Today is Monday, Oct. 20, the 294th day of 2008 with 72 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include English astronomer and architect Christopher Wren in 1632; French poet Arthur Rimbaud in 1854; James Robert Mann, Illinois congressman and author of the "White Slave Traffic Act," also known as the "Mann Act," in 1856; educator John Dewey in 1859; composer Charles Ives in 1874; actor Bela Lugosi ("Dracula") in 1882; singer/pianist/composer Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton in 1890; mystery writer Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay) in 1905; TV personality Arlene Francis in 1907; country singer Grandpa (Louis Marshall) Jones in 1913; actor Herschel Bernardi in 1923; humorist Art Buchwald in 1925; former New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle in 1931; actors William Christopher ("M*A*S*H") in 1932 (age 76), Jerry Orbach in 1935 and Viggo Mortensen in 1958 (age 50); and rock singer Tom Petty in 1950 (age 58).

On this date in history:

In 1818, the United States and Britain agreed to establish the 49th parallel as the official boundary between the United States and Canada.

In 1918, Germany accepted U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's terms to end World War I.

In 1944, U.S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur kept his promise to return to the Philippines Islands when he landed with U.S. forces during World War II.

In 1947, the U.S. House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee opened public hearings into communist influence in Hollywood.

In 1982, the world's worst soccer disaster occurred in Moscow when 340 fans were crushed to death in an open staircase during a game between Soviet and Dutch players.

In 1990, the rap group 2 Live Crew was acquitted in Miami of obscenity charges arising from a performance of selections from the album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be."

In 1992, one of Europe's leading environmentalists, Germany's Greens Party founder Petra Kelly, was found shot to death by her companion, Gert Bastian, who then committed suicide.

In 1994, Hollywood heavyweight Burt Lancaster died at the age of 80.

In 2000, a former U.S. Army sergeant pleaded guilty to joining in a terrorist plot against the United States, linking Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden to the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

In 2003, The London Mirror said that British Princess Diana claimed there was a plot to kill her in a car crash in a handwritten letter 10 months before she died in an auto accident.

In 2004, Margaret Hassan, chief of operations for the British-based CARE charity, was kidnapped on her way to work in Iraq by unknown armed militants. CARE suspended its work in Iraq soon after.

Also in 2004, retired Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was sworn in as Indonesia's sixth president after winning the country's first direct elections for head of state.

In 2005, former U.S. House of Representatives Republican leader Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, was booked in Houston after his indictment on conspiracy and money laundering charges. He was freed on $10,000 bond.

Also in 2005, Pakistan set the official death toll of the Oct. 8 quake at 47,000 but various aid officials claim it was closer to 80,000. Three million people were reported without shelter as winter approached the Himalayan region.

In 2007, Afghan President Hamid Karzai asked Iran, Pakistan and Turkey and several, smaller Central Asian states for help in fighting terrorism in the region.

Also in 2007, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue declared a drought disaster in his state and asked for federal aid to combat "the single worst drought in North Georgia's history."

A thought for the day: American Red Cross founder Clara Barton said, "The surest test of discipline is its absence." Today is Tuesday, Oct. 21, the 295th day of 2008 with 71 to follow.

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

Those born this date are under the sign of Libra. They include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1772; Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite and founder of the Nobel Prize, in 1833; dancer/choreographer Ted Shawn in 1891; conductor Georg Solti in 1912; jazz trumpeter John "Dizzy" Gillespie, in 1917; former pitcher Whitey Ford in 1928 (age 80); author Ursula K. Le Guin in 1929 (age 79); and actress-author Carrie Fisher in 1956 (age 52).

On this date in history:

In 1805, in one of history's greatest naval battles, the British fleet under Adm. Horatio Nelson defeated the combined French-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar off the coast of Spain.

In 1879, after 14 months of experiments, Thomas Edison invented the first practical electric incandescent lamp.

In 1908, The Saturday Evening Post magazine carried an ad for a brand new product: a two-sided phonograph record.

In 1950, Chinese troops occupied Tibet.

In 1959, rocket designer Wernher von Braun and his team were transferred from the U.S. Army to the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

In 1987, the U.S. Senate rejected U.S. President Ronald Reagan's nomination of Judge Robert Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court by the biggest margin in history, 58-42.

