UPI Almanac for Friday, Dec. 2, 2022

Today is Friday, Dec. 2, the 336th day of 2022 with 29 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include French painter Georges-Pierre Seurat in 1859; circus co-founder Charles Ringling in 1863; opera singer Maria Callas in 1923; former U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig Jr. in 1924; former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III in 1931 (age 91); former Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in 1939; artist/dog photographer William Wegman in 1943 (age 79); actor Cathy Lee Crosby in 1944 (age 78); fashion designer Gianni Versace in 1946; figure skater Randy Gardner in 1958 (age 64); Interior Secretary Deb Haaland in 1960 (age 62); writer Ann Patchett in 1963 (age 59); actor Lucy Liu in 1968 (age 54); actor Joe Lo Truglio in 1970 (age 52); tennis player Monica Seles in 1973 (age 49); singer/songwriter Nelly Furtado in 1978 (age 44); pop singer Britney Spears in 1981 (age 41); NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers in 1983 (age 39); actor/country singer Jana Kramer in 1983 (age 39); actor Daniela Ruah in 1983 (age 39); actor Alfred Enoch in 1988 (age 34); singer Charlie Puth in 1991 (age 31); actor Annalise Basso in 1998 (age 24).

On this date in history:

In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of France.

In 1823, during his annual address to the U.S. Congress, President James Monroe proclaimed a new U.S. foreign policy initiative that became known as the "Monroe Doctrine."

In 1859, abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, W.Va.

In 1927, the Model A Ford was introduced as the successor to the Model T. The price of a Model A roadster was $395.

In 1942, the Atomic Age was born when scientists demonstrated the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction at a laboratory below the stands at the University of Chicago football stadium.

In 1954, the U.S. Senate voted 65-22 to condemn Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., for conduct unbecoming a senator. The condemnation, which was equivalent to a censure, related to McCarthy's controversial investigation of alleged communists in the U.S. government, military and civilian society.

In 1961, Fidel Castro disclosed he was a communist, acknowledging he concealed the fact until he solidified his hold on Cuba.

In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency was formed with Indianapolis lawyer William Ruckelshaus as its administrator.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, establishing, among other things, the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, the Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kobuk Valley National Park, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.

In 1982, retired dentist Barney Clark, 62, became the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart. He survived 112 days.

In 1993, Colombian drug trafficker Pablo Escobar was killed in a shootout with police and soldiers in the Colombian city of Medellin.

In 2001, U.S. forces in Afghanistan captured John Walker Lindh, 20, a U.S. citizen from San Anselmo, Calif., found fighting with the Taliban.

In 2001, energy company Enron filed for bankruptcy, sparking one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history. The Houston-based company was found to have fraudulent accounting practices.

In 2015, Syed Farook and his wife Tashfeen Malik, attacked a social services facility in Southern California killing 14 before leading police in a running gun battle in which they were killed.

In 2016, a fire broke out an Oakland, Calif., warehouse killing 36 people. The Ghost Ship warehouse, which was being used for artist studios and dwellings, was hosting a concert at the time of the fire.

In 2020, Britain became the first Western nation to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

A thought for the day: "It's difficult to understand why people don't realize that pets are gifts to mankind." -- American actor Linda Blair