On this date in history

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On this date in history


Today is Tuesday, Feb. 27, the 58th day of 2007 with 307 to follow.

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


Those born on this day are under the sign of Pisces. They include (cw_racefan-ts4ms.com) poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1807; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in 1886; David Sarnoff, RCA board chairman and father of American television, in 1891; soprano Marion Anderson in 1897; novelist John Steinbeck in 1902; actress Joan Bennett in 1910; former Texas Gov. John Connally in 1917; actors Joanne Woodward in 1930 (age 77); Elizabeth Taylor in 1932 (age 75), Howard Hesseman in 1940 (age 67) and Mary Frann in 1943; consumer activist Ralph Nader in 1934 (age 73); actor Adam Baldwin in 1962 (age 45); and former first daughter Chelsea Clinton in 1980 (age 27).




On this date in history:


In 1933, Adolf Hitler's Nazis set fire to the German parliament building in Berlin, blamed it on the communists and made that an excuse to suspend German civil liberties and freedom of the press.


In 1942, opening salvos were fired in the Battle of the Java Sea, during which 13 U.S. warships were sunk by the Japanese, who lost two.


In 1964, the Italian government asked for suggestions on how to save the renowned 180-foot Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.


In 1982, an Atlanta jury convicted Wayne Williams of killing two of 28 young blacks whose deaths over a two-year period had shaken the city. Williams was sentenced to life in prison.


In 1990, the Soviet Parliament approved creation of a U.S.-style presidential system that gave Mikhail Gorbachev broad new powers and established direct popular elections for the post.


Also in 1990, a federal grand jury in Anchorage, Alaska, indicted Exxon Corp. and its shipping subsidiary over the Exxon Valdez oil spill.


In 1991, allied troops liberated Kuwait City.


Also in 1991, a 14-month investigation ended with the U.S. Senate Ethics Committee singling out Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif., for discipline over dealings with S&L executive Charles Keating.


In 1992, Elizabeth Taylor celebrated her 60th birthday by closing Disneyland for an elaborate private party with her celebrity friends.


In 1994, the 17th Winter Olympic Games ended in Lillehammer, Norway.


In 1998, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at an all-time high of 8,545.72, the first time it closed at more than 8,500.


In 1999, Nigeria's transition to civilian rule was nearly completed with the election of Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military leader, as president.


In 2003, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein denied Baghdad had any connection with al-Qaida or its leader Osama bin Laden and that Iraq would set fire to its oil fields and blow up its dams in response to a U.S.-led invasion.


Also in 2003, Amnesty International reported that the Ivory Coast's main rebel group slaughtered dozens of Ivorian policemen and their children during a horrific October rampage,


In 2004, two studies commissioned by the U.S. Roman Catholic church showed at least 4 percent of priests were involved in child sexual abuse between 1950 and 2002, with the peak year 1970 in which one of every 10 priests eventually was accused of abuse.


In 2005, a half-brother of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, accused of playing leading role in organizing and funding the insurgency in Iraq, was handed over to coalition officials by Syria.


Also in 2005, the United Nations took a first step aimed at curtailing worldwide smoking by announcing its tough tobacco control treaty had gone into effect.


In 2006, more than 1,300 Iraqis were reported killed in sectarian violence since the bombing of a major Shiite shrine in Baghdad.


A thought for the day: Marion Anderson, saying she had forgiven the Daughters of the American Revolution for withdrawing its invitation to perform because she was black, said, "You lose a lot of time hating people."

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On this date in history



Today is Wednesday, Feb. 28, the 59th day of 2007 with 306 to follow.

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


Those born on this day are under the sign of Pisces. They include (Kay H-ts4ms.com);( boilerpete-ts4ms.com); French essayist Michel de Montaigne in 1533; American journalist and screenwriter Ben Hecht in 1894; chemist and physicist Linus Pauling, twice winner of the Nobel Prize, in 1901; movie director Vincente Minnelli in 1903; Svetlana Stalin, daughter of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, in 1926 (age 81); actors Charles Durning in 1923 (age 84) and Gavin MacLeod in 1931 (age 76); dancer Tommy Tune in 1939 (age 68); former race car driver Mario Andretti in 1940 (age 67); singer/actress Bernadette Peters in 1948 (age 59); and actors John Turturro in 1957 (age 50) and Robert Sean Leonard in 1969 (age 38).




On this date in history:


In 1844, an explosion rocked the "war steamer" USS Princeton after it test-fired one of its guns. The blast killed or wounded a number of top U.S. government officials who were aboard.


In 1849, the first shipload of gold seekers arrived in San Francisco after a five-month journey from New York.


In 1942, Japanese forces landed in Java, the last Allied bastion in the Dutch East Indies.


In 1982, the J. Paul Getty Museum became the most richly endowed museum on Earth when it received a $1.2 billion bequest left by Getty.


In 1983, the concluding episode of the long-running television series "M*A*S*H" drew what was then the largest TV audience in U.S. history.


In 1986, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated on a street in Stockholm.


In 1990, the Soviet Parliament passed a law permitting the leasing of land to individuals for housing and farming. It was another radical change in the Stalinist scheme of a state-run economy.


In 1991, Iraq agreed to meet with the allies to arrange a permanent cease-fire.


In 1992, a judge in Rochester Hills, Mich., said euthanasia advocate Jack "Dr. Death" Kevorkian must stand trial for murder for helping two chronically ill women commit suicide.


Also in 1992, a bomb blamed on the IRA ripped through a London railway station, injuring at least 30 people and shutting down the British capital's rail and subway system.


In 1993, federal agents attempting to serve warrants on the Branch Davidian religious cult's compound near Waco, Texas, were met with a hail of bullets that left at least five dead and 15 wounded and marked the start of a month-and-a-half-long standoff.


Also in 1993, film actress Lillian Gish, a major star in the silents and whose career spanned more than 80 years, died at age 96; and actress/dancer Ruby Keeler, star of '30s musicals ("42nd Street"), died at age 82.


In 1994, NATO was involved in actual combat for the first time in its 45-year history when four U.S. fighter planes operating under NATO auspices shot down four Serb planes that had violated the U.N. no-fly zone in central Bosnia.


