On this date in history

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On this date in history



Today is Wednesday, March 14, the 73rd day of 2007 with 292 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 (skiteach-ts4ms.com);( Skinsfan1311-ts4ms.com); Thomas Marshall, U.S. vice president under Woodrow Wilson, in 1854; railroad engineer and hero of the ballad Casey Jones, whose real name was John Luther Jones, in 1864; physicist Albert Einstein in 1879; bandleader Les Brown in 1912; cartoonist Hank Ketcham ("Dennis the Menace") in 1920 (age 87); astronaut Frank Borman in 1928 (age 79); actor Michael Caine and composer Quincy Jones, both in 1933 (age 74); comedian Billy Crystal in 1947 (age 60); and Prince Albert of Monaco in 1958 (age 49).




On this date in history:


In 1812, the U.S. government authorized issue of America's first war bonds, to pay for military equipment for use against the British.


In 1950, the FBI's "10 Most Wanted Fugitives" list made its debut.


In 1951, Seoul, South Korea, was recaptured by U.N. troops during the Korean War.


In 1964, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby was convicted of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, the assumed assassin of U.S. President John Kennedy. Ruby was sentenced to death but the conviction was overturned and he died of cancer while awaiting a new trial.


In 1985, the United States evacuated U.S. officials from Lebanon, leaving a small diplomatic presence in war-torn Beirut.


In 1989, the Bush administration announced it would ban imports of semi-automatic assault rifles indefinitely.


In 1991, scientists from around the world reported the discovery of the gene that triggers colon cancer.


Also in 1991, the emir of Kuwait returned to his country for the first time since the Iraq invasion.


In 1992, a U.S. aircraft carrier was sent to the Persian Gulf as U.N. officials pressed Iraq on the destruction of weapons in compliance with U.N. Security Council resolutions.


Also in 1992, researchers said a substance occurring naturally in broccoli helps the body fight off cancer-causing chemicals.


In 1997, U.S. President Bill Clinton underwent knee surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland after injuring himself while visiting golfer Greg Norman in Palm Beach, Fla.


In 2001, British Prime Minister Tony Blair ordered a step-up in the slaughter of livestock as the "foot-and-mouth" disease outbreak continued.


In 2002, the U.S. Justice Department announced that the accounting firm Arthur Andersen had been indicted for destroying thousands of documents related to the investigation into the collapse of Enron, the energy-trading company.


In 2003, Philippine military officials said almost 200 separatist militants had been killed in three days of fighting on Mindanao.


Also in 2003, Hu Jintao was chosen to replace Jiang Zemin as president of China.


In 2004, Vladimir Putin easily won re-election as president of Russia.


Also in 2004, the Socialist Workers Party scored an upset victory in Spain's parliamentary elections.


In 2005, Spanish police were reported to have broken Europe's largest money-laundering ring with the arrest of seven lawyers and three notaries.


In 2006, U.S. President Bush's approval rating fell to a record low of 33 percent in the newest Pew survey. It was 36 percent in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.


Also in 2006, Israeli soldiers and special police surrounded a Jericho prison in the Gaza Strip to reclaim prisoners the Palestinians were planning to release. Five of the men had been jailed for the 2001 assassination of the Israeli tourism minister.


A thought for the day: Albert Einstein wrote, "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

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On this date in history



Today is Thursday, March 15, the 74th day of 2007 with 291 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 (beanie-ts4ms); (jlhorne-ts4ms); Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, in 1767; German immunologist Emil von Behring in 1854; Hollywood movie mogul Lew Wasserman in 1913; trumpet playing bandleader Harry James in 1916; astronaut Alan Bean in 1932 (age 75); U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg in 1933 (age 74); actor Judd Hirsch in 1935 (age 72); singers Mike Love of the Beach Boys in 1941 (age 66) and Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone in 1944 (age 63); actress Park Overall in 1957 (age 50); and model Fabio, born Fabio Lanzoni, in 1961 (age 46).






On this date in history:


In 44 B.C., Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus and other Roman nobles in Rome.


In 1493, Christopher Columbus returned to Spain after his first voyage to the New World.


In 1820, as part of the Missouri Compromise between the North and the South, Maine was admitted into the Union as the 23rd state. It had been administered as a province of Massachusetts since 1647.


In 1916, U.S. Army General John "Black Jack" Pershing marched into Mexico to capture revolutionary leader Pancho Villa, who had staged several cross-border raids. The two-year expedition was unsuccessful.


In 1984, the acquittal of a Miami police officer on charges of negligently killing a ghetto youth sparked a rampage by angry blacks in Miami. Some 550 people were arrested.


In 1985, two decades of military rule in Brazil ended with the installation of a civilian government.


In 1990, the Israeli Knesset brought down Yitzhak Shamir's government on a no-confidence motion after the Likud Party leader refused to accept a U.S. peace proposal.


In 1991, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic declared Serbia's secession from the Yugoslav federation.


In 1993, the New York Post filed for bankruptcy protection hours after the newspaper's new owner fired 72 employees, throwing the future of the 192-year-old tabloid into doubt.


In 1997, the rebellion in Zaire continued as Kisangani, the African nation's third-largest city, fell to rebel forces.


In 2001, the U.S. Senate passed federal bankruptcy reforms that would tighten guidelines for filing for bankruptcy.


Also in 2001, Chechen terrorists hijacked a Russian airliner en route from Istanbul, Turkey, to Moscow and diverted it to Medina, Saudi Arabia. After nearly 24 hours of fruitless negotiations, a Saudi security team stormed the plane and freed the hostages.


In 2003, a strange new illness with pneumonia-like symptoms called severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, spread from Asia to Europe to North America.


In 2004, Martha Stewart, the homemaking guru convicted of criminal charges in a stock sale case, resigned as a director and officer of the company she founded, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.


Also in 2004, astronomers reported finding an object with a diameter of 800 to 1,100 miles circling the sun far beyond the orbit of any known planet. It was dubbed a "planetoid."


