Friday, December 25, 2009

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

At this time of the year, with pain in my heart and tears in my eyes at the loss of my best friend and soul companion, I reach out across the miles to greet all my blog readers. I promise to return in the new year with a vigor and the passion I once had. Now I wish to thank you for your support.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! GOD BLESS AND KEEP YOU ALL WELL.

Friday, October 23, 2009

ABEL MARTIN LOPEZ RODRIGUEZ

NOV 14, 1955 - OCT 18, 2009

REST IN PEACE, DARLING. YOU ARE EVERYTHING TO ME!!
 
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ABEL MARTIN LOPEZ RODRIGUEZ

NOV 14, 1955 - OCT 18, 2009

REST IN PEACE, CIELO. TE AMO MAS QUE AYER Y MENOS QUE MAÑANA.
SQ? TA!!!

“La felicidad es un pensamiento que no siempre es real, pero si efectivo” (Abel Desestress)

 
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Thursday, October 1, 2009

HISTORY FOR OCTOBER 1, 2009



This Day in History, October 1
On October 1st, 1908, Ford introduced the Model T.

Other Notable Events, Oct. 1
In 1903, the first World Series opened in Boston. The Boston Pilgrims of the American League closed out the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League in the eighth game of a best-of-nine series.

In 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model-T automobile.

In 1949, Mao Zedong and other communist leaders formally proclaimed establishment of the People's Republic of China.

In 1974, former U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell and four other Nixon administration officials went on trial on Watergate cover-up charges.

In 1991, the United States suspended economic aid to Haiti and refused to recognize the military junta that ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

In 1992, Dallas billionaire Ross Perot formally announced his candidacy for the presidency. He called his group the Reform Party.

Also in 1992, a missile accidentally fired by the U.S.S. Saratoga struck a Turkish destroyer in the Aegean Sea, killing nine Turkish sailors.

In 1995, 10 Muslims were convicted of conspiring to conduct a terrorist campaign in the New York City area aimed at forcing the United States to drop its support of Egypt and Israel.

In 2001, about 40 people were killed when a militant Muslim group attacked the legislative assembly building in the Indian province of Jammu and Kashmir.

In 2003, a report said hostility to the United States "has reached shocking levels" among Muslims and Arabs.

In 2004, the U.S. army said it killed 109 Sunni insurgents in a major offensive with Iraqi national guards against the city of Samara.

In 2005, a reported 36 people, mostly foreign tourists, died in explosions at two resort restaurants on the island of Bali. More than 100 others were reported injured.

In 2006, Brazilians voted for president following a campaign rife with corruption allegations against incumbent and favored Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In 2007, Vladimir Putin, ineligible to seek another term as Russian president after eight years in the post, indicated to lawmakers his desire to become prime minister.


Notable Birthdays for Oct. 1
Those born on this date include:
- Navy Capt. James Lawrence, hero of the War of 1812, in 1781
- Novelist Faith Baldwin in 1893
- Pianist Vladimir Horowitz in 1903
- Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, in 1924 (age 85)
- U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, also in 1924
- Former major league batting champion Rod Carew in 1945 (age 64)
- Actor Walter Matthau in 1920
- Actor James Whitmore in 1921 (age 88)
- Actor Tom Bosley in 1927 (age 82)
- Actor George Peppard in 1928
- Actor Laurence Harvey in 1928
- Actor Richard Harris in 1930
- Actress Julie Andrews in 1935 (age 74)
- Actress Stella Stevens in 1936 (age 73)
- Actor Stephen Collins in 1947 (age 62)
- Actor Randy Quaid in 1950 (age 59)
- Former home run champ Mark McGwire in 1963 (age 46)

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

HISTORY FOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2009




This Day in History, September 30

On September 30th, 1955, screen legend James Dean died in a car crash.

Other Notable Events, Sept. 30
In 1452, the first section of the Guttenberg Bible, the first book printed from movable type, was published in Germany.

In 1630, John Billington, one of the first pilgrims to land in America was hanged for murder -- becoming the first European criminal executed in the American colonies.

In 1846, a dentist in Charleston, Mass., extracted a tooth with the aid of an anesthetic -- ether. It was the first time an anesthetic had been used.

In 1938, Germany, France, Britain and Italy met in Munich, Germany, for a conference after which British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain predicted "peace for our time." But, World War II began less than one year later.

In 1946, the verdicts were handed down in the Nuremberg war crimes trial. Twelve Nazi leaders were sentenced to death by hanging.

In 1954, the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear submarine, was commissioned by the U.S. Navy.

In 1955, movie idol James Dean died in a car crash at age 24.

In 1962, James H. Meredith, an African-American, was escorted onto the University of Mississippi campus by U.S. marshals, setting off a riot during which two men were killed before the racial violence was quelled by more than 3,000 soldiers. Meredith enrolled the next day.

In 1991, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown in a military coup.

In 1992, the United States returned most of the Subic Bay Naval Base to the Philippine government after more than a century of use.

In 1999, an accident at a nuclear power plant 70 miles northeast of Tokyo released high levels of radiation in Japan's worst nuclear accident.

Also in 1999, Russia sent troops into the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

By this date in 2001, about 500 people in the United States and elsewhere had been arrested or detained in connection with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In 2003, the U.S. Justice Department opened an investigation into the leaking of the name of a CIA operative to the media in an alleged effort to discredit a critic of the president's Iraq policy.

Also in 2003, three people working at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba, including a Muslim chaplain, were arrested on espionage charges.

In 2004, more than 40 people were killed, including about 35 children, when three bombs exploded in Iraq as U.S. soldiers were handing out candy.

Also in 2004, Merck & Co. announced a voluntary worldwide withdrawal of the arthritis and pain medication drug Vioxx. Clinical trials showed an increased risk of heart attack and stroke after 18 months of use.

In 2005, amid joy, sadness and speculation about the future, thousands of New Orleans residents returned home to a hobbled city, one month after Hurricane Katrina dealt them a devastating blow.

In 2006, Brazilian authorities said they found the wreckage of a missing airliner in the dense rain forest. Searchers said it was unlikely anyone had survived the crash.

Also in 2006, Congress ordered construction of a 700-mile, $1.2 billion fence along the U.S.-Mexican border in a move to control immigration. Mexico said the barrier would hurt relations between the two countries.

In 2007, roadside bombs killed or wounded 21,200 U.S. soldiers since the war in Iraq began in March 2003, The Washington Post reported. The Pentagon called the improvised explosives "the most effective weapon" against U.S. troops.


