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The almanac

By United Press International
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Today is Saturday, June 1, the 152nd day of 2013 with 213 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Neptune and Uranus. Evening stars are Mercury, Saturn and Venus.

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include Jacques Marquette, Jesuit priest and French explorer of the Mississippi, in 1637; Mormon leader Brigham Young in 1801; actor Frank Morgan in 1890; bandleader Nelson Riddle in 1921; actors Marilyn Monroe and Andy Griffith in 1926 and Edward Woodward in 1930; singer Pat Boone in 1934 (age 79); novelist Colleen McCullough in 1937; mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade in 1945 (age 68); actors Morgan Freeman in 1937 (age 76), Cleavon Little in 1939, Rene Auberjonois in 1940 (age 73) and Jonathan Pryce in 1947 (age 66); rock 'n' roll Hall of fame member Ron Wood, of the Faces and the Rolling Stones, also in 1947 (age 66); actors Diana Canova in 1953 (age 60) and Lisa Hartman Black in 1956 (age 57); comedian/actor Mark Curry in 1961 (age 52); singers Ronnie Dunn in 1953 (age 60) and Alanis Morissette in 1974 (age 39); supermodel Heidi Klum in 1973 (age 40); and actor Willow Shields in 2000 (age 13).

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On this date in history:

In 1779, Continental Army Gen. Benedict Arnold was court-martialed.

In 1792, Kentucky joined the union as the 15th member of the United States.

In 1796, Tennessee joined the United States as the 16th state.

In 1812, U.S. President James Madison warned Congress that war with Britain was imminent. The War of 1812 started 17 days later.

In 1880, the first public pay telephone began operation in New Haven, Conn.

In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court banned prayers and Bible teaching in public schools on the constitutional grounds of separation of church and state.

In 1968, Helen Keller, a world-renowned author and lecturer despite being blind and deaf from infancy, died in Westport, Conn., at the age of 87.

In 1973, Prime Minister George Papadopoulos abolished the Greek monarchy and proclaimed Greece a republic with himself as president.

In 1980, the Cable News Network -- CNN -- TV's first all-news service, went on the air.

In 1990, the South African government proposed a bill to scrap a 37-year-old law segregating buses, trains, toilets, libraries, swimming pools and other public amenities.

In 1993, President Jorge Serrano Elias of Guatemala was ousted by the military and President Dobrica Cosic of Yugoslavia was voted out of office by Parliament.

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In 1997, French parliamentary elections brought parties of the left into power for the first time since 1986.

In 2001, Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal killed several members of his family, including his father and mother, King Birendra and Queen Aiswarya.

In 2004, the Iraq Governing Council chose Ghazi al-Yawer to be the country's president as shells killed 15 people near Baghdad's "Green Zone," home of the U.S. Army command and Coalition Authority.

In 2005, Dutch voters joined France in overwhelmingly rejecting the proposed EU constitution.

In 2009, General Motors, the largest automaker in the United States, filed for bankruptcy and said it would close 14 plants. The federal government promised an additional $30.1 billion to keep the company operating.

Also in 2009, Air France Flight 447, en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 people onboard, officials said. Rescuers searched for five days before finding a trace of the wreckage off the northeast coast of Brazil. Mechanical failure was suspected.

In 2010, Yukio Hatoyama became Japan's fourth prime minister to step down in less than four years after polls indicated low public support. He was succeeded by Naoto Kan, the former finance minister.

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In 2011, U.S. government officials said Indiana's new Iaw denying Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood was illegal.

In 2012, The U.S. Labor Department said the nation's unemployment rate was 8.2 percent in May, up from 8.1 percent. About 69,000 jobs were added -- the lowest number in a year.


A thought for the day: Jean de la Fontaine wrote, "Everyone believes very easily whatever he fears or desires."

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