In 2005, Bernard Ebbers, former head of WorldCom, was convicted of orchestrating fraudulent accounting practices that fleeced $11 billion from the telecommunications company now known as MCI.


In 2006, former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein testified for the first time in his massacre trial, calling the judicial proceedings a comedy and urging his fellow Iraqis to stop fighting each other and focus on the United States.


Also in 2006, the United Nations approved a new human rights council aimed at banning countries that abuse human rights from membership.



A thought for the day: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg told an interviewer, "The emphasis must be not on the right to abortion but on the right to privacy and reproductive control."

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On this date in history



Today is Friday, March 16, the 75th day of 2007 with 290 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 James Madison, fourth president of the United States, in 1751; German physicist Georg Ohm, a pioneer in the study of electricity, in 1789; former U.S. first lady Pat Nixon in 1912; actress Mercedes McCambridge in 1916;actor Leo McKern in 1920; entertainer Jerry Lewis in 1926 (age 81); former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., in 1927; filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci in 1940 (age 67); game-show host Chuck Woolery in 1941 (age 66); actor Erik Estrada in 1949 (age 58); and actor Kate Nelligan in 1950 (age 57).



On this date in history:


In 1802, the U.S. Congress authorized the establishment of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.


In 1827, Freedom's Journal, the first black newspaper in America, was published in New York.


In 1926, Robert Goddard launched the world's first liquid-fuel rocket.


In 1966, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott docked their Gemini-8 space vehicle with an Agena craft, a first in orbital history.


In 1968, some 300 Vietnam villagers died at the hands of U.S. troops in what came to be known as the My Lai massacre.


In 1978, the U.S. Senate approved the first of two Panama Canal pacts, guaranteeing neutrality of the canal after Panama assumes control at the end of 1999.


In 1991, Baghdad claimed its troops had crushed an uprising in southern Iraq that began in the wake of the Gulf War.


In 1992, a state court in Los Angeles awarded humorist Art Buchwald and producer Alain Bernheim $900,000 from Paramount Studios for Buchwald's idea for the movie "Coming to America," which was a hit for comedian Eddie Murphy.


In 1994, the International Atomic Energy Agency said North Korea barred its inspectors from checking one of the nation's seven nuclear sites.


In 1998, in a 14-page statement, the Vatican apologized for not doing more to prevent the killing of millions of Jews at the hands of the Nazis.


In 2002, Crown Prince Abdullah, the defacto leader of Saudi Arabia, told U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney that it was not in the best interests of the United States or the region for the United States to attack Iraq.


In 2004, Hans Blix, the former U.N. chief weapons inspector in Iraq, criticized the Bush administration for having "a set mind" about going to war with Iraq, calling the search for weapons of mass destruction an old-fashioned witch hunt.


In 2005, Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense and often referred to as an architect of the war in Iraq, was nominated by President George W. Bush to become president of the World Bank.


In 2006, Iraq's recently elected 275-member parliament convened for the first time in Baghdad but did little and adjourned after just 30 minutes.


Also in 2006, joint U.S. and Iraqi military forces staged a massive air offensive with more than 50 aircraft hitting insurgent positions northeast of Samara.



A thought for the day: Art Buchwald said, "People are broad-minded. They'll accept the fact that a person can be an alcoholic, a dope fiend, a wife beater and even a newspaperman, but if a man doesn't drive, there's something wrong with him."

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On this date in history


Today is Saturday, March 17, the 76th day of 2007 with 289 to follow.

This is St. Patrick's Day.


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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include German engineer Gottleib Daimler, inventor of the gasoline-burning internal combustion engine, in 1834; children's author and illustrator Kate Greenaway in 1846; golf legend Bobby Jones in 1902; singer/pianist Nat "King" Cole in 1919; ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev in 1938; actors Patrick Duffy in 1949 (age 58), Kurt Russell in 1951 (age 56), Lesley-Anne Down in 1954 (age 53), Gary Sinise in 1955 (age 52), Rob Lowe in 1964 (age 43), and Vicki Lewis in 1960 (age 47); soccer star Mia Hamm in 1972 (age 35); and Caroline Corr, of the Irish pop band The Corrs, in 1973 (age 34).



On this date in history:


In 1762, New York City staged the first parade honoring the Catholic feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It was led by Irish soldiers serving in the British army.


In 1776, the Continental Army under Gen. George Washington forced British troops to evacuate Boston.


In 1901, 71 paintings by the late Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh were shown at the Bernheim-Jeune gallery in Paris and caused a sensation across the art world.


In 1945, the bloody battle against Japanese forces for the Pacific island of Iwo Jima ended in victory for the United States.


In 1958, the U.S. Navy launched the satellite Vanguard-1 into orbit around the Earth.


In 1978, the tanker Amoco Cadiz ran aground on the coast of Brittany in France, eventually spilling some 220,000 tons of crude oil.


In 1991, Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed diplomatic relations broken in 1988.


In 1992, South African whites voted to end minority rule.


Also in 1992, 10 people were killed and at least 126 injured in a bomb blast that destroyed the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.


In 1993, legendary actress Helen Hayes died at age 92.


In 1994, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan said Oliver North, who was running for a U.S. Senate seat from Virginia, lied when he said Reagan "knew everything" about the Iran-Contra operation.


In 1999, the International Olympic Committee voted to expel six members in connection with the bribery scandal related to the effort by Salt Lake City, Utah, to win the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Five other IOC members had earlier resigned.


In 2000, Smith & Wesson, the nation's oldest and largest maker of handguns, agreed to a wide array of restrictions in exchange for ending some lawsuits that threatened to bankrupt the company.


In 2003, as war with Iraq seemed a certainty, U.S. President George W. Bush gave Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours in which to leave the country but the ultimatum was rejected. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan ordered all U.N. personal out of Iraq.


