UPI Almanac for Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Today is Tuesday, June 9, the 160th day of 2015 with 205 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include Russian Czar Peter the Great in 1672; composer Cole Porter in 1891; composer/conductor/inventor Fred Waring in 1900; actor Robert Cummings in 1910; guitarist/recording pioneer Les Paul in 1915; Robert S. McNamara, former U.S. defense secretary/World Bank president, in 1916; journalist Marvin Kalb in 1930 (age 85); comedian Jackie Mason in 1931 (age 84); soul singer Jackie Wilson in 1934; sportscaster Dick Vitale in 1939 (age 76); writer Patricia Cornwell in 1956 (age 59); writer and producer Aaron Sorkin in 1961 (age 54); actor Michael J. Fox in 1961 (age 54); actor Johnny Depp in 1963 (age 52); actor Gloria Reuben in 1964 (age 51); actor Natalie Portman in 1981 (age 34).

On this date in history:

In 1534, French navigator Jacques Cartier became the first European explorer to discover the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec.

In 1898, Britain leased Hong Kong from China for 99 years. (The territory returned to Chinese rule in 1997.)

In 1934, Donald Duck made his first screen appearance in "The Wise Little Hen."

In 1943, the U.S. Congress passed an act authorizing employers to withhold income tax payments from salary checks.

In 1973, Secretariat, having won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, captured racing's Triple Crown with a spectacular victory in the Belmont Stakes. The big chestnut colt, ridden by Ron Turcotte, was the first horse to do so since Citation in 1948.

In 1993, Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito married former diplomat Masako Owada in Tokyo.

In 1998, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar was sworn in as Nigeria's military ruler, one day after the death of Gen. Sani Abacha of a heart attack.

In 2005, after weeks of protests, Bolivian President Carlos Mesa resigned.

In 2008, Internet providers Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner agreed to block access to websites that distribute child pornography.

In 2010, the United Nations passed another set of sanctions against Iran's nuclear program, a move strongly supported by U.S. President Barack Obama.

In 2012, two former Auburn University football players and another man were shot to death and three men were wounded at a party near the campus. All of the victims were under the age of 21. (Police later arrested a 22-year-old man on multiple charges, including capital murder.)

In 2013, Spaniard Rafael Nadal defeated countryman David Ferrer in straight sets for an unprecedented eighth French Open championship. (Nadal won the tournament for the ninth time June 8, 2014.)

In 2014, an attack by Taliban gunmen at busy Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan, ended with about three-dozen people dead, including the attackers who disguised themselves a government security officers.

A thought for the day: "Ending racial discrimination in jury selection can be accomplished only by eliminating peremptory challenges entirely." -- Thurgood Marshall