On this date in history:

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Today is Thursday, Oct. 12, the 285h day of 2006 with 80 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mars and Pluto.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include Elmer Sperry, who devised practical uses for the gyroscope, in 1860; English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams in 1872; comedian and activist Dick Gregory in 1932 (age 74); opera singer Luciano Pavarotti in 1935 (age 71); TV correspondent Chris Wallace in 1947 (age 59); singer/actress Susan Anton in 1950 (age 56); actors Adam Rich in 1968 (age 38) and Kirk Cameron in 1970 (age 36); and track star Marion Jones in 1975 (age 31).


On this date in history:

In 1492, Christopher Columbus reached America, making his first landing in the New World on one of the Bahamas Islands. Columbus believed he had reached India.

In 1899, the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State in southern Africa declared war on the British. The Boer War was ended May 31, 1902, by the Treaty of Vereeniging.

In 1915, British nurse Edith Cavell, 49, was executed by a German firing squad in Brussels for helping Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I.

In 1960, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev removed one of his shoes and pounded it on his desk during a speech before the United Nations.

In 1964, the Soviet Union launched Voskhod 1 into orbit around Earth, with three cosmonauts aboard. It was the first spacecraft to carry a multi-person crew and the two-day mission was also the first flight performed without space suits.

In 1973, U.S. President Richard Nixon nominated House Minority Leader Gerald Ford for the vice presidency to replace Spiro Agnew, who had resigned two days earlier.

In 1984, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher escaped injury in the bombing of a hotel in Brighton, England. Four people were killed in the attack, blamed on the Irish Republican Army.

In 1991, Iran agreed to withdraw its 1,500 Revolutionary Guards from Lebanon.

In 1992, more than 500 people were killed and thousands injured when an earthquake rocked Cairo, Egypt.

In 1993, New Delhi announced that more than 9,700 people had died in an earthquake the previous month in southern India.

In 1995, a cease-fire took effect in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In 1998, University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard died, five days after the 21-year-old gay man was beaten, robbed and left tied to a fence.

In 1999, the elected government of Pakistan was overthrown in an apparently bloodless military coup. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and several other leaders were arrested.

In 2000, 17 sailors were killed when an explosion rocked the U.S.S. Cole as it refueled in Yemen. U.S. President Bill Clinton blamed the attack on accused terrorist Osama bin Laden.

In 2002, the terror continued for Washington area residents as the weeklong death toll from a mysterious sniper reached eight.

Also in 2002, a bomb exploded near two crowded discos on the Indonesian island of Bali, killing 202 people.

In 2003, 2-year-old Egyptian twins joined at the head were successfully separated at Dallas Children's Medical Center.

Also in 2003, Uganda says its army rescued more than 400 children held captive by rebels in a remote village north of the capital of Kampala.

In 2004, a report of the CIA's top weapons investigator said Saddam Hussein thought U.S. officials knew he had no weapons of mass destruction before the invasion.

In 2005, newly released documents charged that the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Los Angeles allegedly shielded priests accused of sexual abuse by moving them from one parish to another.

Also in 2005, a lynch mob of about 500 Indonesians -- on the third anniversary of the Bali terror bombings -- stormed the Denpasar prison where three convicted bombers were held but were turned back by police.


A thought for the day: Chinese educator, writer and diplomat Tehyi Hsieh said, "The key to success isn't much good until one discovers the right lock to insert it in."

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Today is Friday, Oct. 13, the 286th day of 2006 with 79 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mars and Pluto.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include (circus- TS4MS.com)
American Revolutionary War heroine Molly Pitcher in 1754; actress Lillie Langtry in 1853; actor Cornel Wilde in 1915; puppeteer Burr Tillstrom in 1917; actor/singer Yves Montand in 1921; former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1925 (age 81); comedian Lenny Bruce also in 1925; Jesse L. Brown, the first black American naval aviator, in 1926; actress Melinda Dillon in 1939 (age 67); singer/songwriter Paul Simon in 1941 (age 65); rocker Sammy Hagar in 1947 (age 59); Chris Carter, creator of "The X-Files," in 1956 (age 50); entertainer Marie Osmond in 1959 (age 47); actress Kelly Preston in 1962 (age 44); and figure skater Nancy Kerrigan in 1969 (age 37).


On this date in history:

In 54, the Roman Emperor Claudius was poisoned by his fourth wife, Agrippina.

In 1775, the Continental Congress ordered construction of America's first naval fleet.

In 1792, the cornerstone to the White House was laid. It would be November 1800 before the first presidential family (that of John Adams) moved in.

In 1903, the Boston Red Sox beat the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the first World Series, five games to three.

In 1943, conquered by the Allies, Italy declared war on Germany, its former Axis partner.

In 1972, more than 170 people were killed when a Soviet airliner crashed near the Moscow airport.

In 1977, four Palestinians hijacked a Lufthansa airliner in an unsuccessful attempt to force release of 11 imprisoned members of German terrorists called the Red Army Faction.

In 1987, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize -- the first winner from Central America -- for his Central American peace treaty.

In 1990, Lebanese Christian military leader Michel Aoun ended his 2-year mutiny, ordered his forces to surrender, and sought refuge in the French Embassy in Beirut after Syrian-backed Lebanese government troops attacked his headquarters.

In 1991, the Group of Seven industrialized democracies agreed to formulate a Soviet economic reform program with Moscow.

In 1992, the first pig liver transplant patient died in a Los Angeles hospital 30 hours after surgery and just hours before she was to get a human organ.

In 1993, the U.N. Security Council voted to reinstate an oil and arms embargo against Haiti after its military leaders refused to step down as promised.

Also in 1993, the Bell Atlantic Corporation and Tele-Communications announced plans for a merger; the deal was worth $33 billion.

In 1994, two months after the Irish Republican Army announced a cease-fire, Protestant paramilitaries in Northern Ireland did the same.