In 2004, more than 25 people were reported killed and 41 injured in a car-bomb blast at the Mount Lebanon Hotel in Baghdad.


Also in 2004, Las Vegas authorities captured Charles A. McCoy Jr., wanted in connection with a string of highway sniper shootings in Ohio.


In 2005, several major league baseball players told the U.S. Congress that steroids were a problem in the sport.


In 2006, a U.S. appeals court ruled that the Environmental Protection Administration cannot exempt older power plants and refineries from the Clean Air Act, voting unanimously against the Bush administration's interpretation of the law.


Also in 2006, General Motors said its actual losses the year before were $10 billion, some $2 billion more than previously reported.



A thought for the day: George Washington wrote, "Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."

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On this date in history

Today is Monday, March 19, the 78th day of 2007 with 287 to follow.

The moon is new. 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 (Karen56087-ts4ms); (jphillips131-ts4ms); Plymouth Colony Gov. William Bradford in 1590; Scottish explorer of Africa David Livingstone in 1813; Marshal Wyatt Earp in 1848; jurist William Jennings Bryan in 1860; Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren in 1891; "Watergate" Judge John Sirica in 1904; actor Patrick McGoohan in 1928 (age 79); author Philip Roth in 1933 (age 74); and actors Ursula Andress in 1936 (age 71), Glenn Close in 1947 (age 60) and Bruce Willis





On this date in history:


In 721 B.C., according to the Roman historian Ptolemy, Babylonian astronomers noted history's first recorded eclipse: an eclipse of the moon.


In 1916, the first U.S. air combat mission in history saw eight Curtiss "Jenny" planes of the First Aero Squadron take off from Columbus, N.M., to aid troops that had invaded Mexico in pursuit of the bandit Pancho Villa.


In 1918, the U.S. Congress passed the Standard Time Act, which authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to establish standard time zones in the United States.


In 1920, the Treaty of Versailles, establishing the League of Nations, was rejected by the U.S. Senate.


In 1931, in an effort to ease the hard times of the Great Depression, the Nevada Legislature voted to legalize gambling.


In 1942, with World War II under way, all men in the United States between the ages of 45 and 64, about 13 million, were ordered to register with the draft boards for non-military duty.


In 1953, legendary filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille won the only Academy Award of his career when "The Greatest Show on Earth," a big-budget extravaganza about circus life, was acclaimed the Best Picture of the year.


In 1987, South Carolina televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as head of the PTL Club, saying he was blackmailed after a sexual encounter with former church secretary Jessica Hahn.


In 1991, Khaleda Zia became the first woman prime minister of Bangladesh.


In 1992, Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Andrew and his wife, the duchess of York, were separating.


In 1993, Justice Byron White, the lone remaining member of the U.S. Supreme Court appointed by a Democrat, announced he would retire, opening the way for President Bill Clinton to make his first high judicial nomination.


In 1997, a U.S. federal judge in Phoenix began sentencing 10 members of a paramilitary group to prison after they pleaded guilty to various counts, including conspiracy to make and possess destructive devices.


In 2002, Israel completed its army's pullout of the West Bank by leaving Bethlehem, one day after Israeli Prime Minister Arial Sharon met with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney. The following day a suicide bomber killed seven Israelis on a bus.


In 2003, the U.S.-led military offensive invaded Iraq with a nighttime assault on Baghdad.


Also in 2003, the U.S. Senate rejected a proposal supported by the Bush administration to allow drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.


In 2004, on the first anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, officials said 571 U.S. military personnel had been killed.


In 2005, Pakistan was reported to have successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile with a range of 1,250 miles.


In 2006, the disputed presidential election in Belarus sparked street protests throughout the country while international observers alleged fraud. Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko, who claimed 82.6 percent of the vote, was accused of rigging the election.



A thought for the day: William Jennings Bryan said, "Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."

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On this date in history



Today is Tuesday, March 20, the 79th day of 2007 with 286 to follow.

Spring begins at 8:07 p.m. EDT.


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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include (jestme-ts4ms.com); Roman poet Ovid in 43 B.C.; adventurer and writer Edward Judson, originator of the dime novel, wrote as Ned Buntline, in 1823; Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen in 1828; psychologist B.F. Skinner in 1904; actor/bandleader Ozzie Nelson in 1906; former New York Mayor Abe Beame in 1906; British actor Michael Redgrave in 1908; producer/director Carl Reiner in 1922 (age 85); Fred Rogers (TV's "Mister Rogers") in 1928; actor Hal Linden ("Barney Miller") in 1931 (age 76); singer/songwriter Jerry Reed in 1937 (age 70); former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in 1939 (age 68); former hockey star Bobby Orr in 1948 (age 59); actor William Hurt in 1950 (age 57); filmmaker Spike Lee and actress Theresa Russell, both in 1957 (age 50); and actress Holly Hunter in 1958 (age 49).




On this date in history:


In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published.


In 1854, in what is considered the founding meeting of the Republican Party, former members of the Whig Party met in Ripon, Wis., to establish a new party to oppose the spread of slavery into the western territories.


In 1963, a volcano on the East Indies island of Bali began erupting. The eventual death toll exceeded 1,500.


In 1976, San Francisco newspaper heiress and kidnapping victim Patty Hearst was convicted of bank robbery.


In 1977, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son, Sanjay, lost their parliamentary races in India's general elections.


In 1986, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a $100 million aid package for the Nicaraguan Contras, a major Reagan administration policy setback.


Also in 1986, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at more than 1,800 for the first time.


In 1987, the federal government approved the sale of AZT, a treatment but not a cure for AIDS.


In 1991, Baghdad was warned to abide by the cease-fire after U.S. fighter jets shot down an Iraqi jet fighter in the first major air action since the end of the Persian Gulf War.


In 1995, 12 people were killed and more than 5,000 made ill by a nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system. Members of a religious sect were blamed.


In 1996, Lyle and Erik Menendez were convicted of killing their wealthy parents in Los Angeles.


