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The Almanac

By United Press International
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Today is Sunday, Feb. 11, the 42nd day of 2007 with 323 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include Englishman William Talbot, a developer of photography, in 1800; inventor Thomas Edison in 1847; author Sidney Sheldon in 1917 (age 90); King Farouk, Egypt's last monarch, in 1920; actors Kim Stanley in 1925, Leslie Nielsen in 1926 (age 81), Tina Louise in 1934 (age 73) and Burt Reynolds in 1936 (age 71); Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes in 1941 (age 66); Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 1953 (age 54); singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow in 1962 (age 45); actress Jennifer Aniston in 1969 (age 38); and singer/actress Brandy (Norwood) in 1979 (age 28).

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On this date in history:

In 1858, French peasant girl Bernadette Soubirous said the Virgin Mary appeared to her at Lourdes.

In 1945, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin ended their wartime conference at Yalta.

In 1960, Jack Parr walked off "The Tonight Show" after NBC censored his slightly off-color "water closet" joke the night before. He returned to the late-night show March 7.

In 1965, U.S. and South Vietnamese planes made the first bombing raids on North Vietnam.

In 1970, Japan put a satellite in space, following in the footsteps of the Soviet Union, the United States and France.

In 1987, Corazon Aquino was sworn in for a six-year presidential term under the new Philippine constitution.

In 1990, Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, was released from prison after 27 years behind bars.

In 1992, one police officer was killed and four people injured in a terrorist attack on the U.S. ambassador's residence in Lima, Peru.

In 1993, a 20-year-old Ethiopian student hijacked a Lufthansa airliner en route from Frankfurt, Germany, to Cairo. He forced the pilot to fly to New York City, where he surrendered peacefully.

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Also in 1993, British Prime Minister John Majors said Queen Elizabeth II will pay income tax on all her personal income, as well as being subject to capital and inheritance levies.

In 1994, the trial of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, began and ended abruptly with her acquittal of charges she misused state funds and employees for political purposes.

In 1998, Olympic officials took away the gold medal of Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati after he tested positive for a minute amount of marijuana. He blamed second-hand smoke. An arbitration panel restored his medal two days later.

Also in 1998, a U.S. judge ruled that pro golfer Casey Martin, who suffered from a circulatory disorder that made it difficult for him to walk, was covered by the American with Disabilities Act and should be allowed to use a golf cart to compete in PGA tournaments.

In 2002, the Russian figure skating pair won the gold medal in the Winter Olympics over the overwhelming crowd favorite Canadian team but a judging controversy that grew into an international scandal prompted the International Skating Union to award a gold medal to the Canadians also.

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In 2003, in an audiotape played on Arab TV, a man claiming to be Osama bin Laden called for suicide attacks against the U.S. and its supporters.

In 2004, the U.S. State Department warned U.S. citizens not to travel to Haiti and urged those already there and who could leave safely to do so.

Also in 2004, two suicide bombings in and near Baghdad killed 100 Iraqis.

In 2005, the White House rejected North Korea's demand for bilateral talks over its nuclear weapons program.

Also in 2005, playwright Arthur Miller, a fiery moralist whose plays include "Death of a Salesman" and "The Crucible," died at the age of 89.

In 2006, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally sprayed Texas lawyer Harry Whittington with about 200 pellets while hunting for quail, hitting his old friend in the face, neck and torso.

Also in 2006, Iraqi officials certified the results of parliamentary elections, setting the country on a course for forming a permanent government.

And, U.S. adventurer Steve Fossett broke the solo flight record when he landed near Bournemouth, England, covering some 24,997 miles after taking off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida four days earlier.

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A thought for the day: "If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said that.

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