The Almanac

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Today is Monday, Feb. 11, the 42nd day of 2002 with 323 to follow.

The moon is waning, moving toward its new phase.

The morning star is Mercury.

The evening stars are Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include Englishman William Talbot, a developer of photography, in 1800; inventor Thomas Edison in 1847; author Sidney Sheldon in 1917 (age 85); King Farouk, Egypt's last monarch, in 1920; actors Kim Stanley in 1925 (age 77), Leslie Nielsen in 1926 (age 76), Tina Louise in 1934 (age 68) and Burt Reynolds in 1936 (age 66); Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes in 1941 (age 61); Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., in 1953 (age 49); singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow in 1962 (age 40); actress Jennifer Aniston in 1969 (age 33); and singer/actress Brandy (Norwood) in 1979 (age 23).

On this date in history:

In 1858, French peasant girl Bernadette Sourbirous said the Virgin Mary appeared to her at Lourdes.

In 1945, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin ended their wartime conference at Yalta.

In 1960, Jack Parr walked off "The Tonight Show" after NBC censored his slightly off-color "water closet" joke the night before. He returned to the late-night show March 7.

In 1965, U.S. and South Vietnamese planes made the first bombing raids on North Vietnam.

In 1970, Japan put a satellite in space, following in the footsteps of the Soviet Union, the United States and France.

In 1987, Corazon Aquino was sworn in for a six-year presidential term under the new Philippine constitution.

In 1992, one police officer was killed and four persons injured in a terrorist attack on the U.S. ambassador's residence in Lima, Peru.

Also in 1992, a study said drinking three cups of coffee a day does not raise the risk of heart disease.

In 1993, President Clinton nominated Florida prosecutor Janet Reno to the post of U.S. attorney general.

Also in 1993, a 20-year-old Ethiopian student hijacked a Lufthansa airliner en route from Frankfurt, Germany, to Cairo. He forced the pilot to fly to New York City, where he surrendered peacefully.

And in 1993, British Prime Minister John Majors said Queen Elizabeth II will pay income tax on all her personal income, as well as being subject to capital and inheritance levies.

And in 1993, star baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan announced he would retire after the 1993 season.

In 1994, President Clinton announced that U.S.-Japanese trade talks had failed to reach an agreement.

Also in 1994, the trial of Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, began and ended abruptly with her acquittal of charges she misused state funds and employees for political purposes.

In 1998, Olympic officials took away the gold medal of Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati after he tested positive for a minute amount of marijuana. He blamed second-hand smoke. An arbitration panel would restore his medal two days later.

Also in 1998, a federal judge ruled that pro golfer Casey Martin, who suffered from a circulatory disorder that made it hard for him to walk, was covered by the American with Disabilities Act and should be allowed to use a golf cart to complete in PGA tournaments.

A thought for the day: "If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming." Goethe said that.