Notable Birthdays for Sept. 30
Those born on this date include:
- German physicist Hans Geiger, co-inventor of the Geiger counter, in 1882
- Film director Lewis Milestone ("All Quiet on the Western Front") in 1895
- Singer Kenny Baker in 1912
- Drummer Buddy Rich in 1917
- Novelist Truman Capote in 1924
- Actress Deborah Kerr in 1921
- Actress Angie Dickinson in 1931 (age 78)
- Singer Johnny Mathis in 1935 (age 74)
- Singer Marilyn McCoo in 1943 (age 66)
- Singer Frankie Lymon in 1942
- Actress Victoria Tennant in 1950 (age 59)
- Actor Eric Stoltz in 1961 (age 48)
- Actress/singer Crystal Bernard in 1961 (age 48)
- Actress Fran Drescher ("The Nanny") in 1957 (age 52)
- Actress Jenna Elfman ("Dharma and Greg") in 1971 (age 38)
- Tennis star Martina Hingis in 1980 (age 29)

Sunday, September 27, 2009

HISTORY FOR Sunday Sept 27, 2009



Today is Sunday, Sept, 27, the 271st day of 2009 with 95 to follow.

This Day in History, September 27
On September 27th, 1825, the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened, becoming the first permanent steam locomotive railway.

Other Notable Events, Sept. 27
In 1825, in England, George Stephenson operated the first locomotive to pull a passenger train.

In 1935, 13-year-old Judy Garland signed her first contract with MGM.

In 1939, after 19 days of heavy air raids and artillery bombardment, Polish defenders of Warsaw surrendered to the Germans.

In 1954, "The Tonight Show" made its television debut with host Steve Allen.

In 1964, the Warren Commission report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy was released after a 10-month investigation, concluding that there was no conspiracy and that Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin, acted alone.

In 1987, mudslides in slum areas of Medellin, Colombia, killed up to 500 people.

In 1991, U.S. President George H.W. Bush announced the United States would unilaterally eliminate tactical nuclear weapons on land and at sea in Europe and Asia.

Also in 1991, the Palestine Liberation Organization legislature voted to support U.S.- and Soviet-sponsored Middle East peace efforts.

In 1992, the Inkatha party, rival to Nelson Mandela's ANC, withdrew from talks with the South African government after a meeting between Mandela and President F.W. de Klerk.

In 1994, U.S. forces in Haiti took control of the parliament building and began paying Haitians to turn in weapons in order to reduce firepower on the streets.

In 1996, rebels seized control of Afghanistan from the previous rebel group that had taken the country from Moscow. The new rebels hanged Afghani leader Najibullah and his brother.

In 1998, Gerhard Schroeder led Germany's Social Democratic Party to victory in parliamentary elections, bringing to an end 16 years of power by Chancellor Helmut Kohl and his Christian Democratic Party.

And in 1998, St. Louis Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire set an all-time major-league season home run record when he hit his 70th home run.

In 2001, in further steps following the terrorist attacks on the United States, U.S. President George Bush asked governors to assign National Guard troops to help protect commercial airports and said armed sky marshals in plainclothes would soon begin riding some flights.

In 2003, U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Putin said they would join forces to oppose nuclear proliferation in Iran and North Korea.

In 2005, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, second in command to the al-Qaida leader in Iraq, was reported killed by Iraqi and U.S. forces in a Baghdad gun battle.

Also in 2005, French prosecutors began questioning senior officials with the former Concorde aircraft project over a crash in 2000 that killed 113 people.

In 2007, nine people were reported killed and another 100 injured as the Myanmar military junta sought to break up nine days of demonstrations by Buddhist monks and nuns in Yangon over the more than doubling of gas prices.

Also in 2007, the U.S. Senate voted to attach a measure that would extend federal hate-crime protection to sexual orientation to the defense authorization bill.


Notable Birthdays for Sept. 27
Those born on this date include:
- Patriot Samuel Adams in 1722
- Political cartoonist Thomas Nast in 1840
- Composer Joseph McCarthy ("You Made Me Love You") in 1885
- Composer Vincent

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

HISTORY FOR SEPTEMBER 23, 2009



Wednesday September 23, 2009
Today is Wednesday, Sept. 23, the 267th day of 2009 with 99 to follow.


On September 23rd, 1806, Lewis and Clark returned from their exploration of the United States.

Other Notable Events, Sept. 23
In 1779, the USS Bonhomme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, defeated British frigate HMS Serapis in a battle off the coast of Scotland.

In 1806, U.S. explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark returned to St. Louis from the first recorded overland journey from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Coast and back.

In 1846, German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle discovered the planet Neptune at the Berlin Observatory. Neptune generally is the eighth planet from the sun.

In 1950, Congress adopted the Internal Security Act, which provided for the registration of communists. It was ruled later unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1966, a Rolling Stones concert at England's Royal Albert concert hall was halted temporarily when screaming girls attacked Mick Jagger onstage. The riotous enthusiasm of the fans resulted in a ban of pop concerts at the hall.

In 1973, Juan Peron was again elected president of Argentina after 18 years in exile. His second wife, Isabel, became vice president and succeeded him when he died 10 months later.

In 1985, nine days of street fighting in Tripoli, Lebanon, left 183 people dead.

In 1991, 44 U.N. inspectors were detained in Baghdad after attempting to remove secret Iraqi plans for building nuclear weapons. They were freed five days later.

In 1992, the worst storm in years struck southeastern France, triggering flash flooding that left 34 people dead and 50 missing.

In 1993, the Israeli Knesset approved the peace agreement with the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

In 1999, Russian planes began three days of attacks on various targets in Chechnya, in response to several bombings in Moscow and other Russian cities.

In 2001, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the United States, the nation remained on increased alert for possible suspects in this country while troops in Afghanistan searched for Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network. The FAA halted crop-dusting activities, fearing they might be used to spread toxic substances.

In 2003, Thai police reportedly foiled an al-Qaida plot to shoot down an El Al passenger jet with a surface-to-air missile at Bangkok's airport.

In 2004, Haiti's death toll from flooding caused by Tropical Storm Jeanne could top 2,000 according to a Haitian civil defense official.

Also in 2004, a classified report for the U.S. Congress said security screeners at 15 U.S. airports missed weapons and explosives being smuggled aboard aircraft by undercover agents during a series of tests.

In 2005, a reported 24 people were killed when a bus carrying Texas nursing home evacuees from Hurricane Rita was destroyed by an explosion and fire near Dallas.

In 2006, as observance of this year's holy month of Ramadan began in Iraq, a bomb that killed at least 35 people, mostly women lined up for kerosene in Sadr City.

Also in 2006, the New York Times said a classified U.S. intelligence report claims the Iraq invasion made the world less safe from terrorism.

In 2007, Yasuo Fukuda, a long-time political force and son of a former prime minister, was chosen prime minister of Japan, succeeding Shinzo Abe, who resigned amid financial scandals.

Also in 2007, the U.S. Air Force sought to determine how six powerful nuclear warheads were accidentally shipped from North Dakota to Louisiana with no one noticing and sat unguarded for a day.


