Video shows woman remarkably getting up after bus strikes her

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Startling video was released Wednesday that shows a woman getting up and walking off after a bus hit her downtown. The accident is being investigated, but an ATA spokeswoman said it appeared a passenger distracted the bus driver.
Flashing ambulance lights added to the already, hectic scene in busy downtown Kansas City Tuesday afternoon. The ambulance was there for a woman had been smacked into by a MAX bus on the Troost route. Portions of the video show the bus striking the woman as she crossed 9th Street at Walnut.
Surprisingly, she's able to get up and walk over to grab what we're told was her cellphone. Video also shows several bystanders stop to help her.
'We checked the woman to makes sure she was okay. She was bleeding really bad from the back of her head, and the bus driver didn't seem like he was really even worried about it," Travon Miller said.
A witness who was riding that bus told FOX 4 he was able to see the victim, even though the driver likely wasn't.
"The operator was distracted by a passenger who had come forward to ask a question," ATA spokeswoman Cindy Baker said.
Indeed that's what the video shows, if you watch you can see a passenger walk up to the driver, just seconds before the bus made impact with the victim. However, this crash is still being looked into.
"Drug testing is one, substance abuse testing is just automatic protocol, the surveillance video will also be part of that assessment," Baker explained.
As the investigation continues, Baker says fortunately the outcome wasn't worse.
"Thankfully the operator was traveling at a very slow speed, or I think this accident could have been much worse," she said. "I was pleased to see that she was walking around after the incident."
Though the victim was walking and talking after the crash, she was taken to the hospital. No update has been given about her condition.

Hundreds of customers pay it forward at Fla. Starbucks

People in St. Petersburg, Florida, were clearly in a kind mood all day Wednesday.

378 customers at a Starbucks drive-thru paid for the drink ordered by the person behind them in line -- and a few of the customers even came back later in the afternoon to see if the chain was still going.

Tampa Bay Times spoke with Tim Burnside, who came back in to order another drink. He told the publication, "It's nice just to do a random act of kindness for someone you don't know."

The chain went on nearly all day, beginning at 7 a.m. and ending around 6 p.m. when the 379th customer in line declined to keep the chain going. The baristas had apparently started to try to figure out a plan for what to do if the line kept going until 10 when the store closed. That last lady really killed it for 'em.

We've heard this story before. From Detroit, where about 50 customers paid for one another's orders, to Seattle, where almost 500 customers joined in the fun, people have paid it forward at several of Starbucks' many coffee joints around the country.

We've found an even longer chain in the U.S., though.

Over five days last December, 1,468 people paid for one another's drinks at a Starbucks in Newington, Connecticut.

"I just think it's cool that total strangers are willing to say, 'Hey, I'm gonna pay for the car behind me,'" one customer said.

In China, one pay-it-forward chain at Starbucks went on for more than 19,000 -- yes 19 with a thousand -- people.

Why Starbucks?

Well, first of all, it has over 20,500 stores across the world, so the chances of having a store in your city is pretty good.

Second, people worldwide drink about 2.25 billion cups of coffee every day, according to PBS -- and The Richest says that Starbucks serves 40 million of those coffee-loving people each week.

The coffee giant had even gotten behind the movement and created a pay-it-forward campaign, offering to give customers a free coffee if they paid for the person behind them. The campaign went through October 2013, and perhaps it got people feeling generous.

We'll drink to that.

This video contains an image from Getty Images.

Céline Dion 'Trying to Stay Positive' as She Helps Husband Heal, Friend Says

Those close to Céline Dion were not shocked to learn the singer decided to postpone all of her show business activities indefinitely to care for her husband, René Angélil.

"They are each other's lives," friend Robin Leach tells PEOPLE of Dion, 46, and Angélil, 72, who currently reside in Las Vegas with their three children, René Charles, 13, and fraternal twins Eddy and Nelson, 3. "He and her family come first and she's always made that clear."

Leach adds that Dion had been contemplating an extended leave ever since Angélil underwent surgery in December to remove a cancerous tumor from his throat.

"René was making great progress and was out and about," Leach says. But the recovery process remains ongoing.

"Last time I saw him, he was very thin and frail," she adds. "Céline had to take a step back, and her decision is a realization that you have to hold onto everything while you've got it."

But when it comes to Angélil's prognosis, the family is "trying to stay positive," an insider says. "They're optimistic. "

Islamic State: 10 Things We Know About James Foley's Left-Handed 'British' Killer

As horror turned to anger at the callous murder of US journalist James Foley, intelligence services are compiling information on his killer, who is believed to be a British jihadi.
Early clues from the gruesome footage suggest that the Islamic State (IS) extremist - referred to in the video as 'John' - is from London and is left-handed.
It was revealed in the aftermath of Foley's beheading, which was filmed and distributed on social media, that US President Barack Obama sent troops to Syria this summer to rescue a number of Americans being held hostage, including Foley because they believed they had identified the location where the hostages were being held.
But the several dozen special operations troops who were dropped by aircraft into Syria did not find them and engaged in a firefight with IS militants before departing. The officials said a number of militants, but no Americans, were killed. One American suffered a minor injury when an aircraft was hit.
Information is scarce about the identity of the man the Sun newspaper dubbed the "Ali G jihadi". But here's what we do know:
 A former hostage, who was held for a year in the Syrian town of Raqqa, has told the Guardian that the killer was the ringleader of a trio of UK-born extremists the captives nicknamed "The Beatles" because of their nationality
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/08/21/james-foley-british-killer_n_5697149.html?ncid=webmail19

Farmer's Almanac Predicts 'Super-Cold' Winter, More Snow In Eastern U.S.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The Old Farmer's Almanac, the familiar, 223-year-old chronicler of climate, folksy advice and fun facts, is predicting a colder winter and warmer summer for much of the nation.

Published Wednesday, the New Hampshire-based almanac predicts a "super-cold" winter in the eastern two-thirds of the country. The west will remain a little bit warmer than normal.
"Colder is just almost too familiar a term," Editor Janice Stillman said. "Think of it as a refriger-nation." More bad news for those who can't stand snow: Most of the Northeast is expected to get more snowfall than normal, though it will be below normal in New England.
Before unpacking the parka, however, remember that "colder than average" is still only about 2 to 5 degrees difference.
Some other regional highlights:
- Florida's winter could be rainier than most years while other locales in the Southeast and central states will see less rain.
- Summer will be warmer than usual in most places while a drop in rainfall in the country's midsection could hurt crop yields.
- Despite some winter downpours in the west, the almanac says California's drought will likely continue.
- Hurricane season isn't expected to be especially active though a major storm could hit the Gulf Coast in late August.
For loyal readers of an almanac that also tracks to the minute every sunrise and sunset for the year, the timing of this year's publication may come as a surprise. Normally, it hits the stands in mid-September. In recent years, its younger cousin, the Maine-based Farmer's Almanac, has published in August and a competition of sorts has emerged, though Stillman said it had nothing to do with the earlier drop date.
"We've found that folks want the almanac as soon as the issue is done up, right as the growing season is done," she said. "It's also time to order oil, wood, salt for roads. We've had so many inquiries we just decided to get it into people's hands earlier."
The almanac, which has about an 80 percent success rate in its forecasts, employs modern technology but still uses the "secret formula" that founder Robert Thomas devised in 1792. By combining the study of sunspots, prevailing weather patterns and basic meteorology, the almanac's weather staff comes up with a long-range forecast. The temperature deviations are based on 30-year averages compiled by government forecasters.
The almanac also provides advice on planting, astronomy, food, love and trends.