On this date in history

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Today is Friday, Aug. 31, the 243rd day of 2007 with 122 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include (caliets4ms.com); Italian educator Maria Montessori in 1870; actor Fredric March in 1897; entertainer Arthur Godfrey in 1903; writer William Saroyan in 1908; astronomer Alfred Bernard Lovell in 1913; journalist Daniel Schorr in 1916 (age 91); lyricist Alan Jay Lerner in 1918; comedian Buddy Hackett in 1924; actor James Coburn in 1928; baseball star/manager Frank Robinson, first black to manage a major league team, in 1935 (age 72); black militant Eldridge Cleaver, also in 1935; violinist Itzhak Perlman and rock singer Van Morrison, both in 1945 (age 62); actor Richard Gere in 1949 (age 58); Olympian track athlete Edwin Moses in 1955 (age 52); and singer/actress Debbie Gibson in 1970 (age 37).



On this date in history:
In 1897, Thomas Edison was awarded a patent for his movie camera, the Kinetograph.

In 1888, prostitute Mary Ann Nichols became the first victim of the notorious London serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.

In 1903, a Packard automobile completed a 52-day journey from San Francisco to New York, becoming the first car to cross the nation under its own power.

In 1986, an Aeromexico DC-9 collided with a single-engine plane over Cerritos, Calif., killing 82 people, including 15 on the ground.

In 1991, the Soviet republics of Uzbekistan and Kirghizia declared independence, leaving five republics in the Soviet Union.

Also in 1991, Serbia accepted a European Community proposal that included international observers to oversee a cease-fire in Croatia.

In 1992, white separatist Randy Weaver surrendered, ending an 11-day siege of his Idaho mountain cabin that cost the lives of his wife, teenage son and a U.S. marshal.

In 1993, the Israeli government agreed in principle a plan for interim Palestinian self-rule of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho.

In 1994, the Irish Republican Army declared a cease-fire following six months of secret talks with Britain.

In 1997, Britain's Princess Diana died of injuries a few hours after a car accident in Paris that killed her companion, Dodi Fayed, and their driver.

In 2003, a Russian K-159 nuclear-powered submarine was lost in the Barents Sea, claiming the lives of nine of its 10-member crew. Russian authorities blamed negligence by navy officials.

Also in 2003, U.S. and Iraqi officials began laying plans to form an Iraqi paramilitary force of several thousand to help secure the country.

In 2004, in the first major attack inside Israel in nearly six months, Palestinian suicide bombers blew up two buses almost simultaneously in Beersheba, killing at least 16 passengers and themselves and wounding more than 80.

In 2005, close to 1,000 people, largely Shiite pilgrims, died in a stampede and the partial collapse of a bridge over the Tigris River in northern Baghdad.

Also in 2005, the White House decided to release some of the 700 million barrels of crude oil it keeps for emergencies.

And in New Orleans, martial law was declared amid reports of looters running wild, food and drinking water dwindling, and bodies floating in the floodwaters. Apparently poor coordination of federal, state and city officials led to a different kind of flood, of anger and delay.

In 2006, Norwegian authorities recovered the world famous painting The Scream by Edvard Munch, stolen at gunpoint, along with Munch's Madonna, from their Oslo museum nine days earlier. It was the second time The Scream had been stolen and recovered in good shape.

A thought for the day: in a final statement for publication after his death, author and playwright William Saroyan said, "Everyone has got to die, but I have always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what?"Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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Today is Saturday, Sept. 1, the 244th day of 2007 with 121 to follow.

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

Those born on this day are under the sign of Virgo. They include (Summit1231-ts4ms); German composer Engelbert Humperdinck in 1854; Tarzan author Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1875; dancer/singer Marilyn Miller in 1898; actress Yvonne De Carlo (The Munsters) in 1922; undefeated heavyweight boxing champ Rocky Marciano in 1923; country music singer Conway Twitty in 1933; symphony conductor Seiji Ozawa in 1935 (age 72); attorney Alan Dershowitz in 1938 (age 69); comedian/actress Lily Tomlin in 1939 (age 68); Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees pop music group in 1946 (age 61); and singer Gloria Estefan in 1957 (age 50).



On this date in history:
In 1807, Aaron Burr, vice president of the United States under Thomas Jefferson, was acquitted of treason charges growing out of an alleged plot to set up an independent empire in the nation's south and west.

In 1914, the last known passenger pigeon died at the Cincinnati Zoo.

In 1923, an earthquake struck Yokohama, Japan, killing an estimated 143,000 people.

In 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France served an ultimatum on Adolf Hitler, but it was ignored.

In 1983, a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 strayed into Soviet air space and was shot down by a Soviet jet fighter. All 269 people aboard died.

In 1985, scientists found the wreck of the British luxury liner Titanic, sunk by an iceberg in 1912, in the Atlantic Ocean south of Newfoundland.

In 1990, three planes left Iraq with about 500 Western and Japanese women and children in the first airlift, four days after Saddam Hussein's pledge to begin releasing some of his so-called guests.

In 1991, U.S. President George H.W. Bush established diplomatic relations with Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

In 1993, Bosnian Muslims refused to accept a draft of an U.N. peace agreement unless the Serbs and Croats ceded them more land.

In 1995, a peace agreement worked out among Liberia's warring militias moved forward with the swearing in of an interim ruling council.

In 1996, the United Nations suspended the permission it gave Iraq to sell oil again after Iraq took over the unofficial Kurdish capital city in violation of the cease-fire terms of the Gulf War.

In 1999, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno ordered a new investigation into the events of April 19, 1993, that ended the siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas. About 80 cultists died in a compound fire.

In 2003, Libya agreed to compensate relatives of the 170 people killed in the 1989 bombing of a French airliner over the Sahara.

In 2004, a heavily armed band of 31 Chechen terrorists seized a school in Belstan in southern Russia, taking hundreds of hostages.

In 2005, U.S. President George Bush ordered a suspension of rules restricting shipments of oil and gasoline between U.S. ports to help ease hurricane-caused shortages.