In 1990, gunmen stormed the home of a key supporter of Lebanese Christian military leader Michel Aoun, killing him, his wife and their two sons.

In 1991, Beirut University professor Jesse Turner, a hostage since January 1987, was released by his captors in Lebanon.

In 1992, New York protesters upset with Sinead O'Connor for ripping up a photo of Pope John Paul II on "Saturday Night Live," used a steamroller to crush dozens of the Irish singer's CDs, records and tapes.

In 1994, Rosario Ames, wife of confessed spy Aldrich Ames, was sentenced to 63 months in prison for collaborating with her husband.

In 1996, the Dow Jones industrial average of 30 major stocks topped the 6,000 mark for the first time.

In 2004, the most senior soldier accused in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal in Iraq, Staff Sgt. Ivan "Chip" Frederick, was sentenced to eight years in prison.

In 2005, results from the Afghanistan parliamentary elections showed that Islamic conservatives and former jihad fighters made up at least half of the lower house.

In 2006, the Bush administration was reported putting together a timetable for Iraq to quell sectarian violence and take more responsibility for its own security. However, it didn't call for withdrawal of U.S. troops.

In 2007, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, in one of the strongest warnings from Washington on the matter, said, "We will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon."

A thought for the day: Italian goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini wrote in his autobiography, "One can pass on responsibility, but not the discretion that goes with it." Today is Wednesday, Oct. 22, the 296th day of 2008 with 70 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include Hungarian composer Franz Liszt in 1811; actresses Sarah Bernhardt in 1844 and Joan Fontaine in 1917 (age 91); comic actor Curly Howard of "The Three Stooges" in 1903; English author Doris Lessing, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for literature, in 1919 (age 88); psychologist and LSD advocate Timothy Leary in 1920; artist Robert Rauschenberg in 1925; actors Derek Jacobi and Christopher Lloyd, both in 1938 (age 70), Annette Funicello in 1942 (age 66), Catherine Deneuve in 1943 (age 65) and Jeff Goldblum in 1952 (age 56); and champion skater Brian Boitano in 1963 (age 45).

On this date in history:

In 1797, the first parachute jump was made by Andre-Jacques Garnerin, who dropped from a height of about 6,500 feet over a Paris park.

In 1836, Gen. Sam Houston was sworn in as the first president of the Republic of Texas.

In 1938, inventor Charles Carlson produced the first dry, or xerographic, copy, but had trouble attracting investors.

In 1962, U.S. President John Kennedy announced that Soviet missiles had been deployed in Cuba and ordered a blockade of the island.

In 1966, The Supremes became the first all-female group to score a No. 1 album, with "Supremes a Go-Go."

In 1978, Pope John Paul II was installed as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1990, saying it would lead to a quota system.

In 1991, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir warned that Israel would refuse to negotiate with any Palestinians who claimed alliance to the PLO.

In 1992, pioneer sportscaster Red Barber died at age 84.

In 2001, anthrax spores were found in a mail-opening machine serving the White House. Preliminary tests on 120 workers who sort mail for the executive mansion were negative.

Also in 2001, the Pentagon announced nearly 200 U.S. jets struck Taliban and al-Qaida communications facilities, barracks and training camps and disputed Taliban claims that 100 civilians died when a bomb hit a hospital in western Afghanistan.

And in 2001, an estimated 500 people were killed when the Nigerian army attacked villages throughout the eastern state of Benue.

In 2003, a poll showed 59 percent of Palestinians wanted attacks against Israel to continue even if Israel leaves the West Bank and Gaza.

Also in 2004, rescuers confirmed 64 dead following an explosion in a central China coal mine. Eighty-four miners were missing in the toxic gas-filled shaft.

In 2005, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai ordered an investigation into the reported desecration of bodies by U.S. troops said to be captured on tape by a TV crew.

In 2006, despite stepping up operations, the U.S. military admitted that insurgency attacks in Baghdad continued to rise.

In 2007, thousands of people around San Diego and Los Angeles fled their homes as wind-fanned wildfires turned deadly and frustrated firefighters.

