Rider causes bus crash

Rider causes bus crash
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. -- A Greyhound bus passenger apparently frustrated that he couldn't smoke tried to wrest control of the steering wheel away from the driver, sending the bus careening out of control at 70 mph. The bus rolled over on a freeway, injuring 33 people, one critically.
It was the third time in a month that a passenger tried to commandeer one of the company's buses.
Charles George, of Phoenix, faces 37 counts of aggravated assault for the incident on a Florida-bound bus outside Phoenix early Sunday.
"We believe there was some mental instability we were dealing with," said Steve Volden, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety. "He didn't make any overt statements about wanting to hijack the bus or doing anything in the name of religion. It appears he was acting independently."
Deer attacks woman
DURHAM, N.C. -- A 61-year-old woman hanging laundry in her back yard was attacked by a deer that gouged her legs with its antlers as she screamed for help.
Faye Williams was taken by ambulance Friday to Duke University Hospital, where she was treated for injuries to her legs and released, officials said. Williams couldn't be reached for comment.
"It was totally bizarre," said neighbor John Hughes, who happened to be home, came to her aid and called 911. "I've never seen a deer attack a human being like that. ... I'm just glad I could help her."
Hughes said he first heard dogs barking farther down the block about noon as he took his garbage outside. "Some lady was screaming, 'Get away. Get away,' " he said.
The barking stopped and he returned inside. But moments later he heard his neighbor screaming, so he rushed outside.
"There's a deer trying to gore the lady, going at her with his horns in full force," he said, estimating it to be a three- to five-point buck. "She tried to pull away. But the deer backed up and picked her up in the air and threw her again. She came down between the garbage can and the wall.
"I yelled at the deer and the deer takes off. [Williams] couldn't get back up again. She was in shock."
All the yards in the neighborhood are fenced in, he said, adding that the deer had to have jumped over several fences to land in the yard where Williams was hanging laundry.
Airplane safety seats
CHICAGO -- Coffee pots must be secured during airplane takeoffs but not children under 2, the American Academy of Pediatrics says in joining the push for mandatory child safety seats on airplanes.
The American Academy of Pediatrics wants the federal government to order airlines to end the long-standing policy of allowing children under age 2 to sit on their parents' laps, especially during takeoffs, landings and turbulence.
The Federal Aviation Administration appears to be close to doing so, though it may face a rocky response from financially strapped airlines concerned about the cost.
Crucial vote delayed
BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Protestant hard-liners succeeded today in delaying a crucial vote to save Northern Ireland's unity government -- and vowed to win a court battle that would nullify any eventual new ballot by lawmakers.
Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party collected the required 30 signatures within Northern Ireland's 108-seat legislature for a so-called "petition of concern." This indefinitely blocked an attempt to elect Ulster Unionist Party chief David Trimble to the top post of the long-leaderless government.
Man kills family with ax
HYDERABAD, India -- A 22-year-old man axed to death five members of his family and seriously wounded three others after he tested positive for HIV and lost his job as a result, police said Sunday.
Srinivas Rao also tried to kill himself after attacking his relatives Saturday, police said in Atreyapuram, a village in the southern Andhra Pradesh state. He was admitted to a hospital under police custody.
Rao had been the only member of the family who was earning money, but he was fired after testing positive for the AIDS virus during a routine checkup at his workplace, police said.
They said Rao killed his mother, father, sister, wife and 3-year old son in the attack, which left two other sisters and a nephew wounded. He then climbed an electric pole in what police said was a failed attempt to kill himself with a live wire.