Notable Birthdays for Sept. 23
Those born on this date include:
- Roman Emperor Augustus in 63 B.C.
- Educator William McGuffey, author of the McGuffey "eclectic readers" for school children, in 1800
- Feminist and presidential candidate Victoria Woodhull in 1838
- Surgeon William Halsted, who introduced operations for hernia and breast cancer, in 1852
- Journalist Walter Lippmann in 1889
- Actor Walter Pidgeon in 1897
- Actor Mickey Rooney in 1920 (age 89)
- Jazz saxophonist John Coltrane in 1926
- Soul singer/pianist Ray Charles in 1930
- Singer Julio Iglesias in 1943 (age 66)
- Actor Paul Peterson in 1945 (age 64)
- Actress Mary Kay Place in 1947 (age 62)
- Rock star Bruce Springsteen in 1949 (age 60)
- Actor Jason Alexander in 1959 (age 50)
- Actress Elizabeth Pena in 1959 (age 50)
- Singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco in 1970 (age 39)

Monday, September 21, 2009

HISTORY FOR Monday, September 21



This Day in History, September 21
In 1980, The country of Belize in Central America attained its Independence from Great Britain.This caribbean nation is the only one on main land bordered in the North by Mexico, on the West and South by Guatemala and on the East by the Caribbean Sea.

Other Notable Events, Sept. 21
In 1792, the Legislative Assembly of revolutionary France voted to abolish the monarchy and establish the First Republic, stripping King Louis XVI of most of his power.

In 1893, the first successful American-made, gasoline-operated motorcar appeared on the streets of Springfield, Mass. It was designed and built by Charles and Frank Duryea.

In 1921, following the sex scandal caused by the arrest of comedian Fatty Arbuckle, Universal announced it would require its actors to sign a "morality clause" in their contracts.

In 1938, an estimated 600 people were killed by a hurricane that battered the coast of New England.

In 1985, Western intelligence estimates said the Iran-Iraq war in five years had cost nearly 1 million lives.

In 1991, Armenia became the 12th Soviet republic to declare independence.

In 1993, Russian President Boris Yeltsin suspended the parliament and announced parliamentary elections would be in December.

In 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton signed into law the Defense of Marriage Act, which allows states to disregard "same sex marriages" that might be official in other places.

And in 1996, John F. Kennedy, Jr., son of the late U.S. president and described by tabloids as the world's most eligible bachelor, wed Carolyn Bessette.

In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton's videotaped grand jury testimony, during which he admitted to an inappropriate relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, was shown on television. It ran more than four hours.

Also in 1998, Hurricane Georges began its deadly rampage through the Caribbean, killing more than 600 people.

In 1999, at least 2,300 people were killed when an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale struck Taiwan.

In 2001, Deep Space 1 flew within 2,200 kms of Comet Borrelly

In 2001, a telecast by top movie stars and musicians raised more than $500 million for survivors of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In 2002, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reportedly told the Bush administration Israel would strike back if attacked by Iraq.

In 2003, the spacecraft Galileo approached the fringes of Jupiter's atmosphere and then was directed to destroy itself in a high-speed plunge.

In 2004, two U.S. hostages were reported killed by suspected Iraqi insurgents within a day of each other. Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong, contractors working for a United Arab Emirates-based firm, were kidnapped from their Baghdad home.

In 2005, Texas coastal residents were ordered to evacuate, creating a mass exodus from the Houston and Galveston area as Hurricane Rita became the third-most intense hurricane on record in the Atlantic Basin. Top sustained winds were near 165 mph over the Gulf of Mexico.

In 2006, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told reporters at the United Nations that Tehran might give up its uranium enrichment program in return for unspecified concessions.

In 2007, U.S. toymaker Mattel apologized to China for blaming design flaws on Chinese manufacturing problems in most of the recalls of millions of toys made in that country this summer.


Notable Birthdays for Sept. 21
Those born on this date include:
- Louis Joliet, French-Canadian explorer of the Mississippi River, in 1645
- Author and historian H.G. Wells in 1866; composer Gustav Holst in 1874
- British publisher Allen Lane, who introduced the low-priced paperback book, in 1902
- Animator Chuck Jones (Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Wile E. Coyote) in 1912
- Actor Larry Hagman (TV's "Dallas") in 1931 (age 77)
- Actor Henry Gibson in 1935
- Comedian Fanny Flagg in 1944 (age 65)
- Author Stephen King in 1947 (age 62)
- Comedian Bill Murray in 1950 (age 59)
- Ethan Coen, one of the filmmaking Coen brothers, in 1957 (age 52)
- Actress Nancy Travis in 1961 (age 48)
- Actor Rob Morrow in 1962 (age 47)
- Actress Ricki Lake in 1968 (age 41)

Monday, August 17, 2009

HISTORY FOR Monday August 17, 2009




Today is Monday, Aug. 17, the 229th day of 2009 with 136 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Venus, Mars and Uranus. The evening stars are Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn.

This Day in History, August 17
On August 17th, 1807, the world's first commercial steamboat service was inaugurated by Robert Fulton.


Other Notable Events, August 17
In 1807, Robert Fulton began the first American steamboat trip between Albany, N.Y., and New York City.

In 1915, a hurricane struck Galveston, Texas, killing 275 people.

In 1961, the East German government began building the Berlin Wall.

In 1978, three Americans completed the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by balloon, landing their helium-filled Double Eagle II near Paris.

In 1987, kidnapped U.S. journalist Charles Glass escaped and was rescued after being held hostage for 62 days in Lebanon.

Also in 1987, Rudolf Hess, Hitler's former deputy, was found strangled in Berlin's Spandau Prison. He was 93.

In 1991, the Lebanese government granted amnesty to former Christian army commander Gen. Michel Aoun and allowed him to leave the French Embassy.

In 1992, filmmaker Woody Allen and Mia Farrow split up after 12 years together. Allen said he was in love with the actress' adult daughter, Soon-Yi Previn.

In 1996, the Reform Party nominated Texas businessman Ross Perot for president.

In 1998, addressing the American people, U.S. President Bill Clinton admitted he had a relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky that was "not appropriate."

In 1999, at least 16,000 people were killed and 20,000 more injured when a strong earthquake rocked Turkey.

In 2001, Ford Motor Co. announced it would dismiss up to 5,000 of its salaried employees -- 10 percent of its managers and engineers.

In 2003, a U.S. soldier killed a Reuters photographer at a prison near Baghdad after mistaking his camera for a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

Also in 2003, loss of revenue from a fire-damaged Iraqi oil pipeline was estimated at $7 million a day with repairs expected to take a month.

In 2004, eight British men arrested with reconnaissance plans for the New York Stock Exchange and other targets have been charged with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to use radioactive material, toxic gas, chemicals or explosives.

In 2005, reports say three suicide car bombings in the center of Baghdad killed at least 43 people and injured 80 others. Meanwhile, a series of bombs exploded simultaneously across Bangladesh killing at least 115 people.

Also in 2005, Israeli soldiers and police began moving Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip.

In 2006, a U.S. District judge in Detroit ruled that the National Security Agency wiretapping program was illegal. U.S. President George Bush ordered an appeal.

Also in 2006, several U.S. cigarette makers were convicted in a Washington civil racketeering suit of conspiring to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking.

In 2007, the FBI was reported investigating whether U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, helped arrange a $70 million contract for a company that oversaw work on his house.

In 2008, Iran reported it had tested a new rocket capable of carrying a satellite into orbit.

Also in 2008, at least 160 people were reported killed in Vietnam by torrential rain-caused flooding in Southeast Asia.


