Next Weeks Almanac Digest

Today is Monday, May 12, the 133rd day of 2008 with 233 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include English painter and writer of limericks and nonsense poems Edward Lear in 1812; nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale in 1820; French composer Jules Emile Massenet in 1842; lawmaker and author Henry Cabot Lodge in 1850; novelist Philip Wylie in 1902; actress Katharine Hepburn in 1907; orchestra leader Gordon Jenkins and jazz trombonist Jack Jenney in 1910; newscaster Howard K. Smith in 1914; convicted spy Julius Rosenberg in 1918 (executed with his wife on June 19, 1953); baseball Hall of Fame member Yogi Berra in 1925 (age 83); composer Burt Bacharach in 1928 (age 80); TV personality Tom Snyder and artist Frank Stella (age 72), both in 1936; comedian George Carlin in 1937 (age 71); and actors Gabriel Byrne and Bruce Boxleitner ("Babylon 5") in 1950 (age 58), Ving Rhames in 1959 (age 49), Emilio Estevez in 1962 (age 46), Stephen Baldwin in 1966 (age 42), Kim Fields in 1969 (age 39); and Jason Biggs in 1978 (age 30).

On this date in history:

In 1922, the magazine "Radio Broadcast" commented, "The rate of increase in the number who spend at least part of an evening listening to radio is almost incomprehensible."

In 1937, George VI was crowned king of England, succeeding his brother Edward, who abdicated to marry U.S. divorcee Wallis Simpson.

In 1949, Soviet authorities announced the end of a land blockade of Berlin. The blockade lasted 328 days but was neutralized by the Allies' Berlin airlift.

In 1970, the U.S. Senate confirmed U.S. President Richard Nixon's nomination of U.S. District Judge Harry A. Blackmun to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1975, a Cambodian gunboat fired on the U.S. cargo ship Mayaguez and forced it into a Cambodian port. All 39 crewmen aboard were freed but a number of U.S. servicemen died during a rescue mission two days later.

In 1991, Operation Sea Angel sent 8,000 U.S. troops to Bangladesh to distribute relief packages to cyclone victims.

In 1992, CIA Director Robert Gates said he had begun declassifying all relevant information on the assassination of U.S. President John Kennedy to end the "insidious, perverse notion" that the CIA was involved.

In 1999, U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin announced he was resigning. Rubin's policies were credited with contributing to the roaring U.S economy.

In 2002, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter began a visit to Cuba. He was the first president, in or out of office, to visit the island since communists took over in 1959.

In 2003, U.S. officials in Iraq reported the capture of Rihab Rashjid Taha, nicknamed Dr. Germ, who played a major role in Iraq's biological weapons program.

Also in 2003, at least 59 people died and six apartment houses were destroyed when a truck laden with explosives blew up in a town in Chechnya where a revolt against Russia continued.

In 2004, a Massachusetts Roman Catholic order was sued by nine former students of one of its schools, the Boston School for the Deaf, for alleged abuse that happened as long as 60 years ago.

In 2005, U.S. President George Bush was asked to explain a secret British memo that cast doubt on the legality of going to war with Iraq in 2002.

In 2006, as many as 200 people were killed in a Nigerian gasoline pipeline explosion that officials said apparently was set off by vandals siphoning fuel.

Also in 2006, Daniel Biechele, a man whose fireworks touched off the 2003 nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I., that killed 100 people, was sentenced to four years in prison. The judge said there was no sign of criminal intent.

In 2007, the top Taliban leader in southern and southeastern Afghanistan, Mulah Dadullah, was killed by U.S.-led forces.

Also in 2007, about 100,000 people attended a "Family Day" rally in Rome to protest a move that would grant more rights to same-sex and unmarried couples in Italy.

A thought for the day: Mark Twain remarked, "I never let schooling interfere with my education."

Today is Tuesday, May 13, the 134th day of 2008 with 232 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include composer Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert and Sullivan, in 1842; French cubist painter Georges Braque in 1882; English novelist Daphne Du Maurier in 1907; heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis in 1914; singer Mary Wells in 1943; actors Beatrice Arthur in 1923 (age 85) and Harvey Keitel in 1939 (age 69); singer Stevie Wonder, born Steveland Hardaway, in 1950 (age 58); former pro basketball star Dennis Rodman in 1961 (age 47); and actress Julianne Phillips in 1960 (age 48).

On this date in history:

In 1607, Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in North America, was founded near the James River in Virginia.

In 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico.

