The almanac

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Today is Sunday, March 10, the 69th day of 2013 with 298 to follow.

Daylight Saving Time begins.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include Italian scientist Marcello Malpighi in 1628; actors Barry Fitzgerald in 1888 and Sam Jaffe in 1891; French composer Arthur Honegger in 1892; poet Margaret Fishback in 1900; jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke in 1903; James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1928; playwright David Rabe and actor Chuck Norris, both in 1940 (age 73); college basketball coach Jim Valvano in 1946; Kim Campbell, the first woman prime minister of Canada, and journalist Bob Greene, both in 1947 (age 66); al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in 1957; actors Sharon Stone in 1958 (age 55) and Jasmine Guy in 1964 (age 49); Olympic gold medal gymnasts Mitch Gaylord in 1961 (age 52) and Shannon Miller in 1977 (age 36); Britain's Prince Edward in 1964 (age 49); singer Edie Brickell in 1966 (age 47); actor Jon Hamm and rapper Timbaland, both in 1971 (age 42); country singer Carrie Underwood in 1983 (age 30); and actor Olivia Wilde in 1984 (age 29).

On this date in history:

In 515 B.C., the rebuilding of the great Jewish temple in Jerusalem was completed.

In 1862, the U.S. Treasury issued the first American paper money, in denominations from $5 to $1,000.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first telephone message to his assistant in the next room: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you."

In 1880, the Salvation Army of the United States was founded in New York City.

In 1945, 300 U.S. bombers dropped almost 2,000 tons of incendiaries on Tokyo, destroying large portions of the Japanese capital and killing 100,000 people.

In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

In 1977, astronomers discovered rings around the planet Uranus.

In 1987, the Vatican condemned human artificial fertilization or generation of human life outside the womb and said all reproduction must result from the "act of conjugal love."

In 1992, U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Democratic challenger Bill Clinton got sweeping Southern victories in the Super Tuesday primaries.

In 1993, FBI agents arrested a third person, a 25-year-old Kuwaiti-born chemical engineer, in connection with the World Trade Center bombing.

Also in 1993, an anti-abortion rights demonstrator fatally shot a doctor at a Pensacola, Fla., clinic.

In 1997, The Citadel announced that 10 male cadets had been disciplined for mistreating two female cadets. The women resigned from the South Carolina military academy.

In 1998, Indonesian President Suharto was elected to a seventh term.

In 2003, The Palestinian Legislative Council created the position of prime minister but peace talks with Israel continued under the command of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Also in 2003, Ivory Coast, torn by civil war for six months, got a new premier, Seydou Diarra, under a French-brokered peace accord.

2004, Lee Boyd Malvo, 19, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for his role in the 10 Washington-area sniper killings in 2002. His partner, John Allen Muhammad, considered the mastermind, was sentenced to death one day earlier.

In 2005, a suicide bomber killed at least 30 people and injured 27 at a funeral procession in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

In 2006, the body of Tom Fox, a kidnapped U.S. Christian peace activist, was found near Baghdad, authorities report. Three others kidnapped with Fox were released.

In 2007, Khalid Sheik Mohammed confessed to planning the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and said he played a role in about 30 other attacks and plots.

Also in 2007, a federal court threw out a District of Columbia ban on keeping handguns in private homes as unconstitutional.

In 2008, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a former crusading state attorney general against white collar crime, was pressured to resign after being implicated in a high-priced prostitution ring.

Also in 2008, some 400 Buddhist monks took part in a protest march in Lhasa, Tibet, to mark the failed uprising of 1959 that resulted in the Dalai Lama fleeing to India. As Chinese forces moved in, what had been a peaceful gathering turned violent.

In 2011, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, signed a bill ending or sharply restricting bargaining rights for most government workers in his state.

Also in 2011, a new Gallup poll said public approval of the U.S. Congress plummeted to less than 20 percent for the first time since the Tea Party and GOP-led House took control this year.

In 2012, a U.S. soldier was accused of a door-to-door rampage in an Afghan neighborhood killing 17 civilians, including nine children. Military authorities said Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

A thought for the day: Dr. Karl Menninger said, "Love cures people -- both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it."