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• Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, seeking to counter Democratic criticisms that his economic policies favored the rich, said the economic stimulus plan he was going to unveil the following week would focus on jobs and the unemployed. Sydney Omarr, the astrologer to the stars whose horoscopes appeared in more than 200 newspapers, died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 76.
• Five years ago: The Justice Department opened a full criminal investigation into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes. (A special prosecutor later cleared the CIA's former top clandestine officer and others.) Pakistan pushed back parliamentary elections until Feb. 18, a six-week delay prompted by rioting that followed the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Oil prices soared to $100 a barrel for the first time. Late-night talk shows returned to the air two months into a writers strike. (David Letterman and Craig Ferguson had reached agreements to allow writers to work on their shows; Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel returned without theirs.)
• One year ago: A gas pipeline in central Syria exploded; the government blamed "terrorists" while the opposition accused officials of playing on fears of religious extremism and terrorism to rally support behind President Bashar Assad. No. 3 Oklahoma State beat No. 4 Stanford 41-38 in overtime in the Fiesta Bowl. No. 6 Oregon beat No. 9 Wisconsin 45-38 in the Rose Bowl.
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• Today's Birthdays: Country musician Harold Bradley is 87. Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert is 71. TV host Jack Hanna is 66. Actress Wendy Phillips is 61. Actress Gabrielle Carteris is 52. Movie director Todd Haynes is 52. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher David Cone is 50. Actress Tia Carrere is 46. Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is 45. Model Christy Turlington is 44. Actor Taye Diggs is 42. Rock musician Scott Underwood (Train) is 42. Rock singer Doug Robb (Hoobastank) is 38. Actor Dax Shepard is 38. Actress Paz Vega is 37. Country musician Chris Hartman is 35. Rock musician Jerry DePizzo Jr. (O.A.R.) is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kelton Kessee (IMX) is 32. Actress Kate Bosworth is 30. Jazz singer-musician Trombone Shorty is 27.
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• Thought for Today: "A clash of doctrines is not a disaster -- it is an opportunity." -- Alfred North Whitehead, English philosopher and mathematician (1861-1947).
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