In 1981, Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca wounded Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. The pope later, from his hospital bed, forgave his assailant.

In 1985, 11 people died when a Philadelphia police helicopter bombed the fortified house of a radical organization, MOVE, to end a 24-hour siege. The ensuing fire destroyed 53 homes.

In 1989, U.S. President George H.W. Bush called for the overthrow of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega.

In 1991, Winnie Mandela was convicted of being an accessory in the assault of four youths who had been kidnapped and taken to her Soweto, South Africa, home in 1988.

In 1992, astronauts from the shuttle Endeavor made an unprecedented three-man spacewalk to salvage an errant communications satellite.

In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton nominated Judge Stephen Breyer to succeed Justice Harry A. Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1998, as India conducted more nuclear test blasts, U.S. President Bill Clinton announced he would impose economic sanctions against New Delhi as required by the 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act.

In 2002, the sex abuse scandal involving Roman Catholic clergy grew violent when a Baltimore priest accused of molesting a youth years earlier was shot by the alleged victim. The following day, a Connecticut priest hanged himself at a Maryland treatment center for priests accused of molestation.

Also in 2002, U.S. President George Bush signed a bill that would increase federal payments to farmers by at least $83 billion over 10 years. Congressional critics called it a budget buster.

And, Bush announced that he and Russian President Putin would sign a treaty committing the United States and Russia to a two-thirds reduction in their nuclear arsenal over 10 years.

In 2003, suicide bombers, in four coordinated attacks, killed 34 people in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In 2005, Colombian authorities said they made the biggest drug bust in the nation's history when they grabbed 12 tons of cocaine valued at $300 million.

Also in 2005, government troops in Uzbekistan put down an uprising they blame on Islamic militants. Opponents say the troops fired into crowds and killed hundreds of people.

In 2006, health officials said the virulent bird flu that raised fears of a human pandemic mostly had been snuffed out in Southeast Asia where it claimed its first victims.

In 2007, Hamas and Fatah gunmen traded gunfire in Gaza, killing at least two people after a weekend of renewed factional Palestinian fighting. Within a few days, 40 Palestinians were reported dead from violent exchanges.

Also in 2007, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said if the Iraqi Parliament votes to ask the United States to leave Iraq, "We'll be glad to comply."

A thought for the day: E.B. White wrote, "The trouble with the profit system has always been that it was highly unprofitable to most people."

Today is Wednesday, May 14, the 135th day of 2008 with 231 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include English portrait painter Thomas Gainsborough in 1727; Scottish reformer Robert Owen in 1771; opera coloratura soprano Patrice Munsel in 1925 (age 83); singer Bobby Darin in 1936; filmmakers George Lucas ("Star Wars") in 1944 (age 64) and Robert Zemeckis ("Forrest Gump") in 1952 (age 56); and actor Tim Roth in 1961 (age 47).

On this date in history:

In 1643, King Louis XIV, who would be known as "The Sun King," became ruler of France.

In 1796, Dr. Edward Jenner, a rural England physician, tested his smallpox vaccine on a healthy 8-year-old boy.

In 1804, one year after the United States doubled its territory with the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition left St. Louis on a mission to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

In 1904, the Olympic Games were held in the United States for the first time, in St. Louis.

In 1942, the U.S. Congress established the WAACs, the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, for World War II duty.

In 1948, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish state in 2,000 years.

In 1973, the United States launched Skylab, its first manned orbiting laboratory.

In 1988, a church bus was hit by a pickup truck going the wrong way on a road near Carrollton, Ky., killing 27 bus passengers, mostly teenagers.

In 1990, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ruled illegal Estonia's and Latvia's declarations of transition toward independence.

In 1991, U.S. President George H.W. Bush nominated Robert M. Gates for director of the CIA, a position he was denied four years earlier due to the Iran-Contra investigation.

In 1992, Lyle Alzado, NFL lineman-turned-actor/businessman, died of brain cancer, which he had blamed on steroid abuse.

In 1997, Russia and the NATO nations agreed on a treaty that cleared the way for NATO expansion to the east.

In 1998, Frank Sinatra died after suffering a heart attack. He was 82.

Also in 1998, a U.S. judge dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against a former FBI agent in the 1992 shooting at the cabin of white separatist Randy Weaver in Ruby Ridge, Idaho.

In 2000, hundreds of thousands of mothers and other gun-control advocates marched in Washington and several other cities, demanding "sensible" gun laws and mourning the loss of children to gun violence. It was known as the "Million Mom March."