Meanwhile, floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina were reported receding in New Orleans where many of its thousands of homeless were being sent to other states for shelter.

In 2006, the U.S. Defense Department said casualties among Iraqi civilians and security forces had increased 51 percent during May 20 to Aug. 11, compared to the previous three-month period, said to be an average of nearly 120 Iraqis a day.

Also in 2006, a fiery airport crash of a Russian-made Tupolev 154 airliner in Mashland, Iran, left 29 people dead but 148 passengers survived.

A thought for the day: Edward Bellamy wrote, "An American credit card ... is just as good in Europe as American gold used to be."Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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Today is Sunday, Sept. 2, the 245th day of 2007 with 120 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include poet Eugene Field in 1850; American inventor Hiram Maxim, who invented the first portable automatic machine gun, in 1869; authors Cleveland Amory in 1917 and Allen Drury in 1918; dancer Marge Champion in 1923 (age 84); Christa McAuliffe in 1948, was the school teacher who became an astronaut but was killed when the space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff in 1986; also born in 1948, pro football star/sportscaster Terry Bradshaw (age 59); actor Mark Harmon in 1951 (age 56); tennis champion Jimmy Connors in 1952 (age 55); actors Keanu Reeves in 1964 (age 43) and Selma Hayek in 1966 (age 41).

On this date in history:
In 1666, the Great Fire of London began. It destroyed 13,000 houses in four days.

In 1935, a hurricane hit the Florida keys, killing more than 350 people.

In 1945, Japan signed an unconditional surrender aboard the U.S. battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, formally ending World War II.

In 1983, Moscow admitted to the Sept. 1 shooting down of a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747, killing all 269 people aboard, but said the jumbo jet intentionally invaded Soviet air space.

In 1991, the European Community-approved plan to end the civil war in Yugoslavia was accepted by the Yugoslav federal presidency. But federal forces renewed their offensive against Croatia.

In 1992, more than 100 people were killed when earthquake-spawned tidal waves swept Pacific coast villages in Nicaragua.

In 1997, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 257.36 points for its largest one-day point gain ever, closing at 7,879.

In 1998, a Swissair jetliner en route from New York to Geneva, Switzerland, crashed off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. All 229 people aboard were killed.

In 1999, the Clintons bought a home in the New York suburb of Chappaqua for $1.7 million, establishing residency for first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, planning a run for the U.S. Senate.

In 2004, President George W. Bush accepted the GOP nomination for re-election, promising to build a safer world and a more hopeful America.

Also in 2004, South Korea acknowledged it conducted secret experiments to enrich uranium to weapons-grade status but said it was solely for the domestic production of nuclear fuel.

In 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush sharply criticized relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and pledged the situation would improve.

Also in 2005, the European Commission called for uniform rules for deporting illegal immigrants and refugees who are denied asylum in member countries, a move that could bring the commission into conflict with Britain and other nations.

In 2006, Canadian troops under NATO control and Afghan forces launched a new offensive in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar Province amid evidence of renewed Taliban influence.

Also in 2006, Syria promised to enforce an embargo on arms shipments from Syria to Lebanon.

A thought for the day: Logan Pearsall Smith said, "There are few sorrows, however poignant, in which a good income is of no avail."Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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Today is Monday Sept. 3, the 246th day of 2007 with 119 to follow.

This is Labor Day in the United States.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include (IreneLF- ts4ms); teacher Prudence Crandall, controversial for her efforts to educate black girls, in 1803; architect Louis Sullivan, called the father of the skyscraper, in 1856; automobile designer Ferdinand Porsche in 1875; actor Alan Ladd in 1913; actress/singer Kitty Carlisle in 1910; cartoonist Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey) in 1923 (age 84); actresses Anne Jackson in 1926 (age 81), Eileen Brennan in 1935 (age 72); Pauline Collins in 1940 (age 67) and Valerie Perrine in 1943 (age 64); and actor Charlie Sheen in 1965 (age 42).



On this date in history:
In 1777, the U.S. flag was flown in battle for the first time, during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Cooch's Bridge, Del.

In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, officially ending the 7-year American Revolutionary War and recognizing U.S. independence from Britain.

In 1916, the Allies turned back the Germans in the World War I Battle of Verdun.

In 1936, Britain's Malcolm Campbell set a land-speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah, averaging 301.129 mph in two runs.

In 1939, Britain declared war on Germany. Britain was quickly joined by France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada.

In 1942, Frank Sinatra began his solo singing career after leaving Tommy Dorsey's orchestra.

In 1984, a 28-year-old Chicago print shop employee won $40 million in the Illinois state lottery, largest lottery payoff to that point.

In 1991, film director Frank Capra, best known for such feel-good movies as It Happened One Night and It's A Wonderful Life, died at the age of 94.

In 1992, an Italian plane carrying eight people and nearly 10,000 pounds of blankets for Bosnian war victims crashed en route to Sarajevo. Evidence suggested it was shot down.

Also in 1992, Nobel laureate geneticist Barbara McClintock died at 90.

In 1996, the United States fired 27 missiles in Iraq, hitting air defense batteries. Despite criticism from Arab allies and European allies, the United States fired 17 more missiles the next day.

In 1997, Arizona Gov. Fife Symington was convicted of fraud by a federal jury in Phoenix and resigned two days later, becoming the third U.S. governor in recent years to quit because of a criminal conviction.

In 1999, charges were dropped against nine photographers and a motorcyclist in connection with the 1997 crash that killed Britain's Princess Diana.

In 2001, the United States and Israel walked out of the U.N. conference on racism in Durban, South Africa.

In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush reversed an earlier stand and called on the U.N. Security Council to shore up Iraq's peacekeeping forces.

In 2004, the 3-day Russian school crisis ended in a bloody 13-hour battle when security forces stormed the Beslan school building after Chechen terrorists opened fire on hostages. At least 350 people, including about 155 children, were reported killed. All but one of the 31 terrorists also died.

In 2005, William H. Rehnquist, the chief justice of the United States, died after a long bout with thyroid cancer at the age of 80. He had been on the court since 1971.

