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Earthquake shakes Athens A 6.7 magnitude quake rocked Greece this afternoon, centered about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Athens near the island of Kythira. Representative Tom DeLay not seeking future Majority Leader position Texas Representative Tom DeLay announced he was stepping down as Majority Leader of the House of Representatives and would not try for the position again.

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Interview with Frank Warren, founder of PostSecret An exclusive Wikinews interview with the founder of PostSecret. PostSecret is a web site where people release their secrets by sending them in on homemade postcards.

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General Sir Michael Rose, former United Nations commander in Bosnia, has told the BBC that British Prime Minister Tony Blair should be "impeached" over the war in Iraq. Ahmad Kazemi, the top commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards ground forces, and ten others have been reportedly killed when their plane crashed in northwestern Iran. The Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon has started breathing independently after doctors reduced the inflow of anaesthetic drugs in an attempt to waken the prime minister from deep sedation. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney was hospitalized when he complained of breathing trouble. He was later released from the hospital.

Dick Cheney Released After Heath Scare
Early Monday morning, Vice President Dick Cheney suffered from shortness of breath and was taken to the hospital in a government car. Doctors performed an electrocardiogram and determined that it was "unchanged". They eventually determined that he was "retaining fluid in his lungs" and was prescribed a diuretic and released later that morning around 7:30. He returned to work on Monday after resting at his home.

Doctors say that an anti-inflammatory prescribed to him for an operation on his foot may have played a role in the health scare. He was seen Friday using a cane while touring a Harley Davidson plant in Kansas City, MO, and told workers there that "Rumsfeld was chewing on my ankles."

Cheney has had a history of heart-related issues for several years and recently had a pacemaker implanted.

Archbishop Levada questioned regarding sex abuse cases in Portland
Archbishop William Joseph Levada, who was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Portland, Oregon from 1986 to 1995, was deposed in San Francisco on January 9. Levada was questioned by the plantiffs in a lawsuit seeking damages from the Archdiocese of Portland for sexual abuse allegedly performed by priests in the archdiocese. The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy protection days before the trial was set to begin.

Levada, one of the highest ranking Americans in the Vatican, was the Archbishop of San Francisco from 1995 to 2005, when he was appointed to succeed Pope Benedict XVI as Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. Levada was served with a subponea to testify in this case last August, immediatly before leaving the United States to assume his new duties in Rome. When Levada arrived at the deposition, he was served another subponea, to testify in an abuse case involving the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

Michael Morey, an attorney for the plantiffs, stated, "We expect to find out what he knows and when he knew it." The plantiffs are seeking over $150 million in damages. Kelly Clark, another plantiff attorney, stated, "We are trying to prove that the Archdiocese of Portland, over the last 40 years, had a policy and practice of responding to child abuse claims in a less-than-appropriate manner." Judge Elizabeth Perris barred attorneys from asking Levada about his current position, or his activities when serving at the Congration during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

A federal bankruptcy judge ruled on December 30 that parish and school assests of the Portland Archdiocese can be used to pay claims and other debts of the archdiocese. The archdiocese had argued that the assets were not under its control, and therefore not available to settle the claims.

Richmond serial slayers arrested in Philadelphia
Two suspects, believed to be responsible for a killing spree that started on New Year's day in the Richmond, Virginia area, were apprehended in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday where they were held on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and auto theft. The two declined to fight extradiction to Virginia and were flown into the Richmond International Airport Monday afternoon.

Police believe the total of seven victims from two different crime scenes were linked, as both groups were bound with duct tape prior to their being brutally murdered. The suspects, both 28-year-olds, are Ray Joseph Dandridge and Ricky Gevon "Cooley" Gray.

The initial incident took place on New Year's day when all four members of the Harvey family were discovered in their basement bound by tape and with their throats slit. Their house was set on fire before the perpetrators left in what was apparently a home-invasion robbery. A family friend alerted authorities after arriving at the Harvey's home for a 2pm family and friends chili party gathering to bring in the new year that Sunday.

