THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, March 17, the 76th day of 2017. There are 289 days left in the year. This is St. Patrick’s Day.

IN THE NATION

2016: Bowing to years of public pressure, SeaWorld said it would no longer breed killer whales or make them perform crowd-pleasing tricks.

IN THE WORLD

1992: Whites in South Africa voted by a majority of greater than 2-to-1 to forge ahead with talks to end white rule and give blacks voting rights for the first time in the country’s history.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

Singer-songwriter John Sebastian (The Lovin’ Spoonful) is 73. Actor Patrick Duffy is 68. Actor Kurt Russell is 66. Actor Gary Sinise is 62. Former basketball and baseball player Danny Ainge is 58. Actor Rob Lowe is 53. Rock singer Billy Corgan is 50. Musician Melissa Auf der Maur is 45. Olympic gold medal soccer player Mia Hamm is 45. Actor John Boyega is 25. Olympic gold medal swimmer Katie Ledecky is 20.