Carter-Burton Split, Bourbon Virus, Malfoy's Fate

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title: Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton Split

text: Longtime couple Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton have split after about 13 years together, ABC News has confirmed.

Carter's press representative confirmed that they "separated amicably earlier this year and have continued to be friends and co-parent their children."

The couple never married but first began dating in the early 2000s. They have an 11-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter together. media:27809860

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title: Don't Fear the 'Bourbon Virus,' Bourbon Drinkers

text: A new tick-borne virus has been discovered in Kansas and dubbed the "Bourbon virus," but it doesn't have anything to do with the drink.

The never-before-seen virus was named for Bourbon County, Kansas, where its only known victim lived. The man got sick over the summer and died, and it's taken six months for doctors at the University of Kansas Hospital as well as state and national epidemiologists to solve the mystery of his death.

The illness is similar to another tick-borne illness called the heartland virus, which is also passed via tick bites, in that they both cause fever and malaise. But unlike heartland, Bourbon virus also includes anorexia as a symptom.

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title: What Happened to Draco Mafloy?

text: Santa isn't the only one delivering presents this week as J.K. Rowling is continuing to fill in some of the blanks with her 12 days of Harry Potter stories on her site Pottermore.

In her latest entry, the Harry Potter mastermind revealed what happened to Slytherin villain Draco Malfoy after "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

According to MTV News, Draco refused to "follow the same old pure-blood line" and saw things differently after Potter saved him in the final moments of "Deathly Hallows."

For those not privy to the "Potter" books, Malfoy came from a pureblood family who taught him that only those coming from a mother and father both of magical decent were worthy. Anyone coming from one parent of magical origin mixed with another without such powers was lower class, according to the Malfoy family.

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title: FDA Lifts Ban on Gay Blood Donation

text: In a major shift, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will recommend changing the controversial policy that bans gay men from donating blood.

A statement released from FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said the agency would recommend allowing gay and bisexual men to donate blood if they have abstained from sex with men for at least one year.

Previously, men who have had sex with other men since 1977 were banned from ever donating blood in the U.S. The ban dates back to 1983 and was started after doctors realized that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, could be transmitted through blood transfusions.

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