Emergency crews responded and put out the fire, which at that point had only caused moderate damage, and then discovered Bryan Harvey, 49, his wife Kathryn, 39, and their two children Stella, 9, and Ruby, 4. Harvey was a musician who achieved some airplay while in the 1980's duo House of Freaks, and his wife was a well-known Richmond toy store owner who also happened to be the half sister of Steven Culp who played Rex Van De Kamp on Desperate Housewives.

Police initially believed the Harvey family murders were committed by someone close to the family. But as later events unfolded in nearby Chesterfield County, a more random picture emerged.

A witness reported that a white van was parked outside the Harvey residence where a woman identified as 21-year-old Ashley Baskerville was said to be inside it at the time of the murders.

Then two days later, on Tuesday at the Goolsby residence, a relative speaking for the shaken victims of a seperate home-invasion robbery said that the Baskerville woman was with two men who forced their way into the home and robbed them of a computer, television, DVD player and money.

Ultimately, Ashley Baskerville was found dead on Friday, bound with duct tape and murdered at her parent’s residence along with her mother Mary Tucker, 47 and step-father Percyell Tucker, 55. That residence is located no more than 3 miles from the Harvey residence.

The white van believed to have been the one spotted in front of the Harvey residence was recovered at the Tucker home. A green Chevrolet Blazer was taken by Dandridge and Gray to travel to west Philadelphia where they arrived some time on Friday afternoon at the home of Dandridge's father. The two were arrested there by a SWAT team.

Police are also interested in any possible connection the two might have with the murder of Gray’s wife. The body of Treva Gray was found on November 5 southwest of Pittsburgh, in the town of Washington, Pennsylvania. Her murder occured less than two weeks after Dandridge's release of from prison.

Dandridge was released from James River Correctional Center November 2005 after serving a ten year prison sentence for robbery. Gray is Dandridge's uncle, and believed to be from Arlington, in Northern Virginia.

US Dept of Justice evacuated over homeless person's coat on bus
The US Department of Justice in Washington, DC was temporarily evacuated Monday morning when a suspicious package was found on a nearby bus.

According to city transport officials, a vagrant had left a coat on the bus and an investigation by police had revealed this not to be a threat.

The evacuation, it was stressed, was purely a precautionary measure.

First Tropical Cyclone of 2006 forms off West Australia
The first tropical cyclone of the 2006 Southern Hemisphere cyclone season is off the coast of Western Australia and is predicted to cross land around 9:00PM West Australian Time (1:00PM UTC).

Cyclone Clare has been upgraded to a category three storm by the Australian Bureau of Meterology. Earlier today it was feared that Claire could be become a category four storm as it gets closer to land. The Bureau of Meterology warned that if it became category four it could bring winds upto 240 km/h.

Current warnings are for "very destructive winds with gusts to 195 kilometres per hour are expected in the Dampier, Karratha and Mardie areas this evening", according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Warnings for 150 km/h winds are current inland to Pannawonica.

A number of communties along the coastline are already being battered by strong winds. Neil Bennet, senior forecaster for the Bureau of Meteorology said "We've been looking at gusts around the 80-knot mark, which is roughly 150 to 160 kilometres an hour, being reported from the Dampier area".

At 6:00PM West Australian Time (10:00AM UTC), the cyclone was 65 Km North of Karratha and moving South-East at 18 km/h.

Forecasters predict that Clare will hit the Pilbara region between Dampier and Mardie.

Around 1,500 people in low lying areas of Karratha, Dampier, Roebourne, Wickham and Point Samson have been evacuated by State Emergency Service personnel.

"We are asking people ... to basically put an emergency kit of essential items together with them, things like food and water to last 48 hours, medicines, clothes and then just important personal documents, such as passports, wills and any other really essential items" said SES spokesperson Nita Gill.