Also in 1996, the world learned of "mad cow" disease from a British government report questioning the safety of British beef.


In 1997, the Liggett Group, fifth-largest U.S. tobacco company, agreed to admit that smoking was addictive and caused health problems and that the tobacco industry had sought for years to sell its products to children as young as 14.


In 2001, five days after explosions destroyed one of its support beams, the largest oilrig in the world collapsed and sank off the coast of Brazil.


In 2002, U.S. President George Bush's visit to Peru was preceded by a car bomb explosion outside the U.S. Embassy in Lima that killed nine and injured 30.


Also in 2002, the office of the special prosecutor Robert Ray announced there was not enough evidence that either former U.S. President Bill Clinton or his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton had committed crimes in connection with the failed Whitewater real estate venture in Arkansas.


In 2003, early ground combat in the Iraq war found U.S. soldiers heading north toward Baghdad and U.S. and British Marines going northeast toward Basra, Iraq's second largest city.


Also in 2003, Brian Patrick Regan, a retired Air Force master sergeant, was sentenced to life in prison for offering to sell intelligence secrets to Saddam Hussein and the Chinese government.


In 2004, thousands rallied worldwide against the 1-year-old U.S. presence in Iraq.


Also in 2004, after narrowly escaping assassination the day before, Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian was re-elected with about 50 percent of the vote.


In 2005, more than 30 Shiite Muslim worshippers were killed and many more injured when a bomb exploded at a shrine in the village of Fatehpur, Pakistan.


Also on this date in 2005, which was Palm Sunday, ailing Pope John Paul II appeared at his window in the Vatican but did not speak.


And, John Z. DeLorean, the high-flying General Motors executive who came to grief with his DeLorean sports car, died at the age of 80.


In 2006, reports from Iraq said that over a two-week period, nearly 200 bodies were found in Baghdad, apparent victims of execution or torture.


A thought for the day: "Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change one in a while, nine out of 10 people couldn't start a conversation." Kin Hubbard said that.

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On this date in history


Today is Wednesday, March 21, the 80th day of 2007 with 285 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include (AJegers-ts4ms.com); composer Johann Sebastian Bach in 1685; Mexican revolutionary and president Benito Juarez in 1806; Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1839; theatrical impresario Florenz Ziegfeld in 1869; English theatrical director Peter Brook in 1925 (age 82); and actors James Coco in 1930, Al Freeman Jr. in 1934 (age 73), Timothy Dalton in 1946 (age 61), Gary Oldman in 1958 (age 49), and Matthew Broderick and Rosie O'Donnell, both in 1962 (age 45).




On this date in history:


In 1617, Pocahontas died in England at about age 22. Three years earlier, she had converted to Christianity, taken the name Rebecca and married Englishman John Rolfe.


In 1790, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia became the first U.S. secretary of state. He later was the third president of the United States.


In 1918, U.S. and German soldiers fought the key World War I battle of the Somme.


In 1945, 7,000 Allied planes dropped more than 12,000 tons of explosives on Germany during a single World War II daytime bombing raid.


In 1960, police opened fire on a group of unarmed black South African demonstrators in the black township of Sharpeville, near Johannesburg, killing 69 people and wounding 180 in a hail of submachine-gun fire.


In 1962, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev pledged that Russia would cooperate with the United States in peaceful exploration of space. The joint American-Soviet Soyuz space mission was conducted in July 1975.


In 1965, more than 3,000 civil rights demonstrators, led by Martin Luther King Jr., began a four-day march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery, Ala., to demand federal protection of voting rights.


In 1984, the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk collided with a nuclear-powered Soviet submarine in the Sea of Japan.


In 1993, Nicaraguan rebels ended their 13-day seizure of the Nicaraguan Embassy, freeing the last 11 hostages under a deal that gave them asylum in the Dominican Republic.


In 1999, balloonists Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones landed near Cairo, Egypt, after becoming the first to circle the globe by balloon.


In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the FDA never received congressional authority to regulate tobacco products.


In 2002, Pope John Paul II, referring briefly to the sexual abuse scandal that had shaken the Roman Catholic clergy, said in a letter that "a dark shadow of suspicion" had fallen over all priests because of the behavior of those who had succumbed to "the most grievous forms" of evil.


Also in 2002, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board blamed the co-pilot for the Oct. 21, 1999, crash of an EgyptAir jetliner shortly after takeoff from New York for Cairo, killing all 217 aboard.


In 2003, some 1,300 missiles struck Baghdad after dark in part of what the Pentagon dubbed its "shock-and-awe" offensive as journalists imbedded with the troops reported from the battleground. Meanwhile, U.S. troops seized major oil fields near Basra.


Also in 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $2.2 trillion budget embracing President George W. Bush's tax-cutting plan.


In 2004, the White House denied charges of a former anti-terror adviser that U.S. President George Bush was not properly focused on the threat of the al-Qaida terrorist organization.


Also in 2004, for the third straight year, Wal-Mart Stores was ranked No. 1 among the nation's largest companies on Fortune Magazine's 50th annual Fortune 500 list.


In 2005, a 17-year-old youth at the northern Minnesota Indian Reservation of Red Lake killed nine people, wounded 12 others and then killed himself.


Also in 2005, the number of undocumented residents in the United States totaled 11 million people, the Pew Hispanic Center said in a report.


In 2006, about 100 armed Iraqi insurgents stormed a jail north of Baghdad, killing 18 policemen and freeing 10 prisoners. Ten of the attackers also were reported killed.


Also in 2006, one of Australia's worst storms in years, Cyclone Larry, left at least 1,000 people homeless in the Northern Queensland town of Innisfail and its surrounding region.


A thought for the day: Thomas Jefferson advised, "Honesty is the first chapter


in the book of wisdom."

