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Near-Earth asteroid 2013 NE19, which is about the size of a football field, passed within 2.6 million miles of Earth on July 22. There was no danger that it would strike Earth, but there is a concern because it was discovered just last Monday (July 15). Had it been aimed at Earth, we would have had just eight days to prepare. An object that size would have the potential to cause serious damage, even catastrophic damage, if it struck a populated area or a part of the ocean that might have led to tsunamis. There are estimated to be tens of thousands of undocumented asteroids in space, and so far no comprehensive program with sufficient funding to identify and track them all.

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Social class was something that few Americans cared about, but "Downton Abby" has changed all that. Many of our ancestors emigrated to the US in order to AVOID social snubbing, but those who remained had to find their slot in the social pecking order. What determines this?

Unless you’re a Royal (or married to one), it’s confusing, but a new study suggests that the social position of grandparents has a direct effect on which class their grandchildren belong to.
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On July 17 and 18 steam was observed rising from Fukushima Daiichi Reactor 3, raising concerns that the damaged reactor’s nuclear reaction had started again. If this has happened, another large release of radioactive material from the planet is probable. Then, yesterday, Tokyo Electric Power admitted that radioactive groundwater had leaked from the plant into the sea. Levels of cancer-causing cesium 134 have increased by 110 percent in the past few days. So far, Tepco has not been able to explain this increase, but it would be consistent with new nuclear reactions taking place in the reactor’s core.
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Big Data—it means that everyone from the government to the average website can follow your every movement on the internet. Go to a website to look at a possible new car and the next thing you know, when you go to Facebook, car dealer ads are appearing on your page. Make an internet phone call, send an email—somebody’s watching, and profiting, from your activities. Send a G-Mail, and reader algorithms detect the content in order to send you ads. And then there’s the NSA, which seems to have its eyes everywhere.

It doesn’t have to be that way. You CAN regain your privacy. This weekend we detail some of the things you can do to regain what, just a few years ago, we regarded as an inalienable right—our privacy.
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