In 2006, the Sudanese government launched a fresh offensive in Darfur, once again violating the U.N. resolution demanding an end to the conflict.

A thought for the day: Bert Leston Taylor said, "A bore is a man who, when you ask him how he is, tells you."Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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Today is Tuesday, Sept. 4, the 247th day of 2007 with 118 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include French novelist and politician Francois Rene de Chateaubriand in 1768; architect Daniel Burnham in 1846; engineer-inventor Lewis Latimer in 1848; composer Darius Milhaud in 1892; novelist and essayist Richard Wright in 1908; bandleader Jan Savitt in 1913; radio news commentator Paul Harvey in 1918 (age 89); actor Dick York (Bewitched) in 1928; dancer/actress Mitzi Gaynor in 1931 (age 76); pro golfer Tom Watson in 1949 (age 58); actress Judith Ivey in 1951 (age 56); comedian Damon Wayans in 1960 (age 47); and actress Ione Skye, daughter of pop singer Donovan, in 1971 (age 36).

On this date in history:
In 1609, navigator Henry Hudson discovered the island of Manhattan.

In 1954, the first passage of the fabled Northwest Passage was completed by icebreakers from the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard.

In 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine African-American students from entering Central High School in Little Rock.

Also in 1957, the Ford Motor Co. introduced the Edsel to beef up its mid-size market but the car was a failure, lasting only three model years.

In 1972, U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz became the first athlete to win seven gold medals in a single Olympic Games.

In 1980, Iraqi troops seized Iranian territory in a border dispute. The conflict escalated into all-out war.

In 1991, South African President F.W. de Klerk proposed a new constitution. It provided for universal voting rights and opened the parliament to all races.

In 1993, Fatah, the PLO's largest and most moderate faction, endorsed an accord with Israel calling for interim Palestinian self-rule.

In 1995, U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., a Republican presidential hopeful, called for English to be declared the official language of the United States.

In 1998, for the first time since news of his affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky broke, U.S. President Bill Clinton said he was sorry for what he had done.

In 1999, more than 60 people were killed when Chechen terrorists detonated a car bomb near an apartment building in Dagestan, Russia.

Also in 1999, after East Timor voted for independence rather than remaining a part of Indonesia, hundreds died in a 5-day rampage by pro-Indonesian militants.

In 2002, U.S. President George Bush said he would seek congressional approval for any military move on Iraq. He also promised to consult with allies, some of whom were opposed to his regime change plan.

In 2004, Hurricane Frances pounded Palm Beach and Martin counties in Florida with its fury as the storm lumbered slowly ashore with 105 mph winds.

Also in 2004, an Argentine court in Buenos Aires acquitted five suspects in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center that killed 85 people and injured 300.

In 2005, New Orleans officials completed evacuation of Hurricane Katrina survivors from the Superdome and convention center -- a total of 42,000 in one day. There still were 2,000 people reported at the airport and another 1,000 trapped in attics of their flooded buildings. While reports of violence were down, four people died in a shootout with police near the crash of a civilian helicopter.

In 2006, Steve Irwin, Australia's internationally renowned Crocodile Hunter TV star, was killed by a stingray barb to the heart while he was filming underwater.

Also in 2006, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was abandoning plans to unilaterally pull Israeli troops out of the West Bank.

A thought for the day: Enoch Arnold Bennett said, "Pessimism, when you get used to it, is just as agreeable as optimism."Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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Today is Wednesday, Sept. 5, the 248th day of 2007 with 117 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include French King Louis XIV in 1638; outlaw Jesse James in 1847; marketing research engineer A.C. Nielsen in 1897; movie producer Darryl F. Zanuck in 1902; Hungarian-born author Arthur Koestler in 1905; retired Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul Volcker in 1927 (age 80); comedian Bob Newhart in 1929 (age 78); singer/actress Carol Lawrence in 1934 (age 73); actors William Devane in 1937 (age 70), Raquel Welch in 1940 (age 67), Dennis Dugan in 1946 (age 67) and Michael Keaton in 1951 (age 56); and rock musician Dweezil Zappa, son of Frank Zappa, in 1969 (age 38).

On this date in history:
In 1774, the first Continental Congress convened in secret in Philadelphia.

In 1882, 10,000 workers marched in the first Labor Day parade in New York City.

In 1877, Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse was fatally bayoneted by a U.S. soldier after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson, Neb. A year earlier, Crazy Horse was among the Sioux leaders who defeated George Armstrong Custer's Seventh Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana Territory.

In 1935, Gene Autry starred in his first Western feature Tumbling Tumbleweeds.

In 1972, Palestinian terrorists invaded the Olympic Village outside Munich, West Germany, and killed 11 Israeli athletes and six other people.

In 1975, Lynette Squeaky Fromme, a follower of mass murderer Charles Manson, tried to shoot U.S. President Gerald Ford.

In 1978, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and U.S. President Jimmy Carter began a Middle East peace conference at Camp David, Md.

In 1991, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega went on trial in Miami on money laundering and drug-trafficking charges. He was eventually convicted.

Also in 1991, six BCCI officials and a Medellin drug cartel leader were charged with laundering cocaine profits through the bank from 1983-89.

In 1995, France conducted an underground nuclear test at the Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific. It was the first of several -- all of which were met by protests worldwide.

In 1996, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and two others were convicted in New York of planning to blow up jetliners.

In 1997, at least 172 people were slain in Algeria in three incidents believed linked to the country's upcoming election and to the long, though sporadically fought, civil war.

Also in 1997, Mother Teresa died at age 87.

And further in 1997, in an unusual television speech, Queen Elizabeth acknowledged the public expression of grief over Diana's death and expressed her own admiration for her former daughter-in-law.

In 2001, Mexican President Vicente Fox traveled to Washington to ask the Bush administration for a U.S. agreement to legalize the status of 3.5 million Mexicans who entered the United States illegally.

In 2002, an attempted assassination of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai failed when a gunman missed him after opening fire on his car.