In 1999, the Senate rejected a treaty signed by the United States that banned all underground nuclear testing. Despite that, U.S. President Bill Clinton pledged to abide by the treaty's provisions.

Also in 1999, a grand jury in Boulder, Colo., announced it had insufficient evidence to charge anyone in the Dec. 26, 1996, slaying of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey.

In 2002, historian Stephen Ambrose, author of numerous books on World War II, American presidents and America's early westward expansion, died of lung cancer. He was 66.

In 2003, jockey Bill Shoemaker, one of horse racing's most renowned figures who won nearly 9,000 races, died at his home in San Marino, Calif. He was 72.

In 2004, investigators reported unearthing a mass grave in northern Iraq containing hundreds of bodies of women and children believed killed in the 1980s.

In 2005, about 128 people were killed in clashes between Islamic militants and law enforcement officers in the southern Russian town of Nalchik.

Also in 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a subpoena ordering U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., to hand over records and documents.


A thought for the day: French playwright Pierre Corneille said, "To win without risk is to triumph without glory."

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Today is Saturday, Oct. 14, the 287th day of 2006 with 78 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mars and Pluto.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include William Penn, the English Quaker who founded Pennsylvania, in 1644; Irish political leader Eamon de Valera in 1882; Dwight D. Eisenhower, World War II military leader and 34th president of the United States, in 1890; poet e.e. cummings in 1894; actress Lillian Gish in 1893; singer Allan Jones in 1907; former basketball Coach John Wooden in 1910 (age 96); former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop in 1916 (age 90); actor Roger Moore in 1927 (age 79); Watergate figure John Dean in 1938 (age 68); designer Ralph Lauren in 1939 (age 67); British pop singer Cliff Richard in 1940 (age 66); and actors Harry Anderson in 1952 (age 54) and Greg Evigan in 1953 (age 53).


On this date in history:

In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, better known as William the Conqueror, led his invading army to victory over England's King Harold at Hastings.

In 1912, former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for a return to office, was shot in Milwaukee. He refused to have the wound treated until he finished his speech.

In 1944, British and Greek troops liberated Athens, ending three years of World War II occupation by German troops.

In 1947, Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager, 24, flying a Bell X-1, became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound.

In 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1977, Bing Crosby, one of the most popular singers of his day and winner of the best actor Academy Award for his role in "Going My Way," died of a heart attack while playing golf in Madrid. He was 74.

In 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland A's, 4 games to 2, to win the American League pennant and become first Canadian team to go to the World Series.

In 1993, gunmen killed Haitian Justice Minister Guy Malary, who'd been appointed by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, in an apparent attempt to scuttle the agreement to return Aristide to power.

In 1994, the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian extremists ended with the soldier and four others being killed in a shootout. The same day, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat.

In 1996, the Dow cracked 6,000, closing at a record 6,010.

In 2000, Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to meet with U.S. President Bill Clinton in Egypt to seek a truce and possibly a way back to the peace table.

In 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush and U.S. Sen. John Kerry ended their third and final presidential debate in a virtual dead heat, according to a television poll taken right after the session.

Also in 2004, Saudi Arabians viewed the United States as responsible for the rise in terror in their country, The New York Times reported.

In 2005, the U.S. Commerce Department announced the consumer index leaped 1.2 percent in September, biggest increase since 1980.

Also in 2005, on the eve of the Iraqi constitutional referendum, insurgents focused attacks on Iraq's largest Sunni Party and disrupted much of Baghdad's electrical services with an attack on the city's main power line.


A thought for the day: American author Margaret Sangster said, "Creative genius is a divinely bestowed gift which is the coronation of the few."

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On this date in history:


Today is Sunday, Oct. 15, the 288th day of 2006 with 77 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mars and Pluto.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include Roman poet Virgil in 70 B.C.; German philosopher Friedrich Nietzche in 1844; boxing champion John L. Sullivan in 1858; English writer and humorist P.G. Wodehouse in 1881; Mervyn LeRoy, producer of the film "The Wizard of Oz," in 1900; picture archivist Otto Bettmann in 1903; writer and historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. in 1917 (age 89); author Mario Puzo in 1920; former Chrysler Corp. Chairman Lee Iacocca in 1924 (age 82); actress Linda Lavin in 1937 (age 69); actress/director Penny Marshall in 1942 (age 64); Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer in 1945 (age 61); pop singers Richard Carpenter in 1946 (age 60) and Tito Jackson in 1953 (age 53); and Sarah, Duchess of York, in 1959 (age 47).


On this date in history:

In 1917, the most famous spy of World War I, Gertrude Zelle, better known as Mata Hari, was executed by a firing squad outside Paris.

In 1946, Nazi Reichsmarshal Herman Goering, sentenced to death as a war criminal, committed suicide in his prison cell on the eve of his execution.

In 1951, "I Love Lucy," TV's first long-running sitcom and still seen regularly in syndication, made its debut.

In 1964, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was ousted and replaced by Alexei Kosygin and Leonid Brezhnev.

In 1984, astronomers in Pasadena, Calif., displayed the first photographic evidence of another solar system 293 trillion miles from Earth.

In 1990, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1991, the Senate confirmed Judge Clarence Thomas as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by a vote of 52-48, the closest confirmation vote in court history.

In 1992, a man who terrorized the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don for more than a decade with a series of more than 50 grisly killings was sentenced to death.

In 1993, South Africa's President F.W. de Klerk and African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Also in 1993, the Pentagon censured three U.S. Navy admirals who'd organized the Tailhook Association convention in 1991 during which scores of women had been subjected to abuse and indignities by junior officers.

And in 1993, Russia's ousted vice president, Alekandr Rutskoi, and the speaker of the parliament, Ruslan Khasbulatov, were charged with ordering mass disorders in the bloody street fighting between supporters and opponents of President Boris Yeltsin that left almost 200 people dead.

In 1994, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned to Haiti three years after being driven into exile by a military coup.

