The almanac

Today is Monday, June 24, the 175th day of 2013 with 190 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Cancer. They include clergyman Henry Ward Beecher in 1813; writer and satirist Ambrose Bierce in 1842; heavyweight boxing champ Jack Dempsey in 1895; basketball player and shoe designer Chuck Taylor in 1901, band leader Phil Harris in 1904; British astronomer Fred Hoyle and author/editor Norman Cousins, both in 1915; golf Hall of Fame member Billy Casper in 1931 (age 82); basketball Hall of Fame member Sam Jones in 1933 (age 80); British members of the rock 'n' roll Hall of Fame Jeff Beck in 1944 (age 69) and Mick Fleetwood in 1947 (age 66); actors Michele Lee in 1942 (age 71), Peter Weller in 1947 (age 66) and Nancy Allen in 1950 (age 63); and four-time FIFA Player of the Year Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi, in 1987 (age 26).

On this date in history:

In 1812, Napoleon's army entered Russia.

In 1901, Pablo Picasso's artwork had its first exhibition in Paris.

In 1948, Soviet forces blockaded the western zones of Berlin, setting the stage for the Berlin airlift to support the 2 million people of the divided German city.

In 1975, an Eastern Airlines Boeing 727 en route from New Orleans crashed at New York's Kennedy International airport, killing 114 people.

In 1986, actor Raquel Welch won a $10.8 million verdict against MGM, which she said ruined her career by firing her from the 1980 movie "Cannery Row."

In 1987, comedian/actor Jackie Gleason died at the age of 71.

In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that health warnings on cigarette packs don't necessarily exempt tobacco companies from false advertising lawsuits if they continue to tell consumers that smoking is safe.

In 2003, author Leon Uris, who wrote "Exodus," the story of the struggle to establish and defend the state of Israel, and other famous novels, died at age 78.

In 2006, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected a White House request to send another 1,500 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to protect against illegal immigration. The state earlier had agreed to send 1,000 troops to the border.

In 2008, a survivor of a Philippines ferry that capsized in a typhoon told authorities the captain's order to abandon ship came too late to help many of the 849 passengers and crew members. Philippines officials said 57 passengers were found alive in the three days following the storm.

In 2009, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford admitted to having an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina. He resigned as chairman of the GOP governors association but stayed on as governor.

In 2010, Julia Gillard was sworn in as Australia's first female prime minister.

In sports in 2010, John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-3), 70-68 in a first-round match played over three days at Wimbledon. The match took 11 hours, 5 minutes and 183 games to decide a winner.

In 2011, New York state legislators approved same-sex marriage. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who pushed for the proposal, promptly signed it into law.

In 2012, the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi was elected president of Egypt.

A thought for the day: Ambrose Bierce said an acquaintance is "a person whom we know well enough to borrow from but not well enough to lend to."