In 2003, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, speaking in Iraq, said impressions of mounting Iraqi violence were being created by negative news media coverage.

In 2004, two weeks after Hurricane Charley hit Florida, Hurricane Frances barged in north of Palm Beach and cut across the state to the northwest before going into the Gulf of Mexico. The reported death toll was more than 30 and Florida damage from the two storms was placed at more than $10 billion.

In 2005, U.S. President George Bush announced he would nominate U.S. Circuit Judge John Roberts to succeed the late William Rehnquist as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Also in 2005, an Indonesian Boeing 737-200 plane crashed shortly after takeoff in the suburbs of the Sumatran city of Medan killing at least 147 people, including 30 on the ground. Six people in the rear of the plane reportedly escaped with minor injuries.

In 2006, conservative candidate Felipe Calderon was declared winner of the Mexican presidency by a razor-thin margin.

Also in 2006, Katie Couric, long-time co-host of the NBC Today Show, became the first solo female anchor on a major U.S. television network when she took over the CBS Evening News.

A thought for the day: Norman Douglas said, "You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements."Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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Today is Thursday, Sept. 6, the 249th day of 2007 with 116 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include (lelejo-ts4ms); the Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolutionary War, in 1757; pioneer social worker Jane Addams in 1860; financier-diplomat Joseph P. Kennedy in 1888; theatrical producer Billy Rose in 1899; comedienne Jo Anne Worley (Laugh-In) in 1937 (age 70); actresses Swoosie Kurtz in 1944 (age 63) and Jane Curtin in 1947 (age 60); comedian Jeff Foxworthy (You know you're a redneck...) in 1958 (age 49); and actors Rosie Perez in 1964 (age 43) and Justin Whalin in 1974 (age 33).



On this date in history:
In 1522, one of Ferdinand Magellan's five ships -- the Vittoria -- arrived at Sanlucar de Barrameda in Spain, completing the first circumnavigation of the world.

In 1620, 149 Pilgrims set sail from England aboard the Mayflower, bound for the New World.

In 1901, U.S. President William McKinley was shot by an anarchist at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. He died eight days later.

In 1909, word was received that U.S. Navy Adm. Robert Peary had discovered the North Pole five months earlier, on April 6, 1909.

In 1966, South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, an architect of his nation's apartheid policies, was stabbed to death by a deranged messenger during a parliamentary meeting in Cape Town.

In 1982, Polish dissidents seized the Polish Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, and demanded an end to martial law in Poland. They eventually surrendered.

In 1991, the Soviet State Council recognized the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania after 51 years of Soviet occupation.

In 1995, the Senate Ethics Committee unanimously recommended that Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., be expelled from the Senate on charges of sexual misconduct and influence peddling. He resigned two days later.

Also in 1995, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr., played his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking the record set in 1939 by Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees.

In 1996, Hurricane Fran made landfall at Cape Fear, N.C., with 115 mph winds. It killed 28 people.

In 1997, Britain bid an emotional farewell to Princess Diana -- killed in a car accident a week earlier -- with a funeral service at London's Westminster Abbey that was broadcast worldwide.

In 2001, the Justice Department reversed an earlier decision and said it would no longer seek to split the Microsoft Corp. into more than one company.

In 2003, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas resigned less than four months in the job.

Also in 2003, an unemployed electrician was charged in Northern Ireland's worst violence, the bombing of an open market in Omagh that killed 29 and injured 220.

In 2004, former U.S. President Bill Clinton underwent a successful 4-hour quadruple bypass operation at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

In 2005, New Orleans' mayor ordered everyone to leave the city or face possible removal by force. Most of the 500,000 displaced people were staying in nearby states but some were housed as far away as Massachusetts.

In 2006, U.S. President George Bush acknowledged that suspected terrorist prisoners had been held in secret prisons in other countries.

A thought for the day: it was Frank Lloyd Wright who said, "The physician can bury his mistakes, but the architect can only advise his client to plant vines."Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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Today is Friday, Sept. 7, the 250th of 2007 with 115 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include England's Queen Elizabeth I in 1533; American primitive painter Anna "Grandma" Moses in 1860; financier J. Pierpont Morgan Jr. in 1867; legendary heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey in 1908 (age 99); film director Elia Kazan in 1909; physicist and rocket developer James Van Allen in 1914; actor Peter Lawford in 1923; Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, in 1924 (age 83); rock 'n' roll pioneer Buddy Holly in 1936; actors John Philip Law ("The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming") in 1937 (age 70), Richard Roundtree in 1942 (age 65); Julie Kavner in 1951 (age 56) and Corbin Bernsen in 1954 (age 53); and musician Michael Feinstein in 1956 (age 51).

On this date in history:

In 1822, Brazil declared independence from Portugal.

In 1892, James Corbett knocked out John L. Sullivan in the 21st round of a prizefight at New Orleans, the first major fight under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.

In 1901, the Boxer Rebellion in China ended with the Boxer Protocol.

In 1926, Hollywood studios closed for the day in honor of the funeral of Rudolph Valentino, the silent movie superstar who had died after ulcer surgery.

In 1940, Nazi Germany launched the London blitz, a bombing that Adolf Hitler believed would soften Britain for invasion. The invasion never materialized.

In 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian dictator Omar Torrijos signed a treaty agreeing to transfer control of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama at the end of the 20th century.

In 1986, Desmond Tutu was installed as the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, becoming first black titular head of South Africa's fourth-largest Christian church.

In 1992, black soldiers in the South African homeland of Ciskei killed 23 people and wounded nearly 200 others when they fired on thousands of African National Congress supporters.

Also in 1992, 12 people were killed when a twin-engine plane carrying skydivers crashed in a soybean field in Hinckley, Ill.

In 1993, South Africa's ruling National Party agreed to share power with a multi-party council that would be established within two months.

In 1996, "Dr. Death" Jack Kevorkian assisted in a 40th suicide in Michigan.

In 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush asked Congress for $87 billion to pay for the occupation and reconstruction of Iraq.

