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According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) a magnitude 4.2 earthquake with a depth of just under two miles, has struck California approximately 3 miles (5 kilometers) northeast of Wrightwood. The quake was reported at 1:53 a.m. (pacific time). The USGS states that there could be some damage, but that it would likely be "very light," but so far the San Bernardino County Fire Department says that no damage has been reported. There are no reports of any injuries, but witnesses say that they were awoken from their sleep as far away a

With the election campaign just beginning, Australian Prime Minister John Howard has promised AU$34 billion in personal income tax cuts over the next three years. That is on top of $31.5 billion announced in May, and $36.7 billion announced in 2006. The new tax cuts are based on new projections for growth in the Australian economy. The Treasury estimates that the economy will expand by 4.25% in the 12 months to June 2008, up from growth of 3.75% predicted in May. The Government has challenged the Labor opposition to announce their tax polic

"We're only two days in and we're already fucking tired," says Sune Rose Wagner to David Shankbone as he walks into the dressing room at the Bowery Ballroom. Wagner and Sharin Foo comprise the Raveonettes, a group made for "nostalgists who long for Everly Brothers 45's and diner jukeboxes, the Raveonettes tweak "American Graffiti"-era rock with fuzzed-out surf-guitar riffs," said The New York Times. They recently left Columbia and signed with Fierce Panda because they felt constrained by their Columbia contract: "The major label system somet

The execution of a prisoner in Nevada was suspended just 90 minutes before the execution was to be carried out due to arguments from civil rights activists who believe that the state should wait until the U.S. Supreme Court determines the constitutionality of death bylethal injection. 34-year-old William Castillo was sentenced to death after beating 86-year-old Isabel Brendt to death in 1995. He was convicted of murdering the retired Las Vegas schoolteacher in 1996. Mr. Castillo was due to be executed at 8:30 p.m. PDT (0330 GMT) but was gran

The Chinese Communist Party's 17th National Congress gave cause for party officials to condemn a planned awards ceremony for the Dalai Lama, who is to receive the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday. President Bush receives him at the White House today. "We are furious," Tibet's Communist Party boss, Zhang Qingli, told reporters during the congress. "If the Dalai Lama can receive such an award, there must be no justice or good people in the world." In 1950, the People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet and continues to occupy the territory.

Studies presented at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology show that eating raw or undercooked fish, such as sushi or sashimi, can lead to severe intestinal problems caused by parasitic roundworms called anisakis. Symptoms of the infestation include sudden abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and can be severe enough to warrant a visit to the emergency room. One form of anisakiasis, the illness caused by the infestation, could be difficult to diagnose and could be misdiagnosed as appendicitis, peritonit

Sam Brownback is perplexed. The U.S. Senator from Kansas and Presidential candidate is a Republican whose politics—he is against marriage for gay people, he is against abortion, and he has a clean image in a party tainted by scandal—should speak favorably to the party's base. But it has not. "I'm baffled by that myself," Senator Brownback told Wikinews reporter David Shankbone. "We haven't been able to raise money." A recent poll in Iowa has put him in eighth place, with 2% supporting his campaign. "If we don't finish fourth or better i

Russian President Vladimir Putin has received information from his special services regarding a possible plot to assassinate him during his visit to Iran later this week, say Kremlin officials. A "credible" source within the Russian national security services told the Russian Interfax news agency that multiple security agencies have received reports from various international sources warning of assassination attempts by several terrorist groups. According to the official, Russian intelligence has reason to believe that the terrorist groups hav

So far, three people (including a baby) have been killed, and at least ten others were injured when two semi trucks collided in a tunnel on Interstate 5 (Newhall Pass) between Los Angeles and Santa Clarita California, United States in the late evening of October 12, setting off a chain reaction pileup that involved between 28 and 30 semi trucks and one passenger car. The wreck caused a massive fire that burned for over six hours. It was previously believed that only 13 semi trucks were involved. "The fire burned in a very intense state for app

Around 17 people were arrested and a number of guns and weapons were seized earlier this morning (NZDT) at "terrorist" training camps and anarchist group homes following raids by the New Zealand Police around the country. The raids were under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 and Arms Act. The raids, conducted by over 300 armed police officers, focused on indigenous Māori and environmental activists, including activist Tame Iti. Iti faces eight counts relating to firearms, including having a semi-automatic shotgun and two molotov cocktails. H

In late September, the Howard government announced that it would fund a AU$20 million engineering study into the construction of a Bells Line expressway across the Blue Mountains, linking Sydney to the Central West of NSW. At the time of the announcement, Federal opposition transport minister, Martin Ferguson accused the federal government of "pork-barreling" on the issue. In an interview with Wikinews, the shadow transport minister warned that a Bells Line expressway could not be built for many years, regardless of the outcome of any study an

2007 Intel Developer Forum Taipei, held at Taipei International Convention Center, started at October 15-16. With the great technology trends of wireless networking, this time, Intel Global led Navin Shenoy, Anand Chandrasekher, Shmuel Eden, and Gadi Singer talked about the WiMax, productive quantity of 45nm technology, and the development of mobile technology. Forecasting the WiMax Forum by Taipei Computer Association (TCA) next week, Intel Taiwan invited Mei-yueh Ho (Chairman of Council for Economic Planning and Development) to introduce M-T