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Today is Thursday, March 22, the 81st day of 2007 with 284 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include (lawren2-ts4ms.com); actors Karl Malden in 1912 (age 95) and Werner Klemperer ("Hogan's Heroes") in 1920; French mime Marcel Marceau in 1923 (age 84); composer Stephen Sondheim and televangelist Pat Robertson, both in 1930 (age 77); actors William Shatner in 1931 (age 76) and M. Emmett Walsh in 1935 (age 72); singer George Benson in 1943 (age 64); British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1948 (age 59); sportscaster Bob Costas in 1952 (age 55); actor Matthew Modine in 1959 (age 48); Canadian skater Elvis Stojko in 1972 (age 35); and actress Reese Witherspoon in 1976 (age 31).




On this date in history:


In 1791, The U.S. Congress enacted legislation forbidding slave trading with foreign nations.


In 1941, the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River began producing electric power for the Pacific Northwest.


In 1945, representatives from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen met in Cairo to establish the Arab League.


In 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson recalled U.S. Army Gen. William Westmoreland as commander of U.S. troops in Vietnam and made him Army chief of staff. Gen. Creighton Abrams took over in Saigon.


In 1974, the Senate passed and sent to the states for ratification the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a measure popularly known as the Equal Rights Amendment. However, the required number of states failed to ratify it before the deadline.


In 1987, Chad troops drove Libyan forces from a key airstrip in northern Chad, apparently ending Moammar Gadhafi's seven-year occupation. The Libyans abandoned $500 million worth of Soviet-made tanks and airplanes.


In 1992, 27 people were killed when a USAir plane bound for Cleveland skidded off a runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport during a snowstorm and landed in the bay.


In 1997, Comet Hale-Bopp made its closest approach to Earth -- about 122 million miles.


In 2000, Pope John Paul II visited a Palestinian refugee camp and declared the conditions there to be "degrading."


In 2003, as the war in Iraq gained momentum, a U.S. Army maintenance convoy made a wrong turn and was ambushed. Eleven soldiers were killed and seven captured, including Pfc. Jessica Lynch.


Also in 2003, U.S. forces seized a large weapons cache in Afghanistan.


In 2004, the founder and spiritual leader of the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, Ahmed Yassin, was killed in an Israeli missile strike in the Gaza Strip.


In 2005, North Korea's government-controlled news agency claimed the country beefed up its nuclear weapons arsenal to counter U.S. security threats.


In 2006, troubled General Motors, in a reported deal with the United Auto Workers Union, said it would offer buyout and early retirement packages to each of its 113,000 unionized employees.


Also in 2006, Basque separatists who live mostly in Spain announced they were declaring a cease-fire and ending their long violent struggle for independence.


A thought for the day: U.S. Army Gen. William Westmoreland said, "The military don't start wars. Politicians start wars."

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On this date in history



Today is Friday, March 23, the 82nd day of 2007 with 283 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include culinary expert Fannie Farmer in 1857; psychoanalyst Erich Fromm in 1900; actress Joan Crawford in 1905; Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa in 1910; rocket scientist Wernher von Braun in 1912; Roger Bannister, the first person to run the mile in less than 4 minutes, in 1929 (age 78); former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson Jr., in 1938; comedian Louie Anderson and singer Chaka Khan, both in 1953 (age 54); and actresses Amanda Plummer in 1957 (age 50), and Keri Russell ("Felicity") in 1976 (age 31).



On this date in history:


In 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act for taxing the American colonies, an action that became a major grievance for rebellious colonials.


In 1775, in a speech supporting the arming of the Virginia militia, Patrick Henry declared, "Give me liberty or give me death."


In 1942, during World War II, Japanese-Americans were forcibly moved from their homes along the Pacific Coast to inland internment camps.


In 1966, Pope Paul VI met Britain's archbishop of Canterbury at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, the first meeting between the heads of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches in 400 years.


In 1983, the world's first recipient of a permanent artificial heart, Barney Clark of Seattle, died in a Salt Lake City hospital.


In 1985, the United States completed the secret air evacuation of 800 Ethiopian Jews to Israel.


In 1989, Dick Clark retired from hosting the TV show "American Bandstand" after 33 years.


In 1996, Taiwan elected Lee Teng-hui in the island's first direct presidential election.


In 1998, Russian President Boris Yeltsin fired his entire Cabinet.


Also in 1998, "Titanic" won 11 Academy Awards, tying the record total won by "Ben-Hur" in 1959.


In 1999, the vice president of Peru was assassinated.


In 2001, the United States expelled 40 Russian diplomats it said were spies. The action had come in response to the arrest of FBI agent and accused Russian spy Robert Hanssen.


Also in 2001, the Russian space station Mir was brought down in the Pacific Ocean near Fiji after more than 15 years in orbit.


In 2003, a U.S. soldier was arrested after allegedly throwing grenades into the tents of three American officers in Kuwait. Two soldiers died, 12 others were wounded.


Also, nine U.S. Marines were killed in Nasiriyah where fellow Marines found 3,000 chemical warfare suits and masks at a hospital.


In 2004, a bipartisan government commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, noted in a preliminary report "alarming threats" about a possible al-Qaida attack months before the assault.


Also in 2004, NASA said new findings on Mars suggest an ancient sea once covered part of the planet.


In 2005, Iraqi forces attacked a training camp for suspected insurgents west of Baghdad, killing 80 gunmen in one of the largest operations to stamp out terrorism.


Also in 2005, federal investigators say there is no evidence of terrorism in the deadly BP refinery explosion in Texas City, Texas, that killed 15 workers and left several others in critical condition.


In 2006, the U.S. government rested its case in the sentencing trial of admitted terrorist Zacarias Moujssaoui in Alexandria, Va. The jury will decide whether Moussaoui could have prevented the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and whether he should get the death penalty.



A thought for the day: Erich Fromm wrote, "That man can destroy life is just as miraculous a feat as that he can create it, for life is the miracle, the inexplicable."