In 1998, talks that would lead to an agreement to revive the stalled Middle East peace process began at the Wye Conference Center in Queenstown, Md.

In 1999, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the international group Doctors Without Borders.

In 2001, a package containing a substance believed to be anthrax was opened in the personal office of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

In 2002, the Washington area sniper claimed his ninth fatality, a female FBI analyst, as the massive manhunt continued.

Also in 2002, former ImClone Chief Executive Officer Samuel Waksal pleaded guilty to insider trading as part of an ongoing investigation into the trading of shares from his biotech company, which also involved home decor diva and Waksal friend Martha Stewart.

And, in 2002, the Dow Jones industrials, which hit a 5-year low four trading days earlier, rebounded strongly and by this date had reached 8,255.68, more than 900 points above that low.

In 2003, 10 people were killed and dozens injured when a New York ferry, transporting passengers from Manhattan, slammed into a pier on Staten Island.

Also in 2003, China became the third nation, joining the United States and Russia, to launch a man into space. He landed safely the next day after orbiting the Earth 14 times.

In 2004, the United Nations said it was getting fresh reports of attacks against internally displaced persons in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region where tens of thousands had been killed and 1.6 million others displaced.

In 2005, millions of Iraqis went to the polls to vote on a new constitution. There were incidents of violence but they were not widespread.

Also in 2005, Russian officials refused to join the international effort to convince Iran to end its nuclear program.


A thought for the day: Arthur Conan Doyle wrote, "Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself but talent instantly recognizes genius."

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Today is Monday, Oct. 16, the 289th day of 2006 with 76 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mars and Pluto.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include (Gil – TS4MS - Location: Eastern Iowa - right on Mississippi ) lexicographer Noah Webster in 1758; Irish author and dramatist Oscar Wilde in 1854; David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, in 1886; playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1888; Irish revolutionist Michael Collins in 1890; Supreme Court Justice William Orville Douglas in 1898; German novelist Gunter Grass in 1927 (age 79); actor Barry Corbin ("Northern Exposure") in 1940 (age 66); actresses Linda Darnell in 1923; Angela Lansbury in 1925 (age 81) and Suzanne Somers in 1946 (age 60); Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir in 1947 (age 59); actor Tim Robbins in 1958 (age 48); and actress Kellie Martin in 1975 (age 31).

On this date in history:

In 1701, Yale University was founded.

In 1793, French Queen Marie Antoinette was beheaded.

In 1859, abolitionist John Brown led an abortive raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Va. He was convicted of treason and hanged.

In 1868, America's first department store, ZCMI, opened in Salt Lake City.

In 1916, the nation's first birth control clinic was opened in New York by Margaret Sanger and two other women.

In 1946, at Nuremberg, Germany, 10 high-ranking Nazi officials were executed by hanging for World War II war crimes. Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo and chief of the German air force, was to have been among them but he committed suicide in his cell the night before.

In 1964, China detonated its first atomic bomb.

In 1972, a light plane carrying House Democratic leader Hale Boggs of Louisiana and three other men was reported missing in Alaska. The plane was never found.

In 1984, black Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa won the Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle against apartheid.

In 1989, the New York stock market bounced back from staggering losses, with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining more than 88 points after a 190-point plunge on Friday the 13th.

In 1991, George Hennard reportedly shot and killed 22 people and then took his own life after driving his pickup truck through the front window of Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas.

In 1994, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl narrowly retained his office in parliamentary elections.

In 1995, hundreds of thousands of black men from across the nation gathered at the Mall in Washington to take part in the "Million Man March."

In 1998, Protestant David Trimble and Roman Catholic John Hume, both political leaders in Northern Ireland, were named as co-winners of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward bringing peace to Ulster.

In 2002, U.S. President George Bush signed into law the joint congressional resolution authorizing him to use military force if necessary to rid Iraq of its suspected weapons of mass destruction.

In 2003, the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution endorsing a U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq.

In 2004, the World Health Organization said smoke from home stoves and fires in developing countries had become a major cause of death and disease.

Also in 2004, in a letter to fans on her Web site, homemaking guru Martha Stewart assured all she was adjusting to life in a West Virginia federal prison which she described as "like an old-fashioned college campus -- without the freedom of course."

In 2005, unofficial preliminary reports said Iraqi voters had approved a new constitution.

Also in 2005, Louisiana state officials were investigating the possibility of euthanasia in 215 deaths at 19 New Orleans hospitals and nursing homes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.


A thought for the day: Irish author and dramatist Oscar Wilde's dying words were said to have been, "This wallpaper is killing me; one of us has got to go."

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Today is Tuesday, Oct. 17, the 290th day of 2006 with 75 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mars and Pluto.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include (rod- ts4ms.com - Location: Michigan ) Jupiter Hammon, America's first published black poet, in 1711; actress Irene Ryan in 1902; big band trombonist and wide-eyed comic Jerry Colonna, best remembered as a featured comedian on Bob Hope shows, in 1905; playwright Arthur Miller in 1915; actress Rita Hayworth in 1918; actor Tom Poston in 1921 (age 85); actor Montgomery Clift in 1920; newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin in 1930 (age 76); daredevil Robert "Evel" Knievel in 1938 (age 68) actors Michael McKean in 1947 (age 59), and Margot Kidder and George Wendt, both in 1948 (age 58); and former astronaut Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, in 1956 (age 50); rapper Eminem in 1972 (age 34).

On this date in history:

In 1777, at one of the turning points of the American Revolution, British Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American Gen. Horatio Gates at Saratoga, N.Y.

In 1945, Juan Peron became dictator of Argentina. He remained in power for 11 years before being overthrown.

In 1973, the Arab-dominated Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it would cut oil exports to the United States and other nations that provided military aid to Israel in the Yom Kippur War of October 1973. A full oil embargo hit the United States in December causing a serious energy crisis.

In 1979, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a Roman Catholic nun who cared for the sick and poor, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1986, Congress passed a landmark immigration bill, the first U.S. law authorizing penalties for employers who hire illegal aliens.