In 2004, the U.S. military death toll in Iraq passed the 1,000 mark.

Also in 2004, September's third hurricane, named Ivan, struck Grenada with150 mph sustained winds, killing about 40 people, and headed toward the United States.

In 2005, authorities report finding 32 bodies drowned in a New Orleans nursing home where people didn't evacuate in face of the rampaging floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina.

Also in 2005, a U.S. grand jury indicted a Georgian man for allegedly trying to kill U.S. President George Bush with a hand grenade during a Bush visit to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in May. The grenade failed to detonate.

And, a report to the United Nations cited alleged corruption in the U.N.'s administration of the oil-for-food program in which Iraq under Saddam Hussein could sell a limited amount of oil ostensibly for humanitarian needs such as food and medicine.

In 2006, British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced he would resign within one year. Blair’s strong support of U.S. policy in Iraq was among the major reasons reported for the move.

Also in 2006, Richard Armitage, former secretary of state, confirmed he was the primary source for revealing the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame in a 2003 Robert Novak column. The “outing” created a major Washington scandal.


A thought for the day: American lawyer and statesman Daniel Webster said, "Knowledge is the only fountain both of the love and the principles of human liberty."

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Today is Saturday. Sept. 8, the 251st day of 2007 with 114 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include(Mike – ts4ms); England's King Richard I, "Richard the Lion Hearted," in 1157; composer Antonin Dvorak in 1841; country music pioneer Jimmie Rodgers, "The Singing Brakeman," in 1897; U.S. Sen. Claude Pepper, D-Fla., in 1900; comedian Sid Caesar in 1922 (age 85); actor Peter Sellers in 1925; country music singer Patsy Cline in 1932; former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn. D-Ga., in 1938 (age 69); and actors Henry Thomas ("E.T. -- The Extra-Terrestrial") in 1971 (age 36) and Jonathan Taylor Thomas ("Home Improvement") in 1981 (age 26).




On this date in history:

In 1565, the first permanent European settlement in what is now the continental United States was founded on the site of the present St. Augustine, Fla.

In 1900, more than 6,000 people were killed when a hurricane and tidal wave struck Galveston, Texas.

In 1935, an assassin shot autocratic U.S. Sen. Huey P. Long, D-La., at the Capitol building in Baton Rouge, La. Long died two days later.

Also in 1935, 19-year-old Frank Sinatra launched his singing career when he appeared with a group called The Hoboken Four on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour radio talent show.

In 1966, "Star Trek" premiered on NBC-TV.

In 1974, U.S. President Gerald Ford granted former U.S. President Richard Nixon full pardon for any and all offenses he may have committed during his years in office.

In 1993, the Senate approved U.S. President Bill Clinton's national-service bill, which would give participants grants for taking part in community service work.

In 1994, a U.S. Airways jetliner crashed near Pittsburgh, killing 132 people. The accident became the subject of the longest aircraft investigation in the history of the National Transportation Safety Board.

In 1998, the U.S. Justice Department opened a preliminary inquiry into U.S. President Bill Clinton's participation in Democratic fundraising for the 1996 re-election campaign.

In 2005, U.S. President George Bush paid another visit to the hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast and signed a $51.8 bill for additional Katrina relief funds.

Also in 2005, the probe into Iraq's oil-for-food program found that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's son Kojo used his father's position to profit from the project. Investigators say there was no evidence Annan knew of his son's involvement, however.

And, more than 1,000 mourners attended the Washington funeral of the late U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who died of thyroid cancer just shy of his 81st birthday. He was buried in a private ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

In 2006, a U.S. Senate committee investigative report said no basis was found to link the regime of Saddam Hussein and the al-Qaida terrorist network.

A thought for the day: in "Middlemarch," English novelist Mary Anne Evans (George Eliot) wrote, "... men know best about everything, except what women know better."

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Today is Sunday, Sept. 9, the 252nd day of 2007 with 113 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include (Mike-ts4ms); the Duc de Richelieu, French statesman and Roman Catholic cardinal, in 1585; Capt. William Bligh of the HMS Bounty, in 1754; Russian author Leo Tolstoy in 1828; Alf Landon, the Kansas Republican who lost the 1936 presidential election to Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1887; Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Harland Sanders in 1890; composer Arthur Freed in 1894; oddsmaker Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder in 1919; actor Cliff Robertson in 1925 (age 82); rhythm & blues singer Otis Redding in 1941; and actors Tom Wopat in 1951 (age 56), Angela Cartwright in 1952 (age 55), Hugh Grant in 1960 (age 47) and Adam Sandler in 1966 (age 41).
On this date in history:



In 1776, the second Continental Congress officially changed the new American nation's name from "United Colonies" to "United States."

In 1850, California became the 31st state.

In 1956, rock 'n' roll singer Elvis Presley appeared on national television for the first time, on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

In 1971, more than 1,000 convicts took over the state prison at Attica, N.Y. and held 35 convicts hostage. Four days later, 28 convicts and nine hostages were killed as state police reclaimed the prison.

In 1976, Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong died at age 82.

In 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev met in a quickly arranged summit in Helsinki, Finland, to present a united front against Iraq.

Also in 1990, Liberian President Samuel Doe was captured and killed by Prince Johnson's rebels after visiting the headquarters of West African peacekeeping forces in Monrovia.

In 1991, Iraq grounded foreign helicopters carrying U.N. weapons-plant inspectors.

In 1993, in a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the PLO recognized the right of the state of Israel to exist in peace and security. In turn, Rabin declared the PLO the representative of the Palestinian people.

In 1994, the United States and Cuba reached an agreement aimed at discouraging Cubans from trying to flee to the United States by rafts or other vessels.

In 1995 sports, Steffi Graf of Germany defeated Monica Seles to win her fourth U.S. Open women's singles title in her first appearance since a fan stabbed her in 1993.

In 1996, Susan McDougal was jailed for contempt after she refused to appear before the Whitewater grand jury on the grounds that she thought the special counsel was out to get the Clintons.

