Today is Sunday, May 18, the 138th day of 2025 with 227 to follow.
The moon is waning. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter and Mars.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include Russian Czar Nicholas II in 1868; philosopher/mathematician Bertrand Russell in 1872; filmmaker Frank Capra in 1897; musician Big Joe Turner in 1911; musician Perry Como in 1912; filmmaker Richard Brooks in 1912; ballet star Margot Fonteyn in 1919; Pope John Paul II in 1920; actor Priscilla Pointer in 1924; actor Robert Morse in 1931; cartoonist Don Martin in 1931; Baseball Hall of Fame member Brooks Robinson in 1937; Baseball Hall of Fame member Reggie Jackson in 1946 (age 79); musician Joe Bonsall (Oak Ridge Boys) in 1948; musician Rick Wakeman (Yes) in 1949 (age 76); musician Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) in 1950 (age 75); musician George Strait in 1952 (age 73); actor Chow Yun-Fat in 1955 (age 70); artist Ai Weiwei in 1957 (age 68); actor Tina Fey in 1970 (age 55); musician Jack Johnson in 1975 (age 50); actor Allen Leech in 1981 (age 44); actor Spencer Breslin in 1992 (age 33); actor Violett Beane in 1996 (age 29); Russian Olympic gold medal figure skater Alina Zagitova 2002 (age 23).
On this date in history:
Related
In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision that determined "separate but equal" racial policies are constitutional. While the ruling was never explicitly overruled, many high court decisions over the ensuing decades have effectively nullified it.
In 1917, President Wilson signed the Selective Service Act of 1917 by which the United States raised an army for service in Europe during World War I.
In 1927, the legendary Grauman's Chinese Theatre opened in Hollywood with the premiere of The King of Kings. The iconic theater -- a favorite for major studio openings -- was renamed the TCL Chinese Theatre in 2013.
In 1933, the U.S. Congress created the Tennessee Valley Authority for flood control and rural electrification.
In 1944, Allied troops captured Monte Cassino in Italy after one of the longest and bloodiest battles of World War II.
In 1969, Apollo 10 blasted off into space to perform a test run of what would become the Apollo 11 moon landing, coming to within 51,200 feet of the moon's surface. The mission also sent back the first televised color images of earth.
In 1979, a U.S. court jury in Oklahoma City awarded $10.5 million to the estate of Karen Silkwood, a laboratory technician contaminated by radiation at a Kerr-McGee plutonium plant in 1974.
In 1980, Mount St. Helens in southwestern Washington state erupted, blowing the top off the mountain and killing 57 people.
In 1990, East and West Germany signed a treaty for economic, monetary and social union. West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said the pact marked the "birth of a free and unified Germany."
In 1991, chemist Helen Sharman became the first Briton in space when she blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome aboard a Soviet spacecraft.
In 2004, Randy Johnson, Arizona's 40-year-old left-hander, pitched a perfect game in a 2-0 win over Atlanta. He was the oldest major league pitcher to accomplish the feat.
In 2018, 10 people -- eight students and two teachers -- died after a fellow student opened fire at Santa Fe High School, near Houston.
In 2022, President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to address a nationwide shortage of infant formula.
A thought for the day: "The Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations." -- Pope John Paul II