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On this date in history



Today is Saturday, March 24, the 83rd day of 2007 with 282 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include financier Andrew Mellon in 1855; magician and escape artist Harry Houdini in 1874; silent film star Fatty Arbuckle in 1887; pioneer Disney film animator Ub Iwerks in 1901; Republican presidential candidate Thomas Dewey in 1902; poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1919 (age 88); actors Norman Fell in 1924 and Steve McQueen in 1930; dress designer Bob Mackie in 1940 (age 67); and actresses Donna Pescow in 1954 (age 53), Annabella Sciorra in 1964 (age 43) and Laura Flynn Boyle in 1970 (age 37), and pro football star Peyton Manning in 1976 (age 31).



On this date in history:


In 1603, after 44 years of rule, Queen Elizabeth I of England died. She was succeeded by King James VI of Scotland, uniting England and Scotland under a single British monarch.


In 1934, the United States granted the Philippine Islands its independence, effective July 4, 1946.


In 1965, white civil rights worker Viola Liuzzo of Detroit was shot and killed on a road near Selma, Ala.


In 1975, the beaver became the official symbol of Canada.


In 1976, Argentine President Isabel Peron, widow of strongman ruler Juan Peron, was arrested in a military coup.


In 1989, the Exxon Valdez hit a reef in the Gulf of Alaska, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil in the largest oil tanker spill in U.S. history.


In 1991, 12 people were killed and 29 wounded when South African police fired on ANC supporters at a rally in a black township in Daveytown after ordering the crowd to disperse.


In 1993, the suspected ringleader of the first World Trade Center bombing that killed six people and injured more than 1,000 was arrested in Egypt and extradited to New York.


In 1998, four girls and a teacher at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Ark., were killed by bullets fired from a nearby wooded area. Police arrested two boys, ages 11 and 13, in connection with the slayings


In 1999, NATO launched attacks on targets in Yugoslavia after the Serbs refused to sign a peace agreement worked out for the future of the rebellious province of Kosovo.


In 2003, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the House of Commons that coalition forces were well on their way to Baghdad and victory in Iraq was "certain" despite some " anxious moments" ahead.


Also in 2003, in Iraq, Saddam Hussein appeared on television appealing to Iraqis to hold firm against the U.S.-led coalition.


In 2004, the U.S. commission examining anti-terror measures said several opportunities to capture or kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden were called off.


Also in 2004, the European Commission fined software giant Microsoft $613 million for breaking EU antitrust rules.


In 2005, the Philippine army broke a plot by Muslim extremists to detonate bombs throughout Manila on Easter Sunday, according to reports.


Also in 2005, the president of Kyrgyzstan was forced to flee his palace in the face of a popular uprising. The president, Askar Akayev, said Mafia elements were behind the widespread protests.


In 2006, the American Red Cross investigated New Orleans reports of massive losses of cash and supplies in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, possibly due to theft by some volunteers. The Red Cross got roughly 60 percent of the $3.6 billion Americans donated for hurricane relief.



A thought for the day: Martin Luther King Jr. said, "A man who won't die for something is not fit to live."

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On this date in history



Today is Sunday, March 25, the 84th day of 2007 with 281 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include (djbirchman-ts4ms);( Garrick ts4ms); symphony conductor Arturo Toscanini in 1867; Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum in 1867; composer Bela Bartok in 1881; film director David Lean in 1908; sports commentator Howard Cosell in 1920; French actress Simone Signoret in 1921; astronaut James Lovell in 1928 (age 79); feminist writer Gloria Steinem in 1935 (age 72); singer Anita Bryant in 1940 (age 67); soul singer Aretha Franklin in 1942 (age 65); actor/director Paul Michael Glaser in 1943 (age 64); pop star Elton John in 1947 (age 60); actresses Bonnie Bedelia in 1948 (age 59) and Sarah Jessica Parker in 1965 (age 42); Olympic silver medalist figure skater Debi Thomas in 1967 (age 40), and race driver Danica Patrick in 1982 (age 25).





On this date in history:


In 1634, the first colonists to Maryland arrive at St. Clement's Island on Maryland's western shore and founded the settlement of St. Mary's.


In 1807, the English Parliament abolished the slave trade.


In 1911, 147 people died when they were trapped by a fire that swept the Triangle Shirt Waist factory in New York City.


In 1947, a mine explosion in Centralia, Ill., killed 111 men, most of them asphyxiated by gas.


In 1954, the Radio Corporation of America began commercial production of color television sets.


In 1957, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg signed a treaty in Rome establishing the European Economic Community, also known as the common market.


In 1975, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot to death by a deranged nephew in his palace in Riyadh.


In 1990, an arson fire swept an overcrowded, illegal Bronx social club, killing 87 people in the worst mass slaying in U.S. history at the time and the deadliest New York blaze since the Triangle Shirt Waist factory disaster exactly 79 years earlier. Julio Gonzalez, 36, was charged with arson and murder.


In 1992, in a further sign of the capitalist revolution, veterans of the former Soviet KGB announced plans to sell cloak-and-dagger tales to Hollywood for movies and TV.


In 1994, the last U.S. soldiers left Mogadishu, Somalia, although a handful remained behind to protect U.S. diplomats and to provide support for U.N. peacekeepers.


In 1996, the FBI surrounded the Montana compound of a tax-evading group called the Freemen, beginning a lengthy standoff.


In 1997, Chinese Premiere Li Peng, during a meeting in Beijing with U.S. Vice President Al Gore, denied reports that China had funneled campaign cash to the Clinton-Gore campaign.


In 1998, the first known physician-assisted suicide to be legal under Oregon state law was reported by the group Compassion In Dying.


In 2002, a massive earthquake devastated rural areas of Afghanistan. The quake, with a 6.1 magnitude, killed at least 600.


In 2004, a U.S. Army report said less than one-third of U.S. soldiers suffering from depression, anxiety or traumatic stress after combat in Iraq received mental health treatment. Officials were looking into 23 U.S. suicides.


In 2006, an estimated 500,000 people protested in Los Angeles against proposed U.S. legislation that would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally.



A thought for the day: Mahatma Gandhi said, "It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence."

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On this date in history

Today is Monday, March 26, the 85th day of 2007 with 280 to follow.

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


Those born on this date in history are under the sign of Aries. They include poet Robert Frost in 1874; playwright Tennessee Williams in 1911; French composer/conductor Pierre Boulez in 1925 (age 82); former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 1930 (age 77); actors Leonard Nimoy in 1931 (age 76), Alan Arkin in 1934 (age 73) and James Caan in 1940 (age 67); author Erica Jong in 1942 (age 65); journalist Bob Woodward in 1943 (age 64); singers Diana Ross in 1944 (age 63) and Teddy Pendergrass in 1950 (age 57); actors Vicki Lawrence in 1949 (age 58) and Martin Short in 1950 (age 57); TV personality Leeza Gibbons in 1957 (age 50); and actress Jennifer Grey in 1960 (age 47).




On this date in history:


In 1859, astronomers reported sighting a new planet in an orbit near that of Mercury. They named it Vulcan. It's now believed to have been a "rogue asteroid" making a one-time pass close to the sun.


In 1953, U.S. medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announced on a national radio show that he had successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes the crippling disease of polio.


In 1971, East Pakistan achieved independence as Bangladesh.


In 1975, the city of Hue in South Vietnam fell to the North Vietnamese army.


In 1979, Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty at the White House, ending 30 years of hostilities.


In 1991, Mali's dictator was overthrown in violent overnight military coup; 59 people died.


Also in 1991, the Pakistani hijackers of a Singapore Airlines jet were killed by government commandos in Singapore; the passengers and crew members were safe.


In 1992, former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison for raping a teenage beauty pageant contestant.


Also in 1992, Soviet cosmonaut Serge Krikalev, after spending 313 days in orbit aboard the Mir space station, returned to Earth a citizen of a new country, Russia. While he was in space, the Soviet Union had crumbled.


In 1993, Russia's Congress of People's Deputies, called into session by an impeachment-minded parliament, backed away from a bid to unseat President Boris Yeltsin.


In 1997, 39 members of the Heaven's Gate religious cult were found dead in a large house in Rancho Mirage, Calif., in an apparent mass suicide.


In 1998, Bill Clinton became the first U.S. president to visit South Africa.


In 1999, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the euthanasia advocate, was convicted of second-degree murder in an Oakland County, Mich., courtroom for the videotaped "medicide" of a man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease.


In 2000, acting Russian President Vladimir Putin was elected president by a more than 20 percent margin.


In 2003, fierce hand-to-hand combat with bayonets broke out between Iraqi citizens and Saddam Fedayeen in the southern city of Basra. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 soldiers parachuted into northern Iraq seeking to unite the anti-Saddam Kurds.


In 2005, the family of Terri Schiavo said no more federal appeals on behalf of the brain-damaged Florida woman were planned after a judge rejected an emergency plea to have her feeding tube reinserted. The battle had reached the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court.


In 2006, reports say the discovery of the bodies of 30 beheaded men in Iraq suggest death squads are becoming out of control.


Also, in 2006, Ukraine's opposition Regions Party won the parliamentary elections, with former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich returning to his post under President Viktor Yushchenko.


And, Scotland banned smoking in all public places. A BBC poll found about 21 percent of adults surveyed said they would ignore the law.



A thought for the day: "There is nobody so irritating as somebody with less intelligence and more sense than we have." Don Herold said that.

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On this date in history



Today is Tuesday, March 27, the 86th day of 2007 with 279 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include (BILL_B-ts4ms);( suem-ts4ms); printmaker Nathaniel Currier, of Currier and Ives, in 1813; German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen, discoverer of X-rays, in 1845; schoolteacher Patty Smith Hill, who wrote the words for "Happy Birthday to You," in 1868; photographer Edward Steichen in 1879; architect Mies van der Rohe in 1886; actress Gloria Swanson in 1899; jazz singer Sarah Vaughan in 1924; actor Michael York in 1942 (age 65); filmmaker Quentin Tarantino in 1963 (age 44); and singer Mariah Carey in 1970 (age 37).




On this date in history:


In 1958, Nikita Khrushchev replaced Nikolai Bulganin as premier of the Soviet Union.


In 1964, a powerful earthquake in Alaska killed 117 people. It was the strongest quake to hit North America.


In 1977, two Boeing 747 jumbo jets collided and exploded in flames on a foggy runway in the Canary Islands, killing 577 people in the worst aviation disaster in history.


In 1980, a Norwegian oil platform capsized during a storm in the North Sea, killing 123 people.


In 1990, Soviet soldiers dragged Lithuanian army deserters from a hospital in Vilnius and took over the headquarters of Lithuania's independent Communist Party in an effort to reassert Moscow's control over the dissident Baltic republic.


In 1996, an Israeli court convicted Yigal Amir of assassinating Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and sentenced him to life in prison.


In 2002, a suicide bomber killed himself and 19 Israelis attending a Passover meal at a hotel in Netanya. More than 100 others were injured.


In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush, seeking to calm concerns that the war in Iraq is proving tougher than expected after its first week, said the United States and Britain will battle Saddam Hussein's forces "however long it takes to win."


Also in 2003, health officials said 1,408 people in 14 countries had been stricken with severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and 53 had died, including at least 34 in China.


In 2004, NASA reported its unmanned experimental hypersonic plane reached about 5,000 mph in a test flight -- more than seven times the speed of sound.


In 2005, ailing Pope John Paul II appeared at his apartment window before an Easter crowd in St. Peter's Square but was unable to speak. He silently blessed thousands of pilgrims who wept and cheered.


Also in 2005, about 1 million chanting demonstrators converged on Taiwan's capital to protest China's Anti-Secession Law.


In 2006, a U.S. Senate committee approved a plan designed to legalize the United States' 11 million illegal immigrants.