In 1998, independent counsel Kenneth Starr sent to the U.S. House his report on his investigation into U.S. President Bill Clinton. He said it contained "substantial and credible information ... that may constitute grounds" for impeachment.

In 1999, more than 90 people died in the bombing of a Moscow apartment building. The blast was blamed on terrorists from the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

In 2001 sports, Venus Williams defeated her sister Serena for the U.S. Open tennis championship, 6-2, 6-4, the first time since 1884 that sisters had met in a Grand Slam finale.

In 2003, The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Boston and lawyers for about 550 victims of sexual abuse by priests reached an agreement that could run as high as $85 million.

In 2004, U.S. President George Bush urged the United Nations and the international community to put a stop to the violence in Sudan where reported genocide in the Darfur region led to the deaths of an estimated 50,000 people over the past 18 months.

In 2005, Michael Brown, the embattled director of FEMA, roundly criticized for its slow response to Hurricane Katrina, was replaced as hurricane relief coordinator by Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad Allen.

In 2006, both Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said they were ready to meet with no preconditions. A U.N. report said meanwhile more than 1,000 Palestinian refugees were unable to return home because of Israeli incursions in south Gaza.


A thought for the day: former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca said, "A country's competitiveness starts not on the factory floor or in the engineering lab. It starts in the classroom."

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Today is Monday, Sept. 10, the 253rd day of 2007 with 112 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include English scientist and clergyman John Needham in 1713; physicist Arthur Holly Compton in 1892; English critic Cyril Connolly in 1903; film director Robert Wise in 1914; golfer Arnold Palmer in 1929 (age 78); television journalist Charles Kuralt and baseball star Roger Maris, both in 1934; singer Jose Feliciano in 1945 (age 62); musician Joe Perry in 1950 (age 57), and actors Amy Irving in 1953 (age 54), Colin Firth in 1960 (age 47) and Clark Johnson ("Homicide: Life on the Street") in 1954 (age 53).


On this date in history:

In 1813, U.S. naval units under the command of Capt. Oliver Perry defeated a British squadron in the Battle of Lake Erie.

In 1823, Simon Bolivar, who led the wars for independence from Spain in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, was named president of Peru with dictatorial powers.

In 1846, Elias Howe received a patent for the sewing machine.

In 1963, blacks entered the white public schools of Birmingham, Tuskegee and Mobile, Ala., after U.S. President John Kennedy federalized the state's National Guard.

In 1996, the United Nations approved the new nuclear test ban treaty, 158-3.

Also in 1996, Hurricane Hortense hit Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, killing 20 people.

In 1998, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams had face-to-face talks with David Trimble, leader of Northern Ireland's Protestant Unionists, for the first time.

In 2000, the U.S. government agreed to drop virtually all charges against Chinese-American scientist Wen Ho Lee, accused of stealing nuclear secrets from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

In 2002, Switzerland and Timor Leste joined the United Nations, expanding the membership roll to 191.

In 2003, the former treasurer of bankrupt Enron was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to criminal wire fraud and ordered to give up close to $1 million in profits from his illegal transaction.

In 2004, top U.S. forensic document specialists said papers described by CBS News as proving U.S. President George Bush shirked military duty may have been faked.

In 2005, a Newsweek poll found that 38 percent of those asked said they approve of the job U.S. President George Bush is doing, a record low for Bush in the survey.

Also in 2005, Hurricane Katrina's disruption pushed gas prices in European countries to staggering levels. British drivers were reported paying the equivalent of $7 a gallon.

In 2006, a report said millions of people in Afghanistan faced starvation because of famine caused by drought and destroyed crops.

Also in 2006, the massive force of Hurricane Florence buffeted Bermuda with large ocean swells as 80 mph winds approached the island.


A thought for the day: Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld wrote, "Absence diminishes small passions and increases great ones, as wind blows out candles and fans fire."

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Today is Tuesday, Sept. 11, the 254th day of 2007 with 111 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include (2hokies-ts4ms); (rentaweek); American short story writer O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) in 1862; author D.H. Lawrence in 1885; Jimmie Davis, former Louisiana governor and songwriter ("You Are My Sunshine") in 1899; University of Alabama Football Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in 1913; former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in 1917; Pro Football Hall-of-Fame Coach Tom Landry in 1924; filmmaker Brian De Palma in 1940 (age 67); entertainer Lola Falana in 1942 (age 65); actresses Amy Madigan in 1950 (age 57), Kristy McNichol in 1962 (age 45), and Virginia Madsen in 1961 (age 46); and actor/singer Harry Connick Jr. in 1967 (age 40).




On this date in history:

In 1777, troops commanded by Gen. George Washington were defeated by the British under Gen. William Howe in the Battle of Brandywine.

In 1841, all members of U.S. President John Tyler's Cabinet except Secretary of State Daniel Webster resigned in protest of Tyler's veto of a banking bill.

In 1847, Stephen Foster's first hit, "Oh! Susanna," had its debut at a concert in a Pittsburgh saloon and soon became standard for minstrel troupes.

In 1921, Fatty Arbuckle, one of the foremost comedians of the silent movie days, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of a starlet in an alleged sexual assault during a wild drinking party. Arbuckle eventually was cleared but his career had been ruined.

In 1959, Congress passed a bill authorizing food stamps for low-income Americans.

In 1973, the elected Socialist government of Salvador Allende of Chile was toppled in a right-wing military coup supported by the CIA. Allende died, reportedly by his own hand.

In 1985, Pete Rose's 4,192nd hit broke Ty Cobb's 57-year-old career Major League Baseball record for the most hits as the Cincinnati Reds beat the San Diego Padres, 2-0.

In 1991, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced negotiations to withdraw 11,000 Soviet military advisers from Cuba and eliminate a $2 billion annual subsidy.

In 1996, the Iraqis fired at -- but missed -- two U.S. warplanes patrolling the no-fly zone. Washington ordered U.S. forces to the region.

In 1997, Mother Teresa received the first state funeral accorded a private citizen of India since the death of Mohandas K. Gandhi in 1948.