In 1996, Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana agreed to divorce after 15 years of marriage.


In 1997, the Democratic National Committee said it would return nearly $1.5 million in contributions that may have been illegal or improper.


Also in 1997, former FBI agent Earl Pitts pleaded guilty to spying and became only the second FBI agent convicted of espionage.


In 2000, bowing to international pressure, Jorg Haider resigned as leader of Austria's anti-immigrant Freedom Party. Haider had come under scrutiny for his reported admiration of Adolf Hitler.


In 2001, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the U.S. Pacific Northwest, injuring 250 people and causing more than $1 billion damages.


In 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a ban on all forms of human cloning, setting up a Senate debate on what would be appropriate research.


In 2004, documents provided by members of the Iraq Governing Council are said to indicate systematic skimming of billions of dollars by Saddam Hussein.


In 2005, at least 125 Iraqi police recruits and others were killed when a suicide bomber drove into a crowd outside a government office south of Baghdad.


In 2006, in another bloody day in Baghdad, at least 25 people died in an explosion outside a Shiite mosque and 33 more were killed in three other bombings.


A thought for the day: it was Ben Hecht who wrote, "Do it first, do it yourself, and keep on doin' it."

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On this date in history


Today is Thursday, March 1, the 60th day of 2006 with 305 to follow.

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


Those born on this day are under the sign of Pisces. They include (Eric-ts4ms.com); Polish composer Frederic Chopin in 1810; author William Dean Howells in 1837; big band leader Glenn Miller in 1904; actor David Niven in 1910; poet Robert Lowell in 1917; legendary St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray in 1914; Donald "Deke" Slayton, one of the original Mercury astronauts, in 1924; singer Harry Belafonte in 1927 (age 80); actors Robert Conrad in 1935 (age 72) and Alan Thicke in 1947 (age 60); Roger Daltrey of The Who in 1944 (age 63); director Ron Howard in 1954 (age 53); and actor Timothy Daly in 1956 (age 51).




On this date in history:


In 1692, the notorious witch-hunt began in the Salem village of the Massachusetts Bay colony, eventually resulting in the executions of 19 innocent men and women.


In 1780, Pennsylvania became the first state to abolish slavery.


In 1781, the American colonies adopted the Articles of Confederation, paving the way for a federal union.


In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established by an act of Congress. It was the first area in the world to be designated a national park.


In 1932, aviator Charles Lindbergh's son was kidnapped. The boy's body was found May 12 and Bruno Hauptmann was executed for the crime in 1936.


In 1954, Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives, wounding five members of Congress.


In 1961, U.S. President John Kennedy formed the Peace Corps.


In 1971, a bomb exploded in a restroom in the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol, causing some $300,000 damage but no injuries. The Weather Underground, a leftist radical group that opposed the Vietnam War, claimed responsibility.


In 1991, the United States reopened its embassy in newly liberated Kuwait.


Also in 1991, after 23 years of insurgency in Colombia, the Popular Liberation Army put down its arms in exchange for two seats in the national assembly.


In 1992, the collapse of a building housing a cafe in East Jerusalem killed 23 people.


In 1994, the Muslim-dominated government of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bosnia's Croats agreed to a federation embracing portions of their war-torn country under their control.


In 1996, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who has assisted more than two dozen suicides, was acquitted of murder for a third time.


In 1999, Rwandan rebels killed eight tourists, including two Americans, a Ugandan game warden and three rangers in a national forest in Uganda.


In 2000, in a rare unanimous vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to allow most Social Security recipients to earn as much money as they want without losing any benefits.


In 2003, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States was captured in Pakistan. Khalid Sheik Mohammed was believed to be the third ranking member of al-Qaida.


Also in 2003, as the possibility of war in Iraq grew, Turkey's parliament refused to permit U.S. troops on Turkish soil.


In 2004, a new interim government took over in Haiti after a bloody, monthlong insurrection, one day after President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled into exile.


Also in 2004, the Iraqi governing council approved a draft constitution.


In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that execution of juvenile offenders is unconstitutional.


In 2006, U.S. President George Bush, en route to Pakistan, made an unscheduled stop in Afghanistan to discuss security matters. The day before he arrived in Pakistan a bomb exploded outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, killing an American diplomat.


Also in 2006, New Orleans' first Mardi Gras after being slammed by Hurricane Katrina wound down peacefully in what Mayor Ray Nagin called a "symbol that we're on our way back."


A thought for the day: "Some people can stay longer in an hour than others can in a week." William Dean Howells said that.

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On this date in history


Today is Friday, March 2, the 61st day of 2007 with 304 to follow.

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


Those born on this day are under the sign of Pisces. They include (Jack1234-ts4ms.com); statesman DeWitt Clinton, chief sponsor of the Erie Canal project, in 1769; Sam Houston, first president of the Republic of Texas, in 1793; journalist, politician and reformer Carl Schurz in 1829; Pope Pius XII in 1876; publisher Max Schuster in 1897; German composer Kurt Weill in 1900; children's author "Dr. Seuss," Theodor Geisel, in 1904; entertainer Desi Arnaz in 1917; actors Jennifer Jones in 1919 (age 88) and John Cullum in 1930 (age 77); former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1931 (age 76); authors Tom Wolfe in 1931 (age 76) and John Irving in 1942 (age 65); singer Karen Carpenter in 1950; comedian Laraine Newman ("Saturday Night Live") in 1952 (age 55), and rock singer Jon Bon Jovi in 1962 (age 45).





On this date in history:


In 1836, Texas proclaimed its independence from Mexico.


In 1925, the first system of interstate highway numbering was introduced in the United States.


In 1943, in the Battle of Bismarck Sea, U.S. warplanes attacked a Japanese convoy en route to New Guinea in the South Pacific, eventually blocking Japan's attempt to send in reinforcements.


In 1945, toward the close of World War II, units of the U.S. 9th Army reached the Rhine River opposite Dusseldorf, Germany.


In 1949, a U.S. Air Force plane piloted by Capt. James Gallagher completed the first non-stop around-the-world flight in just more than 94 hours.


In 1981, the United States announced it was sending 20 military advisers and $25 million in equipment to El Salvador.


