Nolan Won't Recast Joker In 'Batman 3' » Director Christopher Nolan says he will not bring back the Joker, the villain played so maniacally in "The Dark Knight" by the late Heath Ledger that the role earned him an Academy Award a year after his death.

'Fatso' the crocodile takes a bite out of wandering drunk » man ejected from a pub in Australia broke into a zoo and climbed onto the back of a crocodile named Fatso, which bit him on the leg but then let him go. Police say they're surprised the croc didn't inflict worse damage.

Melina Kanakaredes leaving 'CSI: NY' after 6 seasons; CBS says no word on replacement » CBS said Monday that the actress has decided to leave the crime drama after six seasons. The network expressed disappointment but said it respected her choice to "move on."

Fewer people are watching late-night talk shows » Johnny Carson in his prime never had to worry about a Jon Stewart or George Lopez. Or video games and the Internet. Or, for that matter, his own network. At 11:35 p.m., more people now watch programs saved on their digital video recorders than either Leno and Letterman, the Nielsen Co. said.

Dog 'shoots' owner in New Zealand » A New Zealand man is recovering from surgery after being shot in the buttock by his dog.

South Korea deploys robot capable of killing intruders along border with North » South Korea has deployed sentry robots capable of detecting and killing intruders along the heavily-fortified border with North Korea, officials said on Tuesday.

Artist condemned over I Will Survive dance routine at Auschwitz » Jane Korman, who is Jewish, filmed three generations of her family performing dance routines to the 70s disco track during a trip to the infamous concentration camp in Poland.

Police: Woman sent herself text threats » An Orange County woman was sentenced to a year in jail for sending hundreds of threatening text messages — to herself. Prosecutors said Jeanne Mundango Manunga told police her former boyfriend and his sister-in-law were behind the threats.

Ohio crash leaves scared pet monkey atop pole » Police say a truck crash in Ohio left animal carcasses all over a road and the driver’s pet monkey stranded atop a utility pole.

XP, the OS that won't die: 'Downgrade Rights' extended to 2020 » It is the OS that wouldn't die. It sounds like a horror movie, and for Microsoft, it probably seems like one. Microsoft announced on Monday that the "Windows XP Downgrade rights," which allows a purchaser of Windows 7 to choose to downgrade their OS to Windows XP, without paying for two copies of Windows, would continue until 2020.

An iPhone 4 recall would cost Apple $1.5 billion » Crisis management experts seem to agree that an iPhone 4 recall for its "Death Grip" problem is inevitable. However, most analysts believe that the odds of an iPhone 4 recall are small.

3-story eyeball watches over Chicago » Chicagoans be warned - you're being watched, by a giant three-story high eyeball.

Star-studded crowd sees Jeff Beck blow roof off NY club with scorching set honoring Les Paul » Jeff Beck honored his late friend and mentor, Les Paul, with an intimate performance Wednesday night at his favorite haunt, the Iridium Jazz Club. The legendary Paul played there every Monday night until his death last August, so it was an appropriate place for a celebration on the night he would have turned 95.

Study: Britons Don't Give a Darn About TV Swearing » The study published Wednesday found that mild profanities such as "damn" were generally considered acceptable at any time, while some potentially discriminatory words -- including "loony" and "mental" -- were widely considered inoffensive.

Scientists wait in Outback for Japanese spacecraft » Scientists will be eagerly scanning the night sky over the Australian Outback this weekend for the long-delayed return of the first spacecraft to complete a round-trip journey to an asteroid.

Conan O'Brien drops the needle on a vinyl record » The once and future late night television host laid down a scorching rockabilly-flavored set Thursday night at Jack White's Third Man Records and plans to release a vinyl album of the show.

Penile girth surgery falls flat for patient » The man reported the Malmo plastic surgeon to Sweden’s Medical Responsibility Board with claims that his penile girth surgery has not made an inch of difference either way, The Local reports.

Calif. Mom Discovers Abducted Kids Via Facebook » Prince Sagala searched for her son and daughter for 15 years, fearing she had lost them forever to the estranged husband who took them to his native Mexico. Then one day, she typed her child's name into Facebook on a library computer, and suddenly found herself exchanging messages with a young woman who said she was her daughter in what experts say was a rare online success in the search for missing kids online.

Officer shot his own bullet-proof vest » A former police officer, who's already admitted he took a pizza bribe to make a traffic ticket go away, is also coming clean about a bizarre shooting case.

Suspect at court tried to sell GPS to owner » Police say a Connecticut man who appeared at a courthouse to answer a larceny charge broke into several cars in front of the building, took a GPS unit and inadvertently tried to sell it to its owner.

Fergie shares a flirty moment with Nelson Mandela before the World Cup kickoff » Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas discovered she has a not-so-secret admirer in South Africa: Nelson Mandela.

Hospital Prepares To Treat Turtles Hurt By Oil » As the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico claims the lives of many sea creatures, workers at the only licensed turtle hospital in the U.S. prepare for the worst.

World's oldest leather shoe found » Scientists working in Armenia have unearthed a leather shoe that is about 5,500 years old.

Connecticut man survives days stuck in furnace » No one had heard from Jonathan Metz in days. When police went into his house they got a big surprise -- the missing man was stuck in the furnace of his own home.

UK agency to spearhead Mars mission » ExoMars is due to land on the Red Planet in 2018 as part of a joint European and US mission.

$200,000 and celebrity entitlement: Lohan avoids jail again » Lindsay Lohan avoided jail again, by posting another $200,000 in bail money. According to People magazine, Lohan's SCRAM ankle monitor alerted authorities Sunday night while she attended an after-party for the MTV Movie Awards.

GM retracts 'Don't say 'Chevy'' » U.S. automaker General Motors put an in-house directive in reverse Thursday, backing away from a memo that asked employees to stop saying "Chevy."