Notable Birthdays for August 17
Those born on this date include:
- Frontiersman Davy Crockett in 1786
- Movie producer Samuel Goldwyn in 1882
- Black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey in 1887
- Actors Monty Woolley in 1888 and Mae West in 1893
- Publisher/diplomat John Hay Whitney in 1904
- Actress Maureen O'Hara in 1920 (age 89)
- Actor Robert De Niro in 1943 (age 66)
- U.S. spy plane aviator Francis Gary Powers in 1929
- British poet laureate Ted Hughes in 1930
- Pop singer Belinda Carlisle in 1958 (age 51)
- Actor Sean Penn in 1960 (age 49)


Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Friday, July 31, 2009

Today is Friday, July 31, the 212th day of 2009 with 153 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter, Venus and Mars. The evening stars are Mercury and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 31
On July 31st, 781, the oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji took place.


Other Notable Events, July 31
In 1498, on his third voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad.

In 1556 Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order of Roman Catholic missionaries and educators, died in Rome.

In 1792, director David Rittenhouse laid the cornerstone in Philadelphia for the U.S. Mint, the first building of the federal government.

In 1964, Ranger 7, an unmanned U.S. lunar probe, took the first close-up images of the moon.

In 1974, Watergate figure John Ehrlichman was sentenced to 20 months in prison for his role in the break-in at the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist. Ellsberg was the Pentagon consultant who leaked the "Pentagon Papers," documents about the war in Vietnam.

In 1991, the U.S. Senate overturned a 43-year-old law and voted to allow women to fly military warplanes in combat.

In 1992, all aboard were killed when a Thai Airways jetliner carrying more than 100 people crashed in bad weather in Nepal.

In 1995, the Walt Disney Co. announced it was buying Capital Cities/ABC for $19 billion.

In 2002, Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, a reputed Russian crime figure, was arrested at his resort in Italy on charges he tried to fix two ice skating events at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games.

In 2003, North Korea reversed its long-standing opposition to multilateral talks on its nuclear weapons program.

In 2004, Pakistani investigators blamed al-Qaida for an assassination attempt on Prime Minister-designate Shaukat Aziz. Eight people died in the suicide bombing attack.

In 2006, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, two weeks before his 80th birthday, formally transferred power temporarily to his brother Raul in preparation for intestinal surgery.

In 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, in a 411-8 vote, a bill overhauling ethics rules focused on large donations and gifts to lawmakers.

Also in 2007, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to deploy as many as 26,000 peacekeepers to end the violence in Sudan's Darfur region that reportedly killed about 200,000 people since 2003.

And, media mogul Rupert Murdoch won approval to buy the Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

In 2008, Exxon Mobil announced it had broken its own record for the greatest quarterly profit for a corporation with $11.68 billion.

Also in 2008, a federal judge ruled that U.S. President George Bush's advisers cannot ignore congressional subpoenas in an inquiry into the firing of several U.S. attorneys. Bush had said they were covered by executive privilege.

Notable Birthdays for July 31
Those born on this date include:
- Author and jurist James Kent in 1763
- Confederate Army guerrilla leader William Quantrill, in 1837
- Pollster Elmo Burns Roper Jr., in 1900
- Economist Milton Friedman in 1912
- Former TV talk-show host and columnist Irv Kupcinet in 1912
- Actor Don Murray in 1929 (age 80)
- Actress France Nuyen in 1939 (age 70)
- Geraldine Chaplin in 1944 (age 65)
- Singer Gary Lewis in 1945 (age 64)
- Australian tennis player Evonne Goolagong in 1951 (age 58)
- Actor Wesley Snipes in 1962 (age 47)
- Actor Dean Cain ( Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman ) in 1966 (age 43)


Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Thursday, July 30, 2009

HISTORY FOR JULY 30, 2009




Today is Thursday, July 30, the 211th day of 2009 with 154 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter, Venus and Mars. The evening stars are Mercury and Saturn.


This Day in History, July 30
On July 30th, 1733, the first Freemasons lodge was opened in what would become the United States.

Other Notable Events, July 30
In 1619, in Jamestown, Va., the first elected legislative assembly in the New World -- the House of Burgesses -- convened in the choir loft of the town's church.

In 1932, Walt Disney released his first color cartoon, "Flowers and Trees," made in three-color Technicolor.

In 1936, author Margaret Mitchell sold the film rights for "Gone With the Wind" to MGM for $50,000, most ever for a first novel.

In 1974, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, by a vote of 21-17, approved a third article of impeachment against U.S. President Richard Nixon, charging him with ignoring congressional subpoenas. Nixon resigned before the issue went to trial.

In 1975, former Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa was last seen outside a suburban Detroit restaurant. He was declared dead in 1982.

In 1976, Kate Smith made her last public appearance on this date, singing her signature number "God Bless America" on a TV program honoring the U.S. Bicentennial.

In 1991, a special U.N. commission to Iraq announced it had found 46,000 chemical shells and warheads and 3,000 tons of raw materials for weapons.

In 1994, the United States, Germany, Britain, France and Russia decided to tighten sanctions on the Serb-dominated government in what remained of Yugoslavia.

In 1997, suicide bombers detonated two bombs in an outdoor market in West Jerusalem, killing themselves and 13 other people.

In 1999, a Maryland grand jury indicted Linda Tripp for illegally taping her phone conversations with Monica Lewinsky.

In 2002, Pope John Paul II was present for the canonization of Pedro de San Jose Betanur of Guatemala, Central America's first saint, and Juan Diego of Mexico City, first American Indian saint.

In 2003, U.S. President George Bush indicated he would favor a law or constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriages. The Vatican also condemned gay unions.

In 2004, the U.N. Security Council adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution demanding Sudan disarm within 30 days and prosecute those responsible for thousands of deaths in Darfur.

In 2005, British police said they arrested six men and one woman in the failed July 21 London subway bombings. That brought to 13 the number of suspects in custody in the apparent, unsuccessful attempt to match the July 7 attack that killed 56.

In 2006, an Israeli air raid leveled a building housing civilians in the Lebanese village of Qana, reportedly killing at least 65 people, mostly women and children. Israeli officials said the wrong building was hit.

In 2007, federal lawmen swept across the Alaska home of seven-term Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, allegedly looking for evidence in an ongoing bribery investigation involving a convicted oil field contractor.

In 2008, while there were glimmers of hope, the overall U.S. economy continued its slump. July reports put the month's lost jobs at 51,000 when the unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent, a four-year high. The Dow Jones industrials ended the month up 0.3 percent at 11,378.02 and crude oil prices closed at $124 a barrel, down 11 percent from June.