In 2002, three gunmen killed 34 people in Jammu, capital of India's disputed state of Kashmir. A Pakistan-based militant group was blamed.

In 2003, sheriff's deputies in Victoria, Texas, found as many as 100 people stuffed into a truck operated by smugglers of illegal aliens. Nineteen had died of the heat.

Also in 2003, the second bombing in two days in Chechnya killed 16 people.

In 2004, U.S. authorities released 315 Iraqi prisoners from Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison amid the investigation into alleged prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers.

Also in 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block gay marriages in Massachusetts, making it the only state at the time to allow same-sex weddings.

In 2006, convicted Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui began serving his life sentence at a maximum-security federal prison in Colorado.

Also in 2006, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would not return to Cold War policies but would instead patiently develop relations with the West.

In 2007, plans were announced to return the Chrysler auto maker to U.S. ownership. The German company DamlerChrysler said it would sell 80.1 percent of its Chrysler division to a U.S. private equity firm for $7.4 billion.

A thought for the day: William Hazlitt said, "Spleen can subsist on any kind of food."

Today is Thursday, May 15, the 136th day of 2008 with 230 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include author L. Frank Baum ("The Wizard of Oz") in 1856; French chemist Pierre Curie in 1859; author Katherine Anne Porter in 1890; former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley in 1902; actors Joseph Cotten in 1905 and James Mason in 1909; country singer Eddy Arnold in 1918 (age 90); actress Anna Maria Alberghetti in 1936 (age 72); former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in 1937 (age 71); singers Trini Lopez in 1937 (age 71) and Lainie Kazan in 1940 (age 68); filmmaker David Cronenberg in 1943 (age 65); and actor Chazz Palminteri in 1951 (age 57).

On this date in history:

In 1918, the first regular U.S. air mail service was established between Washington and New York City.

In 1930, Ellen Church became the first airline stewardess, flying on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Cheyenne, Wyo.

In 1940, nylon stockings went on sale in U.S. stores for the first time.

In 1941, the jet-propelled Gloster-Whittle E 28/39 aircraft flew over Cranwell, England, in the first successful test of an Allied aircraft using jet propulsion.

In 1962, Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper was launched into space atop an Atlas rocket and completed 22 orbits.

In 1969, Justice Abe Fortas, under fire for a money deal with jailed financier Louis Wolfson, resigned from the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1972, Alabama Gov. George Wallace was shot and seriously wounded at a presidential campaign rally in Laurel, Md. Partially paralyzed but still a Southern political power for years, he died in 1998.

In 1988, Soviet forces began their withdrawal from Afghanistan in compliance with the Geneva accords.

In 1990, at an auction, Japanese millionaire Ryoei Saito bid a record $82.5 million for Van Gogh's 1890 "Portrait of Dr. Gachet." Two days later, he spent $78.1 million for Renoir's 1876 "Au Moulin De La Galette," also a record.

In 1991, Edith Cresson, a Socialist and former trade minister, became the first woman prime minister of France.

In 1992, the United States warned Saddam Hussein that allied military forces may "respond" if his troops attempted to repress Kurdish elections in northern Iraq.

In 2002, the White House said that President George W. Bush had received a CIA briefing in August 2001, the month before the terrorist attack on New York and Washington, warning that Osama bin Laden planned to hijack airplanes but nothing was said about possibly crashing them into buildings.

In 2003, authorities arrested several people who allegedly had planned attacks on the U.S. Embassy and other targets in Lebanon.

Also in 2003, New York scientists uncovered a natural cancer-fighting mechanism that could help make tumors more vulnerable to radiation therapy.

In 2004, the U.S. State Department warned that tensions in Iraq had increased the potential threat to U.S. citizens and interests abroad.

In 2005, Uzbek security forces were reported to have sealed off the center of Andijan where as many as 450 people may have been killed during anti-government protests.

In 2006, the U.S. State Department said it would restore diplomatic relations with Libya for the first time since 1980 and remove the country from its terrorism sponsors list.

In 2007, U.S. President George Bush appointed U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute to become America's first so-called "war czar," to coordinate operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Also in 2007, a national survey said Miami was the worst city in the United States for road rage. Portland, Ore., drew the most-courteous tag.

A thought for the day: Samuel Butler said, "The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you but he will make a fool of himself, too."