In 1989, the most powerful California earthquake since the legendary temblor of 1906 struck the San Francisco Bay Area at evening rush hour, just before the scheduled start of Game Three of the World Series in San Francisco between the Giants and the Oakland A's. At least 67 people were killed.

In 1990, U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar said military force would be a legitimate response to the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait if sanctions did not work.

In 1994, North Korea agreed to freeze its nuclear weapons program and allow international inspections of its facilities.

In 1996, O.J. Simpson, who had been acquitted in a highly publicized trial of killing his estranged wife and her friend, went on trial in civil court in a suit brought by the victims' families and accusing him of responsibility for the deaths.

In 1998, by request of Spanish authorities, British police arrested former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet for questioning about "crimes of genocide and terrorism that include murder."

In 2001 the anthrax scare continued as the U.S. Congress began closing down for security sweeps after 321 staff members and police tested positive for exposure to anthrax.

In 2003, the U.S. hostile fire death toll in the Iraqi war reached 100 since U.S. President George Bush announced the end of major combat in May.

In 2004, Brazil authorized its air force to shoot down planes suspected of smuggling drugs.

In 2005, General Motors estimated it would save about $1 billion a year under an agreement with the United Auto Workers Union to cut annual health benefits for workers and retirees.

Also in 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a government demand for $280 billion in penalties from American cigarette makers.


A thought for the day: Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote, "With love one can live even without happiness."

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Today is Wednesday, Oct. 18, the 291st day of 2006 with 74 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mars and Pluto.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include novelist Fannie Hurst in 1889; former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1919; former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, in 1921 (age 85); Greek actress Melina Mercouri in 1925; rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry in 1926 (age 80); actors George C. Scott in 1927 and Peter Boyle in 1935 (age 71); Lee Harvey Oswald, assumed assassin of President John F. Kennedy, in 1939; former pro football star and coach Mike Ditka in 1939 (age 67); actor Joe Morton in 1947 (age 59); actress Pam Dawber in 1951 (age 55); musician Wynton Marsalis in 1961 (age 45); and actor Jean-Claude Van Damme and actress Erin Moran ("Happy Days"), both in 1960 (age 46).


On this date in history:

In 1776, the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania was settled. Dubbed the "Mason-Dixon" line, it became the unofficial boundary between North and South.

In 1898, the United States took control of Puerto Rico one year after Spain had granted self-rule to the Caribbean nation.

In 1922, the British Broadcasting Corp. was established.

In 1931, Thomas Alva Edison, one of the most prolific inventors in history, died in West Orange, N.J., at the age of 84.

In 1959, the Soviet Union announced an unmanned space vehicle had taken the first pictures of the far side of the moon.

In 1974, the jury in the Watergate cover-up trial heard a tape recording in which U.S. President Richard Nixon told aide John Dean to try to stop the Watergate burglary investigation before it implicated White House personnel.

In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan ordered an investigation of a CIA handbook for Nicaraguan rebels that suggested assassination as a political tactic.

In 1990, Iraq, pinched by economic sanctions, offered to sell oil to anyone at half the going price.

In 1991, Israel and the Soviet Union agreed to renew full diplomatic relations for the first time since 1967.

Also in 1991, the United States and Soviet Union formally invited Israeli and Arab leaders to a conference in Spain to initiate direct bilateral peace talks.

In 1992, numerous civilians were killed or wounded when Serbian forces unleashed a citywide artillery barrage on Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In 2001, as anthrax incidents continued, FBI Director Robert Mueller announced a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for sending anthrax-laden mail which he called a terrorist act.

In 2002, North Korea revealed it was working on a secret nuclear weapons program and U.S. intelligence officials concluded that Pakistan was a major supplier of critical equipment for it.

In 2003, a published report said British authorities foiled a plot to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Also in 2003, although homemaking guru Martha Stewart faced trial on illegal stock trading, sales of her Everyday brand were described as "great."

In 2004, in perhaps the first concrete development in the 2008 presidential election campaign, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, younger brother of the president, said he was not running for the White House.

Also in 2004, exhumation orders were issued for 42 bodies in Sonthofen, Germany, where a hospital orderly admitted to giving lethal injections to 16 patients.

In 2005, Iraqi election officials said parliamentary election results would be delayed "a few days" while procedures were checked at 12 voting sites where as many as 99 percent of ballots favored a new constitution.

Also in 2005, Iran wants former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein charged also with genocide and the use of chemical weapons in the war with Iran when he goes on trial for war crimes in Baghdad.

And, in 2005, only a concerted global effort can stop bird flu from becoming a global problem, EU foreign ministers concluded at an emergency meeting.


A thought for the day: French author George Sand (Mme. Amandine Aurore Lucile Dudevant) said, "Simplicity is the essence of the great, the true and the beautiful in art."

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Today is Thursday, Oct. 19, the 292nd day of 2006 with 73 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mars and Pluto.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include English physician and scholar Thomas Browne in 1605; abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay in 1810; historian and city planner Lewis Mumford in 1895; actress LaWanda Page ("Sanford and Son") in 1920; newspaper columnist Jack Anderson in 1922; English spy novelist John Le Carré, whose real name is David Cornwell, in 1931 (age 75); pop artist Peter Max in 1937 (age 69); actor John Lithgow and feminist Patricia Ireland, both in 1945 (age 61); former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield in 1962 (age 44) and Amy Carter, daughter of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in 1967 (age 39).


On this date in history:

In 1781, Britain's Lord Cornwallis surrendered with more than 7,000 troops to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va., effectively ending the American War of Independence.

In 1812, Napoleon's beaten French army began its long, disastrous retreat from Moscow.

In 1982, carmaker John DeLorean was arrested in Los Angeles and charged in a $24 million cocaine scheme aimed at salvaging his bankrupt sports car company. He was tried and acquitted.