Also in 2008, embroiled in a corruption investigation into alleged events before he became Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert announced he was resigning his post as soon as his party chose a new leader.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International


Notable Birthdays for July 30
Those born on this date include:
- English novelist Emily Bronte in 1818
- Auto pioneer Henry Ford in 1863
- Baseball player/manager Casey Stengel in 1890
- English sculptor Henry Moore in 1898
- Baseball Commissioner Allan Bud Selig in 1934 (age 75)
- Film director Peter Bogdanovich in 1939 (age 70)
- Singer Paul Anka in 1941 (age 68)
- California governor/actor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1947 (age 62)
- Actor Ken Olin in 1954 (age 55)
- Actress Delta Burke in 1956 (age 53)
- Actor Laurence Fishburne in 1961 (age 48)
- Actress Lisa Kudrow in 1963 (age 46)
- Actress Hilary Swank in 1974 (age 35)


Copyright 2009 by United Press International

Friday, June 19, 2009

HISTORY FOR Friday June 19, 2009




Today is Friday, June 19, the 170th day of 2009 with 195 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Uranus. The evening star is Saturn.

This Day in History, June 19
On June 19th, 1870, the Confederate States of America were dissolved.

Other Notable Events, June 19
In A.D. 325, the early Christian church opened the general council of Nicaea, which settled on rules for computing the date of Easter.

In 1787, the U.S. Constitutional Convention voted to strike down the Articles of Confederation and form a new government.

In 1846, two amateur baseball teams played under new rules at Hoboken, N.J., planting the first seeds of organized baseball. The New York Nine beat the Knickerbockers, 23-1.

In 1856, the first Republican national convention ended in Philadelphia with the nomination of explorer John Charles Fremont of California for president. James Buchanan, a Federalist nominated by the Democrats, was elected.

In 1867, Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, installed as emperor of Mexico by French Emperor Napoleon III in 1864, was executed on the orders of Benito Juarez, the president of the Mexican Republic.

Also in 1867, the first running of the Belmont Stakes took place at Jerome Park, N.Y.

In 1905, Pittsburgh showman Harry Davis opened the world's first nickelodeon, showing the silent Western film "The Great Train Robbery." The storefront theater boasted 96 seats and charged 5 cents and prompted the advent of movie houses across the United States.

In 1943, World War II's Battle of the Philippine Sea began, as Japan tried unsuccessfully to prevent further Allied advancement in the South Pacific.

In 1953, convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed.

In 1977, Elvis Presley made his final live concert recordings, at a series of appearances in Nebraska. He died two months later.

In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the 1981 Louisiana law that required schools to teach the creationist theory of human origin espoused by fundamentalist Christians.

In 1991, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a plan to prohibit the export of military supplies to Iraq.

In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prayers led by students at public high school football games are not permitted under the constitutional separation of church and state.

In 2005, a suicide bomber killed at least 23 people, including some Iraqi police officers, in a crowded Baghdad restaurant. The next day saw suicide car bombers kill a reported 26 policemen and security forces in Baghdad and Irbil.

Also in 2005, opponents of Syrian domination won a majority of seats in the final round of Lebanon's parliamentary elections.

In 2006, Japan threatened "severe action" if North Korea launches a long-range missile as it was believed preparing to do.

In 2007, 10,000 U.S. and 3,000 Iraqi troops launched a major offensive targeting the Sunni jihadist terrorist group known as al-Qaida in Iraq in Iraq's Baquba area.

In 2008, Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, became the first at that level to bypass public financing since the program was established. Obama said he believed the move would provide better resources to defend his campaign from attacks by Republicans.


Notable Birthdays for June 19
Those born on this date include:
- James VI of Scotland, later James I of England, in 1566
- French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal in 1623
- The Duchess of Windsor, born Bessie Wallis Warfield, in 1896
- Moe Howard, leader of the Three Stooges, in 1897
- Bandleader Guy Lombardo in 1902
- Baseball legend Lou Gehrig in 1903
- Former U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif., in 1914
- Film critic Pauline Kael in 1919
- Actress Nancy Marchand in 1928
- Actress Gena Rowlands in 1930 (age 79)
- Author Salman Rushdie in 1947 (age 62)
- Actress Phylicia Rashad in 1948 (age 61)
- Singer Ann Wilson of Heart in 1950 (age 59)
- Actress Kathleen Turner in 1954 (age 55)
- Singer Paula Abdul in 1962 (age 47)

Thursday, June 18, 2009

HISTORY FOR Thursday June 18, 2009



Today is Thursday, June 18, the 169th day of 2009 with 196 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Uranus. The evening star is Saturn.

This Day in History, June 18
On June 18th, 1928, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.


Other Notable Events, June 18
In 1812, the United States declared war on Britain.

In 1815, England's Duke of Wellington and Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blucher defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in Belgium.

In 1975, Saudi Arabian Prince Museid was publicly beheaded in Riyadh for the assassination of King Faisal.

In 1979, U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed a strategic arms control treaty in Vienna, Austria.

In 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space as the space shuttle Challenger was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

In 1990, James Edward Pough, 42, whose car had been repossessed, killed eight people and wounded five more before committing suicide at a General Motors Acceptance Corp. loan office in Jacksonville, Fla. He was believed to have killed two others a day earlier.

In 1993, eight U.S. military officers arrived in the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia to help plan the deployment of a U.N. force that would seek to prevent the Bosnia conflict from spreading.

In 1996, the U.S. Senate issued its Whitewater reports. The Republican report accused first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton of obstruction of justice.

Also in 1996, Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski was charged with two killings in California; he pleaded innocent. Charges from New Jersey would come later.

In 1997, Turkish Premier Necmettin Erbakan resigned under pressure after his governing coalition lost its majority in Parliament.

In 2000, Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a cease-fire, ending their monthlong war.

In 2002, a suicide bomber killed himself and 19 others when he detonated explosives aboard a bus in Jerusalem.

In 2003, two nights of rioting left the Lake Michigan community of Benton Harbor, Mich., covered with smoldering ruins and broken glass in the aftermath of a deadly police motorcycle chase.

In 2004, U.S. hostage Paul Johnson Jr., 49, was killed by his Saudi captors despite pleas from senior Muslim clerics.

In 2006, North Korea appeared poised to test a missile after reports that satellite imagery showed fueling had been completed. The pending test drew sharp criticism from the United States and others.

Also in 2006, some 800 U.S. National Guard troops began working along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border as part of a federal plan to slow illegal immigration.

In 2007, the United States and the European Union announced they would resume aid to Palestinians. Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinians waited at the Israeli border trying to escape from Hamas-controlled Gaza.

In 2008, Congress overrode a presidential veto of the $290 billion farm bill, providing agricultural subsidies, federal food stamps, foreign food aid and other programs for a 5-year period.

Also in 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush urged Congress to rescind a law, signed by his father, the first President Bush, that prohibits offshore drilling for oil.


Notable Birthdays for June 18
Those born on this date include:
- Cyrus Curtis, founder and publisher of the Ladies' Home Journal, in 1850
- Journalist and publisher Edward Scripps in 1854
- Legendary Tin Pan Alley composer Sammy Cahn in 1913
- Financial journalist Sylvia Porter in 1913
- Singer/composer Paul McCartney in 1942 (age 67)
- Film critic Roger Ebert in 1942 (age 67)
- Actress Carol Kane in 1952 (age 57)
- Actress Isabella Rossellini in 1952 (age 57)

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

HISTORY FOR Wednesday June 17, 2009




Today is Wednesday, June 17, the 168th day of 2009 with 197 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Uranus. The evening star is Saturn.