In 1990, more than 6,000 drivers and thousands of other employees went on strike against Greyhound, the only nationwide intercity bus line.


In 1991, Yugoslavia's federal army was sent to Croatia to protect Serbs after violence erupted between Croatian security forces and villagers.


In 1992, U.S. President George H.W. Bush vetoed a bill linking improvements in human rights to continued most-favored-nation trade status for China.


In 1993, six youngsters were killed as gunmen opened fire at point-blank range on a truck transporting school children in South Africa's strife-torn Natal province.


In 1994, the Mexican government reached a tentative agreement with the Zapatista National Liberation Army, which had launched a rebellion in January in Chiapas.


In 1997, a state of emergency was declared in Albania amid public unrest triggered by the collapse of pyramid funds in which many people had invested.


In 1999, Texas Gov. George W. Bush said he was setting up a committee to explore a run for the White House.


In 2000, the British government abruptly dropped extradition proceedings against former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet, who had been under house arrest in London for 16 months as Spain sought to try him for crimes committed during his regime.


Also in 2000, a longtime political fundraiser for U.S. Vice President Al Gore was convicted for arranging more than $100,000 in illegal donations in 1996.


In 2004, John Kerry locked up the Democratic presidential nomination with a series of primary victories.


Also in 2004, at least 125 people died in explosions at two Shiite shrines in Iraq.


In 2005, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan urged Congress to scrutinize spending and taxes to help solve the problem of federal budget deficits that he called "unsustainable."


In 2006, the U.S. Senate gave final congressional approval to a long-term extension of the Patriot Act, after settling disputes over privacy rights of U.S. citizens. The law had been enacted in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.


Also in 2006, the United States and India announced agreement on a plan to allow India to buy U.S. nuclear fuel and reactor components. India in return reportedly would separate military and civilian nuclear programs and allow inspections.


A thought for the day: Mikhail Gorbachev said, "Sometimes when you stand face to face with someone, you cannot see his face."

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On this date in history



Today is Saturday, March 3, the 62nd day of 2007 with 303 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include English poet Edmund Waller in 1606; industrialist George Pullman, inventor of the railway sleeping car, in 1831; telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell in 1847; U.S. Army Gen. Matthew Ridgway in 1895; movie star Jean Harlow in 1911; "Star Trek" actor James "Scotty" Doohan in 1920; Lee Radziwill, sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, in 1933 (age 74); former football star Herschel Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, and Olympic gold medal heptathlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, both in 1962 (age 45); and actors David Faustino ("Married ... With Children") in 1974 (age 33) and Jessica Biel ("7th Heaven") in 1982 (age 25.




On this date in history:


In 1879, attorney Belva Ann Lockwood became the first woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.


In 1931, an act of the U.S. Congress designated "The Star Spangled Banner" the national anthem of the United States.


In 1974, a Turkish jetliner crashed near Paris, killing 345 people.


In 1985, British coal miners ended a yearlong strike, the longest and costliest labor dispute in British history.


In 1986, the President's Commission on Organized Crime, ending a 32-month investigation, called for drug testing of most working Americans, including all federal employees.


In 1991, a home video captured three Los Angeles police officers beating motorist Rodney King.


Also in 1991, residents of the Soviet republics of Latvia and Estonia voted overwhelmingly for independence.


In 1993, Dr. Albert Sabin, the medical pioneer who helped conquer polio, died at his home of heart failure at age 86.


In 1995, the last U.N. peacekeepers left Somalia.


In 1996, a bus bombing in Jerusalem killed 19 people.


In 1997, U.S. Vice President Al Gore admitted he made fundraising calls from the White House but said he'd been advised there was no law against it.


Also in 1997, former CIA official Harold Nicholson pleaded guilty to spying for Russia. He was sentenced to 23 years and seven months in prison.


In 1999, an estimated 70 million people tuned in to watch former White House intern Monica Lewinsky's taped TV interview with Barbara Walters.


In 2001, foot-and-mouth disease, which had flared in Britain, was reported in Europe, where livestock at two farms in France and Belgium were quarantined.


In 2002, violence continued through the early days of March in the Middle East as attacks and retaliations took a heavy toll on Israelis and Palestinians.


In 2004, former WorldCom Chief Executive Officer Bernard Ebbers pleaded innocent to an indictment on federal fraud and conspiracy charges. The company's 2002 bankruptcy was the largest in U.S. history.


In 2005, the U.S. military death toll in Iraq reached 1,500.


Also in 2005, North Korea announced it was dropping its self-imposed moratorium on long range missile testing, in place since 1999.


In 2006, U.S. Army Gen. George W. Casey, the man in charge of United States forces in Iraq said "it appears the crisis has passed" in the wake of a mosque bombing that set off Islamic sectarian violence that claimed hundreds of lives.


Also in 2006, former Congressman Randy Cunningham, a California Republican, was sentenced to eight years in prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes from military contractors for help in landing lucrative government contracts.



A thought for the day: Edmund Waller wrote, "Poets that lasting marble seek / Must come in Latin or in Greek."

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On this date in history


Today is Sunday, March 4, the 63rd day of 2007 with 302 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include composer Antonio Vivaldi in 1678; Polish-born American patriot Casimir Pulaski in 1747; Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne in 1888; actor John Garfield in 1913; anthropologist Jane Goodall (age 73) and actress/singer Barbara McNair, both in 1934; English auto racing champion Jimmy Clark in 1936; actress Paula Prentiss in 1939 (age 68); actress Kay Lenz and musician/producer Emilio Estefan, both in 1953 (age 54); and actors Catherine O'Hara in 1954 (age 53) and Steven Weber in 1961 (age 46).



On this date in history:


In 1681, to satisfy a debt, England's King Charles II granted a royal charter, deed and governorship of Pennsylvania to William Penn.


In 1789, the U.S. Congress met for the first time, in New York City.


In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the first president to be inaugurated in Washington.


In 1917, Jeanette Rankin, a Montana Republican, was sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives and became the first woman to serve in Congress.


In 1958, the U.S. atomic submarine Nautilus reached the North Pole by passing beneath the Arctic ice cap.


