The Almanac

Today is Saturday, Aug. 2, the 214th day of 2003 with 151 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include movie studio chief Jack Warner of Warner Bros. in 1892; singer Helen Morgan in 1900; actresses Myrna Loy in 1905 and Beatrice Straight in 1918 (age 85); band leader Johnny Long in 1915; author James Baldwin and actor Carroll O'Connor, both in 1924; filmmaker Wes Craven in 1939 (age 64); and actors Peter O'Toole in 1932 (age 71), Joanna Cassidy in 1944 (age 59), Kathryn Harrold in 1950 (age 53) and Edward Furlong in 1977 (age 26); writer/director/actor Kevin Smith in 1970 (age 33).

On this date in history:

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, was signed by members of the Continental Congress.

In 1923, President Warren G. Harding, on a tour of Alaska and the West Coast, died of a stroke in a San Francisco hotel at the age of 58 as rumors of a potential corruption scandal swirled in Washington.

In 1934, with the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler became absolute dictator of Germany under the title of Fuehrer, or "Leader."

In 1968, a major earthquake in the Philippines rocked Manila, killing 307 people.

In 1974, John Dean, counsel to President Nixon, was sentenced to one-to-four years in prison for his part in the Watergate cover-up.

In 1988, U.S. military investigators concluded that crew errors led to the shooting down on July 3 of an Iranian passenger jet by the USS Vincennes in the Persian Gulf.

In 1990, Iraq invaded and overran neighboring Kuwait after weeks of tension over disputed land and oil production quotas.

In 1994, Rwanda's new coalition government said it would prosecute those responsible for the massacres in recent months.

In 1995, by a narrow margin, the Senate rejected public hearings into the sexual harassment allegations against Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Oregon.

In 1999, in a magazine interview, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said her husband had lied at first about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky to protect her, his wife.

In 2000, the Republican Party nominated George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to head its ticket for the November elections.

In 2001, the House passed the so-called "patients' bill of rights" proposal, sending it to a conference committee with the Senate, which already had passed a measure of its own, to work out some sharp differences.

Also in 2001, former Bosnian Gen. Radislav Krstic was found guilty of genocide in the massacre of 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys.

A thought for the day: English philosopher Samuel Johnson said, "A man should keep his friendships in constant repair."