This Day in History, June 17
On June 17th, 1885, the Statute of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor.
Other Notable Events, June 17
In 1967, China announced it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.

In 1972, the Watergate scandal began with the arrest of five burglars inside Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington.

In 1982, Argentina's President Leopoldo Galtieri resigned in response to Britain's victory in the Falkland Islands war.

In 1986, Kate Smith, one of America's most popular singers in the '20s, '30s and '40s, died at the age of 79.

Also in 1986, Maryland basketball star Len Bias, about to enter the pro ranks, dropped dead from cocaine intoxication, focusing national attention on cocaine use by athletes.

In 1991, South African President F.W. de Klerk ended apartheid when he repealed the Population Registration Act that classified South Africans by race from birth.

In 1992, two Germans were released by their pro-Iranian kidnappers after three years' captivity in Lebanon. They were the last of the Western hostages to be freed.

In 1994, Los Angeles police charged O.J. Simpson with killing his ex-wife and her friend. The former football star and actor was acquitted in a controversial, high-profile trial.

Also in 1994, members of the Branch Davidian cult were sentenced to prison on charges stemming from the 1993 federal raid on their compound near Waco, Texas.

In 1996, ValuJet Airlines shut down about a month after a crash in the Florida Everglades led to questions about the carrier's safety and maintenance records.

In 2003, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien promised legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage throughout his country.

In 2004, a massive car bomb killed at least 30 people and wounded 150 others in central Baghdad, two weeks before the handover of power to Iraqis.

In 2005, L. Dennis Kozlowski, former chief executive of Tyco, was convicted of fraud, conspiracy and grand larceny charges.

In 2006, two men died and 12,000 villagers were left without water as Indonesia's most active volcano, Mount Merapi, erupted, spewing gas, rocks and lava.

In 2007, a fire at a Charleston, S.C., furniture store killed nine firefighters when the roof collapsed.

Also in 2007, British police said they rescued 31 children from abuse when they broke up a large international pedophile ring that stretched into 35 countries.

In 2008, the battle against flooding shifted to Illinois and Missouri as the Mississippi River threatened to spill over levees and flood towns in its path. Officials placed millions of sandbags atop levees along the great river in Illinois, Iowa and Missouri to prevent the rain-swollen waterway from overflowing.

Also in 2008, negotiators for Israel and Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, reported reaching agreement on a three-step cease-fire plan to quell the violence in the region.


Notable Birthdays for June 17
Those born on this date include:
- John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in 1703
- Russian-born composer Igor Stravinsky in 1882
- Actor Ralph Bellamy in 1904
- Author John Hersey in 1914
- Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., in 1943 (age 66)
- Singer Barry Manilow in 1946 (age 63)
- Comedian Joe Piscopo in 1951 (age 58)
- Actor Mark Linn-Baker ( Perfect Strangers ) in 1954 (age 55)
- Actor Greg Kinnear in 1963 (age 46)
- Speed skater-turned-sportscaster Dan Jansen in 1965 (age 44)
- And tennis star Venus Williams in 1980 (age 29).

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

HISTORY FOR Tuesday June 16, 2009



Today is Tuesday, June 16, the 167th day of 2009 with 198 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus. The evening star is Saturn.

Other Notable Events, June 16
In 1883, the New York Giants had the first Ladies' Day baseball game.

In 1917, the first Congress of Soviets was convened in Russia.

In 1958, the leader of the unsuccessful Hungarian uprising against Soviet rule, former Premier Imre Nagy, was executed.

In 1963, the Soviet Union put the first woman into space, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.

In 1977, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, first secretary of the Soviet Communist Party since 1964, was elected president of the Supreme Soviet, thereby becoming both head of party and head of state.

In 1986, South African blacks marked the 10th anniversary of the Soweto uprising with a one-day strike. Eleven blacks were killed in the resulting violence.

In 1987, the last surviving dusky seaside sparrow died at Walt Disney World.

In 1992, U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin met at the White House for the first U.S.-Russian summit.

Also in 1992, former U.S. Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger was indicted on five felony counts of lying to Congress and investigators in connection with the Iran-Contra scandal.

In 1993, the U.N. Security Council voted to impose a worldwide ban on oil shipments to Haiti.

In 1999, U.S. Vice President Al Gore announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 2004, the U.S. commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks said Iraq played no role in the attacks and the CIA knew of a plot in June.

In 2005, the U.S. Army awarded the first Silver Star for bravery in combat to a female soldier in the Iraq war, Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, 23, of Bowling Green, Ky.

In 2007, the bodies of 13 members of the Iraqi Olympic tae kwon do martial arts team were found near Ramadi, over a year after the athletes were abducted while driving to a Jordan training camp.

Also in 2007, leaders of the Episcopal Church in the United States rejected demands they adopt a stronger stand against homosexuality.

In 2008, one month after the California Supreme Court struck down laws prohibiting gay marriage, couples flooded into city halls all over the state to get married. California is the second state, behind Massachusetts, to legalize same-sex marriage.


Notable Birthdays for June 16
Those born on this date include:
- Film comedian Stan Laurel (of Laurel and Hardy) in 1890
- Publisher Katharine Graham in 1917
- Authors Erich Segal in 1937 (age 72) and Joyce Carol Oates in 1938 (age 71)
- Actress Joan Van Ark in 1943 (age 66)
- Boxer Roberto Duran in 1951 (age 58)
- Actress Laurie Metcalf ( Roseanne ) in 1955 (age 54)

Monday, June 15, 2009

This Day in History, June 15




On June 15th, 1822, Charles Babbage proposed a difference engine -- an early veOn June 15th, 1822, Charles Babbage proposed a difference engine -- an early version of a computer.rsion of a computer.



Other Notable Events, June 15
In 1215, under pressure from rebellious barons, England's King John signed the Magna Carta, a crucial first step toward creating Britain's constitutional monarchy.

In 1752, Benjamin Franklin, in a dangerous experiment, demonstrated the relationship between lightning and electricity by flying a kite during a storm in Philadelphia. An iron key suspended from the string attracted a lightning bolt.

In 1785, two Frenchmen attempting to cross the English Channel in a hot-air balloon were killed when their balloon caught fire and crashed. It was the first fatal aviation accident.

In 1846, the U.S.-Canadian border was established.

In 1877, Henry Ossian Flipper, born a slave in Thomasville, Ga., became the first African-American cadet to graduate from West Point.

In 1904, the excursion steamboat "General Slocum" caught fire on the East River in New York, killing 1,121 people.

In 1944, U.S. forces invaded the Japanese-occupied Mariana Islands in World War II action. By day's end, a beachhead had been established on the island of Saipan.

In 1987, Richard Norton of Philadelphia and Calin Rosetti of West Germany completed the first polar circumnavigation of the Earth in a single-engine propeller aircraft, landing in Paris after a 38,000-mile flight.

In 1996, 206 people were injured when a bomb exploded in a mall in Manchester, England.