In 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan acknowledged his administration swapped arms to Iran for U.S. hostages and said, "It was a mistake."


In 1991, the first allied prisoners of war were released as Iraq began complying with the terms of the official U.N. cease-fire.


In 1992, a Virginia fertility specialist was convicted of fraud and perjury for using his own sperm in the artificial insemination of his patients.


And in 1993, a Virginia boy who sawed off his hand while earning $4 an hour sued his parents for $2 million for letting him use a circular saw.


In 1994, four men were found guilty in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.


In 1996, a bombing at a shopping mall in Tel Aviv, Israel, killed 14 people.


In 1997, for the third time in as many years, the U.S. Senate rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to require the U.S. government to balance its budget.


In 1999, a U.S. Marine pilot whose plane had snapped a ski-lift cable high in Italy, killing 20 people, was acquitted of charges of involuntary homicide and manslaughter.


In 2002, after more than 40 people died violently in a week, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he aimed to kill as many Palestinians as possible to force them to negotiate.


In 2003, Philippine authorities blamed two bombings on the island of Mindanao on Islamic separatists. Twenty-two people, including a U.S. missionary, were killed and 150 injured in one blast and one died and three were hurt in the other.


In 2004, as U.S. Marines mobilized and patrolled the streets of downtown Port-au-Prince, rebel forces proclaiming themselves Haiti's reinvented military after the president fled said they would lay down their weapons.


In 2005, homemaking guru Martha Stewart returned home after serving five months in a federal prison for lying about a stock sale and began five months of home confinement.


Also in 2005, the Justice Department asked the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to restore its $280 billion racketeering suit against the tobacco companies.


In 2006, the Pentagon opened a new criminal investigation into the reported 2004 friendly fire death of football star Pat Tillman in Afghanistan.


Also in 2006, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll showed Americans, by greater than a 3-1 ratio, were against the proposed handover of the management of six U.S. ports to Arab control. U.S. President George Bush favored the plan currently under review but Congress largely opposed it.

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On this date in history


Today is Monday, March 5, the 64th day of 2007 with 301 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include Flemish mapmaker Gerardus Mercator in 1512; William Blackstone, the first settler in what is now Boston, in 1595; Antoine Cadillac, founder of Detroit, in 1658; poet Lucy Larcom in 1824; lithographer James Ives, partner of Nathaniel Currier, in 1824; author Frank Norris in 1870; water treatment pioneer Emmett J. Culligan in 1893; actors Rex Harrison in 1908, Jack Cassidy in 1927, Dean Stockwell in 1936 (age 71), Samantha Eggar in 1939 (age 68), Paul Sand in 1944 (age 63), Michael Warren ("Hill Street Blues") in 1946 (age 61) and Marsha Warfield ("Night Court") in 1954 (age 63); and magician Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller in 1955 (age 52).




On this date in history:


In 1770, British troops killed five colonials in the so-called Boston Massacre, one of the events that led to the American Revolution.


In 1933, in German elections, Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party won nearly half the seats in the Reichstag, the German parliament.


In 1946, Winston Churchill, speaking in Fulton, Mo., established the Cold War boundary during his famed "Iron Curtain" speech.


In 1953, the Soviet Union announced that dictator Josef Stalin had died at age 73.


In 1984, the Standard Oil Co. of California, also known as Chevron, bought Gulf Corp. for more than $13 billion in the largest business merger in U.S. history at the time.


In 1991, rebellions against Saddam Hussein were reported in southeastern Iraq. U.S. military officials predicted the unrest probably would lead to his downfall.


In 1993, Canada's Ben Johnson, once called the world's fastest human, tested positive for drugs and was banned for life from track competition.


In 1997, Switzerland announced plans to establish a $4.7 billion government-financed fund, using interest from its gold reserves, to compensate survivors of the Nazi Holocaust and their descendants.


In 1998, NASA announced that ice had been found at the moon's north and south poles.


In 2004, Martha Stewart, one of the nation's most successful female entrepreneurs, was convicted on conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges in the ImClone insider trading scandal.


In 2005, military officials said an Italian reporter and former hostage was shot and wounded and an Italian secret agent killed by U.S. forces when their vehicle failed to stop at a Baghdad roadblock.


In 2006, AT&T said it would purchase BellSouth for $67 billion in stock, beefing up the size of the nation's largest telecommunications company.


Also in 2006, Iran threatened to launch full-scale uranium enrichment if its nuclear program was referred to the U.N. Security Council for sanctions.



A thought for the day: Winston Churchill said, "It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary."

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On this date in history



Today is Tuesday, March 6, the 65th day of 2007 with 300 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include Italian painter and sculptor Michelangelo in 1475; French dramatist Cyrano de Bergerac in 1619; English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning in 1806; Union Army Gen. Philip Sheridan in 1831; humorist and short story writer Ring Lardner in 1885; Texas swing bandleader Bob Wills in 1905; comic actor Lou Costello in 1906; TV personality Ed McMahon in 1923 (age 84); symphony conductor Sarah Caldwell in 1924; former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan in 1926 (age 81); Mercury astronaut L. Gordon Cooper in 1927; former Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry in 1936 (age 71); actor Ben Murphy in 1942 (age 65); actor/director Rob Reiner in 1947 (age 60); actor Tom Arnold in 1959 (age 48); and basketball star Shaquille O'Neal in 1972 (age 35).


On this date in history:


In 1836, Mexican forces captured the Alamo in San Antonio killing the last of 187 defenders who had held out in the fortified mission for 13 days. Famous frontiersman Davy Crockett was among those killed on the final day.


In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its landmark ruling that black slave Dred Scott could not sue for his freedom in a federal court, even though his white master had died in a "free" state.


In 1944, during World War II, U.S. bombers flying from Britain began the first daytime attacks on Berlin.


In 1982, an Egyptian court sentenced five Muslim fundamentalists to death for the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. Seventeen others drew prison terms.


In 1987, an earthquake and flood in northeastern Ecuador killed more than 300 people and ruptured a main oil pipeline.


Also in 1987, the British car ferry The Herald of Free Enterprise capsized off Zeebrugge, Belgium, killing at least 189 of some 540 people aboard.