"Most people who are on higher ground, so long as their home's prepared and sturdy and they're ready, they often will just wait out the cyclone in their home" Ms Gill said.

Australia's two largest ports - Dampier and Port Hedland have been closed. The ports export more than 200 million tonnes of iron ore and liquefied natural gas each year.

Major industries in the area have also closed.

The Bureau of Meteorology warns residents of Karratha and Dampier that a dangerous storm surge may occur causing damaging waves and flooding as the cyclone crosses land. Widespread heavy rain and flooding is likely in the Pilbara and Gascoyne over the next few days.

Trustpower plans to build new windfarm in New Zealand
New Zealand electricity generator and retailer TrustPower said today that it is considering a wind farm development at Lake Mahinerangi, south of Dunedin, in the lower South Island of New Zealand. In a development which could be worth up to NZ$500 million (US$347 million), to the Otago region according to TrustPower chief executive, Keith Tempest.

TrustPower said in a statement that the 300 megawatts wind farm, built in three 100 megawatts installments, could eventually provide enough electricity to power 150,000 homes and that it will be a world class installation that will guarantee security of electricity for the region.

According to Tempest "A windfarm development at Mahinerangi would enable us to better utilise the hydro storage available behind our Waipori scheme," Lake Mahinerangi is also the site of TrustPower's largest hydro lake.

TrustPower expects to apply for environmental consents under Resource Management Act later in the year if engineering reports prove the site satisfactory.

After the announcement TrustPower’s shares remained unchanged at NZ$6.16. (US$4.26)

Currently the largest windfarm in New Zealand is operating at Te Apiti in the Manawatu; producing 90 megawatts of electricity. NZ Power companies are seeking to have resource consent procedures simplified for smaller-scale windfarms.

Honda wins car, truck of the year, unveils Fit
Honda's Civic and Ridgeline truck won the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards at the International Auto Show in Detroit. This is the first time a company has won both awards in the same year. The finalists were the Ridgeline, the Ford Explorer SUV and the Nissan Xterra. The awards are intended to recognize vehicles for their innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, and value.

Honda also unveiled its latest model the Fit, a US version of the Honda Jazz sold in nonUS markets. The Fit comes with a 109 horsepower engine, antilock brakes, six air bags, fold flat seats, full iPod connectivity, 90.1 cubic feet of passenger and cargo space, and 33 mpg for the city 38 mpg for the highway. A sport package will also include Honda's first steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. The car will go against another two new Japanese subcompacts, the Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa and will have to wrestle away sales from the category's current top seller Chevrolet's Aveo.

The car will start selling in April for around $13,000 to $14,000 as a 2007 model. The company plans to sell 33,000 units of the hatchback in 2006.

Many automakers expect industry wide sales in the US to be between 16 and 17 million units. Honda, which is Japan's third largest automaker, hopes to gain US market share with the redesigned Civic and the Fit. Honda hopes that the company's auto sales will rise 4% this year. The fuel-efficient Civic helped increase US market share to 8.6 percent last year, some of those sales were taken from Ford as gas prices rocketed to $3 a gallon. The US market is extremely important for Honda as it recieves 64% of its operating profit from the US.

Today in History
49 BC - Julius Caesar and his X Equestris legion crossed the Rubicon, violating Roman law and starting a civil war.

1810 - Napoleon divorced Empress Joséphine, his childless first wife.

1929 - Belgian artist Hergé created Tintin, a fictional character who went on to be published in over 200 million comic books in 40 languages.

1946 - The first General Assembly of the United Nations opened in London. Fifty-one member states were represented.

January 10 is Eid ul-Adha in Islam (2006)

Quote of the Day

Know that however ugly the parts appear
the whole remains beautiful...
... the wholeness of life and things, the divine beauty
of the universe. Love that, not man
Apart from that, or else you will share man's pitiful confusions,
or drown in despair when his days darken.

~ Robinson Jeffers ~

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