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Almanac for Feb. 13, 2026

Today is Friday, Feb. 13, the 44th day of 2026. There are 321 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1945, Allied forces in World War II began a three-day bombing raid on Dresden, Germany, killing as many as 25,000 people and triggering a firestorm that swept through the city center. Also on this date: In 1935, a jury in Flemington, New Jersey, found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of first-degree murder in the kidnap-slaying of Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. (Hauptmann was executed the following year.) In 1965, during ...

Virginia’s clownish redistricting scheme

Virginia is the new Illinois. The practice of drawing partisan districts is named after Elbridge Gerry, the 19th-century Massachusetts governor. Even he might blush at the extreme gerrymander that Democrats in the commonwealth are pushing. They want to go from a congressional delegation ...

Homeland Security officials voice concerns about shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) — A disruption in reimbursements to states for disaster relief costs. Delays in cybersecurity response and training. And missed paychecks for the agents who screen passengers and bags at the nation's airports, which could lead to unscheduled absences and longer wait times for ...

Almanac for Feb. 12, 2026

Today is Thursday, Feb. 12, the 43rd day of 2026. There are 322 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1999, the Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton in his impeachment trial on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. Also on this date: In 1554, Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the throne of England for nine days, and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were beheaded after being condemned for high treason. In 1809, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in a log cabin at Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky. In 1909, the ...

Those perplexing pines

Pines are the second largest taxonomic group of trees in Michigan, by volume, exceeded only by the maples. However, what makes a “pine” a pine? All that is “evergreen” is not a pine, or even evergreen. “Pines” belong to the genus Pinus. Michigan forestlands boast three ...

Has there been voter fraud?

When President Trump claims there has been “voter fraud” in previous elections, what usually comes to my mind is non-U.S. citizens casting ballots. That is against the law. There have been a few such instances, but no credible proof they were enough to change the outcome of an ...