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The Almanac

By United Press International
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Today is Saturday, Sept. 3, the 246th day of 2005 with 119 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include 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 1915 (age 90); cartoonist Mort Walker ("Beetle Bailey") in 1923 (age 82); actresses Anne Jackson in 1926 (age 79), Eileen Brennan in 1937 (age 68), Pauline Collins in 1940 (age 65) and Valerie Perrine in 1943 (age 62); and actor Charlie Sheen in 1965 (age 40).

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On this date in history:

In 1777, the American flag was flown in battle for the first time, during a Revolutionary War skirmish at Cooch's Bridge, Md.

In 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, officially ending the seven-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.

On this date in 1936, Britain's Malcolm Campbell set a land-speed record on the Bonneville salt flats of Utah, averaging 301.129 mph in two races.

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.

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

In 1994, Chinese President Jiang Zemin visited Moscow and met with Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

In 1996, the United States fired 27 missiles in Iraq, hitting air defense batteries. Despite criticism from Arab allies and some European allies, the U.S. 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 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 Princess Diana.

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

In 2003, President 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.

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

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