Bette Midler Goes After Lady Gaga, Philly Cracks Down On Texting, and Twitter Remembers Borders

Like us on Facebook.com/TrendingNow. And follow us on Twitter @YahooTrending.

It's no secret Lady Gaga likes to shock the public with her look. You've seen her in meat, drenched in blood, and covered with Kermits. But Bette Midler called Gaga a

copycat on Twitter. The beef is about a wheelchair-bound mermaid character that Gaga unveiled at a concert in Sydney last week. It turns out that Midler had performed in an almost identical getup for millions of fans three decades ago, while playing her alter-ego character named Delores DeLago. This weekend Midler fired off a series of critical tweets to the pop star, saying, "I've been doing the mermaid in a wheelchair since 1980. You can keep the meat dress." In case you're wondering, Gaga was "born this way" in 1986. Gaga's 11 million Twitter followers didn't like the cracks at their Mother Monster and said Gaga did the mermaid look better. When asked about the copycat accusations, Lady Gaga told Access Hollywood's Billy Bush, "I had no idea that she did that and I'm a huge Bette Midler fan...Maybe we're just cut from the same cloth. I couldn't hop around in that tail so I just stuck myself in a wheelchair." Midler also toned down her message. She tweeted to Gaga, "Fabulous mermaids can co-exist."

Two things that may not be able to co-exist are walking and texting, at least if you live in Philadelphia. Philly pedestrians who text while they walk could be fined as part of the city's "Give respect, Get respect" program. The campaign aims to curb bad behavior among motorists, bikers, and pedestrians, and the city has already given nearly 600 warnings to cyclists, many guilty of running red lights or not riding in bike lanes. Now Philly says it's cracking down on walking texters, who might have to cough up $120 for texting and not watching where they're going. Hundreds of people across social media are ticked off by the texting clamp down. They're calling the City of Brotherly Love a "nanny state" and call the law "ridiculous." But if you remember the viral video of a woman falling into a mall fountain while texting and not paying attention, you might think twice before dissing Philly's new law.

Because of the slipping economy and e-reader revolution, Borders is headed to the history section. After it couldn't find a buyer, the nation's second-largest bookstore says it will close its remaining 399 stores by September, causing an emotional response on Twitter. Nearly 11,000 employees will be laid off, some of whom are sending nostalgic tweets like, "I will miss the company I've worked for for 10 years... RIP Borders. You'll always have a special place in my heart. :(" But other tweets are not as touching. One New York resident tweeted, "So we lost #Borders? Guess I'm gonna have to help them clean out the Columbus Circle store." And just in case you're wondering, Borders' sales start Friday.

Do you believe that Gaga didn't know about Midler's mermaid past? Tell us on Facebook!