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The Almanac

By United Press International
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Today is Monday, March 1, the 61st day of 2004 with 305 to follow.

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

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Those born on this day are under the sign of Pisces. They include Polish composer Frederic Chopin in 1810; author William Dean Howells in 1837; big band leader Glenn Miller in 1904; actor David Niven in 1910; poet Robert Lowell in 1917; legendary Chicago Cubs announcer Harry Caray in 1920; Donald "Deke" Slayton, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts, in 1924; singers Dinah Shore in 1917 and Harry Belafonte in 1927 (age 77); actors Robert Conrad in 1935 (age 69) and Alan Thicke in 1947 (age 57); Roger Daltrey of The Who in 1944 (age 60); director Ron Howard in 1954 (age 50); and actor Timothy Daly in 1956 (age 48).

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On this date in history:

In 1692, the notorious witch hunt began in the Salem village of the Massachusetts Bay colony, eventually resulting in the executions of 19 innocent men and women.

In 1780, Pennsylvania became the first state to abolish slavery.

In 1781, the American colonies adopted the Articles of Confederation, paving the way for a federal union.

In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established by an act of Congress. It was the first area in the world to be designated a national park.

In 1932, aviator Charles Lindbergh's young son was kidnapped. The boy's body was found May 12 and Bruno Hauptmann was executed for the crime in 1936.

In 1954, Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the gallery of the U.S.House of Representatives, wounding five members of Congress.

In 1961, President Kennedy formed the Peace Corps.

In 1971, a bomb exploded in a restroom in the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol, causing some $300,000 damage but no injuries. The Weather Underground, a leftist radical group that opposed the Vietnam war, claimed responsibility.

In 1991, the United States reopened its embassy in newly liberated Kuwait.

Also in 1991, after 23 years of insurgency in Colombia, the Popular Liberation Army put down its arms in exchange for two seats in the national assembly.

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In 1992, 23 people were killed in the collapse of a building housing a cafe in East Jerusalem.

In 1993, federal agents opened negotiations with Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh in a vain attempt to convince him and his followers to surrender.

And in 1993, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner returned to active operations after a two-and-a-half-year suspension.

In 1994, the Muslim-dominated government of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bosnia's Croats agreed to a federation embracing portions of their war-torn country under their control.

In 1996, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, who has assisted more than two dozen suicides, was again acquitted of murder. He would be acquitted in a fourth case May 14th.

Also in 1996, Serbian Gen. Djordje Djukic was charged with war crimes, but died from pancreatic cancer less than two months later.

In 1999, Rwandan rebels killed eight tourists, including two Americans, a Ugandan game warden and three rangers in a national forest in Uganda.

In 2000, in a rare unanimous vote, the House passed a bill to allow most Social Security recipients to earn as much money as they want without losing any benefits.

In 2003, the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States was captured in Pakistan. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was believed to be the third ranking member of al-Qaida.

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Also in 2003, as the possibility of war in Iraq grew, Turkey's parliament refused to permit U.S. troops on Turkish soil.


A thought for the day: "Some people can stay longer in an hour than others can in a week." William Dean Howells said that.

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