The almanac

Today is Saturday, June 28, the 180th day of 2008 with 186 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include English King Henry VIII in 1491; Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens in 1577; English clergyman John Wesley, founder of Methodism, in 1703; French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau in 1712; Italian author Luigi Pirandello in 1867; composer Richard Rodgers and bank robber John Dillinger, both in 1902; spy novelist Eric Ambler in 1909; Lester Flatt, bluegrass mandolin/guitar, part of Flatt and Scruggs team, in 1914; filmmaker and comedian Mel Brooks in 1926 (age 82); actor Pat Morita in 1932; comedian Gilda Radner in 1946; actresses Kathy Bates in 1948 (age 60) and Alice Krige in 1954 (age 54); former football star John Elway in 1960 (age 48); actors John Cusack and Mary Stuart Masterson, both in 1966 (age 42); and actress/singer Danielle Brisebois in 1969 (age 39).

On this date in history:

In 1778, the Continental Army under command of Gen. George Washington defeated the British at Monmouth, N.J.

In 1914, Archduke Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, an act credited with igniting World War I.

In 1919, World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1969, the clientele of a New York City gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, rioted after the club was raided by police. The event is considered the start of the gay liberation movement.

In 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the use of public funds for parochial schools was unconstitutional.

In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon announced that no more draftees would be sent to Vietnam unless they volunteered for service in the Asian nation.

In 1984, Israel and Syria exchanged prisoners for the first time in 10 years; 291 Syrian soldiers were traded for three Israelis.

In 1991, the Yugoslav army was deployed to Slovenia to take control of airports and border posts and to prevent the republic's declared independence.

In 1993, in its last report before disbanding, the White House National Committee on AIDS blasted the Bush administration's response to AIDS and challenged the Clinton administration to do more.

In 1997, Mike Tyson bit the ears of heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield, tearing off a piece of one ear, during a title fight in Las Vegas.

In 2000, Elian Gonzalez and his father returned to Cuba, hours after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the Cuban refugee's Miami relatives who sought to keep the boy in the United States.

Also in 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America had a constitutional right to exclude gay members.

In 2001, a U.S. Appeals Court in Washington unanimously threw out a lower court ruling that the Microsoft Corp. must be broken up.

In 2003, people eager to block telemarketing calls overwhelmed a government Web site that began accepting phone numbers at the national do-not-call registry. The Federal Trade Commission said 735,000 numbers were registered the first day.

In 2004, the U.S.-led coalition formally transferred political power in Iraq to an interim government that would run the country until elections were held.

In 2005, at least 30 people were killed in torrential rains that pounded El Salvador causing flooding and damage to homes.

In 2006, U.S. President George Bush criticized newspaper reports exposing government monitoring of banking records in its search for terrorists as "disgraceful" and a "great harm" to national security.

In 2007, the revived U.S. immigration bill failed in the U.S. Senate when supporters were unable to muster enough ayes to end debate on the matter and bring it up for a vote.

A thought for the day: Bertolt Brecht wrote, "What is robbing a bank compared to founding one?"