The Almanac

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Today is Wednesday, Feb. 11, the 42nd day of 2004 with 324 to follow.

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

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 87); King Farouk, Egypt's last monarch, in 1920; actors Kim Stanley in 1925, Leslie Nielsen in 1926 (age 78), Tina Louise in 1934 (age 70) and Burt Reynolds in 1936 (age 68); Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes in 1941 (age 63); Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 1953 (age 51); singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow in 1962 (age 42); actress Jennifer Aniston in 1969 (age 35); and singer/actress Brandy (Norwood) in 1979 (age 25).

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 1990, Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, was released from prison after 27 years behind bars.

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.

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 difficult 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.

In 2002, the Russian figure skating pair won the gold medal in the Winter Olympics over the overwhelming crowd favorite Canadian team but a judging controversy that grew into an international scandal prompted the International Skating Union to award a gold medal to the Canadians also.

In 2003, in an audiotape played on Arab TV, as man claiming to be Osama bin Laden called for suicide attacks against the U.S. and its supporters.

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.

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