In 1991, U.S. President George H.W. Bush declared the Persian Gulf War over.


In 1992, the long-awaited, much-feared Michelangelo computer virus struck around the world, but appeared not to be the data disaster some had predicted.


In 2000, a federal jury convicted three New York City police officers of covering up the 1997 assault on prisoner Abner Louima in a police station men's room.


In 2002, Robert Ray, who succeeded Kenneth Starr as special prosecutor, said there was sufficient evidence to convict U.S. President Bill Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Monica Lewinski case. But, he said Clinton had agreed to admit he gave false testimony under oath, thus avoiding prosecution, apparently ending his legal troubles in the matter.


In 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States could lead a coalition of nations that would disarm Iraq with or without U.N. authority.


Also in 2003, the U.S. Senate approved a U.S.-Russian agreement whereby each country would reduce their deployed nuclear warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 by 2012.


In 2004, the Bush administration appeared to be backing from a plan to require frequent Mexico-U.S. travelers to be fingerprinted and photographed before crossing the border.


In 2005, Pope John Paul II appeared at his hospital window in Rome for the second consecutive week to wave to pilgrims. The 84-year-old pontiff was recovering from throat surgery.


In 2006, South Dakota Gov. Michael Rounds signed into law a measure outlawing all abortions except when necessary to save a woman's life. Opponents hoped a challenge would put the matter before the U.S. Supreme Court.


Also in 2006, officials said the 2005 hurricane season was the costliest disaster in U.S. history with Congress considering another $20 billion in relief. The federal government already had committed $88 billion to help areas devastated by hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.


A thought for the day: Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote that, "A woman's always younger than a man of equal years."

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On this date in history


Today is Wednesday, March 7, the 66th day of 2007 with 299 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include English painter Edwin Henry Landseer in 1802; American botanist Luther Burbank in 1849; Dutch abstract painter Piet Mondrian in 1872; French composer Maurice Ravel in 1875; actress Anna Magnani in 1908; NBC "Today Show" weatherman Willard Scott in 1934 (age 73); former Disney executive Michael Eisner and TV evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in 1942 (age 65); actors Daniel J. Travanti in 1940 (age 67) and John Heard in 1945 (age 62); and Czech tennis star Ivan Lendl in 1960 (age 47).



On this date in history:


In 1869, the Suez Canal opened, connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea via Egypt.


In 1932, in the depths of the Great Depression, an estimated 3,000 men rioted at the Detroit plant of the Ford Motor Company. Four were killed.


In 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered Nazi troops into the Rhineland, violating the Treaty of Versailles.


In 1945, the U.S. 1st Army crossed the Rhine at Remagen in Germany. The bridge was the only one across the Rhine that had not been destroyed. World War II ended in Europe two months later.


In 1984, the Senate confirmed William Wilson as the first U.S. ambassador to the Vatican in 117 years.


In 1997, a U.S. veto killed an otherwise unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution condemning new Jewish settlements in Arab East Jerusalem.


In 2002, More than 600 people were reported dead after several days of Hindu-Muslim violence in the state of Gujarat, India.


In 2003, North Korea set up a "sea exclusion zone" in the Sea of Japan through March 11, aimed at keeping vessels out of the area while Pyongyang conducted a test of its newest cruise missile.


In 2004, after repeated failures and missed deadlines, the Iraqi governing council signed an interim constitution.


Also in 2004, V. Gene Robinson, openly gay and controversial, became the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire.


In 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush nominated John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.


In 2006, U.S. prosecutors sought the death penalty for Zacarias Moussaoui, who pleaded guilty to terrorism conspiracy leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.


Also in 2006, a Brookings Institution report said the racial makeup of the United States is changing with white populations diminishing in major cities and non-whites moving where the jobs are.



A thought for the day: Franklin D. Roosevelt advised, "When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."

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On this date in history


Today is Thursday, March 8, the 67th day of 2007 with 298 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. in 1841; Scottish children's writer Kenneth Grahame, author of "The Wind in the Willows," in 1859; American printer and type designer Frederic William Goudy in 1865; German nuclear chemist Otto Hahn, discoverer of nuclear fission, in 1879; actresses Louise Beavers in 1902 and Claire Trevor in 1910; actress/dancer Cyd Charisse in 1921 (age 86); actresses Susan Clark in 1940 (age 67) and Lynn Redgrave in 1943 (age 64); former Monkee Mickey Dolenz in 1945 (age 62); songwriter Carole Bayer Sager in 1947 (age 60); actors Aidan Quinn in 1959 (age 48) and Camryn Manheim in 1961 (age 46); model Kathy Ireland in 1963 (age 44); and actors Freddie Prinze Jr. in 1976 (age 31) and James Van Der Beek in 1977 (age 30).


On this date in history:


In 1913, the Internal Revenue Service began to levy and collect income taxes.


In 1917, strikes and riots in St. Petersburg marked the start of the Russian Bolshevik revolution.


In 1921, after Germany failed to make its first war reparation payment, French troops occupied Dusseldorf and other towns on the Ruhr River in Germany's industrial heartland.


In 1957, Egypt reopened the Suez Canal to international traffic after Israel withdrew from occupied Egyptian territory.


In 1965, nearly 4,000 U.S. Marines landed in South Vietnam.


In 1990, Colombia's M-19 leftist guerrilla group surrendered its arms, ending 16 years of insurrection.


In 1991, the United States began welcoming home its combat troops from the Persian Gulf.


In 1992, Menachem Begin, the stern, hunted Israeli underground leader who went on to win the Nobel Prize as prime minister for making peace with Egypt, died of heart failure.


In 1996, China fired three missiles into the sea off Taiwan. The United States responded by beefing up its naval presence in the region.


In 1998, James McDougal, a former business partner of then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, died in prison. He had been convicted in connection with the Whitewater land scandal.


In 1999, the U.S. Energy Department fired a Chinese-born computer scientist from the Los Alamos, N.M., National Laboratory in the theft of U.S. nuclear secrets.


Also in 1999, baseball great Joe DiMaggio died at age 84.