In 1987, the New York stock market suffered its biggest setback, with the bellwether Dow Jones industrial average nose diving 508 points in one session.

In 1993, a U.N. oil-and-arms embargo against Haiti was reinstated in an effort to return the exiled Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president of Haiti.

In 1994, more than 20 people were killed in the terrorist bombing of a bus in Tel Aviv, Israel. Islamic militants claimed responsibility.

In 2000, independent counsel Robert Ray said in his final report about the White House travel office scandal dubbed "Travelgate" that first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton gave "factually false" sworn testimony. But, he said, there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges.

In 2002, after four days of inactivity, the Washington-area sniper reappeared and seriously wounded a man in a restaurant parking lot, triggering a massive response from police forces already on high alert.

In 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims packed into St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, the last formal step to sainthood.

In 2004, a Pentagon survey of U.S. Army reservists indicated they had increasing doubts about their units' war readiness and less enthusiasm for re-enlisting.

In 2005, a defiant Saddam Hussein pleaded innocent as he went on trial in Baghdad on charges of murder and torture during his reign as president of Iraq. The initial session, with the one-time dictator questioning the court's legitimacy and scuffling with guards, lasted three hours before the judge ordered an adjournment until Nov. 28.


A thought for the day: Greek playwright Euripides wrote, "Do not consider painful what is good for you."

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Today is Friday, Oct. 20, the 293rd day of 2006 with 72 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mars and Pluto.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include English astronomer and architect Christopher Wren in 1632; French poet Arthur Rimbaud in 1854; James Robert Mann, Illinois congressman and author of the "White Slave Traffic Act," also known as the "Mann Act," in 1856; educator John Dewey in 1859; composer Charles Ives in 1874; actor Bela Lugosi ("Dracula") in 1882; singer/pianist/composer Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton in 1890; mystery writer Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay) in 1905; TV personality Arlene Francis in 1907; country singer Grandpa (Louis Marshall) Jones in 1913; actor Herschel Bernardi in 1923; newspaper columnist Art Buchwald in 1925 (age 81); former New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle in 1931; actors William Christopher ("M*A*S*H") in 1932 (age 74) and Jerry Orbach in 1935; and rock singer Tom Petty in 1950 (age 56).


On this date in history:

In 1818, the United States and Britain agreed to establish the 49th parallel as the official boundary between the United States and Canada.

In 1918, Germany accepted U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's terms to end World War I.

In 1944, U.S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur kept his promise to return to the Philippines Islands when he landed with U.S. forces during World War II.

In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee opened public hearings into communist influence in Hollywood.

In 1973, U.S. President Richard Nixon fired special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox.

In 1982, the world's worst soccer disaster occurred in Moscow when 340 fans were crushed to death in an open staircase during a game between Soviet and Dutch players.

In 1990, the rap group 2 Live Crew was acquitted in Miami of obscenity charges arising from a performance of selections from the album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be."

In 1992, one of Europe's leading environmentalists, Germany's Greens Party founder Petra Kelly, was found shot to death by her companion, Gert Bastian, who then committed suicide.

In 1994, Hollywood heavyweight Burt Lancaster died at the age of 80.

In 2000, a former U.S. Army sergeant pleaded guilty to joining in a terrorist plot against the United States, linking Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden to the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

In 2001, anthrax scares continued across the world as reports of letters with white powder possibly containing anthrax -- nearly all false alarms so far -- were found. Work resumed in Washington where an anthrax discovery had temporarily closed the U.S. Congress.

In 2002, showing its displeasure with North Korea for restarting its nuclear program, the United States was reported to be considering cutting off vital fuel oil supplies to that country.

In 2003, The London Mirror said that British Princess Diana claimed there was a plot to kill her in a car crash in a handwritten letter 10 months before she died in an auto accident.

In 2004, Margaret Hassan, chief of operations for the British-based CARE charity, was kidnapped on her way to work in Iraq by unknown armed militants. CARE suspended its work in Iraq soon after.

Also in 2004, retired Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was sworn in as Indonesia's sixth president after winning the country's first direct elections for head of state.

In 2005, former U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, was booked in Houston after his indictment on conspiracy and money laundering charges. He was freed on $10,000 bond.

Also in 2005, Pakistan set the official death toll of the Oct. 8 quake at 47,000, but various aid officials claim it was closer to 80,000. Three million people were reported without shelter as winter approached the Himalayan region.


A thought for the day: American Red Cross founder Clara Barton said, "The surest test of discipline is its absence."

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Today is Monday, Oct. 23, the 296th day of 2006 with 69 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Venus, Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Mercury, Pluto, Jupiter and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include French chef Nicholas Appert, inventor of the canning process, in 1752; Adlai E. Stevenson, vice president under Grover Cleveland from 1893-1897, in 1835; pioneering college football coach John Heisman in 1869; William Coolidge, inventor of the X-ray tube, in 1873; Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, in 1906; former "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson in 1925; pro golfer Juan "Chi Chi" Rodriguez in 1935 (age 71); Brazilian soccer star Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) in 1940 (age 66); author Michael Crichton in 1942 (age 64); filmmaker Ang Lee in 1954 (age 52); singers Dwight Yoakam in 1956 (age 50) and "Weird Al" Yankovic in 1959 (age 47); and football players Doug Flutie and Mike Tomczak, both in 1962 (age 44).


On this date in history:

In 1707, the British Parliament met for the first time.

In 1942, the British Eighth Army launched an offensive at El Alamein in Egypt, a World War II battle that eventually swept the Germans out of North Africa.

In 1945, Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player hired by a major league team, was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and sent to their Montreal farm team.

In 1972, earthquakes killed more than 10,000 people in Nicaragua.

In 1983, suicide bomb attacks on peacekeeping troops in Beirut killed 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French soldiers.

In 1989, Hungary formally declared an end to 40 years of communist rule and proclaimed itself a republic, setting the stage for creation of Western-style democracy in the Eastern Bloc state.

In 1990, Iraq released 64 British hostages.