In 1998, Nigeria's new military ruler ordered the release of some of the political prisoners jailed under the previous regime.

In 1999, South Korean ships sank a North Korean torpedo boat, killing all aboard. The incident followed a series of confrontations in disputed territorial waters.

In 2004, a U.S. Army general suspended after prisoner abuse was revealed at a Baghdad prison said she was ordered to treat prisoners like dogs. Brig Gen. Janis Karpinski said she was being made a scapegoat for the scandal.

In 2005, the trial of a man accused of organizing the abduction and slaying of three civil rights workers in 1964 got under way in Philadelphia, Miss., 41 years after the deed.

In 2006, at least 61 people, including 15 children, were killed when their bus hit a land mine in northern Sri Lanka.

In 2007, a Mississippi jury convicted a reputed Ku Klux Klansman in the abductions and killings of two black teenagers 43 years earlier.

In 2008, heavy rains in China killed 55 people and forced more than 1 million to flee their homes.


Notable Birthdays for June 15
Those born on this date include:
- Prince Edward of England, son of Edward III and known as the Black Prince, in 1330
- Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg in 1843
- Orchestra leader David Rose in 1910
- Artist Saul Steinberg in 1914
- Pianist Erroll Garner in 1921
- U.S. Rep. Morris Udall, D-Ariz., in 1922
- Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo in 1932 (age 77)
- Country singer Waylon Jennings in 1937
- Singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson in 1941
- Actor Jim Varney in 1949
- Actor Jim Belushi in 1954 (age 55)
- Actress Julie Hagerty ( Airplane! ) in 1955 (age 54)
- Actress Helen Hunt in 1963 (age 46)
- Actress Courtney Cox Arquette ( Friends ) in 1964 (age 45)
- Actor Neil Patrick Harris ( Doogie Howser, M.D. ) in 1973 (age 36)

Sunday, June 14, 2009

HISTORY FOR Sunday June 14, 2009




Today is Sunday, June 14, the 165th day of 2009 with 200 to follow.

Today is Flag Day in the United States.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Uranus. The evening star is Saturn.

On June 14th, 1775, George Washington was named Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.

Other Notable Events, June 14
In 1623, in the first breach of promise suit in the United States, the Rev. Greville Pooley sued Cicely Jordan in Charles City, Va., for jilting him for another man.

In 1775, the Continental Congress established the army as the first U.S. military service.

In 1777, the Star and Stripes became the national U.S. flag.

In 1919, Capt. John Alcock and Lt. Arthur Brown flew a Vickers Vimy bomber 1,900 miles non-stop from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, to Clifden, Ireland, for the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight.

In 1922, Warren G. Harding became the first U.S. president to broadcast a message over the radio. The occasion was the dedication of the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Baltimore.

In 1951, Univac I, the world's first commercial computer, designed for the U.S. Census Bureau, was unveiled.

In 1985, Shiite Muslim gunmen commandeered TWA Flight 847 carrying 153 passengers and crew from Athens to Rome. The ordeal ended 17 days later in Beirut, where one of the hostages, a U.S. sailor, was killed.

In 1990, flash floods around Shadyside, Ohio, killed at least 26 people and damaged or destroyed more than 800 homes in four eastern Ohio counties.

In 1991, NATO and five Eastern European nations approved a compromise, ending a dispute over a U.S.-Soviet treaty limiting conventional armies in Europe.

In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton nominated federal Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. She succeeded Justice Byron White.

In 1998, the Chicago Bulls won their sixth NBA title in eight years and third in a row, defeating the Utah Jazz in the championship series.

In 1999, the South African National Assembly elected Thabo Mbeki as president, succeeding the retiring Nelson Mandela. Mbeki had served as deputy president under Mandela.

In 2000, officials of North and South Korea announced an agreement to work for peace and unity and also said they agreed to allow exchange visits by divided families.

In 2002, U.S. Roman Catholic Church leaders adopted new rules for all dioceses calling for removal from active duty of any priest found to have abused a minor and the reporting of accusations to civil authorities.

In 2003, a part of central Tehran, Iran, turned into a combat zone with battles between riot police and those denouncing Iran's Islamic government.

Also in 2003, the Czech Republic voted overwhelmingly to join the European Union.

In 2005, two explosions killed at least 29 people and injured dozens of others in Iraq.

Also in 2005, a majority of the U.S. Senate apologized in a resolution for taking so long to enact anti-lynching laws. Failure to act, the measure said, contributed to the deaths of 4,700 people from 1882 to 1968, most of them black men.

In 2006, as daily acts of violence continued to pound Iraq, insurgents gunned down an Iraqi newspaper editor they had warned not to publish alleged pro-U.S. coalition copy.

In 2007, an internal FBI audit in Washington was reported to have found more than 1,000 incidents in which agents broke the law or agency rules in counter-terrorism since 2002.

Also in 2007, Massachusetts legislators came within five votes of putting the question of same-sex marriage on the November ballot as a constitutional amendment.

In 2008, heavy rains flooded Iowa and other Midwestern states, worst to hit the U.S. agriculture heartland since 1993, claiming at least 24 lives and damaging millions of acres of corn and soybeans. More than 38,000 people were forced to flee and Mississippi River traffic was disrupted.


Notable Birthdays for June 14
Those born on this date include:
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in 1811
- Bookseller John Bartlett, compiler of "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations," in 1820
- Wisconsin Gov. Robert La Follette in 1855
- Singer, composer Cliff Edwards (also the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Disney's "Pinocchio") in 1895
- Photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White in 1904
- Actor/folksinger Burl Ives in 1909
- Actress Dorothy McGuire in 1916
- Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara in 1928
- Actress Marla Gibbs in 1931 (age 77)
- Real estate mogul Donald Trump, in 1946 (age 62)
- Olympic gold medal speed skater Eric Heiden in 1958 (age 50)
- Singer Boy George (George O'Dowd) in 1961 (age 47)
- Actress Yasmine Bleeth ("Baywatch") in 1968 (age 40)
- Tennis star Steffi Graf in 1969 (age 39)

Saturday, June 13, 2009

This Day in History, June 13



Today is Saturday, June 13, the 164th day of 2009 with 201 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter Venus, Mars and Uranus. The evening star is Saturn.

On June 13th, 1898, the Yukon Territory was formed.

Other Notable Events, June 13
In 323 B.C., Alexander the Great died of fever in Babylon at age 33.

In 1944, the first German V-1 "buzz bomb" hit London.

In 1966, in Miranda vs. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police must read all arrested people their constitutional rights before questioning them.

In 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African-American on the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. President Lyndon Johnson chose him to succeed Tom Clark.

In 1976, Arizona Republic investigative reporter Don Bolles died as a result of injuries suffered when a bomb blew up his car 11 days earlier. He had been working on an organized crime story at the time of his death.

In 1977, James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., was captured in a Tennessee wilderness area after escaping from prison.

In 1983, the robot spacecraft Pioneer 10 became the first man-made object to leave the solar system. It did so 11 years after it was launched.

