UPI Almanac for Friday, Dec. 6, 2024

Today is Friday, Dec. 6, the 341st day of 2024 with 25 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include England's King Henry VI in 1421; musician Ira Gershwin in 1896; writer/musician Ève Curie in 1904; bank robber Lester "Baby Face" Nelson in 1908; musician Dave Brubeck in 1920; Football Hall of Fame member Otto Graham in 1921; actor James Naughton in 1945 (age 79); filmmaker Shekhar Kapur in 1945 (age 79); actor JoBeth Williams in 1948 (age 76); actor Kin Shriner in 1953 (age 71); actor Tom Hulce in 1953 (age 71); comedian Steven Wright in 1955 (age 69); musician Peter Buck (R.E.M.) in 1956 (age 68); filmmaker Nick Park in 1958 (age 66); Japanese businessman Satoru Iwata in 1959; musician David Lovering (Pixies) in 1961 (age 63); musician Ben Watt (Everything But the Girl) in 1962 (age 62); actor Janine Turner in 1962 (age 62); filmmaker Judd Apatow in 1967 (age 57); writer Karl Ove Knausgård in 1968 (age 56); Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov in 1968 (age 56); musician Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg (Ace of Base) in 1970 (age 54); Ryan White, U.S. HIV/AIDS activist, in 1971; Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in 1973 (age 51); actor Ashley Madekwe in 1981 (age 43); two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador in 1982 (age 42); writer Jason Reynolds in 1983 (age 41); Heisman Trophy-winning NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel in 1992 (age 32); musician A Boogie wit da Hoodie in 1995 (age 29); actor Stefanie Scott in 1996 (age 28).

On this date in history:

In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, abolishing slavery in the United States.

In 1877, The Washington Post published its first edition.

In 1907, in West Virginia's Marion County, an explosion in a network of mines owned by the Fairmont Coal Co. in Monongah killed 361 coal miners. It was the worst mining disaster in U.S. history.

In 1917, more than 1,900 people died in an explosion when a Belgian relief ship and a French munitions vessel collided in the harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

In 1922, the Irish Free State, forerunner of the modern Republic of Ireland, was officially proclaimed.

In 1933, following the repeal of Prohibition, Americans crowded into liquor stores, bars and cafes to buy their first legal alcoholic beverages in 13 years.

In 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a message to Japanese Emperor Hirohito expressing hope that gathering war clouds would be dispelled. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the next day.

In 1969, the Altamont Speedway Free Festival was held in Northern California. The counterculture rock concert is best remembered for a number of violence incidents and accidents that left four people dead and dozens injured. The Rolling Stones, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Jefferson Airplane performed.

In 1973, Gerald Ford was confirmed as vice president under Richard Nixon, replacing Spiro Agnew, who had resigned in the face of income tax-evasion charges.

In 1975, the U.S. Senate authorized a $2.3 billion emergency loan to save New York City from bankruptcy.

In 1995, Michael Jackson was hospitalized after collapsing on stage while rehearsing for an HBO special. Paramedics said he had low blood pressure.

In 2005, an Iranian military aircraft hit a 10-story residential building in Tehran and exploded shortly after takeoff, killing at least 128 people.

In 2017, President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and announced plans to move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv. Palestinians and Muslims nations criticized the move because if a Palestinian nation is ever recognized, it would use East Jerusalem as a capital.

In 2018, scientists announced the discovery of one of the earliest and most primitive strains of bacteria responsible for pneumonic plague in the bones of a 20-year-old woman from the Neolithic period in modern-day Sweden.

In 2022, a jury found the Trump Organization guilty of tax fraud charges, falsifying business records and conspiracy. A New York Supreme Court ordered the family real estate business of former President Donald Trump to pay $1.6 million in criminal penalties.

In 2023, Time magazine named singer-songwriter Taylor Swift its person of the year.

A thought for the day: "I have devoted my life to uncertainty. Certainty is the death of wisdom, thought, creativity." - Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur