Each week, Ben Hopkinson looks back at a serious, crazy, and happy news story from the past week.
Serious News
A group of Animal Rebellion protestors have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to a fountain memorial on the site of Buckingham Palace.
Appearing at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday were Louis McKechnie, 23, Christopher Bennett, 27, Riley Ings, 27, Claire Smith, 26, and Rachel Steele, 48 – as they were accused of causing more than £7,000 worth of damage to the Victoria Memorial back in August 2021.
The group have all denied the charge, however Ailsa McKeon prosecuting has said that the dye has stained the stonework of the Grade I listed fountain.
The trial is set to continue.
Crazy News
Over in the States, residents near a taxi car park full of robotic cars were kept up all night as the cars were honking and getting into each other's way.
Located in San Francisco, Waymo's autonomous cars had an update rolled out in which they would beep their horns when another car would reverse close to them. Due to the small size of the car park, this then sent ripples throughout the entire fleet.
One resident got so annoyed that she started a live stream of the antics as rest was not on the agenda.
The taxi firm – owned by Google's parent company, Alphabet – have resolved the issue as a spokesperson says: “We recently introduced a useful feature to help avoid low-speed collisions by honking if other cars get too close while reversing toward us. It has been working great in the city, but we didn't quite anticipate it would happen so often in our own parking lots”.
Happy News
A 22-year-old who had a fear of rejection has cured herself by participating in outrageous challenges in public.
Sophie Jones has so far amassed 45 things on her list – including asking to sing on a stage in the middle of a theatre production, walking into a lake fully clothed and asking to take items from other shopper's trolleys.
Sophie's fear began at school when she was bullied and began hiding herself away from friendships, opportunities and jobs.
Speaking of how she felt, Sophie said: “I had no confidence within myself, I saw others with opportunities and thought, ‘why did I not have them?’ Doing things that terrified me changed my life, and my confidence has skyrocketed”.
In February, Sophie became aware of rejection therapy which urges people to get rejected as much as possible.
Speaking of overcoming her fear, Sophie says: “I want everyone to realize they can do anything they want. The greatest opportunities are just around the corner.”
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