In 1993, the Toronto Blue Jays won baseball's World Series for the second year in a row.

In 1995, the U.S. Defense Department announced it was ending a program designed to help minority-owned firms secure government contracts.

In 1998, after nine days of tense negotiations at the Wye Conference Center in Queenstown, Md., Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed an agreement to revive the stalled Middle East peace process.

Also in 1998, Dr. Barnett Slepian, an obstetrician who performed abortions, was shot to death by a sniper who fired a bullet through a widow of Slepian's home in Amherst, N.Y.

In 2001, U.S.-led forces maintained their intense pressure on the Taliban, pounding positions around the Afghan capital of Kabul and the militia's southern stronghold of Kandahar for the 17th consecutive day.

In 2002, a group of 20 Chechen gunmen stormed a Moscow theater, taking hostage more than 700 members of the audience, actors and theater staff, and demanding an end to the war in the separatist republic.

Also in 2002, authorities say the sniper who has terrorized the Washington region for the past three weeks -- killing 10 people and wounding three others -- has demanded $10 million in cash and threatened to begin attacking children of the area if demands are not met.

In 2003, the U.S. Congress passed a bill banning late-term abortions, a procedure critics refer to as partial-birth abortions.

In 2004, with the U.S. presidential election less than two weeks away, a Time survey had President George W. Bush holding a 5-point lead over Democratic challenger John Kerry.

Also in 2004, insurgents struck at three minibuses carrying U.S.-trained Iraqi soldiers, reportedly killing about 50 of them.

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma picked up strength and speed as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico and headed for Florida.

Also in 2005, all 117 people aboard were reported killed in the crash of a Nigerian plane crash shortly after takeoff from Lagos.


A thought for the day: The New Testament says, "Charity shall cover a multitude of sins."

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Today is Tuesday, Oct. 24, the 297th day of 2006 with 68 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Venus, Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Mercury, Pluto, Uranus, Jupiter and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include (Ireland's Call – ts4ms.com , Location: Dublin Ireland , Interests: Good Wines, Rugby, and good debate )
pioneering Dutch microscope maker Anton Van Leeuwenhoek in 1632; journalist Sarah Josepha Hale, author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," in 1788; attorney Belva Lockwood, the first woman candidate for U.S. president, nominated by the National Equal Rights Party, in 1830; film producer-director Merian Cooper (the original "King Kong") in 1893; former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman in 1936 (age 70); former NAACP president Kweisi Mfume in 1948 (age 58); actors David Nelson in 1936 (age 70), F. Murray Abraham in 1939 (age 67) and Kevin Kline in 1947 (age 59); and singer Monica (Arnold) in 1980 (age 26).



On this date in history:

In 1648, the Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War in Europe.

In 1861, the first telegram was transmitted across the United States from California Chief Justice Stephen Field to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in Washington.

In 1901, daredevil Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

In 1945, following Soviet ratification, U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes announced the U.N. charter was in effect. Establishment of the United Nations came less than two months after the end of World War II.

In 1984, the FBI arrested 11 alleged chiefs of the Colombo crime family on charges of racketeering in New York City.

In 1989, TV evangelist Jim Bakker was sentenced to 45 years in prison and fined $500,000 for fleecing his flock.

In 1990, U.S. Rep. Donald Lukens, R-Ohio, resigned over sex charges.

In 1993, the death of Burundi President Melchior Ndadaye in a military coup was confirmed.

In 1995, the United Nations marked its 50th anniversary with the largest gathering of world leaders in history.

In 2001, Pakistan officials said they needed no help in securing the nation's nuclear weapons despite fears they might fall into the hands of Islamic extremists.

Also in 2001, an estranged sister-in-law of Osama bin Laden told a U.S. television show that she believed some members of the Saudi royal family supported the suspected terrorist.

In 2002, police arrested two suspects in the 3-week series of sniper attacks in the Washington area that killed 10 and wounded three others. John Allen Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, were found sleeping in a car at a rest stop outside Frederick, Md.

In 2003, an era in aviation history ended when the supersonic Concorde took off from New York to London on its final flight.

In 2004, a series of severe earthquakes in northern Japan killed 21 people and injured more than 1,500 others.

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma roared into Florida, packing 125 mph winds and lashing rain, inflicting heavy damage to beaches and buildings. Ten deaths were reported and some 2.5 million South Floridians were without power.

Also in 2005, U.S. President George Bush nominated Ben Bernanke, his chief economic adviser, to replace Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve Board chairman.

And, in 2005, a violent day in Iraq saw three bombs near Baghdad hotels kill 10 people and gunmen kill another 12 construction workers south of Baghdad.


A thought for the day: Hindu nationalist leader Mohandas Gandhi said, "I believe that a man is the strongest soldier for daring to die unarmed."

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Today is Wednesday, Oct. 25, the 298th day of 2006 with 67 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Venus, Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Mercury, Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include (Luaenne – ts4ms.com, Location: San Francisco Bay Area, CA) (robnsunny – ts4ms.com) (pmb – tsrms.com) (ronmhjr – ts4ms.com) British historian Thomas Macaulay in 1800; Austrian composer Johann Strauss in 1825; French composer Georges Bizet in 1838; artist Pablo Picasso in 1881; explorer Richard Byrd in 1888; country comedian Minnie Pearl in 1912; actors Tony Franciosa in 1928 and Marion Ross in 1928 (age 78); basketball coach Bobby Knight in 1940 (age 66); author Anne Tyler and pop singer Helen Reddy, both in 1941 (age 65); and violinist Midori in 1971 (age 35).


On this date in history:

In 1825, the Erie Canal, America's first man-made waterway, was opened, linking the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River.

In 1854, known to history as the Charge of the Light Brigade, 670 British cavalrymen fighting in the Crimean War attacked a heavily fortified Russian position and were wiped out.

In 1881, Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century, was born in Malaga, Spain.