Today is Friday, May 16, the 137th day of 2008 with 229 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include William Seward, U.S. secretary of State whose purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million was called "Seward's Folly," in 1801; banker Levi Morton, U.S. vice president under Benjamin Harrison, in 1824; David Hughes, inventor of the microphone, in 1831; actor Henry Fonda in 1905; author Louis "Studs" Terkel in 1912 (age 96); bandleader Woody Herman in 1913; entertainer Liberace in 1919; former New York Yankees manager Billy Martin in 1928; actor Pierce Brosnan in 1953 (age 55); Olympic gold medal gymnast Olga Korbut and actress Debra Winger both in 1955 (age 53); actress Mare Winningham in 1959 (age 49); singer Janet Jackson in 1966 (age 42); actress Tracey Gold in 1969 (age 39); tennis player Gabriela Sabatini in 1970 (age 38); and actors David Boreanaz ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel") in 1969 (age 39) and Tori Spelling in 1973 (age 35).

On this date in history:

In 1804, the French Senate declared Napoleon Bonaparte emperor.

In 1871, U.S. Marines landed in Korea in an unsuccessful attempt to open the country to foreign trade.

In 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded the first Oscars. "Wings" was named Best Picture.

In 1969, the unmanned Soviet spacecraft Venus-5 landed on the surface of Venus.

In 1988, U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop described nicotine as addictive as heroin or cocaine and called for the licensing of tobacco product vendors.

In 1991, 13 of the 15 Soviet republics agreed on an emergency economic plan to ban strikes while increasing wages and worker productivity.

In 1992, a poll showed 1-in-8 Southern California households were victimized within the last two years by crimes involving firearms.

In 1995, the leader of a Japanese religious cult was charged with murder and attempted murder in the March nerve-gas attacks in a Tokyo subway that killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000.

In 1997, U.S. President Bill Clinton apologized for the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male," which was conducted in 1932-72.

Also in 1997, Mobutu Sese Seko -- who'd ruled Zaire for more than 30 years, allegedly looting it of billions of dollars -- fled the capital as rebel forces advanced.

In 2003, suicidal terrorists set off five bombs simultaneously in Casablanca, Morocco, killing 41 people and injuring about 100.

In 2004, U.S. Border Patrol agents said confusion over U.S. President George Bush's proposed guest-worker program for illegal immigrants fueled a rush at the southwest border from Mexico that threatened to overwhelm the patrol.

In 2005, Newsweek, after a public apology, printed a retraction to a story that accused interrogators at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay of flushing a copy of the Koran down a toilet. Riots in Afghanistan that followed the story claimed 16 lives.

Also in 2005, a U.S. Senate panel said high-ranking Russian politicians made illicit multimillion-dollar oil transactions with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein under the U.N. oil-for-food program.

In 2006, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano appointed Romano Prodi premier amid charges of election fraud from outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

In 2007, the U.S. Senate, by a 67-29 vote, rejected a proposal that would have cut off funds for military action in Iraq within the next year.

Also in 2007, Iraqi police said a bomb northeast of Baghdad killed 32 people and injured 60 others but did not contain chlorine gas as earlier reported.

And, British authorities decided not to send Prince Harry to serve in Iraq after hearing of threats against the prince. However, he did serve later in Afghanistan but was withdrawn after his presence was discovered.

A thought for the day: From "H.M.S. Pinafore" comes these lines: "Things are seldom what they seem; Skim milk masquerades as cream."

Today is Saturday, May 17, the 138th day of 2008 with 228 to follow.

This is Armed Forces Day.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include English physician Edward Jenner, developer of the smallpox vaccine, in 1749; English writer Robert Surtees in 1805; Schuyler Wheeler, inventor of the electric fan, in 1860; French composer Erik Satie in 1866; Negro League baseball player James "Cool Papa" Bell in 1903; actress Maureen O'Sullivan in 1911; actor/director Dennis Hopper in 1936 (age 72); actors Bill Paxton in 1955 (age 53) and Bob Saget in 1956 (age 52); and boxer Sugar Ray Leonard in 1956 (age 52).

On this date in history:

In 1792, 24 brokers met in New York City and formed the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1875, Aristides was the winner of the first Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

In 1954, in a major civil rights victory, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

In 1973, the U.S. Senate Watergate Committee opened hearings into the break-in at Democratic National headquarters in Washington.

In 1987, two Iraqi Exocet missiles hit the frigate USS Stark in the Persian Gulf, killing 37 seamen. Iraq apologized for mistaking the ship's identity and the Stark's top officers were reprimanded and retired.

In 1989, 1 million people demonstrated for democratic reforms in Beijing. The number of students fasting to support the drive reached 3,000.