In 2002, as more charges of child abuse by Roman Catholic clergy emerged across the United States and dozens of priests resigned or were suspended, the bishop of Palm Beach, Fla., stepped down after admitting he had abused a teenage seminary student in the 1970s. His predecessor had resigned in 1999 admitting he had molested five boys.


In 2003, Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a car in the Gaza Strip, killing a top Hamas leader and three bodyguards.


In 2004, writer and actor Spalding Gray, missing for almost two months, was found in New York's East River, a suspected suicide.


Also in 2004, as revenge killings continued in Haiti, Boniface Alexandre, the Supreme Court chief justice, was named interim president.


In 2005, thousands of Lebanese protested the pullout of Syrian forces.


In 2006, an official of the World Health Organization expressed strong concern that bird flu spreading to humans could cause a massive pandemic.


Also in 2006, three Alabama college students reportedly looking for cheap thrills were arrested on charges they set fire to nine rural Baptist churches.


A thought for the day: Spencer Johnson said, "Happiness is not having what you want, it's wanting what you have."

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On this date in history


Today is Friday, March 9, the 68th day of 2007 with 297 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include Leland Stanford, railroad builder and founder of California's Stanford University, in 1824; English novelist and poet Victoria Sackville-West in 1892; composer Samuel Barber in 1910; detective novelist Mickey Spillane in 1918; Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, in 1934; actors Joyce Van Patten in 1934 (age 73) and Marty Ingels in 1936 (age 71); actors Raul Julia in 1940 and Trish Van Deere in 1943 (age 64); former world chess champion Bobby Fischer in 1943 (age 64); actresses Linda Fiorentino in 1960 (age 47) and Juliette Binoche in 1964 (age 43); and actor Emmanuel Lewis in 1971 (age 36).


On this date in history:


In 1841, at the end of an historic case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled, with only one dissent, that the African slaves who seized control of the Amistad slave ship had been illegally forced into slavery and thus were free under U.S. law.


In 1862, the opposing ironclad ships, the Union's Monitor and the Confederate's Merrimac (renamed the Virginia) battled to a draw off Hampton Roads, Va.


In 1864, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was appointed commander in chief of Union forces in the U.S. Civil War.


In 1917, several hundred Mexican guerrillas under the command of Francisco "Pancho" Villa crossed the U.S.-Mexican border and attacked the small border town of Columbus, N.M., killing 17 Americans.


In 1945, 343 American bombers carrying all the incendiary bombs they could hold bombed Tokyo, killing 83,000 people and destroying some 250,000 buildings over 16 square miles.


In 1959, Barbie, the popular doll, debuted in stores.


In 1967, the daughter of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, Svetlana, defected to the United States.


In 1986, the module containing the bodies of the seven astronauts killed in the Jan. 28 explosion of the shuttle Challenger was located off Florida.


In 1990, Haitian dictator Gen. Prosper Avril stepped down from power under pressure and the military agreed to turn the nation over to civilian rule.


In 1991, Israeli troops fired on Palestinian protesters in the occupied Gaza Strip, wounding 55.


In 1992, a federal judge in New York announced a final $1.3 billion agreement to settle the civil suits growing out of the 1989 collapse of Drexel Burham Lambert, once the most powerful firm on Wall Street.


In 1993, gunmen linked to the former Contra rebels stormed the Nicaraguan Embassy in Costa Rica and took the ambassador and at least 18 others hostage.


In 2004, public support for U.S. President George W. Bush's economic and Iraq policies was reported at its lowest level by a Washington Post survey with 57 percent of U.S. citizens wanting a different course for the nation.


Also in 2004, John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death for his part in one of the 10 Washington-area sniper killings in 2002.


And, a government report warned that obesity could soon become the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States.


In 2005, the White House said there were no administration plans to tap the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve Oil program to help reduce rising oil prices.


Also in 2005, Dan Rather stepped down as anchor and managing editor of "CBS Evening News." His action followed acknowledgement of major flaws in a broadcast about U.S. President George W. Bush's National Guard service.


In 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush signed the Patriot Act reauthorization, giving law enforcement tools the president said are needed to fight terrorists.


Also In 2006, scientists reported finding evidence of water on a Saturn moon.



A thought for the day: Napoleon said, "History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon."

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On this date in history


Today is Saturday, March 10, the 69th day of 2007 with 296 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include (Emmy-ts4ms); (headoflife -ts4ms.com); Italian scientist Marcello Malpighi in 1628; actor Barry Fitzgerald in 1888; French composer Arthur Honegger in 1892; jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke in 1903; poet Margaret Fishback in 1904; playwright David Rabe and actor Chuck Norris, both in 1940 (age 67); Kim Campbell, the first woman prime minister of Canada, and journalist Bob Greene, both in 1947 (age 60); actresses Sharon Stone in 1958 (age 49) and Jasmine Guy ("A Different World") in 1964 (age 43), and Britain's Prince Edward in 1964 (age 43).



On this date in history:


In 515 B.C., the rebuilding of the great Jewish temple in Jerusalem was completed.


In 1862, the U.S. Treasury issued the first American paper money, in denominations from $5 to $1,000.


In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first telephone message to his assistant in the next room. "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you."


In 1880, the Salvation Army of the United States was founded in New York City.


In 1945, 300 U.S. bombers dropped almost 2,000 tons of incendiaries on Tokyo, destroying large portions of the Japanese capital and killing 100,000 civilians.


In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.


In 1987, the Vatican condemned human artificial fertilization or generation of human life outside the womb and said all reproduction must result from the "act of conjugal love."


In 1991, former prisoners of war held by Iraq returned to the United States to a hero's welcome.


In 1992, U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Democratic challenger Bill Clinton got sweeping Southern victories in the Super Tuesday primaries.


In 1993, FBI agents arrested a third person, a 25-year-old Kuwaiti-born chemical engineer, in connection with the World Trade Center bombing.


Also in 1993, an anti-abortion demonstrator fatally shot a doctor at a Pensacola, Fla., clinic.


In 1994, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the number of new AIDS cases in the United States had more than doubled in 1993.


In 1997, The Citadel announced that 10 male cadets had been disciplined for mistreating two female cadets. The women later resigned from the South Carolina military academy.


In 1998, Indonesian President Suharto was re-elected to a seventh term.


