USATODAY.com - Asteroid has 1-in-60ish chance of Earth hit: "satellites. " An asteroid that has a small chance of hitting Earth in the year 2029 was upgraded to an unprecedented level of risk Friday, Dec. 24. Scientists still stress, however, that odds are further observations will show the space rock won't be on a collision course with the planet.
The risk rating for asteroid 2004 MN4 was raised Friday by NASA and a separate group of researchers in Italy.

The asteroid's chance for hitting Earth on April 13, 2029 has now been categorized as a 4 on the Torino Scale. The level 4 rating — never before issued — is reserved for "events meriting concern" versus the vast majority of potentially threatening asteroids that merely merit "careful monitoring."

News: "A leading American contractor has pulled out of a major Iraqi reconstruction project, the latest sign of how the ever-increasing violence in Iraq threatens to overwhelm America's plans to democratise and rebuild the country.
The news emerged less than 24 hours after the devastating explosion at the US military base near Mosul in which 22 people were killed, including 14 soldiers and four contractors, which has sent shock-waves through the United States"

Yahoo! News - Islam shaping a new Europe: "Anyone wondering how the struggle for the soul of Islam could play out in America should look to Europe. Islamic traditions and beliefs are prompting Europeans to re-evaluate practices and laws as well as prized principles, such as the separation of church and state. Nowhere is this more evident than in France, now home to the largest Islamic community on the continent. For the 11th part of this occasional series, a Tribune reporter traveled to a Paris suburb to examine the future that Europe is straining to handle. "