The almanac

Today is Sunday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2011 with 314 to follow.

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

Those born on this day are under the sign of Pisces. They include American Revolutionary War hero William Prescott in 1726; photographer Ansel Adams in 1902; Soviet leader Alexei Kosygin in 1904; TV emcee John Daly in 1914; fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt in 1924 (age 87); film director Robert Altman in 1925; former auto racing figures Bobby Unser in 1934 (age 77) and Roger Penske in 1937 (age 74); singers Nancy Wilson in 1937 (age 74) and Buffy Sainte-Marie in 1941 (age 70); actors Sidney Poitier in 1927 (age 84), Sandy Duncan in 1946 (age 65), Peter Strauss in 1947 (age 64) and Jennifer O'Neill in 1948 (age 63); hockey Hall of Fame member Phil Esposito in 1942 (age 69); socialite Ivana Trump in 1949 (age 62); heiress Patty Hearst Shaw in 1954 (age 57); basketball Hall of Fame member Charles Barkley in 1963 (age 48); actors French Stewart in 1964 (age 47) and Andrew Shue in 1967 (age 44); model Cindy Crawford in 1966 (age 45); and musician Kurt Cobain in 1967.

On this date in history:

In 1809, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the power of the federal government was no greater than that of any individual state of the Union.

In 1848, Karl Marx's "Communist Manifesto" was published in London by a group called the Communist League.

In 1938, Anthony Eden resigned as Britain's foreign secretary to protest the "appeasement" policy of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain toward Nazi Germany.

In 1962, U.S. astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. He landed safely after three orbits in a Mercury spacecraft.

In 1991, U.S. troops penetrated Iraq, capturing as many as 500 Iraqi soldiers.

Also in 1991, the United States approved a $400 million loan guarantee to Israel for housing Soviet Jewish immigrants but banned use of the money in the occupied territories.

In 1992, Israeli armored ground forces withdrew from Lebanese villages following a one-day strike. Israel defended the incursion as necessary but the U.N. secretary-general protested the assault.

Also in 1992, an FDA panel urged limiting access to silicone gel-filled breast implants.

In 1998, Tara Lipinski, 15, of the United States became the youngest person to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating.

In 2003, 100 people were killed and many more were injured when fire broke out during a rock concert at a West Warwick, R.I., nightclub.

Also in 2003, the Pentagon announced that 1,700 U.S. troops would be sent to the Philippines to take on an extremist Muslim group.

In 2004, conservatives won the majority of seats in the Iraq parliamentary election.

Also in 2004, an estimated 4,500 people were left homeless after fire swept through an area of Nairobi, Kenya.

And, a San Francisco judge refused to issue a temporary restraining order that would have halted the city's same-sex marriages.

In 2006, the Danish newspaper that published controversial cartoons of Muslim Prophet Mohammed and triggered widespread, angry and often deadly protests ran a full-page apology in Saudi papers.

In 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have no challenge rights in U.S. courts.

In 2008, a U.S. missile interceptor, launched from a U.S. Navy ship, knocked down a dying satellite 130 miles over the Pacific Ocean. Officials said the satellite contained 1,000 pounds of frozen toxic fuel.

In 2009, an explosion killed more than 30 people at a Shiite funeral procession in Pakistan, touching off a wave of violence. Another 50 to 75 others were injured in what officials believed was a suicide bombing attack.

In 2010, a minaret and part of the roof fell into a historic 18th-century mosque during prayer services killing at least 38 people and injuring 71 more in the ancient city of Meknes, Morocco.

Also in 2010, the Netherlands' ruling coalition collapsed over disagreement on extending troop deployment in Afghanistan.

And, retired Gen. Alexander Haig Jr., a top official to three U.S. presidents and a Republican presidential hopeful himself in 1988, died at age 85.

A thought for the day: "Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart." Pablo Casals said that.