(CNN) -- Kevin Pearce One of the country's top snowboarders, who was considered a favorite to make the U.S. Olympic team, was in critical but stable condition Sunday after an accident while training last week at Park City, Utah.





The Los Angeles Times reports that the 22-year-old from Norwich, Vermont, was wearing a helmet while attempting a twisting double back flip on an icy halfpipe. Pearce hit his head, was knocked unconscious and was then airlifted to the University of Utah hospital for surgery. He sustained severe traumatic brain injury, one of his doctors said in a statement. Pearce, a beloved athlete, was one of the few snowboarders who experts thought could challenge top contender Shaun White, who has won almost every top snowboarding medal.





Los Angeles Times: Snowboarder in critical condition





Adrian Smith One of the world's most widely recognized architects is one of the principal designers of the world's tallest tower, the Burj Dubai, which opens today in the emirate of Dubai. The 160-plus-story structure has already been hailed as a monumental architectural achievement but is seen by some as a symbol of the city's unbridled excess. The majestic silvery construction houses a luxury hotel, apartments and offices. Six years in the making, the Burj Dubai reaches 818 meters, or half a mile, into the sky above Dubai, with dizzying views of the ambitious building program that has transformed the emirate and left it swamped by debt.





Smith worked for four decades at the structure's architecture firm, Chicago, Illinois-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which called the Burj "a bold global icon that will serve as a model for future urban centers." Declaring that "tall buildings are back," the company predicts that the groundbreaking techniques it used to push the Burj to new heights should enable the construction of even taller towers in the future.





CNN: Debt-hit Dubai opens world's tallest tower





Kurt Westergaard  The Danish political cartoonist was threatened by a Somali man wielding an ax and knife. According to Westergaard, the man tried to enter the house by breaking through a glass door Friday night. Westergaard took his 5-year-old granddaughter into a specially built "panic room" when he realized what was happening, Chief Superintendent Ole Madsen said. Police said a home alarm alerted them to the scene in the city of Aarhus, and they were attacked by the suspect when they responded. Police shot the suspect and he was taken into custody. Westergaard, who has been threatened for drawing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2005, is ordinarily accompanied by bodyguards, but there were no guards at the house when the break-in occurred.





The New York Times quoted a Danish newspaper report that Denmark's security and intelligence agency knew that the accused Somali man was held in Kenya in September for allegedly helping to plot an attack against Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited Kenya in August. The man was released earlier this fall by Kenyan authorities due to lack of evidence, the newspaper Politiken reported. Denmark's ambassador to Kenya told the news agency Ritzau, however, that the Somali man was arrested in Kenya for incomplete travel documents, adding that Kenyan authorities never told the embassy that he was a suspect in a terror plot.





CNN: Cartoonist hid in 'panic room' during attack





Annise Parker  Houston's first openly gay mayor will be sworn in today. Parker's election last month also makes her the second woman to become mayor of Houston. Other cities such as Providence, Rhode Island, and Portland, Oregon, have picked openly gay mayors. Houston is the fourth-largest U.S. city.





Parker's victory is also remarkable because a few years ago, Houston rejected a referendum to offer benefits to same-sex partners of city workers. Also, the city sits in a state where gay marriage is against the law. Parker, 53, has never shied away from, nor made an issue of, her sexual orientation. She has been with her partner for 19 years and they have two adopted children.





CNN: Houston elects first openly gay mayor





What makes a person intriguing
Where is the tallest tower in the world? Where is the world's tallest tower? When were injured top U.S. snowboard? Which fourth-largest U.S. has openly gay mayor? Who is openly gay? Where is the world's tallest tower opening? What is the fourth-largest city in the U.S.? When was the snowboarder injured? What is the name of the top U.S. snowboarder?
of Dubai. Burj Dubai, Sunday Annise Parker Annise Parker of Dubai. Houston Sunday Shaun White,
question: Where is the tallest tower in the world?, answer: of Dubai. | question: Where is the world's tallest tower?, answer: Burj Dubai, | question: When were injured top U.S. snowboard?, answer: Sunday | question: Which fourth-largest U.S. has openly gay mayor?, answer: Annise Parker | question: Who is openly gay?, answer: Annise Parker | question: Where is the world's tallest tower opening?, answer: of Dubai. | question: What is the fourth-largest city in the U.S.?, answer: Houston | question: When was the snowboarder injured?, answer: Sunday | question: What is the name of the top U.S. snowboarder?, answer: Shaun White,