Also in 2006, a suicide bomber outside a police recruiting center in northern Iraq killed at least 30 people and wounded 30 others.


A thought for the day: Eden Phillpotts said, "The universe is full of magical things, patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."

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On this date in history



Today is Wednesday, March 28, the 87th day of 2007 with 278 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include(Funtime-ts4ms); Russian author Maxim Gorky in 1868; brewers Frederick Pabst in 1836 and August Anheuser Busch Jr. in 1899; famed Hollywood agent Irving "Swifty" Lazar in 1907; Edmund Muskie, the 1968 Democratic vice presidential candidate, in 1914; child star Freddie Bartholomew in 1924; Zbigniew Brzezinski, Carter administration national security adviser, in 1928 (age 79); actors Dirk Bogarde in 1921, Conchata Ferrell in 1943 (age 64), Ken Howard in 1944 (age 63) and Dianne Wiest in 1948 (age 59); and country singer Reba McEntire in 1955 (age 52).




On this date in history:


In 1797, Nathaniel Briggs was awarded a patent for the first washing machine.


In 1881, P.T. Barnum and James A. Bailey merged their circuses to form "The Greatest Show on Earth."


In 1939, Madrid surrendered to the nationalist forces of Generalissimo Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War.


In 1968, the counterculture musical "Hair" opened on Broadway.


In 1969, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, died in Washington at age 78.


In 1979, a failure in the cooling system at the nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania caused a near meltdown. It was the worst accident at a U.S. civilian nuclear facility.


In 1991, just days before the 10th anniversary of the attempt on his life, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan endorsed a 7-day waiting period for handgun purchases, reversing his earlier opposition.


In 1993, Russian President Boris Yeltsin survived an impeachment vote by the Congress of People's Deputies.


Also in 1993, French voters rejected the ruling Socialists and gave the conservative alliance a crushing majority in legislative elections.


In 1994, pre-election clashes between Zulu nationalists, the ANC and police claimed 53 lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.


In 1996, the U.S. Congress approved the presidential line-item veto.


In 1997, an Italian warship collided with an Albanian ship crowded with refugees, causing an undetermined number of deaths.


In 2002, the U.S. Justice Department said it would seek the death penalty against Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged at the time as a co-conspirator in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.


In 2004, more than 40 people were reported killed in a series of bombings and gun battles in the central Asian nation of Uzbekistan.


In 2005, a massive earthquake jolted the western coast of Sumatra reportedly killing as many as 3,000 people and destroying hundreds of buildings.


In 2006, the U.S. Senate voted to prohibit lobbyists from giving lawmakers gifts and meals. Also on this date, powerful lobbyist Jack Abramoff, with ties to several members of Congress, drew a six-year prison sentence for fraud in Florida.


Also in 2006, the French Constitutional Council validated a hotly contested youth labor law despite a general strike that ground public life to a near halt and about 100 protests in Paris and across the nation.



A thought for the day: Seneca wrote, "What difference does it make how much you have? What you do not have amounts to much more."

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On this date in history


Today is Thursday, March 29, the 88th day of 2007 with 277 to follow.

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


Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include (Debbie0329-ts4ms);
John Tyler, 10th president of the United States, in 1790; baseball pitching legend Cy Young in 1867; Eugene McCarthy, the Minnesota Democrat whose 1968 presidential campaign focused U.S. opposition to the Vietnam War, in 1916; actress/singer Pearl Bailey, and Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, both in 1918; former British Prime Minister John Major and actor Eric Idle, both in 1943 (age 64); former pro basketball player Walt Frazier in 1945 (age 62); Karen Ann Quinlan, who became the focus of arguments over the "right to die" when she fell into an irreversible coma, in 1954; gymnast Kurt Thomas in 1956 (age 51); actors Christopher Lambert in 1957 (age 50) and Lucy Lawless in 1968 (age 39); and tennis star Jennifer Capriati in 1976 (age 31).






On this date in history:


In 1812, the first wedding was performed in the White House. Lucy Payne Washington, sister-in-law of U.S. President James Madison, married Supreme Court Justice Thomas Dodd.


In 1971, U.S. Army Lt. William Calley was found guilty in the killing of 22 civilians in Vietnam, an event known as the "My Lai" massacre.


Also in 1971, cult leader Charles Manson and three followers were sentenced to death in the Tate-Labianca slayings in Los Angeles. The death sentence was later found to be unconstitutional and the four were re-sentenced to life in prison.


In 1973, the last U.S. troops left South Vietnam and the last U.S. prisoners of war acknowledged by the North Vietnamese government were freed.


In 1979, the House Select Committee on Assassinations released its final report on the assassinations of U.S. President John Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.


In 1991, six-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti quit, paving the way for the country's 50th government since World War II.


In 1994, Bosnian Serbs stepped up their bombardment of Gorazde, 35 miles southeast of Sarajevo and one of the U.N.-designated "safe areas."


In 1996, the House Ethics Committee said Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., violated House rules by having close dealings with a wealthy GOP donor who had business interests affected by congressional legislation. It was the third time in two months the panel had notified Gingrich that he had broken the rules.


In 2003, Iraq introduced a new tactic in its war with the U.S.-led coalition when a suicide bomber blew up his taxi and killed four U.S. soldiers near Najaf.


Also in 2003, a Newsweek poll, published 10 days after the start of the Iraq war, showed 74 percent of Americans thought the Bush administration had a well thought-out military plan. Other polls showed otherwise, however, and there were anti-war demonstrations around the world.


In 2005, an independent panel investigating the U.N. Iraq Oil-for-Food Program cleared U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan of any wrongdoing but faulted his son and top aides.


In 2006, Duke University's men's lacrosse season was suspended pending a police investigation into allegations three team members raped a woman at a party.


Also in 2006, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party narrowly won the national election, taking 28 seats, forcing it into a coalition situation.



A thought for the day: Martin Luther King Jr. said, "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools."