Bus Stops - December 12

Bus Driver Allegedly Told Girl Santa Doesn't Exist (Norwalk Patch) 

(The Norwalk school administration and officials with school bus company First Student are reportedly investigating a parent’s allegation that a bus driver from the company told his 8-year-old daughter that Santa Claus doesn’t exist and that Jesus was not born on Christmas Day.)

Bus passengers cower for safety in brick 'terror' (BBC) 

(Police were trying to trace a youth who threw bricks at a bus in a village in the Borders. The vehicle, operated by Munro's, was attacked as it pulled into the terminus at St Boswells at 19:00 on Saturday. Lothian and Borders Police said a group of youths verbally assaulted the driver before one of them hurled missiles, smashing a rear window.)

"New Year's Eve" leads as movie box office fizzles (Reuters) 

(Romantic comedy "New Year's Eve" topped the domestic movie box office during the weekend but Hollywood had little to celebrate as North American ticket sales slumped to their lowest level in three years. "New Year's Eve" led the charts with a disappointing $13.7 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters on Sunday.)

Alec Baldwin apologies to himself over airline incident on 'SNL' (Boston) 

("30 Rock'' star Alec Baldwin made a surprise appearance on "Saturday Night Live,'' playing American Airlines pilot "Steve Rogers'' who commanded the flight Baldwin was thrown off last week after refusing to stop playing a mobile phone game during takeoff. Baldwin, wearing a pilot's uniform and sporting a mustache and Southern accent, appeared on the "Weekend Update" segment of the comedy show to offer an official apology for the incident.)

Lindsay Lohan's $5,000 Chanel purse stolen in Hawaii is returned, minus $10,000 in cash (New York Daily News) 

(Lindsay Lohan’s $5,000 Chanel purse that had disappeared from a car while vacationing in Hawaii was returned, TMZ now reports. But the $10,000 cash inside the purse was not. The site reports that Lohan accidentally left the precious cargo in a car while partying sober in Laie, Hawaii - and when she returned to the vehicle two hours later, it was missing.)

Shark Spares Surfer By The Skin Of Its Teeth (Odd News) 

(Stephen King was taking an early morning surf near the village of Angourie in New South Wales when the shark swam up and lunged at him. He quickly pulled his legs out of the water, saving them from major injury, and escaped with only minor puncture wounds.)

(Bus Driver Note: Wait? What?!? Stephen King!)

Coca-Cola moves formula from bank for 1st time in 86 years to new vault at Atlanta museum (Washington Post) 

(The Coca-Cola Co. has made its secret formula the centerpiece of a new exhibit at its corporate museum, ditching the confines of the bank vault where the list of ingredients had been stored since 1925. The world’s largest beverage maker said Thursday a new vault containing the formula will be on display for visitors to its World of Coca-Cola museum in downtown Atlanta. However, the formula itself, which dates back to 1886, will remain hidden from view.)

Stockton man may have lived with corpse for months (LA Times) 

(A Stockton man may have lived in an apartment for months with the corpse of a woman, police officials said. The corpse was found in an apartment Monday by the building manager after he evicted the tenant. "Open up the bathroom, and that's when I saw the corpse with the feet sticking out," said the apartment manager, who identified himself as "Mike." "In the bathroom lying next to the tub." Police have not yet confirmed whether the death was the result of a homicide. However, they are investigating it as a possible homicide because of "suspicious circumstances.")

The 'fake woman doctor who killed man, 22, by injecting his penis with silicone during pumping party' (Daily Mail) 

(A fake doctor injected a man's penis with silicone, killing him, police said Friday. Justin Street visited Kasia Rivera, 34, at her home in New Jersey for the penis enhancement proceedure on May 5, prosecutors say. But just a day after attending the so-called 'pumping-party' the 22-year-old was dead.)

Will this be the first time the world sees the Ark of Covenant? Leaking roof in Ethiopian chapel 'will lead to relic being revealed' (Daily Mail) 

(A very British problem of a leaky church roof could be about to give the world the chance to glimpse the legendary Ark of the Covenant. That's because the claimed home of the iconic relic - a small chapel in Ethiopia - has sprung a leak and so the Ark could now be on the move. The Ark - which The Bible says holds God's Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai - is said to have been kept in Aksum, in the Chapel of the Tablet, adjacent to St Mary of Zion Church, since the 1960s.)

Police Find 100 Snakes, 70 Tortoises In Hotel (My Fox NY) 

(Authorities in the western German city of Cologne discovered 100 snakes, 70 tortoises and 20 frogs in a hotel room, the German news agency DPA reported. Police said three Chinese guests smuggled the animals into the room in their luggage. Hotel staff called authorities Friday after the trio appeared to be behaving suspiciously. Police arrived and then searched the luggage, finding the animals alive.)

Is this Kevin Smith's last film? (Whit Sunday Times) 

(HE'S said he's retiring from filmmaking so this could be your last chance to catch a Kevin Smith movie at the cinemas. Smith, the love-him-or-hate-him cult helmsman of indie flicks like Clerks and Mallrats, has said he's giving up directing after Red State, a film about a group of teens who get terrorised by a group of religious nutters in middle America. When it comes to Red State, reviews have been middling, with many expressing surprise at the film's high body count. In New Zealand, it's classified as a horror film and has an R18 rating, so you have been warned.)

The Dark Knight Rises poster shows Bane walking away from Batman mask (metro UK) 

(The dark and moody promo shot shows Bane's back being lashed by the rain as he walks away from a shattered Batman mask lying on the ground. The tag line for the poster is ominously: 'The Legend Ends.' Christopher Nolan has previously said that the third Batman film will be set eight years after The Dark Knight.)

'Batman' wins early at Spike Video Game Awards (Desert News) 

("Batman: Arkham City" swept up three trophies at the Spike Video Game Awards. The superhero sequel from developer Rocksteady won best action-adventure, adapted and Xbox 360 game at the beginning of Saturday's ninth annual Spike Video Game Awards, which honors outstanding achievements within the gaming industry over the past year.)

Rocksteady’s ‘Batman: Arkham World’ Teased, But Not Happening (Game Rant) 

(It would be an understatement to say that Rocksteady Studios is currently sitting atop a high horse in the game sindustry, having more than exceeded expectations with this year’s Batman: Arkham City, and receiving the nod for best Action/Adventure game from the Spike VGAs – check out our review if you doubt it deserved it. The game wasn’t the only thing to earn some praise at the show, as Batman’s main villain was crowned as the fans’ favorite character of the year. In his acceptance speech, the Mark Hamill-voiced Joker let more than his gratitude show though, apparently ‘leaking’ the title of Rocksteady’s next journey in the Arkham universe. Could Batman: Arkham World be the next game in the series?)

Rats display human-like empathy and will help rodents in distress (Telegraph) 

(They are a by-word for cunning and disloyalty but now it appears their reputation could be unfounded as rats actually display human-like empathy and will unselfishly go to the aid of a distressed fellow rodent, research has shown. The results of an experiment in which rats opened a door to free trapped cage-mates astonished scientists.)

A Cookie-less Christmas? Norway Faces Butter Shortage (Time) 

(Denmark is trying to wean its people off butter by imposing a hefty “fat tax,” but their neighbors across the Skagerrak in Norway can’t get enough of the golden goodness. A diet fad in the Scandinavian country has depleted the nation’s supply of butter. While we’d use the term “diet” lightly, the newest craze is a low-carb, high-fat feeding frenzy that has put a strain on Norway’s butter supply.)