In 1998, as the U.S. House of Representatives voted to release to the public the text of the Starr report, U.S. President Bill Clinton told religious leaders that he had sinned.

In 2000, a government report accused the entertainment industry of deliberately marketing violent entertainment to children.

In 2001, Islamic terrorists attacked the United States, crashing two hijacked airliners into the twin towers at New York's World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon outside Washington. A fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania, apparently en route to Washington, when passengers jumped their captors. A reported 2,974 people were killed, most of them in the trade center towers, which collapsed.

U.S. President George W. Bush pledged to destroy the responsible terrorist organizations and the regimes that supported them. Osama bin Laden, a wealthy anti-American Saudi exile operating out of Afghanistan and leader of al-Qaida, a shadowy, far-flung terrorist organization, was identified as the ringleader of the attacks.

In 2002, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, under German indictment on 3,000 charges of murder stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was arrested in Pakistan with others allegedly linked to al-Qaida.

In 2003, the Israeli government decided "in principle" to deport Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat but said it would hold off taking such action "for now."

In 2004, a powerful Hurricane Ivan pounded Jamaica, popping roofs off houses, downing hundreds of trees and sending 23-foot waves ashore. The storm's death toll stood at 37 as it headed toward the Cayman Islands and Cuba.

In 2005, the New Orleans Katrina crisis was reported to be worsening because of a standoff between hesitant federal officials and besieged authorities in Louisiana.

In 2006, in a series of speeches commemorating the fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, U.S. President George Bush defended his decision to invade Iraq which he said had made America safer and likened the fight against terrorism to conflicts with Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

A thought for the day: "This is not only an attack on the United States but an attack on the civilized world," proclaimed German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, responding to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist assaults on the United States.

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Today is Wednesday, Sept. 12, the 255th day of 2007 with 110 to follow.

Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include Richard Gatling, inventor of the Gatling gun, in 1818; newspaperman Charles Dudley Warner in 1829; critic H.L. Mencken in 1880; French entertainer Maurice Chevalier in 1888; comedian Ben Blue in 1901; bandleader Shep Fields in 1910; U.S. Olympic track star Jesse Owens in 1913; singer/bandleader Eddy Howard in 1914; singer Ella Mae Morse in 1924; actor Ian Holm and country music singer George Jones, both in 1931 (age 76); circus animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams in 1934; actress Linda Gray in 1940 (age 67); singers Maria Muldaur in 1943 (age 64) and Barry White in 1944; and actors Peter Scolari in 1954 (age 53), Rachel Ward in 1957 (age 50) and Darren E. Burrows ("Northern Exposure") in 1966 (age 41).

On this date in history:

In 1609, Henry Hudson discovered what's now known as the Hudson River.

In 1940, near Montignac, France, a collection of prehistoric cave paintings, believed to be 15,000 to 17,000 years old, were discovered by four teenagers who stumbled upon the ancient artwork after following their dog down a narrow entrance into a cavern.

In 1953, six months after the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev succeeded him with his election as first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

In 1958, Little Rock High School in Arkansas was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to admit blacks.

In 1969, heavy bombing of Vietnam resumed under orders from U.S. President Richard Nixon.

In 1974, military officers deposed Emperor Haile Selassie from the Ethiopian throne he had occupied for more than half a century.

In 1977, Steven Biko, leader of South Africa's "Black Consciousness Movement," died of severe head trauma on the stone floor of a prison cell in Pretoria. Six days earlier, he had suffered a major blow to his skull during a police interrogation.

In 1990, the four victorious allies of World War II and the two Germanys formally ended the war, signing a treaty that cleared way for a united Germany on Oct. 3.

In 1992, Endeavour rocketed into orbit on NASA's 50th shuttle flight; a $140 million Japanese-sponsored science mission featuring married astronauts and a menagerie of fish, frogs and other critters.

Also in 1992, actor Anthony Perkins, best known for his role of Norman Bates in "Psycho," died of AIDS. He was 60.

In 1994, a pilot crashed his small plane on the White House lawn, killing himself and creating an alarm over presidential security.

In 1999, North Korea agreed to stop testing its long-range ballistic missiles. In response, the United States eased sanctions against the Communist state.

In 2001, the day after the terrorist attacks, as around-the-clock workers continued to search for survivors in the World Trade Center wreckage, U.S. President George Bush was given the go-ahead by a supportive Congress to use all "necessary and appropriate force" needed against those responsible.

In 2002, U.S. President George Bush told the U.N. General Assembly he would work with the U.N. Security Council to meet the challenge from Iraq but said the world must move decisively to deal with the threat from Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

In 2003, the U.S. State Department warned that al-Qaida may be plotting chemical or biological attacks on the United States.

Also in 2003, Mumbai police said they had killed a man suspected of masterminding twin bomb blasts Aug. 25 in India that killed 52 and injured more than 150.

In 2004, Iran announced it planned to start processing 37 tons of uranium yellowcake, which Western intelligence officials estimated could be used to build five nuclear bombs.

In 2005, Michael Brown resigned as head of the beleaguered U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency after being severely criticized for slow federal response to the Katrina devastation in New Orleans and three days after being stripped of his post-hurricane recovery duties.

Also in 2005, the last of the Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip as planned and the Palestinians immediately reclaimed the area Israel had controlled since the 1967 war.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI, in his first papal trip to his native Bavaria, in Germany, angered Muslims in a speech with a 14th-century quote criticizing Islam, leading to church bombings and other protests. The pope apologized for any offense caused, saying the words didn't reflect his own views.

Also in 2006, four family members were convicted in an Indian court of taking part in 1993 terror bombings in Mumbai that killed 257 people.


A thought for the day: Henry David Thoreau suggested that charity was valued too highly, adding, "and it is our selfishness which overrates it."

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Today is Thursday, Sept. 13, the 256th day of 2007 with 109 to follow.

