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UPI Almanac for Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015

Hurricane Katrina strikes Gulf Coast, New Orleans ... on this date in history.

By United Press International
Trees are toppled in downtown New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina slams into the city Aug. 29, 2005. File Photo by A.J. Sisco/UPI
1 of 8 | Trees are toppled in downtown New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina slams into the city Aug. 29, 2005. File Photo by A.J. Sisco/UPI | License Photo

Today is Saturday, Aug. 29, the 241st day of 2015 with 124 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include English philosopher John Locke in 1632; author/poet Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. in 1809; Henry Bergh, founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in 1813; automotive inventor Charles Kettering in 1876; actor Barry Sullivan in 1912; actress Ingrid Bergman in 1915; jazz saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in 1920; British filmmaker Richard Attenborough in 1923 (age 93); jazz/pop singer Dinah Washington in 1924; filmmaker William Friedkin ("The Exorcist") in 1935 (age 80); U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Republican nominee for president in 2008, in 1936 (age 79); actor Elliott Gould in 1938 (age 77); TV personality Robin Leach ("Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous") in 1941 (age 74); entertainer Michael Jackson in 1958; actor Rebecca De Mornay in 1959 (age 56).

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On this date in history:

In 1533, Atahualpa, last of the Inca rulers, was strangled under orders of Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro. The Inca Empire died with him.

In 1949, the Soviet Union exploded its first atomic bomb at a remote test site at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan.

In 1965, U.S. astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles Conrad landed safely to end the eight-day orbital flight of Gemini 5.

In 1973, U.S. District Judge John Sirica ordered U.S. President Richard Nixon to turn over secret Watergate tapes. (Nixon refused and appealed the order.)

In 1994, Israel and the PLO signed an agreement to shift West Bank administrative functions to the Palestinian National Authority.

In 2004, the Summer Olympics came to a close in Athens, Greece. The United States won the most medals, 103, 35 of them gold, led by swimmer Michael Phelps who took home six gold and two bronze medals.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed ashore on the Gulf Coast. It inflicted severe damage in New Orleans and along the coastlines of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. (Katrina killed more than 1,800 people and caused an estimated $125 billion in damage.)

In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the median household income in the United States was $48,201 in 2006, an increase of about $800 from the previous year.

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In 2009, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who died Aug. 25 after a 15-month battle with brain cancer, was buried at Washington's Arlington National Cemetery near his brothers John and Robert.

In 2011, the Nepalese Parliament, where no political party had a majority, elected a Maoist, Babuarm Bhattarai, as prime minister after the parties failed to form a consensus government.

In 2012, India's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks that killed 166 people and wounded more than 200. (Kasab was hanged in November.)

In 2013, the National Football League denied any wrongdoing but said it would "do the right thing" and pay $765 million to settle lawsuits brought by thousands of former players who developed concussion-related brain injuries.

In 2014, Britain raised its terrorism alert level to "severe" because of the actions of extremist groups in Iraq and Syria and knowledge that many British citizens were fighting on the side of militants.


A thought for the day: "To give someone a piece of your heart is worth more than all the wealth in the world." -- Michael Jackson

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