ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the fourth day of 2025 and the 15th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1896, Utah was admitted as the 45th U.S. state.

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson presented the "Great Society" plan in his State of the Union address.

In 1995, the 104th U.S. Congress convened with Republican majorities in both the House and Senate for the first time since the Eisenhower presidency.

In 2004, NASA's Spirit rover landed on the surface of Mars.

In 2010, the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as the world's tallest building.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Louis Braille (1809-1852), Braille alphabet inventor; Don Shula (1930-2020), football coach; Floyd Patterson (1935-2006), boxer; Dyan Cannon (1937- ), actress; Doris Kearns Goodwin (1943- ), historian; Patty Loveless (1957- ), singer-songwriter; Michael Stipe (1960- ), singer-songwriter; Dave Foley (1963- ), actor/comedian; Julia Ormond (1965- ), actress; Kris Bryant (1992- ), baseball player; Derrick Henry (1994- ), football player.

TODAY'S FACT: Medicare, one of the largest reforms passed as part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society initiatives, insured 18.9% of Americans in 2024.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2003, the Atlanta Falcons upset the Green Bay Packers, 27-7, in the wild-card round of the playoffs. It was the first playoff loss at Lambeau Field in Packers history.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "(Lincoln's) success in dealing with the strong egos of the men in his cabinet suggests that in the hands of a truly great politician the qualities we generally associate with decency and morality -- kindness, sensitivity, compassion, honesty, and empathy -- can also be impressive political resources." -- Doris Kearns Goodwin, "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln"

TODAY'S NUMBER: $1.5 billion -- estimated total cost (in U.S. dollars) of the Burj Khalifa project.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 30) and first quarter moon (Jan. 6).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the third day of 2025 and the 14th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1777, Revolutionary forces under the command of George Washington defeated the British at Princeton, New Jersey.

In 1947, a session of Congress was televised for the first time to viewers in three East Coast cities.

In 1959, Alaska was admitted as the 49th state.

In 1993, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II).

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Lucretia Mott (1793-1880), abolitionist/women's rights pioneer; J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), author; Victor Borge (1909-2000), comedian/pianist; Hank Stram (1923-2005), football coach; Sergio Leone (1929-1989), director; Robert Loggia (1930-2015), actor; Glen A. Larson (1937-2014), TV producer/writer; Victoria Principal (1950- ), actress; Cheryl Miller (1964- ), basketball player/coach; Michael Schumacher (1969- ), race car driver; Eli Manning (1981- ), football player; Florence Pugh (1996- ), actress; Greta Thunberg (2003- ), activist.

TODAY'S FACT: Alaska is the only U.S. state where all three of North America's bear species -- black, brown and polar -- live.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1983, Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett became the first player in NFL history to run 99 yards from scrimmage for a touchdown.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after." -- J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 733,406 -- estimated population of the state of Alaska in 2023 -- more than triple the population of the state at the time it attained statehood.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 30) and first quarter moon (Jan. 6).

ANDREWS MCMEEL ALMANAC

Today is the second day of 2025 and the 13th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1492, the Moors were driven out of Spain as Granada fell to the forces of Ferdinand and Isabella.

In 1967, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as governor of California.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation instituting a 55-mph highway speed limit in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.

In 2006, a methane gas explosion in a Sago, West Virginia, coal mine trapped 13 miners. Only one survived.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Michael Tippett (1905-1998), composer; Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), author; Roger Miller (1936-1992), singer-songwriter; Jack Hanna (1947- ), zoologist; David Cone (1963- ), baseball player/sportscaster; Pernell Whitaker (1964-2019), boxer; Tia Carrere (1967- ), actress; Cuba Gooding Jr. (1968- ), actor; Tommy Morrison (1969-2013), boxer; Christy Turlington (1969- ), model; Taye Diggs (1971- ), singer/actor; Dax Shepard (1975- ), actor; Kate Bosworth (1983- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Castilian Spanish is the official language of Spain, but Catalan, Galician, Basque and Aranese are all official regional languages.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, Miami upset heavily favored Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 31-30, as Nebraska failed on a two-point conversion at game's end.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Above all, never think you're not good enough. Never think that. In life people will take you at your own reckoning." -- Isaac Asimov

TODAY'S NUMBER: 26,284 -- miles on the odometer of a rare, unrestored 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante Coupe found in the garage of a British doctor and reported by media outlets on this day in 2009. One of only 17 ever made, the car sold at a Paris auction a month later for $4.4 million.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (Dec. 30) and first quarter moon (Jan. 6).