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The almanac

By United Press International
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Today is Wednesday, Feb. 5, the 36th day of 2013 with 329 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include former British Prime Minister Robert Peel, founder of the London Police Force, in 1788; evangelist Dwight Moody in 1837; Scotsman John Dunlop, inventor of the pneumatic tire, in 1840; outlaw Belle Starr in 1848; French automotive pioneer Andre Citroen in 1878; French aviation pioneer Gabriel Voisin in 1880; U.S. statesman Adlai E. Stevenson in 1900; actor John Carradine in 1906; novelist William Burroughs in 1914; comedian/actor Red Buttons in 1919; author Rev. Andrew Greeley in 1928; baseball Hall of Fame member Henry Aaron and hockey commentator Don Cherry both in 1934 (age 80); financial writer Jane Bryant Quinn in 1939 (age 75); television writers and producers Stephen J. Cannell in 1941 and Michael Mann in 1943 (age 71); Heisman Trophy winner and football Hall of Fame member Roger Staubach in 1942 (age 72); film director Michael Mann in 1943 (age 71); musician Al Kooper in 1944 (age 70); race car driver Darrell Waltrip in 1947 (age 67); writer/comedian Christopher Guest and actors Barbara Hershey and Tom Wilkinson, all in 1948 (age 66); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Cliff Martinez (Red Hot Chili Peppers) in 1954 (age 60); actors Tim Meadows in 1961 (age 53), Jennifer Jason Leigh in 1962 (age 52) and Laura Linney in 1964 (age 50); golf Hall of Fame member Jose Maria Olazabal in 1966 (age 48); singer Bobby Brown in 1969 (age 45); and Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo in 1985 (age 29).

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On this date in history:

In 1631, British clergyman Roger Williams arrived in Salem, Mass., seeking religious freedom. (He founded the colony of Rhode Island.)

In 1919, screen legends Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith formed United Artists.

In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edward Mitchell walked on the moon for 4 hours.

In 1986, world oil prices plunged toward $15 per barrel from $30 three months earlier after OPEC failed to curb production. (Prices dropped to $9 by the summer of 1986.)

In 1989, Radio Moscow announced the last Soviet soldier had left Kabul, Afghanistan.

In 1994, white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted of the 1963 killing of Mississippi civil rights leader Medgar Evers.

In 2003, making a case for U.N.-endorsed military action in Iraq, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell accused the Saddam Hussein regime of deceiving U.N. weapons inspectors and having ties with the al-Qaida terrorist network.

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In 2007, U.S. astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak was arrested on several charges, including attempted kidnapping, after she drove from Houston to Orlando, Fla., to confront another officer she viewed as a romantic rival for a fellow astronaut.

In 2010, the president of Toyota Motors Co. apologized for quality-control problems, including sticking gas pedals, that led to massive vehicle recalls.

In 2012, Sauli Niinisto scored a resounding victory over Pekka Haavisto to become Finland's 12th president.

In 2013, a report published by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute said Washington has the worst traffic congestion of any city in the United States, followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland, New York and Boston.


A thought for the day: "You can talk without saying a thing. I don't ever want to be that type of person." -- Charles Barkley

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