza strain that has been genetically altered and is now easily transmissible between ferrets, the animals that most closely mimic the human response to flu. Scientists believe it's likely that the pathogen, if it emerged in nature or were released, would trigger an influenza pandemic, quite possibly with many millions of deaths.)

Definitely not bird brains! Ravens are the only species other than apes who can 'point' and share objects like humans (Daily Mail) 

(Ravens ‘point to’ objects to attract each other’s attention in a similar way to humans, research has discovered. Until now, it was thought the only animals which communicate this way were apes. But a study by German and Austrian experts revealed ravens to be far more intelligent than previously thought.)

Retouching Reality: New Tool Detects When Images Are Photoshopped (Time) 

(We’ve all seen beauty and fashion ads that are so ridiculously Photoshopped it seems as though the company used aliens as models. Then there are the ads that are much craftier, skillfully using Photoshop to render photos of already beautiful people into works of art. And that’s when the dangers of Photoshop start to take effect, creating unrealistic standards of beauty. Now, researchers have developed a new tool that is actually able to detect the level of retouching that went in to creating an image. Wired reports that a pair of researchers from Dartmouth University have presented their new technology in a recent Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences study.)

Horsemeat May Become Available to Humans (Time) 

(Horses could soon be butchered in the U.S. for human consumption after Congress quietly lifted a 5-year-old ban on funding horse meat inspections, and activists say slaughterhouses could be up and running in as little as a month. Slaughter opponents pushed a measure cutting off funding for horse meat inspections through Congress in 2006 after other efforts to pass outright bans on horse slaughter failed in previous years. Congress lifted the ban in a spending bill President Barack Obama signed into law Nov. 18 to keep the government afloat until mid-December.)

Western Union Tries to Resuscitate the Singing (Time) 

(In a throwback to the days of yore — before email, Twitter, and Facebook put us in a state of perennial communication overload – Western Union is bringing back the singing telegram. But this time around, it’s being given a modern twist with the introduction of electronic delivery. On Thursday the company will launch the microsite wu-singingtelegram.com, which will facilitate sending the audio messages via email.)

At One Washington Theater, Texting and Tweeting Are Welcome (Time) 

(There are few things more annoying than being interrupted by a cell phone user in a theater. Whether they are live tweeting the plot, checking text messages, or chatting with their bestie about their armrest-hogging date, cell phone users are usually anathema to theatergoers. Yet people continue to use their phones long after the lights have dimmed. Now a theater in Seattle is opting to embrace the inevitable and is encouraging patrons to use their phones while the curtain’s up.)

Norway mass murder suspect is insane, police say (CNN) 

(The man accused of killing 77 people in a terrorist rampage that shook Norway last summer is insane and cannot be sentenced to prison or preventive detention, but can be confined to a mental hospital for the rest of his life, police said Tuesday. Anders Behring Breivik suffers "grandiose delusions" and "believes he is chosen to decide who is to live and who is to die," Prosecutor Svein Holden announced. Police said psychiatrists had determined that the 32-year-old man was psychotic at the time of the attacks and during 13 interviews experts conducted with him afterward. The doctors also found him to be paranoid and schizophrenic, police said.)

First 'Penn State Scandal' Civil Suit Filed (NPR) 

(The first civil lawsuit brought by an alleged victim of Jerry Sandusky is from a man who says he was sexually abused as a young boy more than 100 times by the former Penn State assistant football coach. The now-29-year-old man also "claims that Sandusky threatened to harm him and his family if he told authorities about the assaults," Harrisburg's Patriot-News reports.)