Free Republic

A 1.5 mile-wide asteroid is expected to make its closest approach to Earth on Christmas Eve. Asteroid 2003 SD220, also known as asteroid 163899, will pass our planet from 6.7 million miles (11 million km) away - 28 times farther than the moon. Despite its huge distance, reports have circulated the asteroid could cause earthquakes and trigger volcanoes on Earth. But experts have dismissed these claims, saying that there is no scientific evidence to back up these theories. Nasa says the space rock will make a return to Earth in 2018, but it will pose no threat to our planet...

Gay marriage activists are planning to swarm Starbucks on Tuesday in an attempt to counter the record sales from last week’s Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. The chicken chain enjoyed a surge of support during the Wednesday event, dreamed up by former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee after Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy went on the record backing the “biblical definition of the family unit.” A follow-up protest from Chick-fil-A critics on Friday, which was dubbed Same Sex Kiss Day, was more subdued.

"Members of the Health Access protest group stage a crime scene-like 'body pile-up' as part of their campaign against what they say is the poor state of US Healthcare in Los Angeles"

Hundreds of union members and organizers descended on the streets of downtown Chicago Monday morning to picket the offices of Goldman Sachs Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. The group, which included supporters from community group National People's Action and the Service Employees International Union, has organized the protests to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Bankers Association. The group is demanding that "banks end their over-reliance on greed and profits and commit to using their taxpayer bailouts and backstops to help America's economy recover," said a news release from the Service Employees International Union.