Earthquake rattles Northern California
FERNDALE, Calif. – The U.S. Geological Survey has downgraded an earthquake off the coast of Northern California to a magnitude-5.1 shaker.
The USGS says the quake was centered in the Pacific Ocean, about 70 miles west of Ferndale, and struck at 4:16 a.m. Thursday. It was originally logged as a magnitude-5.3 temblor.
The Victorian village of Ferndale sits about 100 miles south of the Oregon state line and about 275 miles northwest of Sacramento.
An officer with the Ferndale City Police Department said some slight shaking was felt in the area early Thursday, but no damage or injuries were reported.
The earthquake was about 250 miles northwest of the epicenter of a magnitude-6.0 temblor that caused extensive damage in Napa on Aug. 24.
Netanyahu to lead party in elections
JERUSALEM – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won the backing of his hard-line Likud party in its primary and will lead it into general elections this March, Israeli media reported Thursday.
With most of the ballots cast Wednesday counted, Israeli media said Netanyahu had won the support of about 75 percent of electors, giving him an unassailable lead over challenger Danny Danon, a former deputy defense minister.
Early opinion polls ahead of the March 17 general elections show the Likud party in a neck-and-neck race with a joint list headed by Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog and former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni of the Hatnuah party.
Associated Press
