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4B Daily News – Saturday, February 18, 2012 PEANUTS® By Charles Schultz Today in History By The Associated Press Today is Saturday, Feb. 18, the 49th day of 2012. There are 317 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 18, 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as pro- visional president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Ala. On this date: DILBERT® By Scott Adams In 1546, Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Refor- mation in Germany, died in Eisleben. In 1564, artist Michelangelo died in Rome. In 1735, the first opera presented in America, ''Flora, or Hob in the Well,'' was performed in present-day Charleston, S.C. In 1885, Mark Twain's ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' was published in the U.S. for the first time. In 1930, photographic evidence of Pluto (now designat- ed a ''dwarf planet'') was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz. In 1953, ''Bwana Devil,'' the movie that heralded the 3D GARFIELD® By Jim Davis fad of the 1950s, had its New York opening. In 1960, the 8th Winter Olympic Games were formally opened in Squaw Valley, Calif., by Vice President Richard M. Nixon. In 1970, the ''Chicago Seven'' defendants were found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democra- tic national convention; five were convicted of violating the Anti-Riot Act of 1968 (those convictions were later reversed). In 1972, the California Supreme Court struck down the state's death penalty. SHOE By Chris Cassatt and Gary Brookins In 1977, the space shuttle Enterprise, sitting atop a Boe- ing 747, went on its maiden ''flight'' above the Mojave (moh-HAH'-vee) Desert. In 1984, Italy and the Vatican signed an accord under which Roman Catholicism ceased to be the state religion of Italy. In 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash at the Daytona 500; he was 49. Ten years ago: Andrea Yates went on trial in Houston, BLONDIE® By Dean Young and Stan Drake charged with two counts of capital murder for the drownings of three of her five children, ages 6 months to 7 years. (Yates was found guilty, but her convictions were overturned; she was acquitted in a retrial by reason of insanity.) France's Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat (PEH'-zeh-rah) nar- rowly won the Olympic ice dancing gold medal. Five years ago: A military helicopter crashed in south- eastern Afghanistan, killing eight U.S. service members; 14 survived with injuries. Twin car bombs blew up in a mostly Shiite area of Baghdad, killed at least 62 people. A pair of bombs on a train headed from India to Pakistan killed 68 people. One year ago: The United States vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have condemned Israeli settlements as illegal and called for a halt in all settlement building; the 14 other Secu- rity Council members voted in favor of the measure. Today's Birthdays: Former Cosmopolitan editor Helen BEETLE BAILEY® By Mort Walker Gurley Brown is 90. Actor George Kennedy is 87. Former Sen. John Warner, R-Va., is 85. Author Toni Morrison is 81. Movie director Milos Forman is 80. Singer Yoko Ono is 79. Singer-songwriter Bobby Hart is 73. Singer Irma Thomas is 71. Singer Herman Santiago (Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers) is 71. Singer Dennis DeYoung is 65. Actress Sinead Cusack is 64. Actress Cybill Shepherd is 62. Singer Juice Newton is 60. Singer Randy Crawford is 60. Rock musician Robbie Bachman is 59. Rock musician Larry Rust (Iron Butterfly) is 59. Actor John Travolta is 58. Game show host Vanna White is 55. Actress Jayne Atkinson is 53. Actress Greta Scacchi is 52. Actor Matt Dillon is 48. Rap- per Dr. Dre is 47. Actress Molly Ringwald is 44. Actress Sarah Brown is 37. Actor Kristoffer Polaha is 35. Singer- musician Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek) is 35. Actor Tyrone Burton is 33. Rock-singer musician Regina Spektor is 32. Thought for Today: ''Opinion is that exercise of the human will which helps us to make a decision without infor- mation.'' — John Erskine, American author and educator (1879-1951). HAGAR the Horrible® By Chris Browne RUBES® By Leigh Rubin ZITS BY JERRY SCOTT & JIM BORGMAN FRANK & ERNEST® By Bob Thaves ALLEY OOP