The Almanac

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Today is Friday, July 13, the 194th day of 2007 with 171 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include the Rev. Edward Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, in 1886; Dave Garroway, former host of TV's "Today Show," in 1913; former HUD Secretary and pro football star Jack Kemp in 1935 (age 72); actors Bob Crane in 1928, Patrick Stewart in 1940 (age 67) and Harrison Ford in 1942 (age 65); Rubik's Cube inventor Erno Rubik in 1944 (age 63); comedian Cheech Marin in 1946 (age 61); and country singer Louise Mandrell in 1954 (age 53).

On this date in history:

In 1859, Mexican revolutionary President Benito Juarez ordered property of the Roman Catholic Church confiscated throughout Mexico.

In 1863, opposition to the Federal Conscription Act led to riots in New York City. More than 1,000 people were killed.

In 1898, Guglielmo Marconi was awarded a patent for wireless telegraphy, the radio.

In 1960, Democrats nominated Sen. John F. Kennedy for president against GOP Vice President Richard Nixon.

In 1977, a state of emergency was declared in New York City when the entire area suffered a 25-hour power blackout.

In 1985, more than 50 rock stars performed a total of 17 hours at televised "Live Aid" concerts in Philadelphia and London to raise money for African famine relief.

In 1990, the U.S. Senate gave final legislative approval to a bill that would forbid discrimination based on disability, including that caused by AIDS or alcoholism. President George H.W. Bush signed the measure into law July 26.

In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin became Israel's new prime minister, ending the hard-line Likud Party's 15-year reign.

In 1994, a U.S. Defense Department report blamed human errors for the downing in April of two U.S. helicopters over Iraq by two U.S. fighter jets.

In 1998, Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto resigned, a victim of the country's economic woes.

In 2000, the leader of Fiji's successful coup freed the former prime minister and 17 other hostages, ending a 2-month-old crisis.

In 2002, The Bush administration said that fiscal 2002 would see a deficit of $165 billion despite the $127 billion surplus recorded for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2001.

In 2003, the new 25-member Iraqi council, representing all major religious and ethnic groups in the country, had its first meeting in a major step toward self-government.

Also in 2003, a senior U.S. official said North Korea apparently had begun reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods, suggesting the country planned to produce nuclear weapons.

In 2004, bowing to demands by Iraq insurgents and in an effort to save a kidnapped truck driver, the Philippines announced it would pull its workers out of Iraq.

In 2005, a judge in New York sentenced former WorldCom Chief Executive Officer Bernard Ebbers to a 25-year prison sentence for his part in what was described as the largest fraud in U.S. corporate history.

Also in 2005, a U.S. soldier and 24 Iraqis, including seven children, were killed by a suicide car bomber at a Baghdad checkpoint.

In 2006, the long-simmering tensions between Israel and the militant Muslim organization Hezbollah in Lebanon erupted into violence with each bombarding the other.

A thought for the day: poet John Gay said,

"Life is a jest; and all things show it.

"I thought so once; but now I know it."