Toronto Star

STATUS UPDATES

A week in which a kangaroo smashes a window and a homeless man is tattooed by partying tourists

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DISTRACTIN­G A

kangaroo crashing through a window of a home, which apparently is startling even in Australia. Residents trapped it in the bathroom, the BBC reports, after it “ran amok” in Melbourne. The residents weren’t harmed, but the kangaroo suffered cuts and distress.

BANNED

Smartphone­s at French schools. Legislatio­n passed this week bans students from taking smartphone­s and tablets to school, or at least forces them to turn them off, according to Agence FrancePres­se. The law does make exceptions for educationa­l use, extracurri­cular actives and students with disabiliti­es.

CRUSHED:

About $7 million worth of “contraband” luxury cars in the Philippine­s. President Rodrigo Duterte led the destructio­n of 68 luxury vehicles in his latest bid to deter smuggling, his office said. “You have to show to the world that you have a viable place of investment and business,” he said.

HUMILIATED:

A homeless man, by British tourists having a stag party at a Spanish resort. The tourists paid a man in Benidorm 100 euros to have the name of the groom tattooed on the forehead of a 34-year-old man, the Guardian reports. The incident provoked outrage, including anger toward the tattoo parlour.

DISRUPTING:

A 7-year-old in New Zealand. Zoe Carew was bothered by a sign indicating work on power lines. It said LINEMEN. She and her family discussed it and emailed the country’s transport agency: “Can you please change the sign to say “LINE-WORKERS” it asked. The agency chief agreed and will phase in new signs.

SELF-EXILED:

An Illinois state representa­tive accused of trying to “catfish” other men with pictures of his ex-girlfriend. Nick Sauer, a Republican, resigned after allegedly using pictures on a fake Instragram account to trick men into “graphic conversati­ons of a sexual nature,” CNN reports.

CAVED IN:

Australia’s secondlarg­est supermarke­t, to “bag rage.” After Coles charged shoppers 15 cents for reusable bags (and removed single-use ones), customers were furious. The grocer backed down. Major retailers in most Australian states face fines if they supply single-use plastic bags, the Daily Telegraph reports.

DEFENDED:

The fashion choices of Paul Manafort, on trial in Virginia for fraud. A $15,000 (U.S.) ostrich jacket was among his expenses. Some leather experts said it was reasonable for the genre. One connoisseu­r told the Guardian: “An ostrich jacket, if it’s custom-made? Fifteen thousand dollars is pretty cheap.”

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