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UPI Almanac for Friday, Feb. 27, 2015

Nigeria elects Obasanjo, powerful easrthquake strikes Chile … on this date in history,

By United Press International
Wrecked vehicles lie on a destroyed highway in Santiago, Chile, Feb. 28, 2010, the day after a massive earthquake struck the region. Up to 600 people were killed and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed.. File Photo by Ivan Lepe/UPI
1 of 12 | Wrecked vehicles lie on a destroyed highway in Santiago, Chile, Feb. 28, 2010, the day after a massive earthquake struck the region. Up to 600 people were killed and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed.. File Photo by Ivan Lepe/UPI | License Photo

Today is Friday, Feb. 27, the 58th day of 2015 with 307 to follow.

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


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Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1807; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in 1886; David Sarnoff, RCA board chairman and father of American television, in 1891; actor William Demarest in 1892; soprano Marian Anderson in 1897; novelist John Steinbeck in 1902; golf Hall of Fame member Gene Sarazen in 1902; actor Joan Bennett in 1910; former Texas Gov. John Connally in 1917; actor Joanne Woodward in 1930 (age 85); actor Elizabeth Taylor in 1932; consumer activist Ralph Nader in 1934 (age 81); actor Barbara Babcock in 1937 (age 78); actor Howard Hesseman in 1940 (age 75); actor Mary Frann in 1943; physicist Alan Guth in 1947 (age 68); actor Timothy Spall in 1957 (age 58); actor Adam Baldwin in 1962 (age 53); Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former President Bill Clinton, in 1980 (age 35); singer Josh Groban in 1981 (age 34).

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On this date in history:

In 1844, the Dominican Republic was granted independence from Haiti.

In 1942, opening salvos were fired in the Battle of the Java Sea, during which 13 U.S. warships were sunk by the Japanese, who lost two.

In 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, limiting presidents to two terms, was ratified.

In 1974, the first issue of People magazine was published.

In 1982, an Atlanta jury convicted Wayne Williams of killing two of 28 young blacks whose deaths over a two-year period had shaken the city. (Williams was sentenced to life in prison.)

In 1990, the Soviet Parliament approved creation of a U.S.-style presidential system that gave Mikhail Gorbachev broad powers and established direct popular elections for the office.

In 1992, Elizabeth Taylor celebrated her 60th birthday by closing Disneyland for an elaborate private party with her celebrity friends.

In 1994, the 17th Winter Olympic Games ended in Lillehammer, Norway. The host country had the most medals (26) and Russia the most gold medals (11).

In 1999, Nigeria's transition to civilian rule was nearly completed with the election of Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military leader, as president.

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In 2004, two studies commissioned by the U.S. Roman Catholic church showed at least 4 percent of priests were involved in child sexual abuse from 1950 to 2002.

In 2007, a suicide bomber set off a device outside Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan that killed 23 people. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who was visiting the American military base and identified by the Taliban as the target of the attack, escaped injury. .

In 2010, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Chile, killing close to 600 people. The quake generated a tsunami, destroyed or heavily damaged nearly 500,000 homes and caused a massive electrical blackout. Chile's president declared a "state of catastrophe."

In 2013, about 150,000 people gathered at St. Peter's Square in Vatican City for Pope Benedict XVI's final general audience.

In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans for a major revamp of the nutrition labels on 700,000 food products, changing out-of-date serving sizes, highlighting calories and providing more information on "added sugars." Officials said the information on the new labels would make healthy eating easier.


A thought for the day: "Winning doesn't always mean being first. Winning means you're doing better than you've ever done before." -- Champion speed skater Bonnie Blair

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