Gamblers Take Note: Scientists Tone Down Asteroid Warnings

Astronomers have significantly softened the wording of the Torino scale -- an asteroid risk-assessment system for evaluating the danger of Earth-bound meteors.
Akin to the Richter scale, the Torino scale goes from zero to 10, with zero representing no risk and 10 warning of an impact that could wipe everything off the planet. But scary phrases from the old warning system like "localized destruction," "regional devastation" and "certain global climatic catastrophe" have been modified.
...The outdated wording, agreed upon in 1999 in Torino, Italy, by the International Astronomers Union, used alarming language sometimes resulting in doomsday headlines like the Kansas City Star's "Look! Up in the sky! A big asteroid is heading our way!!" (registration required).