Also in 2007, U.S. President George Bush formally asked Congress for $46 billion in emergency funding for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. That's in addition to the nearly $145 billion in his original budget for next year.

A thought for the day: of the existence of God, Clarence Darrow said, "I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure -- that is all that agnosticism means." Today is Thursday, Oct. 23, the 297th day of 2008 with 69 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include French chef Nicholas Appert, inventor of the canning process, in 1752; Adlai E. Stevenson, U.S. vice president under Grover Cleveland from 1893-97, in 1835; pioneering college football coach John Heisman in 1869; William Coolidge, inventor of the X-ray tube, in 1873; Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, in 1906; former "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson in 1925; pro golfer Juan "Chi Chi" Rodriguez in 1935 (age 73); Brazilian soccer star Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) in 1940 (age 68); author Michael Crichton in 1942 (age 66); filmmaker Ang Lee in 1954 (age 54); singers Dwight Yoakam in 1956 (age 52) and "Weird Al" Yankovic in 1959 (age 49); and football players Doug Flutie and Mike Tomczak, both in 1962 (age 46).

On this date in history:

In 1707, the British Parliament met for the first time.

In 1942, the British Eighth Army launched an offensive at El Alamein in Egypt, a World War II battle that eventually swept the Germans out of North Africa.

In 1945, Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player hired by a major league team, was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and sent to their Montreal farm team. He moved up to the Dodgers in 1947 and became one of the sport's greatest stars.

In 1972, earthquakes killed more than 10,000 people in Nicaragua.

In 1983, suicide bomb attacks on peacekeeping troops in Beirut killed 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French soldiers.

In 1989, Hungary formally declared an end to 40 years of communist rule and proclaimed itself a republic, setting the stage for creation of Western-style democracy in the Eastern Bloc state.

In 1990, Iraq released 64 British hostages.

In 1995, the U.S. Defense Department announced it was ending a program designed to help minority-owned firms secure government contracts.

In 1998, after nine days of tense negotiations at the Wye Conference Center in Queenstown, Md., Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed an agreement to revive the stalled Middle East peace process.

Also in 1998, Dr. Barnett Slepian, an obstetrician who performed abortions, was shot to death by a sniper who fired a bullet through a window of Slepian's home in Amherst, N.Y.

In 2002, a group of 20 Chechen gunmen stormed a Moscow theater, taking hostage more than 700 members of the audience, actors and theater staff and demanding an end to the war in the separatist republic.

In 2003, the U.S. Congress passed a bill banning late-term abortions.

In 2004, insurgents struck at three minibuses carrying U.S.-trained Iraqi soldiers, reportedly killing about 50 of them.

In 2005, all 117 people aboard were reported killed in the crash of a Nigerian plane crash shortly after takeoff from Lagos.

In 2006, Iran said it is ready to have talks on its nuclear program while other reports spoke of threatened retaliation if U.N. sanctions were imposed.

Also in 2006, Panamanians voted overwhelmingly to support a proposal to expand the Panama Canal to allow larger ships to pass through.

In 2007, a U.S. federal audit of a State Department's private security contractor in Iraq said that $1.2 billion couldn't be accounted for in police training expenses.

A thought for the day: the Apostle Peter wrote, "Charity shall cover a multitude of sins." Today is Friday, Oct. 24, the 298th day of 2008 with 68 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include pioneering Dutch microscope maker Anton Van Leeuwenhoek in 1632; journalist Sarah Josepha Hale, author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," in 1788; attorney Belva Lockwood, the first woman candidate for U.S. president, nominated by the National Equal Rights Party, in 1830; film producer-director Merian Cooper (the original "King Kong") in 1893; former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman in 1936 (age 72); former NAACP president Kweisi Mfume in 1948 (age 60); actors David Nelson in 1936 (age 72), F. Murray Abraham in 1939 (age 69) and Kevin Kline in 1947 (age 61); and singer Monica (Arnold) in 1980 (age 28).

On this date in history:

In 1648, the Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War in Europe.

In 1861, the first telegram was transmitted across the United States from California Chief Justice Stephen Field to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in Washington.

In 1901, daredevil Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

In 1945, following Soviet ratification, U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes announced the U.N. charter was in effect. Establishment of the United Nations came less than two months after the end of World War II.

