OVER THE ENGE NEWSPAPER. JANUARY 10, 2007 _NEws n Somme news from around the world in an easy-to-use package The first baby of 2007 for Prince George is Nicholas Connor Freeman, born at 6:20 am and weighing 10 pounds, 4 ounces, Starting next Sep- tember, UNBC will be offering a new master's program that focuses on de- velopinig countries. UNBC has opened a new campus in Terrace that is three times the size of the previous campus. Gairett Maclver has returned to Prince George after surviving a quad- ruple organ transplant in Toronto. Dr. David Suzuki has been an- nounced as the guest lecturer for the Dr. Bob Ewert Memorial Lecture on January 27 at the Prince George Civic Centre. : Real estate in Prince George con- tinues to boom, with the average single family home increasing in value by 17% since last year according to new figures from BC Assessment. A’ suspect armed with a ball-peen hammer entered PGI Foods on Fifth Avenue on New Years Eve and made off with a small amount of cash, No ar- rests have been made. A 31 year old man broke into the Fifth Avenue liquor store. Police bar- ricaded the building and police dogs were called in to locate the suspect, who was hiding in an alcove behind the building. Police dogs later helped apprehend the man when negotiations failed. Mayor Colin Kinsley has said that constructing a new Cameron Street bridge is his top priority for 2007. A thief made off with some cash from the Bank of Montreal on Cen- tral Street, Thursday, January 4. Police dogs followed the scent down Central street where the suspect was caught and the money retrieved, The man handed the teller a note, saying he had a weapon, although none was found on the man's person. Prince George-Peace River MP Jay Hill was named secretary of state in PM Stephen Harper's cabinet shuffle, making him the second Prince George MP to have a cabinet post. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled in favour of The Black Orchid escort agency, saying the city of Prince George cannot revoke its business li- cence, The roof of BC Place Stadium in Vancouver ripped open January 5 when power wind storms hit the area. Work- ers ate currently pumping water out of the stadium while officials looks into the ability of the stadium to continue hosting shows and Olympic events. The Ontario Superior Court has de- termined that it is legal for an Ontario boy to have three parents: his biologic- al parents and the same-sex partner of his biological mother. According to a new poll, environ- mental policy is the top issue for Can- adians, beating out even health care. Ravelston Corp., the company for- mally headed by Conrad Black, will plead guilty in fraud charges linked to a scandal involving Black. Penalty for the case will be financial as the people in the company were not present or in control at the time of the scandal. ‘The RCMP is seeking new employ- ees, with 2,000 positions to be filled across the country. A child in New Brunswick used the Google search engine to find a child support site and called for help after being sexually abused. The site is based in Australia, and Australian au- thorities, in co-operation with the FBI and Canada’s National Child Exploita- tion Co-ordination Centre located the child and the child is now under pro- tection. As of January 1, 2007, Canadians can expect to receive a tax benefit of up to $500 for having children up to 16 years of age engaged in organized sports. The sports must occur at least once a week, Certain restrictions apply, for example bowling is not eligible for the credit. The program is expected to cost $160 million annually. A CN Rail train derailed in the Fraser Canyon Wednsday, January 3, following a rock slide. Two work- ers, the engineer and conductor, went down with the front car down an em- bankment and had to remain their overnight until it was safe to retrieve them. The workers suffered no serious injuries and were treated for minor cuts and bruises. In a surprise move, federal Liberal MP Wajid Khan has crossed over to the Conservative party, meaning that the NDP and Conservatives com- bined now hold the majority of votes in the House of Commons. The NDP has indicated they will work with the Conservatives if they live up to certain standards. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a new cabinet for the new year on January 4. Notable moves are Prince George-Peace River MP and party whip Jay Hill being named secretary of state, and environmental minister Rosa Ambrose being replaced by John Baird as minister of environment. A ‘steel worker in Wales tried to sending a letter through Britain's Royal Mail, but instead of an address he drew a map of western England and a dot in the rough area he thought the recipient lived. Miraculously the letter arrived to the right person. US President George W. Bush is sending more troops to Iraq to sup- port the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al- Maliki, in an effort for Maliki and his government to establish leader- ship. Critics are worried that Bush is backing the wrong horse, as Maliki has shown little sign of being a competent leader. A license inspector for the DMV in Connecticut is charged with coercion for giving a passing grade for a woman's driving test for taking her clothes off. Kevin Chagnon awaits trial and is on paid administrative leave. North Korea is showing signs of preparing another nuclear weapons test. Signs are similar to original prep- arations before the first tests in Octo- ber but the intelligence is inconclusive. Meanwhile, Japan and the United States have taken a tougher stance against North Korea, saying that fu- ture tests would certainly make it even more isolated. Australian authorities got a lucky break on January 4th when two officers stopped to assist a broken down van on the side of the road. Upon arrival they discovered $51 million worth of liquid ecstasy. Further investigations lead to a drug bust of more liquid ecstasy, worth half a million dollars. Saddam Hussein has been executed by hanging on Saturday, December 30, 2006. He was tried for offenses he com- mitted while dictator of Iraq. He was a part of the Dujail massacre where 148 Iragis were killed. Many human-rights groups have condemned the trial, and the largest rally to date saw 3000 pro- testers march into the Jordanian cap- ital of Amman, Controversey has also arisen due to the unofficial release of a cell-phone video of the hanging. UK scientists have forecasted that 2007 will be the hottest year ever re- corded. Greenhouse gas levels and El Nino are cited as some of the reasons of the heating trend. The scientists previous forecasts have been quite ac- curate, with a .06 degree Celsius mar- gin of error. The first Congress in 12 years where the Democrats controlled both the House of Representatives and the Senate convened on January 4. James Brown, who was scheduled to appear in Prince George this month, passed away at the age of 73 on Christ- mas morning, Former president Gerald Ford died on December 26 at the age of 93. A man has tried to blackmail Oprah Winfrey for 1.5 million dollars. He claimed he possessed recorded phone messages which would hurt Winfrey's reputation. He was arrested and is cur- rently out on bail. A war of words between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump has new warriors entering the fray, with Barbara Walters defending her cohost, and Trump's daughter Ivanka saying that O'Donnell has been “bullying people for a long time.’ The argument stems from a comment O'Donnell made on“ The View” regarding Trump's role in the Miss Universe Organiza- tion and some of his businesses going bankrupt. A painting is creating buzz. Kate Kretz has painted an image of Ange- lina Jolie, with her children, hovering in a cloud over a Wal-Mart check-out lane. She says the painting is to address the'celebrity worship cycle’. The image was put online and is generating a lot of buzz. Marilyn Manson is getting a divorce from his wife Dita Von Teese. Ru- mours are that Manson's alcohol abuse is a reason for the separation, but ‘ir- reconcilable differences’ is the official cause. A judge has frozen the money paid to OJ Simpson for his now-cancelled TV appearance and book release of “If I Did It’ Eino, a Finnish sculptor, created a 175-ton art piece of Earth to illus- trate the fragility of Earth. The 1 mil- lion dollar sculpture collapsed three months after its unveiling, in one of the world’s best instances of irony. Copies of the. video depicting Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin's death has been destroyed. An original copy has been given to Irwin's wife, Terri, while other copies, originally filmed for a documentary, have been destroyed to prevent leaking to outside sources and the internet. It is thought the video would have been worth thousands if sold. Busta Rhymes turned himself in to. police in New York after being accused of beating up a man in a dispute over money. Britney Spears is commissioning a portrait of herself. A nude portrait. Spears wants to ‘immortalize’ her fig- ure which she has recently toned to reshape herself following the birth of her second child. Meanwhile, Britney's ex, Kevin Fed- erline, has been making guest appear- ances as a wrestler in the WWE. His appearance on WWE Raw on New Year's Day was the show’s most viewed episode since summer. Courtney Love got ino the New Year's spirit, positing 53 resolutions on her blog. Among them: “Sell the pony and get a new horse, ‘chant for Hillary to win, and“DO NOT SLLOW My- SELF TO BE A DOORMAT INA RELATIONSHIP EVER EVER AGAIN’ Madonna is reportedly attempting to learn to play the guitar. For the third year in a row, Canada’s junior hockey team are world cham- pions following a 4-2 blowout against Russia on January 5, Star goalie Carey Price hails from Anahim Lake, west of Williams Lake. Calgary-born soccer player Owen Hargreaves will not be sold for any- thing less than $45.3 million Canad- ian says the president of his current team, Bayern-Munich. It is known that Manchester United is interested in signing Hargreaves, who played with England's World Cup team. Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash shone in his lone Canadian appearance this season when his team the Phoenix Suns squared off against the Toronto Raptors. Nash helped secure a 100-98 victory by hitting a three-pointer and sinking free throws in the last minutes of play, The jersey-- number 19-- of former Detroit Red Wing Steve Yserman was retired in a ceremony on January 2.