In 1929, during the Teapot Dome scandal, Albert B. Fall, who served as Interior secretary in President Warren G. Harding's Cabinet, was found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office, first individual convicted of a crime committed while a presidential Cabinet member.

In 1971, the United Nations admitted China as a member, ousting the Nationalist Chinese government of Taiwan.

In 1983, U.S. troops, supported by six Caribbean nations, invaded the tiny, leftist-ruled island of Grenada. Nineteen Americans died in the fighting.

In 1986, the International Red Cross ousted South African delegates from a Geneva meeting because of Pretoria's policy of apartheid. It was the first such ejection in the organization's 123 years.

In 1990, employees struck the New York Daily News, the nation's largest general-circulation daily newspaper at the time.

In 1993, Canadian voters rejected the Progressive Conservative party of Prime Minister Kim Campbell and gave the Liberal Party, led by Jean Chretien of Quebec, a firm majority in Parliament.

In 1994, Susan Smith reported to police in Union, S.C., that her two young boys had been taken in a carjacking. Nine days later, she confessed she had rolled her car into a lake, drowning the children.

In 2000, AT&T announced it would break itself into four separate businesses in a bid to renew investor support.

In 2001, the U.S. Senate, by a 90-1 vote, approved a final package of anti-terror reforms designed to help law enforcement monitor, observe and detain suspected terrorists.

In 2002, Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and seven others were killed in the crash of a small plane near the Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport, about 180 miles northeast of Minneapolis.

In 2003, California wildfires, fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds, destroyed 60 homes near Los Angeles and threatened dense housing tracts.

In 2004, at least 78 Muslim detainees suffocated or were crushed to death in southern Thailand after the police rounded up 1,300 people and packed them into trucks following a riot.

Also in 2004, a top civilian at the U.S. Department of Defense Pentagon called for a federal investigation into how contracts in Iraq and the Balkans were awarded to the Halliburton company, formerly run by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.

In 2005, Iraq's draft constitution was reported approved by more than three-quarters of the voters in the Oct. 15 referendum.

Also in 2005, civil rights icon Rosa Parks died in Detroit at age 92. Parks, an African-American woman, gave new impetus to the rights movement when in 1955 she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., bus.


A thought for the day: Pablo Picasso said, "I am only an entertainer who has understood his time."

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On this date in history:



Today is Thursday, Oct. 26, the 299th day of 2006 with 66 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Venus, Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Mercury, Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in 1879; gospel singer Mahalia Jackson in 1911; bandleader Charlie Barnet in 1913; French President Francois Mitterrand in 1916; Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran, in 1919; actor Bob Hoskins in 1942 (age 64); author Pat Conroy in 1945 (age 61); TV personality Pat Sajak in 1946 (age 60); U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., wife of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, in 1947 (age 59); and actors Jaclyn Smith in 1945 (age 61) and Cary Elwes and Dylan McDermott, both in 1962 (age 44); and singer Natalie Merchant in 1963 (age 43).


On this date in history:

In 1906, workers in St. Petersburg set up the first Russian "soviet," or council.

In 1920, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland, Terence McSwiney, died after a 2 1/2-month hunger strike in a British prison cell, demanding independence for Ireland.

In 1942, Japanese warships sank the aircraft carrier USS Hornet off the Solomon Islands.

In 1944, after four days of furious fighting, the World War II battle of Leyte Gulf, largest air-naval clash in history, ended with a decisive U.S. victory over the Japanese.

In 1965, The Beatles were presented the prestigious Member of the Order of the British Empire medals by Queen Elizabeth.

In 1979, South Korean President Park Chung Hee was assassinated by the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1984, Dr. Leonard L. Bailey performed the first baboon-to-human heart transplant, replacing a 14-day-old infant girl's defective heart with a healthy, walnut-sized heart of a young baboon at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California.

In 1990, District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $5,000 for his conviction on misdemeanor drug charges.

In 1992, besieged GM Chairman Robert Stempel resigned as head of the No. 1 U.S. automaker.

In 1994, Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty at a desert site along the Israeli-Jordanian border.

In 1995, Russian President Boris Yeltsin was hospitalized with heart trouble for the second time in less than four months.

Also in 1995, Islamic Jihad leader Fathi ash-Shiqaqi was assassinated in Malta.

In 1998, just one day before threatened NATO airstrikes were to begin, Serbian soldiers and police began what was said to be a significant pullback from positions in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo, where they reportedly were massacring ethnic Albanians.

Also in 1998, the presidents of Ecuador and Peru signed a peace treaty, ending a decades-long border dispute between the two countries.

In 2001, six weeks after the worst terrorist attack ever on U.S. soil, U.S. President George Bush signed into law a tough new measure giving law enforcement agencies expanded authority in their battle against terrorism.

In 2002, Moscow's 4-day hostage crisis came to a bloody end when Russian soldiers stormed a theater where Chechen rebels had held 700 people for ransom. Ninety hostages and 50 rebels were killed.

In 2003, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz escaped a rocket attack on a heavily guarded Baghdad hotel.

In 2004, a U.N. investigation into Iraq's oil-for-food program reportedly turned up names of several prominent politicians in France, Russia and elsewhere said to have received illegal Iraqi oil from Saddam Hussein.

In 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ignited international outrage when he said Israel should be wiped off the map.

Also in 2005, Florida officials estimated Hurricane Wilma caused more than $1 billion damage to the state's agriculture industry.


A thought for the day: English writer William Hazlitt said, "Men of genius do not excel in any profession because their labor in it, but they labor in it because they excel."