In 1984, the FBI arrested 11 alleged chiefs of the Colombo crime family on charges of racketeering in New York City.

In 1989, TV evangelist Jim Bakker was sentenced to 45 years in prison and fined $500,000 for fleecing his flock.

In 1993, the death of Burundi President Melchior Ndadaye in a military coup was confirmed.

In 1995, the United Nations marked its 50th anniversary with the largest gathering of world leaders in history.

In 2002, police arrested two suspects in the three-week series of sniper attacks in the Washington area that killed 10 and wounded three others. John Allen Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, were found sleeping in a car at a rest stop outside Frederick, Md.

In 2003, an era in aviation history ended when the supersonic Concorde took off from New York to London on its final flight.

In 2004, a series of severe earthquakes in northern Japan killed 21 people and injured more than 1,500 others.

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma roared into Florida, packing 125 mph winds and lashing rain, inflicting heavy damage to beaches and buildings. Ten deaths were reported and some 2.5 million South Floridians were without power.

Also in 2005, U.S. President George Bush nominated Ben Bernanke, his chief economic adviser, to replace Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve Board chairman.

In 2006, a CNN poll said 60 percent of U.S. citizens contracted said they believed neither the United States nor insurgents were winning the war in Iraq.

Also in 2006, U.S. military leaders said Iraq's own security forces wouldn't be ready to assume responsibility for the country for 12-18 months.

In 2007, strong and gusty winds fanning 15 large wildfires in Southern California began to ease after 656 square miles and at least 1,155 homes had been charred.

Also in 2007, a new U.S. government report revealed the federal terrorist watch list had grown to include more than 755,000 names.

A thought for the day: Hindu nationalist leader Mohandas Gandhi said, "I believe that a man is the strongest soldier for daring to die unarmed." Today is Saturday, Oct. 25, the 299th day of 2008 with 67 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include British historian Thomas Macaulay in 1800; Austrian composer Johann Strauss in 1825; French composer Georges Bizet in 1838; artist Pablo Picasso in 1881; explorer Richard Byrd in 1888; country comedian Minnie Pearl in 1912; actors Tony Franciosa in 1928 and Marion Ross in 1928 (age 80); basketball coach Bobby Knight in 1940 (age 68); author Anne Tyler and pop singer Helen Reddy, both in 1941 (age 67); and violinist Midori in 1971 (age 37).

On this date in history:

In 1825, the Erie Canal, America's first man-made waterway, was opened, linking the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River.

In 1854, known to history as the Charge of the Light Brigade, 670 British cavalrymen fighting in the Crimean War attacked a heavily fortified Russian position and were wiped out.

In 1881, Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century, was born in Malaga, Spain.

In 1929, during the Teapot Dome scandal, Albert B. Fall, who served as U.S. President Warren Harding's interior secretary, was found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office, first individual convicted of a crime committed while a presidential Cabinet member.

In 1971, the United Nations admitted China as a member, ousting the Nationalist Chinese government of Taiwan.

In 1983, U.S. troops, supported by six Caribbean nations, invaded the tiny, leftist-ruled island of Grenada. Nineteen Americans died in the fighting.

In 1986, the International Red Cross ousted South African delegates from a Geneva meeting because of Pretoria's policy of apartheid. It was the first such ejection in the organization's 123 years.

In 1993, Canadian voters rejected the Progressive Conservative party of Prime Minister Kim Campbell and gave the Liberal Party, led by Jean Chretien of Quebec, a firm majority in Parliament.

In 1994, Susan Smith reported to police in Union, S.C., that her two young boys had been taken in a carjacking. Nine days later, she confessed she had rolled her car into a lake, drowning the children.

In 2000, AT&T announced it would break itself into four separate businesses in a bid to renew investor support.

In 2001, the U.S. Senate, by a 90-1 vote, approved a final package of anti-terror reforms designed to help law enforcement monitor and detain suspected terrorists.

In 2002, Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and seven others were killed in the crash of a small plane near the Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport, about 180 miles northeast of Minneapolis.

In 2003, California wildfires, fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds, destroyed 60 homes near Los Angeles and threatened dense housing tracts.

