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The almanac

By United Press International
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Today is Thursday, Sept. 12, the 255th day of 2013 with 110 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Virgo. They include British explorer Henry Hudson in 1575; Richard Gatling, inventor of the Gatling gun, in 1818; newspaperman Charles Dudley Warner in 1829; critic H.L. Mencken in 1880; French entertainer Maurice Chevalier in 1888; publisher Alfred A. Knopf in 1892; French Nobel chemistry prize laureate Irene Joliot-Curie in 1897; comedian Ben Blue in 1901; bandleader Shep Fields in 1910; U.S. Olympic track star Jesse Owens in 1913; singer/bandleader Eddy Howard in 1914; singer Ella Mae Morse in 1924; British actor Ian Holm (age 82) and American country music singer George Jones, both in 1931; circus animal trainer Gunther Gebel-Williams in 1934; actor Linda Gray in 1940 (age 73); singers Maria Muldaur in 1943 (age 70) and Barry White in 1944; actors Peter Scolari in 1955 (age 58), Rachel Ward in 1957 (age 56) and Darren E. Burrows in 1966 (age 47); comedian Louis C.K. in 1967 (age 46); singer Ruben Studdard in 1978 (age 35); and singer-actors Jennifer Hudson in 1981 (age 32) and Emmy Rossum in 1986 (age 27).

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On this date in history:

In 1609, Henry Hudson discovered what is now known as the Hudson River.

In 1940, near Montignac, France, a collection of prehistoric cave paintings, believed to be 15,000-17,000 years old, was discovered by four teenagers who stumbled upon the ancient artwork after following their dog down a narrow entrance into a cavern.

In 1953, six months after the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev succeeded him with his election as first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

In 1958, Little Rock High School in Arkansas was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to admit black students.

In 1969, heavy bombing of Vietnam resumed under orders from U.S. President Richard Nixon.

In 1974, military officers deposed Emperor Haile Selassie from the Ethiopian throne he had occupied for more than half a century.

In 1977, Steven Biko, leader of South Africa's "Black Consciousness Movement," died of severe head trauma on the stone floor of a prison cell in Pretoria. Six days earlier, he had suffered a major blow to his skull during a police interrogation.

In 1990, the four victorious allies of World War II and the two Germanys formally ended the war, signing a treaty that cleared way for a united Germany on Oct. 3.

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In 1992, actor Anthony Perkins, best known for his role of Norman Bates in "Psycho," died from complications of AIDS. He was 60.

In 1994, a pilot crashed his small plane on the White House lawn, killing himself and creating an alarm about presidential security.

In 2001, the day after terrorist attacks on the United States killed almost 3,000 people, President George W. Bush was given the go-ahead by Congress to use all "necessary and appropriate force" needed against those responsible.

In 2004, Iran announced it planned to start processing 37 tons of uranium yellowcake, which Western intelligence officials estimated could be used to build five nuclear bombs.

In 2005, the last of Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip, as planned, and the Palestinians immediately reclaimed the area Israel had controlled since the 1967 war.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI, in his first papal trip to his native Bavaria, in Germany, angered Muslims in a speech with a 14th-century quote criticizing Islam, leading to church bombings and other protests. The pope apologized for any offense caused, saying the words didn't reflect his own views.

In 2007, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned after just one year in office amid a series of financial scandals.

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In 2008, a commuter train ran through a stop signal near Chatsworth, Calif., and slammed into an oncoming freight train, killing 25 people and injuring more than 130. Federal officials said they confirmed the commuter engineer, who was killed, had been using his cellphone for text messaging shortly before the crash.

In 2009, thousands of anti-tax protesters gathered at the U.S. Capitol in the largest anti-government demonstration since U.S. President Barack Obama took office. The rally marked the final stop for the Tea Party Express in a 30-city protest campaign.

In 2010, U.S. hiker Sarah Shourd, imprisoned in Iran on charges of espionage for more than a year after she and two male companions were accused of illegally crossing into Iranian territory, was released on $500,000 bail. The men, one of whom was her fiance, remained in prison.

In 2011, a leaking gasoline pipeline exploded into flames in a densely populated slum in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, engulfing a crowd of onlookers in an inferno that killed more than 100 people and injured a similar number. Police said the fire may have been touched off after the pipeline was punctured in an effort to steal fuel.

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In 2012, North Korea, reported to be in dire need of help from storms and flooding that killed dozens of people, rejected an offer of aid from South Korea.


A thought for the day: Henry David Thoreau said, "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

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