This is the first day of Ramadan

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include U.S. Army bacteriologist Walter Reed in 1851; Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing, hero of World War I, in 1860; author Sherwood Anderson in 1876; English author J.B. Priestly in 1894; actress Claudette Colbert in 1903; Bill Monroe, the "father of bluegrass" music, in 1911; author Roald Dahl in 1916; singer Mel Torme in 1925; TV producer Fred Silverman in 1937 (age 70); "Miss Manners" Judith Martin in 1938 (age 69); actor Richard Kiel in 1939 (age 68); singer/songwriter Peter Cetera in 1944 (age 63); actress Jacqueline Bisset in 1944 (age 63); singer/actress Nell Carter in 1948; and actors Jean Smart in 1951 (age 56) and Ben Savage in 1980 (age 27), and Olympic track gold medalist Michael Johnson in 1967 (40).


On this date in history:

In 1759, in the French and Indian War, the British defeated the French near the city of Quebec.

In 1788, Congress authorized the first U.S. national election, to be conducted "the first Wednesday in January next (1789)."

In 1814, during the British attack on Fort McHenry, Md., Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

In 1922, the temperature at El Azizia, Libya, reached 136 degrees F., generally accepted as the world's highest recorded atmospheric temperature.

In 1971, New York state forces stormed and regained control of Attica state prison in a riot that killed 42 people.

In 1991, the United States and Soviet Union declared they would cease arms sales to Afghanistan.

In 1993, in a dramatic ceremony at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat signed a declaration of principles for Palestinian self-rule.

In 1996, the Dow closed at more than 5,838, a record high.

In 1998, George Wallace, former Alabama governor, presidential candidate and one of the most controversial politicians in U.S. history, died in Montgomery, Ala., at the age of 79.

In 1999, at least 118 people were killed in the bombing of a Moscow apartment building. The blast was the latest in a series of explosions blamed on terrorists from the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

In 2000, Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee, accused of stealing sensitive nuclear weapons data, was freed after serving nine months in prison.

In 2001, airports closed after the terrorist attacks began reopening but Logan Airport in Boston, where two of the hijacked planes took off, and Reagan National in Washington remained closed.

In 2002, two U.S. Air Force pilots whose bombs had killed four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan were charged with involuntary manslaughter and assault.

In 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell flew to Iraq for his first official visit to meet with the new 25-member Governing Council.

In 2005, the owners of a New Orleans-area nursing home where 34 residents died during Katrina flooding were charged with 34 counts of negligent homicide. Officials said the residents apparently had been left to fend for themselves against the rising waters.

Also in 2005, U.S. President George Bush said he took responsibility for "serious problems" in the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina. He said he wanted to look forward to recovery and do assessments later.

In 2006, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said there can never be full and absolute security for potential terror targets in the United States.


A thought for the day: Washington Irving said, "There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse; as I have found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position and be bruised in a new place."

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Today is Friday, Sept. 14, the 257th day of 2007 with 108 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include (DebbieM-TS4MS);( wombat-TS4MS); Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov in 1849; artist and illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, "Gibson Girl" creator, in 1867; Margaret Sanger, American pioneer leader in the birth control movement, in 1879; film director/producer Hal Wallis in 1899; and actors Clayton Moore, serial action star of the 1940s who later played the Lone Ranger on television, in 1914, Walter Koenig ("Star Trek") in 1936 (age 71), Joey Heatherton in 1944 (age 63), Sam Neill in 1947 (age 60), Mary Crosby in 1959 (age 48) and Faith Ford in 1964 (age 43).




On this date in history:

In 1628, Salem, Mass., was founded.

In 1776, the British army entered New York City after defeating the Americans, under Gen. George Washington, at the Battle of Long Island.

In 1847, Mexico City was occupied by the U.S. Army.

In 1901, U.S. President William McKinley died of wounds inflicted by an assassin eight days earlier. He was succeeded by his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1920, the first live radio dance music was broadcast, carried by a Detroit station and featuring Paul Specht and his orchestra. The idea caught on fast.

In 1959, the Soviet probe Lunik-2 became the first Earth-launched space vehicle to land on the moon.

In 1963, the first surviving U.S. quintuplets were born in Aberdeen, S.D., to Maryann and Andrew Fischer.

In 1962, Princess Grace of Monaco -- American film actress Grace Kelly -- was killed when her car plunged off a mountain road by the Cote D'Azur. She was 52.

In 1984, Joe Kittinger, 56, left Caribou, Maine, in a 10-story-tall helium balloon to make the first solo trans-Atlantic balloon crossing. He reached the French coast on the 17th and landed in Italy the next day.

In 1990, Iraqi soldiers stormed the French, Belgian and Canadian diplomatic buildings in Kuwait and briefly detained five diplomats, including a U.S. consul.

In 1991, the South African government, ANC, Inkatha Freedom Party and 20 other anti-apartheid groups signed a peace accord to end black factional violence.

In 1992, the U.S. Senate voted to repeal the so-called "gag" rule prohibiting healthcare workers at federally financed clinics from telling pregnant patients that abortion is an option.

In 1996, the Bosnians elected a three-person collective presidency: one Muslim, one Serb and one Croat.

In 2001, U.S. President George Bush proclaimed this to be a day of national mourning and remembrance for those killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The FBI identified the hijackers and learned that several had taken flying lessons in Florida.

In 2003, an estimated 124 people were reported dead or missing after South Korea was struck by the most powerful typhoon to hit the nation in a century.

Also in 2003, Swedish voters turned thumbs down on a proposal to make the euro the national currency.

In 2004, a massive car bomb killed 47 people and injured more than 100 others in Baghdad, catching mostly conscripts seeking a job in the Iraqi police force.

In 2005, 12 suicide bombings in Baghdad, aimed at Shiites and believed to be carried out by Sunnis, killed 167 people and injured 600.

Also in 2005, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, the third and fourth largest U.S. air carriers, filed for bankruptcy as the industry continued to reel under record high jet fuel costs.

In 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to build a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border to control immigration and sent it to the Senate.

A thought for the day: John Kenneth Galbraith wrote that when a big corporation pays a big salary to a big boss, it's "not a market award for achievement. It is frequently in the nature of a warm personal gesture by the individual to himself."