Russian Meteor: Close Encounter, Preventing Impacts

Feb 18, 2013 7:03pm MOSCOW — As if Friday’s massive meteor explosion over central Russia weren’t enough, just hours later a large asteroid buzzed dangerously close to Earth.And that evening, the California sky was lit up by a fireball, apparently entering Earth’s atmosphere.It’s a barrage from space that has people asking: Are we ready for the big one?Nearly 100...

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Nuclear waste: too hot to handle?

Cumbria's decision to veto an underground repository for the UK shows how hard it is to find a long-term solution THERE are 437 nuclear power reactors in 31 countries around the world. The number of repositories for high-level radioactive waste? Zero. The typical lifespan of a nuclear power plant is 60 years....

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Indonesia floods, landslides kill 17

MANADO, Indonesia: Four children were among 17 people killed over the weekend in central Indonesia after heavy rains triggered floods and landslides, officials said on Monday.The children, aged between two and nine, died along with 13 adults when flooding and landslides hit the northern part of Sulawesi island early Sunday, provincial disaster management agency spokesman Howke Makawarung...

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LG's 5.5-inch Optimus G Pro to reach U.S. in Q2

LG Optimus G Pro(Credit:LG Electronics)After some earlier teasing, LG Electronics fully detailed its Optimus G Pro Android phone today, a high-end model with 5.5-inch screen, LTE networking, and a quad-core 1.7GHz processor.LG often sells its phones first in its home market of South Korea, and it looks like that's the plan for the Optimus G Pro, too. But it'll arrive in other areas, too, including...

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Meet the Meteorite Hunter

Michael Farmer is one of the world's only full-time meteorite hunters. Since the 1990s, the 40-year-old Tucson, Arizona, resident has been scouring the world for pieces of interstellar rock, racing to be the first one on the scene and selling his finds to museums and private collectors. On Friday, as Russians reportedly scrambled to collect fragments from a passing meteorite that injured...

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Country Star Mindy McCready Shot Herself, Cops Say

Mindy McCready, the country singer who soared to the top of the charts with her debut album, "Ten Thousand Angels," but struggled with substance abuse, served time in jail and fought a lengthy battle with her mother over custody of her son has died of what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. She was 37.Deputies from the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office were...

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False memories prime immune system for future attacks

IN A police line-up, a falsely remembered face is a big problem. But for the body's police force – the immune system – false memories could be a crucial weapon. When a new bacterium or virus invades the body, the immune system mounts...

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Russian meteorite: The conspiracy theories

A strange time for a military attack?(Credit:CNN; screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)A good hearty conspiracy theory can shine a sharp light on two of humanity's most enduring traits.One, of course, is humanity's boundless imagination. The other is humanity's essential suspicion of humanity.So while you might be deeply immersed in Bill Nye's explanation of the Russian meteorite, those with darker...

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Picture Archive: Making Mount Rushmore, 1935-1941

Photograph from Rapid City Chamber of Commerce/National GeographicThere's no such thing as Presidents' Day.According to United States federal government code, the holiday is named Washington's Birthday, and has been since it went nationwide in 1885.But common practice is more inclusive. The holiday expanded to add in other U.S. presidents in the 1960s, and the moniker Presidents' Day became popular...

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Meteor Blast Creates Rush to Cash In

The shattered glass and broken walls caused by the massive explosion of a monstrous meteor over this remote, industrial Russian city is not even cleaned up, and people are already trying to cash in.Some residents want to turn this city known mostly for its tank factory into a tourist destination, while others from all around the world are determined to find fragments of the meteorite.Meteor...

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