In 2004, at least 78 Muslim detainees suffocated or were crushed to death in southern Thailand after the police rounded up 1,300 people and packed them into trucks following a riot.

Also in 2004, a top civilian at the U.S. Department of Defense called for a federal investigation into how contracts in Iraq and the Balkans were awarded to the Halliburton company, formerly run by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.

In 2005, civil rights icon Rosa Parks died in Detroit at age 92. Parks, an African-American woman, gave new impetus to the rights movement when in 1955 she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., bus.

Also in 2005, Iraq's draft constitution was reported approved by more than three-quarters of the voters in the Oct. 15 referendum.

In 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples "must be afforded on equal terms the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples."

In 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a revised version of a vetoed bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Still calling for a $35 billion expansion, it also made illegal immigrants ineligible for the program.

Also in 2007, the U.S. government issued a new wave of sanctions against Iran, focusing on the country's military, for its nuclear development activities.

A thought for the day: Pablo Picasso said, "I am only an entertainer who has understood his time." Today is Sunday, Oct. 26, the 300th day of 2008 with 66 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in 1879; gospel singer Mahalia Jackson in 1911; bandleader Charlie Barnet in 1913; French President Francois Mitterrand in 1916; Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran, in 1919; actor Bob Hoskins in 1942 (age 66); author Pat Conroy in 1945 (age 63); TV personality Pat Sajak in 1946 (age 62); U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., wife of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, in 1947 (age 61); and actors Jaclyn Smith in 1945 (age 63) and Cary Elwes and Dylan McDermott, both in 1962 (age 46); and singer Natalie Merchant in 1963 (age 45).

On this date in history:

In 1906, workers in St. Petersburg set up the first Russian "soviet," or council.

In 1920, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland, Terence McSwiney, died after a 2 1/2-month hunger strike in a British prison cell, demanding independence for Ireland.

In 1942, Japanese warships sank the aircraft carrier USS Hornet off the Solomon Islands.

In 1944, after four days of furious fighting, the World War II battle of Leyte Gulf, largest air-naval clash in history, ended with a decisive U.S. victory over the Japanese.

In 1965, The Beatles were presented Member of the Order of the British Empire medals by Queen Elizabeth.

In 1979, South Korean President Park Chung-hee was reported assassinated by the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1984, Dr. Leonard L. Bailey performed the first baboon-to-human heart transplant, replacing a 14-day-old infant girl's defective heart with a healthy, walnut-sized heart of a young baboon at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California.

In 1990, District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $5,000 for his conviction on misdemeanor drug charges.

In 1994, Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty at a desert site along the Israeli-Jordanian border.

In 1995, Islamic Jihad leader Fathi ash-Shiqaqi was assassinated in Malta.

In 1998, one day before threatened NATO airstrikes were to begin, Serbian soldiers and police began what was said to be a significant pullback from positions in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo, where they reportedly were massacring ethnic Albanians.

Also in 1998, the presidents of Ecuador and Peru signed a peace treaty, ending a decades-long border dispute.

In 2001, six weeks after the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, U.S. President George Bush signed into law a tough new measure giving law enforcement agencies expanded authority in their battle against terrorism.

In 2002, Moscow's four-day hostage crisis came to a bloody end when Russian soldiers stormed a theater where Chechen rebels had held 700 people for ransom. Ninety hostages and 50 rebels were killed.

In 2003, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz escaped a rocket attack on a heavily guarded Baghdad hotel.

In 2004, a U.N. investigation into Iraq's oil-for-food program reportedly turned up names of several prominent politicians in France, Russia and elsewhere said to have received illegal Iraqi oil from Saddam Hussein.

In 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ignited international outrage when he said Israel should be wiped off the map.

In 2006, U.S. President George Bush signed a bill authorizing construction of nearly 700 miles of fencing on the U.S. border with Mexico to better control illegal immigration.

Also in 2006, Nicaragua's National Assembly voted unanimously to ban all abortions.

In 2007, Iraqi and U.S. military commanders reported terror attacks in Baghdad were down 77 percent since a major security push began in February.

A thought for the day: English writer William Hazlitt said, "Men of genius do not excel in any profession because their labor in it, but they labor in it because they excel."
Copyright 2008 by United Press International
All Rights Reserved.