News Bits May 1-May 3

19:56 pm Biweekly News Bits

7 Comments

Welcome to the second half of the first edition of Biweekly News Bits.

In the second half of this week (May 1-May 3)

US News

• Tornadoes kill 7 in Arkansas, strong storms throughout southeast. Link Video of Arkansas tornadoes
• Minnesota bridge collapse lawsuit settled for $38 million. Link
• Living in Pittsburgh still barely living. Link¹
• The rich are twice as rich, the poor are even poorer if you consider inflation and gas prices. Link
• Gov’t. cracks down on shady credit card practices. Link
• US Economy not getting any suckier atm. Link
• Sgt. Leonard Trevino acquitted of premeditated murder in the death of an unarmed Iraqi insurgent who was killed in a village overrun by al Qaeda operatives. Link

World Events

• China and Tibet slated to begin talks. Link
• Austrian man kept his daughter and the children he fathered with her locked in a basement for 24 years. He had threatened to gas them if they left. Link
• Raul Castro may not be reforming Cuba as much as we thought. Link
• Dormant Chilean volcano causes hundreds to flee their homes.  Link

US Entertainment

• Brooke White kicked off American Idol. Link
• Amy Winehouse still having problems with addiction - delays new Bond theme. Link

1. Semi-quoting Groucho Marx there. Mari is from the burgh, so yay for Mari having a higher risk of lung problems! Also, *looks around* *shrugs* GO PENS!! </obligatory sports shoutout> [↩]

News Bits April 27-April 30

17:44 pm Biweekly News Bits

4 Comments

Welcome to the first edition of Mt’s new biweekly news roundup¹ . This is for those of us who live under rocks (or in dorms) that can’t seem to locate newspapers or watch the entire 4 hours of local news necessary each day to get what’s happening in the world around us.

In the first half of this week (April 27-April 30):

US News

• Southern California, as well as other parts of the Southwest and Western states, have seen large wildfires for a while. Video.
• Twisters ripped through Virginia earlier this week. Article.
• US Economy is the suck, officially. Article
• Gas is ridiculously expensive. Nat’l average is $3.577/gallon. Article.
• ^ Truckers protested in D.C. on Tuesday. Article.

World Events

• Olympic Torch arrives in Hong Kong, has seen protests in many locations along the route. Article.

US Entertainment

• Miley Cyrus in embarrassing Vanity Fair pictures. Video.
• Paula must be on something - she got really confused on American Idol Tuesday night. Article.
• Shannon Elizabeth gets kicked off of Dancing with the Stars. Article.

1. Suggested by Maria, partially, after Maria reminded Mari that Mt used to have news bits for those of us who don’t read it. [↩]

I KNOW, GUYS

15:35 pm Blogging, Online

10 Comments

*first-person* Before anyone starts - YES I KNOW MY LAYOUT IS F***ED. Please don’t comment telling me my layout is F***ED, ‘coz I obviously already know. I happen to know exactly why, too.

This post is too long for the front page. Continue reading? Please ♥

Best Senior Prank Evar

23:15 pm Interesting Tidbit, Offbeat

4 Comments

Whoever thought this up was a genius. Short summary: some kid sent official-looking letters to all the parents of the junior class stating that the school would be providing free condoms at the prom.

XD

Mari rates it a 10 for shock value alone. Also, unlike most senior pranks, this was relatively non-destructive, and quite witty. Sure beats that Jell-O in the pool one that Mari was going to attempt…

Have you heard of (or participated in) any really good senior pranks?

Happy Cops Bust Burning House Full of Pot

16:20 pm Interesting Tidbit, Offbeat

6 Comments

Happy, smiling cops.

Firefighters responding to a fire discovered $78,000 in marijuana plants in a Weber County basement.

Authorities said they discovered the setup in the basement as firefighters searched the house Saturday to make sure the flames were out.

Officials were clued-in when they saw a basement window from outside, but only an interior wall inside. Firefighters said they knocked a hole in the wall and found about 130 plants behind it.

Source. Thank you, Fark~! ♥

Don’t you love how happy those cops look. Oh, this story killed Mari. The moral is: Don’t grow a whole house full of pot near a school and let it catch on fire.
;D Happy 4/20.