UPI Almanac for Thursday, June 8, 2023

Today is Thursday, June 8, the 159th day of 2023 with 206 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Gemini. They include astronomer/mathematician Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1625; German composer Robert Schumann in 1810; former first lady Ida McKinley in 1847; architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1867; science fiction publisher John W. Campbell in 1910; British geneticist Francis Crick, who helped determine the "double helix" structure of DNA, in 1916; College Football Hall of Fame member/U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White in 1917; painter LeRoy Neiman in 1921; former first lady Barbara Bush in 1925; actor Jerry Stiller in 1927; comedian Joan Rivers in 1933; actor/singer James Darren in 1936 (age 87); astronaut Bruce McCandless II in 1937; singer Nancy Sinatra in 1940 (age 83); actor Colin Baker in 1943 (age 80); singer/songwriter Boz Scaggs in 1944 (age 79); actor Kathy Baker in 1950 (age 73); singer Bonnie Tyler in 1951 (age 72); actor Griffin Dunne in 1955 (age 68); "Dilbert" cartoonist Scott Adams in 1957 (age 66); comedian Keenen Ivory Wayans in 1958 (age 65); rock musician Nick Rhodes in 1962 (age 61); actor Frank Grillo in 1965 (age 58); actor Julianna Margulies in 1966 (age 57); gun control advocate/former Rep. Gabby Giffords in 1970 (age 53); rapper Ye, born Kanye West, in 1977 (age 46); TV personality Maria Menounos in 1978 (age 45); Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, in 1981 (age 42); actor Torrey Devitto in 1984 (age 39); actor E.R. Fightmaster in 1992 (age 31).

On this date in history:

In 1789, James Madison proposed the Bill of Rights, which led to the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

In 1869, Ives McGaffney of Chicago obtained a patent for a "sweeping machine," the first vacuum cleaner.

In 1949, an FBI report identified several Hollywood figures -- including Frederic March, Dalton Trumbo, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson -- as members of the Communist Party. The document's release came amid a so-called Red Scare in the United States.

In 1967, the USS Liberty, an intelligence ship sailing in international waters off Egypt, was attacked by Israeli jet planes and torpedo boats. Thirty-four Americans were killed in the attack, which Israel said was a case of mistaken identity.

In 1968, James Earl Ray, an escaped convict, was arrested in London and charged with the April 4 assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Ray died in prison in 1998.

In 1986, Austrian voters elected Kurt Waldheim as president. The former U.N. secretary-general's campaign was plagued with allegations he was involved in Nazi war crimes.

In 1994, two of the major warring factions in Bosnia, the Muslim-Croat federation and the Bosnian Serbs, signed a cease-fire agreement.

In 1995, U.S. Marines rescued downed American pilot Scott O'Grady in Bosnia.

In 2006, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and seven others were confirmed killed in an airstrike on a house north of Baquba.

In 2009, North Korea sentenced American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling to 12 years in prison for "illegal entry." They were released after a visit by former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

In 2012, U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, apologized to the Afghan people for the deaths of 18 civilians, including children, in an airstrike.

In 2013, Princess Madeleine of Sweden married British-American businessman Christopher O'Neill.

In 2022, Iman Vellani became the first on-screen Muslim superhero with the release of Ms. Marvel on Disney+.

A thought for the day: "There's more to life than cheekbones." -- British actor Kate Winslet