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On this date in history:

Today is Friday, Oct. 27, the 300th day of 2006 with 65 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Venus, Mercury, Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus in 1466; English explorer Capt. James Cook in 1728; Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini in 1782; Isaac Singer, developer of the first practical home sewing machine, in 1811; Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States, in 1858; etiquette arbiter Emily Post in 1872; longtime "Tonight Show" producer/director Fred De Cordova in 1910; Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in 1914; actresses Nanette Fabray in 1920 (age 86) and Ruby Dee in 1924 (age 82); pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in 1923; former Secretary of State Warren Christopher in 1925 (age 81); pop pianist Floyd Cramer in 1933; comedian John Cleese in 1939 (age 67); filmmaker Ivan Reitman in 1946 (age 60); actors Carrie Snodgress in 1945, Roberto Benigni ("Life Is Beautiful") in 1952 (age 54), and Robert Picardo ("Star Trek: Voyager") in 1953 (age 53), and singer Simon LeBon in 1958 (age 48).


On this date in history:

In 1659, William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson, two Quakers who came from England in 1656 to escape religious persecution, were executed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony for their outlawed religious beliefs.

In 1787, a New York newspaper published the first of 77 essays explaining the new Constitution and urging its ratification, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay and later combined as "The Federalist Papers."

In 1795, a treaty with Spain settled Florida's northern boundary and gave navigation rights on the Mississippi River to the United States.

In 1904, the first rapid transit subway system in America opened in New York City.

In 1946, the travel show "Geographically Speaking," sponsored by Bristol-Myers, became the first television program with a commercial sponsor.

In 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were divorced, reportedly after a blowup over her famous "skirt scene" in "The Seven Year Itch," in which a blast of air lifts her skirt.

In 1981, the National Labor Relations Board withdrew recognition of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization for an illegal strike by its members.

In 1990, CBS founder William S. Paley died at age 89. And rumba king Xavier Cugat died at 90.

In 1991, Poland had its first fully free parliamentary elections.

In 1992, Israeli tanks rolled into Lebanon as air force jets staged renewed raids in an effort to crush Muslim fundamentalist guerrillas.

In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton presented Congress with the administration's new plan for healthcare reform in a ceremony at the Capitol.

Also in 1993, Southern California was hit by dozens of brush fires -- the worst in six years. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and thousands of people were forced to flee the flames.

In 1994, the U.S. Justice Department announced that the U.S. prison population topped the 1 million mark for the first time.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch, one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded, began its four-day siege of Central America, causing at least 10,000 deaths.

In 2003, as many as 40 civilians and U.S. soldiers were killed in a flurry of terrorist bombings in Baghdad. Among the targets was the 3-story headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In 2004, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat was reported to be dying. A Palestinian minister said doctors were frantically trying to save the 75-year-old Mideast leader's life.

In 2005, after weeks of blistering criticism from both Democrats and Republicans about her qualifications, Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Also in 2005, ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, said its earnings were up 75 percent during the third quarter on higher energy prices before and after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.


A thought for the day: President Theodore Roosevelt said, "The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours if that he shall be able and willing to pull his weight."

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On this date in history:

Today is Saturday, Oct. 28, the 301st day of 2006 with 64 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Venus, Mercury, Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include rifle maker Eliphalet Remington in 1793; actress Elsa Lanchester in 1902; English novelist Evelyn Waugh in 1903; Dr. Jonas Salk, a developer of the polio vaccine, in 1914; former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn in 1926 (age 80); country musician Charlie Daniels in 1936 (age 70); actors Jane Alexander in 1939 (age 67) and Dennis Franz in 1944 (age 62); singer/actress Thelma Hopkins in 1948 (age 58); Olympic decathlon champion-turned-sportscaster Bruce Jenner in 1949 (age 57); Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 1955 (age 51); Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 1956 (age 50); actresses Annie Potts in 1952 (age 54), Lauren Holly in 1963 (age 43), Jami Gertz in 1965 (age 41); and Julia Roberts in 1967 (age 39).


On this date in history:

In A.D. 312, in a battle that marked the beginning of the Christian era in Europe, Constantine's army, wearing the cross, defeated the forces of Maxentius at Mulvian Bridge in Rome.

In 1636, Harvard College, now Harvard University, was founded in Massachusetts.

In 1846, the pioneering Donner Party of 90 people set out from Springfield, Ill., for California.

In 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States, was dedicated in New York Harbor by U.S. President Grover Cleveland.

In 1919, the U.S. Congress passed the Volstead Act, over U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's veto, enforcing the constitutional amendment prohibiting the use of alcoholic beverages.

In 1962, Russian chief Nikita Khrushchev announced that all Soviet offensive missiles would be removed from Cuba.

In 1985, the leader of the so-called "Walker family spy ring," John Walker, pleaded guilty to giving U.S. Navy secrets to the Soviet Union.

In 1986, the Statue of Liberty reached the actual 100th anniversary of its dedication, without the hoopla of the July 4th ceremonies.

In 1989, the Oakland A's wrapped up an earthquake-delayed sweep of the World Series over the San Francisco Giants.

In 1992, scientists using sonar to map Scotland's Loch Ness made contact with a mysterious object, but declined to speculate what that implies about whether legendary monster "Nessie" exists.

In 1993, a U.S. budget deficit of $254.9 billion was reported for fiscal year 1993.

In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton visited U.S. troops in Kuwait during a Middle Eastern trip.

In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a third New Jersey postal worker had an anthrax inhalation infection, bringing the total number to eight, including three people who died from the most serious form of the disease.

Also in 2001, on this date, U.S.-led forces resumed airstrikes against targets in Afghanistan, bombing the Taliban's southern stronghold of Kandahar.

In 2002, U.S. diplomat John Foley was slain in Amman, Jordan. An unknown group called the Honest People of Jordan claimed responsibility, calling it a response to U.S. support of Israel and actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush warned Iran and Syria not to allow terrorists to cross into Iraq from their territory.

In 2004, insurgents executed 11 Iraqi soldiers in what they said was revenge for women and children killed in U.S. strikes on the guerrilla stronghold of Fallujah.

In 2005, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff and national security adviser to the vice president, resigned after he was indicted on multiple counts in the CIA leak case in which a covert operative's name was revealed to the media.


A thought for the day: poet Emily Dickinson wrote,

"I'll tell you how the sun rose --

"A Ribbon at a time --"