The almanac

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Today is Friday, Nov. 23, the 328th day of 2012 with 38 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include Edward Rutledge, signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1749; Franklin Pierce, 14th president of the United States, in 1804; U.S. outlaw Billy "The Kid" Bonney in 1859; Mexican artist Jose Clemente Orozco in 1883; actor Boris Karloff in 1887; comic actor Harpo (Adolph Arthur) Marx of the Marx Brothers in 1888; Romain de Tirtoff, the Russian fashion designer and artist known as Erte, in 1892; and actors Michael Gough in 1916, Franco Nero in 1941 (age 71) and Susan Anspach in 1942 (age 70); composer Johnny Mandel in 1925 (age 87); screenwriter Robert Towne in 1934 (age 78); radio personality Tom Joyner in 1949 (age 63); musician Bruce Hornsby in 1954 (age 58); television personality Robin Roberts in 1960 (age 52); and actor/singer Miley Cyrus in 1992 (age 20).

On this date in history:

In 1644, John Milton's treatise Areopagitica was published.

In 1889, the first jukebox was placed in service in the Palais Royal Saloon in San Francisco.

In 1890, the independent Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was separated from the Netherlands.

In 1919, the first play-by-play football game broadcast by radio in the United States described Texas A&M's 7-0 shutout of the University of Texas.

In 1936, Life magazine made its debut.

In 1943, the U.S. Marines took control of the Gilbert Islands from Japanese forces following a fierce 76-hour battle.

In 1945, World War II rationing ended in the United States on all foods except sugar.

In 1954, China announced it had convicted 11 U.S. airmen and two civilians of espionage.

In 1980, an earthquake in Naples, Italy, killed 4,800 people.

In 1992, the United States lowered its flag over the last U.S. base in the Philippines, ending nearly a century of military presence in its former colony.

Also in 1992, country music legend Roy Acuff, who rode the "Wabash Cannonball" to fame and fortune, died of congestive heart failure at age 89.

In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton signed legislation repealing U.S. sanctions against South Africa.

In 1996, a hijacker forced an Ethiopian jetliner to fly until it ran out of fuel. The aircraft crashed into the sea, killing 125 of the 175 people on board.

In 2001, Israelis killed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abu Hudnud, head of the extremist group Hamas, in a helicopter attack in Jerusalem.

In 2002, the Bush administration eased anti-pollution regulations that required older coal-fired refineries to upgrade facilities with modern clean air equipment in an effort to spur expanded construction of power plants.

In 2003, an early morning dormitory fire at a Moscow university killed at least 18 students and injured 80 others.

In 2004, in the disputed Ukraine election, the day after opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko declared himself the winner election officials declared that the Kremlin-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych was the real winner.

In 2006, Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy who defected to Britain, died in a London hospital, three weeks after his alleged poisoning. Friends and others blamed the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin.

Also in 2006, the last of 23 coal miners killed in an underground gas explosion at Ruda Slaska, Poland, were removed by rescue workers.

In 2008, U.S. President-elect Barack Obama began nominating members of his Cabinet with attention first to economic matters, choosing Timothy Geithner to be treasury secretary. Obama also selected former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers as the head of the White House Economic Council.

In 2009, in an escalation of Philippine election-related violence, about 100 gunmen killed 57 members of a group en route to register a gubernatorial candidate for the May provincial election on southern Mindanao Island.

Also in 2009, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who made headlines earlier with the report of an extramarital affair, was charged with 37 counts of using his office for personal financial gain by the state ethics commission.

In 2010, North Korea unexpectedly bombarded South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island, killing two civilians and two marines and injuring 18 others, in an apparent effort to discourage the upcoming U.S.-South joint military exercises. Two days later, South Korea's defense minister resigned and new defense measures went into effect.

In 2011, Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to step down in hopes of quelling protests that have rocked the nation for most of the year. The agreement called for the formation of a national unity government within 14 days and presidential elections within 90 days.

Also in 2011, legislation making casino gambling legal in Massachusetts was signed into law by Gov. Deval Patrick who favored the proposal for its job-creating potential.

A thought for the day: there's a proverb that says, "Before you trust a man, eat a peck of salt with him."