In 2003, The Palestinian Legislative Council created the position of prime minister but peace talks with Israel continued under the command of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.


Also in 2003, Cote d'Ivoire, torn by civil war for six months, got a new premier, Seydou Diarra, under a French-brokered peace accord.


In 2004, Lee Boyd Malvo,19, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for his role in the 10 Washington-area sniper killings in 2002. His partner, John Allen Muhammad, considered the mastermind, was sentenced to death one day earlier.


In 2005, former U.S. President Bill Clinton underwent surgery to remove scar tissue and fluid from his chest. He had quadruple bypass surgery five months earlier.


Also in 2005, a suicide bomber killed at least 30 people and injured 27 at a funeral procession in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.


In 2006, the body of Tom Fox, a kidnapped U.S. Christian peace activist, was found near Baghdad, authorities report. Three others kidnapped with Fox were reported released.


Also in 2006, amid broad U.S. opposition, Dubai Ports World bowed out of an agreement to manage six U.S. ports on the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. The matter would be turned over to a U.S. company, officials said.



A thought for the day: Dr. Karl Menninger said, "Love cures people -- both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it."

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On this date in history


Today is Sunday, March 11, the 70th day of 2007 with 295 to follow.

Daylight saving time begins in the United States.


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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include (Cindy-ts4ms); silent movie star Dorothy Gish in 1898; bandleader Lawrence Welk in 1903; former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1916; civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy in 1926; media mogul Rupert Murdoch in 1931 (age 76); television newsman Sam Donaldson in 1934 (age 73); U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in 1936 (age 71); musician Bobby McFerrin and filmmaker Jerry Zucker ("Airplane!," the "Naked Gun" movies), both in 1950 (age 57); author Douglas Adams ("Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy") in 1952; and actresses Alex Kingston ("ER") in 1963 (age 44) and Thora Birch in 1982 (age 25).





On this date in history:


In 1824, the U.S. War Department created the Bureau of Indian Affairs.


In 1845, John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, died in Allen County, Ind.


In 1861, In Montgomery, Ala., delegates from South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas adopted the Permanent Constitution of the Confederate States of America.


In 1888, more than 200 people died as a four-day snowstorm crippled New York City.


In 1918, the first cases of "Spanish" influenza were reported in the United States. By 1920, the virus had killed as many as 22 million people worldwide, 500,000 in the United States.


In 1930, William Howard Taft became the first U.S. president to be buried in the national cemetery at Arlington, Va.


In 1941, the Lend Lease Bill to help Britain survive attacks by Germany was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt


In 1942, after struggling against great odds to save the Philippines from Japanese conquest, U.S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur abandoned the island fortress of Corregidor under orders from U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, leaving behind 90,000 U.S. and Filipino troops.


In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev, 54, succeeded Konstantin Chernenko as leader of the Soviet Union.


In 1990, the Lithuanian Parliament declared the Baltic republic free of the Soviet Union and called for negotiations to make secession a reality.


Also in 1990, Gen. Augusto Pinochet stepped down as president of Chile, making way for an elected civilian leader for first time since the 1973 coup.


In 1993, Janet Reno won unanimous U.S. Senate approval to become the first female U.S. attorney general.


In 2001, one of the worst weeks in Wall Street history began with a 436.37-point, or 4.1-percent, decline in the Dow Jones industrial average. By week's end, all the major indexes were down 6 percent.


In 2002, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney began visits to several countries to try to drum up support against Iraq.


In 2003, according to published reports, a six-man Arab ministerial committee planned to travel to Baghdad to ask Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to step down and go into exile.


In 2004, 10 bombs exploded almost simultaneously on four commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, killing 191 people and injuring 1,400.


In 2005, an accused rapist allegedly grabbed a gun from a sheriff's deputy in an eighth-floor Atlanta courtroom and killed a judge, a court reporter and a deputy. A federal agent later died as the suspect, Brian Nichols, made his escape. Nichols surrendered the next day after holding a woman hostage overnight.


In 2006, Slobodan Milosevic, former president of Yugoslavia on trial for war crimes, was found dead in his cell at The Hague, an apparent heart attack victim.


Also in 2006, more than 100,000 immigrants and supporters rallied in Chicago in opposition to a federal bill that would put a fence at Mexico's border.


And, in France, proposed new labor reform legislation sparked student riots across the nation.


A thought for the day: U.S. President William Howard Taft said, "The constitutional purpose of a budget is to make government responsive to public opinion and responsible for its acts."

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On this date in history


Today is Monday, March 12, the 71st day of 2007 with 294 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include pioneer automaker Clement Studebaker in 1831; New York Times publisher Adolph Ochs in 1858; actor/singer Gordon MacRae in 1921; novelist Jack Kerouac in 1922; astronaut Wally Schirra in 1923 (age 84); playwright Edward Albee in 1928 (age 79); former U.N. Ambassador and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young in 1932 (age 75); singer/songwriter Al Jarreau in 1940 (age 67); actress Barbara Feldon in 1941 (age 66); singer Liza Minnelli in 1946 (age 61); singer/songwriter James Taylor in 1948 (age 59); and former baseball player Darryl Strawberry in 1962 (age 45).




On this date in history:


In 1912, Juliette Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scouts of America troop in Savannah, Ga.


In 1930, Mahatma Gandhi began a campaign of civil disobedience against British rule in India.


In 1933, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt made the first of his Sunday evening "fireside chats" -- informal radio addresses from the White House to the American people.


In 1938, Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Austria.


In 1947, in a speech to Congress, U.S. President Harry S. Truman outlined what became known as the Truman Doctrine, calling for U.S. aid to countries threatened by communist revolution.


In 1963, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to grant former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill honorary U.S. citizenship.


In 1990, the Food and Drug Administration approved a nationwide test of a post-exposure AIDS vaccine developed by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk.


Also in 1990, Exxon pleaded guilty to criminal charges and agreed to pay a $100 million fine in a $1.1 billion settlement of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.


And in 1990, Kuwait City reopened its port for the first time since the Persian Gulf War.


Also, in 1990, South African President F.W. de Klerk introduced legislation to revise land tenure laws and end racial discrimination in land ownership.