In 1994, the U.N. Security Council approved sending troops to secure the airport in the civil war-torn African nation of Rwanda.

Also in 1994, a 30-year dictatorship ended in Malawi with the election of a new president in the African nation.

In 1995, a preliminary report by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics found "substantial credible evidence" that Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore., made unwanted sexual advances toward a number of women.

In 1999, Israel's hawkish prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, lost his bid for re-election when Israeli voters elected Ehud Barak, head of the center-left Israel One coalition, to succeed him.

In 2000, prosecutors in Birmingham, Ala., charged two longtime suspects in the deaths of four girls in a church bombing in 1963 that became a watershed event in the civil rights movement. The suspects would be convicted in May 2001.

In 2004, the president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Ezzedine Salim, was assassinated in Baghdad by a suicide bomber.

Also in 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

In 2005, Los Angeles voters elected Antonio Villaraigosa as the city's first Hispanic mayor since 1872.

Also in 2005, the White House challenged a leaked high-level British memo that said intelligence was being skewed to support invading Iraq.

In 2006, a $200 billion class action lawsuit accused U.S. telephone companies Verizon, BellSouth and AT&T of allegedly sharing customer calling patterns with the government.

In 2007, Paul Wolfowitz announced his resignation as president of the World Bank. His decision reportedly came after the bank concluded he had violated his contract by arranging a promotion for his girl friend.

Also in 2007, the United States "minority" citizenship topped the 100 million mark, about one-third of the total American population, the U.S. Census Bureau said. Hispanics made up the largest group, edging African Americans 44.3 million to 40.2 million.

A thought for the day: Frank Lloyd Wright said, "The physician can bury his mistakes but the architect can only advise his clients to plant vines."

Today is Sunday, May 18, the 139th day of 2008 with 227 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Taurus. They include English philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell in 1872; German architect Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus, in 1883; film director Frank Capra ("It Happened One Night," "It's a Wonderful Life") in 1897; American composer Meredith Willson ("The Music Man") in 1902; singer Perry Como and director/screenwriter Richard Brooks ("Key Largo," "Elmer Gantry"), both in 1912; ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn in 1919; Pope John Paul II, born Karol Wojtyla, in 1920; actors Pernell Roberts ("Bonanza") in 1928 (age 80) and Robert Morse in 1931 (age 77); former baseball star Reggie Jackson in 1946 (age 62); country singer George Strait in 1952 (age 56); and actor Chow Yun-Fat in 1955 (age 53).

On this date in history:

In 1860, the Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln for U.S. president at its convention in Chicago.

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 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. Helen's in southwestern Washington state erupted, blowing the top off the mountain and killing at least 55 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 Sharmon became the first Briton in space when she blasted off from the Baikonur Space Center aboard a Soviet spacecraft,

In 1992, bandleader Lawrence Welk, whose bubbly champagne dance music made him a millionaire, died at age 89.

In 1994, the last Israeli soldiers pulled out of the Gaza Strip as Palestinian police took their place.

In 2003, Morocco's King Mohamed VI personally oversaw the investigation into the suicide bombings that killed 41 and wounded another 100 in Casablanca.

In 2004, Sonia Gandhi, a member through marriage of India's dominant political family, declined to accept the post of prime minister after her Indian National Congress party had won an upset victory in parliamentary elections.

In 2004 sports, Randy Johnson, Arizona's 40-year-old lefthander, pitched a perfect game in a 2-0 win over Atlanta. He was the oldest major league pitcher to accomplish that feat.

In 2005, the White House confirmed that a grenade found on May 10 in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi was capable of exploding and had posed a threat to U.S. President George Bush who spoke nearby. Earlier, officials said it was a harmless training device.

In 2006, the U.S. House narrowly passed a $2.7 trillion federal budget bill, similar to a Senate version the day before. The Senate also approved building 370 miles of heavy fencing along the Mexican border for $1 billion.

Also in 2006, a wave of bombings, executions and kidnapping swept Iraq with an many as 26 soldiers, police and civilian killed. Fifteen members of Iraq's tae kwon do Olympic team were reported kidnapped.

In 2007, a powerful explosion at an historic mosque in Hyderabad, India, followed by police shooting to control rioters left a dozen people dead and more than 50 injured.

Also in 2007, reports said Chiquita Brands International was fined $25 million for paying alleged right-wing Colombian terrorist groups $1.7 million over seven years for protection. Several other U.S. companies reputedly followed suit.

A thought for the day: Lewis Mumford wrote, "Our national flower is the concrete cloverleaf."

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