The Almanac
Today is Sunday, Sept. 20, the 263rd day of 2015 with 102 to follow.
The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Uranus and Venus.
Evening stars are Mercury, Neptune and Saturn. Those born on this date
are under the sign of Virgo. They include Italian pacifist/Nobel Peace
Prize laureate Ernesto Teodoro Moneta in 1833; novelist Upton Sinclair
in 1878; Sister Elizabeth Kenny, Australian nurse who pioneered the
care of polio victims, in 1880; musician Jelly Roll Morton in 1885,
basketball Hall of Fame Coach Arnold Jacob Red Auerbach in 1917; actor
Fernando Rey in 1917; fashion designer James Galanos in 1924 (age 91),
actor Anne Meara in 1929; actor Sophia Loren in 1934 (age 81); writer
George R.R. Martin in 1948 (age 67); hockey Hall of Fame member Guy
Lafleur in 1951 (age 64); actor Gary Cole in 1956 (age 59); actor
Kristen Johnston in 1967 (age 48); musicians Gunnar and Matthew Nelson
in 1967 (age 48); actor/producer Aaron Paul in 1979 (age 36). On this
date in history: In 1946, the first Cannes Film Festival opened on the
French Riviera. An earlier attempt (in 1939) to international movie
showcase was halted by the outbreak of World War II. In 1966, Britain's
Queen Elizabeth II launched the Cunard liner bearing her name, often
shortened to QE-2. (It eventually became the only ocean liner on the
once thriving trans-Atlantic route.) In 1973, Billie Jean King defeated
Bobby Riggs in a Battle of the Sexes tennis match. In 1984, Muslim
militants bombed the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 23
people. It was the third terrorist attack on U.S. installations in the
city in 17 months. In 2000, the six-year Whitewater investigation of
U.S. President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton ended
without any indictments being issued. Independent Counsel Robert Ray
said there was insufficient evidence to establish criminal wrongdoing.
In 2011, the don't ask, don't tell ban on openly gay U.S. service
members was officially repealed at 1 minute past midnight, ending a
policy under which about 14,000 men and women were discharged. The
controversial 1993 law had allowed gays to serve only if they kept
their sexual orientation private. In 2012, the year-old repeal of a ban
on gays in the U.S. military had no overall negative impact on
readiness, a UCLA study found. In 2013, Chicago police said at least
three people were killed and 23 wounded -- 13 in one gang-related
outburst of gunfire in a park -- in a two-day spate of shootings.
Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said it was a miracle there has
been no fatality in the park attack. One of the victims was a
3-year-old boy, shot in the head. (Days later, the child's mother said
he would need surgery many times in the years ahead.) In 2014, the
Vatican announced that Blase J. Cupich, bishop of Spokane, Wash., would
become the archbishop of Chicago in November, succeeding the ailing
Cardinal Francis George, who headed the 2.3-million-member diocese for
17 years. A thought for the day: It's better to explore life and make
mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays
for a full life. -- Sophia Loren .