In 1993, more than 250 people were killed when a wave of bombings rocked Bombay, India.


In 1994, the Church of England ordained its first women priests.


In 1999, the former Soviet allies -- the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland -- joined NATO.


In 2000, Pope John Paul II apologized for the errors of his church during the past 2,000 years.


In 2001, six people, including five Americans, were killed when an errant bomb from a U.S. Navy fighter jet exploded at an observation post in Kuwait.


In 2002, Andrea Pia Yates, who confessed to drowning her five children, was found guilty of capital murder by a Houston jury that recommended life in prison. She had pleaded innocent by reason of insanity.


Also in 2002, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, speaking after Israeli raids killed 31 Palestinians, declared that Israel must end its "illegal occupation" of Palestinian land. That night, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.


And in 2002, the Boston archdiocese said it would have to sell church property, take out loans and seek donations from wealthy supporters to cover the $100 million in settlements of lawsuits against priests in sexual abuse cases.


In 2003, Elizabeth Smart, 15, who had been kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home on June 2002, was found alive in the custody of a panhandler and his wife in the nearby town of Sandy, Utah.


Also in 2003, the premier of Serbia, Zoran Djindjic, died after being shot by assassins.


In 2004, millions of Spaniards protested the Madrid train bombings of the day before that killed 191 and wounded more than 1,000 others.


In 2005, Iran rejected Washington's willingness to offer economic incentives if the Islamic state gives up its nuclear program.


Also in 2005, a gunman killed seven people and himself at an evangelical church meeting near Milwaukee.


In 2006, Iraq violence claimed at least 70 lives, including nearly 50 who died in six car bombings in Baghdad's major Shiite stronghold. Hundreds were wounded.


A thought for the day: Andrew Young told Playboy magazine, "Once the Xerox copier was invented, diplomacy died."

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On this date in history



Today is Tuesday, March 13, the 72nd day of 2007 with 293 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include English chemist Joseph Priestly, the discoverer of oxygen, in 1733; astronomer Percival Lowell in 1855; publisher Walter Annenberg in 1908; bandleader Sammy Kaye in 1910; L. Ron Hubbard, science fiction writer and founder of the Church of Scientology, in 1911; former CIA Director William Casey in 1913; Helen "Callaghan" Candaele Saint Aubin, known as the "Ted Williams of women's baseball," in 1929; singer/songwriter Neil Sedaka in 1939 (age 68); and actors William H. Macy in 1950 (age 57) and Dana Delany in 1956 (age 51).



On this date in history:


In 1781, the distant planet Uranus was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel.


In 1868, the Republican-dominated U.S. Senate began impeachment proceedings against U.S. President Andrew Johnson, a Democrat and successor to Abraham Lincoln, climaxing a political feud following the Civil War. He was acquitted by one vote.


In 1881, Czar Alexander II, the ruler of Russia since 1855, was killed in the streets of St. Petersburg by a bomb thrown by a member of the revolutionary "People's Will" group.


In 1887, Chester Greenwood of Maine received a patent for earmuffs.


In 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, banks throughout the United States began to re-open after a weeklong bank holiday declared by President Franklin Roosevelt in a successful effort to stop runs on bank assets.


In 1943, a plot by disillusioned German officers to kill Hitler by blowing up his plane failed.


In 1974, the oil-producing Arab countries agreed to lift their five-month embargo on petroleum sales to the United States. The embargo, during which gasoline prices soared 300 percent, was in retaliation for U.S. support of Israel during the October 1973 Middle East War.


In 1989, the Food and Drug Administration quarantined all fruit imported from Chile after traces of cyanide were found in two Chilean grapes.


In 1990, the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies formally ended the Communist Party's monopoly rule, establishing a presidential system and giving Mikhail Gorbachev broad new powers.


Also in 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush lifted a 5-year-old trade embargo against Nicaragua.


In 1992, more than 400 people were killed when a powerful earthquake hit northeastern Turkey.


In 1993, an "unprecedented" winter storm blasted the eastern part of the nation from Dixie north to Canada -- crippling travel, causing power failures, floods and tornadoes and killing dozens of people.


In 1994, the president of the independent black homeland of Bophuthatswana was deposed after repeatedly changing his mind about allowing his nation to participate in the upcoming South African elections. South Africa consequently took direct control of the area.


In 1996, a gun collector opened fire on a kindergarten class in Dunblane, Scotland, killing 16 children, their teacher and himself.


Also in 1996, Liggett, the fifth-biggest tobacco company, broke ranks with its rivals and settled a class-action cancer lawsuit.


And in 1996, world leaders -- including U.S. President Bill Clinton, Russia's Boris Yeltsin, King Hussein of Jordan and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat -- met in Cairo, Egypt, to reaffirm the Middle East peace process.


In 1997, a Jordanian soldier shot and killed seven Israeli schoolgirls at the Israeli-Jordanian border.


In 1998, Sgt. Maj. Gene McKinney, the first black to serve as sergeant major of the Army, was acquitted by a military jury of all sex charges filed against him. He was, however, convicted of coaching a witness and was reduced one rank and reprimanded.


In 2000, the Tribune Co. and the Times Mirror Co., media giants featuring two of the nation's oldest and largest newspapers (Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times), announced they would merge.


In 2001, the United States banned all imports of animals or animal products from all 15 EU countries to prevent the spread of "foot-and-mouth" disease.


In 2003, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein refused to talk with Arab foreign ministers about avoiding war with the United States.


In 2004, Iran called an indefinite halt to inspections of its nuclear facilities.


Also in 2004, the California Supreme Court ordered an end to same-sex weddings in San Francisco.


In 2005, Pope John Paul II was released from a Rome hospital where he was undergoing treatment for the flu and respiratory problems.


Also in 2005, the Pentagon was reported questioning some $108.4 million in expenditures Halliburton Co. charged the U.S. government for fuel delivery in Iraq.


In 2006, an autopsy indicated former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic died of a heart attack while on trial at The Hague for war crimes. His son charged Milosevic, 64, was killed.



A thought for the day: William Casey was quoted as saying, "I pass the test that says a man who isn't a socialist at 20 has no heart, and a man who is a socialist at 40 has no head."