In 1991, revising a policy with roots to the McCarthy era, the Bush administration agreed to remove almost all 250,000 names from a secret list of unacceptable aliens.

In 1993, 20 Somalis were killed and 50 more wounded when Pakistani members of the U.N. peacekeeping forces fired into a crowd of demonstrators protesting U.N. attacks on warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid.

Also in 1993, Canada got its first woman prime minister when the ruling Progressive Conservative Party elected Kim Campbell to head the party and thus the country.

In 1994, the ex-wife of former football star O.J. Simpson and a friend were found stabbed to death outside her condominium in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles.

In 1996, members of the Freemen militia surrendered, 10 days after the FBI cut off electricity to their Montana compound. The standoff lasted 81 days.

In 1997, jurors unanimously recommended convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh be sentenced to death.

In 2002, Roman Catholic Church bishops and cardinals, meeting to discuss abuse charges against some priests, heard three men and a woman tell how their lives had been devastated by abuse and ill treatment by the church.

In 2003, Thai and U.S. officials arrested a suspected illegal arms dealer in Bangkok with radioactive material that could be used to make a "dirty bomb."

Also in 2003, thousands of protesting Tehran students ran the streets lighting fires and swinging chains in a third day of demonstrations.

In 2004, a Roman Catholic newspaper said U.S. President George Bush asked a Vatican official to help push U.S. bishops on certain cultural issues, including "the battle against gay marriage."

In 2005, pop superstar Michael Jackson was acquitted by a California jury on 10 counts of child molestation.

In 2006, U.S. President George Bush made a surprise visit to Baghdad to show support for the new Iraqi Cabinet. He said U.S. military forces wouldn't leave until the Iraqi government could stand on its own.

Also in 2006, the United States formally recognized Montenegro as a sovereign and independent state. Montenegro had been part of Serbia.

In 2007, the U.S. Defense Department said in a report that the expanded U.S.-Iraqi troop "surge" security drive had reduced violence in Baghdad and Anbar province but that attacks were up elsewhere.

Also in 2007, the Palestinian faction Hamas, elected leaders of the parliament and devoted to destroying Israel, seized control of the Gaza Strip in fierce fighting with rival faction Fatah that left about 100 reported dead.

In 2008, Taliban fighters attacked a prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan, killing 15 guards and freeing 1,200 prisoners, including about 400 Taliban members.


Notable Birthdays for June 13
Those born on this date include:
- U.S. Army Gen. Winfield Scott in 1786
- Irish poet and dramatist William Butler Yeats in 1865
- Actor Basil Rathbone in 1892
- Mexican composer Carlos Chavez in 1899
- Football star Harold Red Grange in 1903
- TV host Ralph Edwards in 1913
- Bulgarian-born artist Christo (born Hristo Yavashev) in 1935 (age 74)
- Actor Malcolm McDowell in 1943 (age 66)
- Actor Richard Thomas in 1951 (age 58)
- Comedian Tim Allen in 1953 (age 56)
- Actress Ally Sheedy in 1962 (age 47)
- Actress twins Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen in 1986 (age 23)

Friday, June 12, 2009

HISTORY FOR Friday June 12, 2009



Today is Friday, June 12, the 163rd day of 2009 with 202 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Uranus. The evening star is Saturn.

This Day in History, June 12
On June 12th, 1859, the Comstock Lode was discovered in Nevada.
Other Notable Events, June 12
In 1939, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was dedicated at Cooperstown, N.Y.

In 1963, a sniper killed civil rights leader Medgar Evers in Jackson, Miss.

In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states couldn't outlaw interracial marriages.

In 1971, Tricia Nixon, daughter of U.S. President Richard Nixon, married Edward Finch Cox in the first wedding in the Rose Garden of the White House.

In 1979, Bryan Allen, 26, pedaled the 70-pound Gossamer Albatross 22 miles across the English Channel for the first human-powered flight across that body of water.

In 1982, an estimated 700,000 people gathered in New York's Central Park to call for world nuclear disarmament.

In 1986, the South African government, faced with rising black unrest, declared a nationwide state of emergency.

In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that white workers who claim to be treated unfairly as a result of affirmative action programs can sue for remedies under civil rights legislation.

In 1990, the Russian republic's legislature, under Boris Yeltsin, passed a radical declaration of sovereignty, proclaiming Russia's laws take precedence over those of the central Soviet government in the republic's territory.

In 1991, the Russian republic had its first direct presidential elections with Boris Yeltsin winning. The event is celebrated in Russia as a national holiday known as Independence Day.

In 1992, amid extremely tight security and criticism of his administration's stand on environmental issues, U.S. President George H.W. Bush addressed the Earth Summit, urging rich nations to take specific action on a climate treaty by year's end.

In 1993, U.S. helicopters and gunships destroyed four of Somali warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid's arms depots, one week after his forces allegedly killed 23 Pakistani members of the U.N. peacekeeping forces in a series of firefights.

In 1994, special counsel Robert Fiske took sworn depositions from U.S. President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton about the Whitewater land deal in Arkansas. It was believed to be the first time a sitting president responded directly to questions in a legal case relating to his official conduct.

In 1999, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, son of the former president, announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination for the 2000 election.

In 2000, 50 years after the Korean War began the leaders of North and South Korea met in Pyongyang for the first series of talks.

In 2003, television news pioneer David Brinkley, one half of the legendary Huntley-Brinkley evening news team and host of the long-running Sunday public affairs program This Week, died at his home in Houston. He was 82.

Also in 2003, at least 70 Iraqis were killed in a U.S. attack on a terrorist camp near Saddam Hussein's hometown.

In 2005, Time magazine reported a secret document showing the use of pressure tactics in the interrogation of a suspected al-Qaida leader by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In 2007, Sudanese government officials agreed to allow a joint peacekeeping force of about 19,000 troops from the African Union and the United Nations to be deployed in war-torn Darfur.

Also in 2007, scavengers looking for scrap metal at an old Japanese World War II base in China came across 3,500 buried bombs. Experts said the bombs, which were hauled away safely, could have caused widespread damage had they exploded.

In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have a right to challenge their detention in federal court, another rejection of a Bush administration policy on such detainees.

Also in 2008, severe weather in the U.S. Midwest spawned a tornado that killed four Boy Scouts and injured 48 others at a scout ranch in western Iowa and the worst flooding in history at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where 8,000 were evacuated.


Notable Birthdays for June 12
Those born on this date include:
- John Augustus Roebling, designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, in 1806
- Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush in 1924 (age 85)
- Singer Vic Damone in 1928 (age 81)
- Anne Frank, whose diary told of hiding from the Nazis in occupied Holland, in 1929
- Author Rona Jaffe in 1932
- Actor/singer Jim Nabors in 1930 (age 79)
- Jazz musician Chick Corea in 1941 (age 68)
- Sportscaster Marv Albert in 1943 (age 66)
- Actor Timothy Busfield in 1957 (age 52)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

HISTORY FOR JUNE 11




This Day in History, June 11
On June 11th, 1184 B.C., it is believed that Troy was sacked and burned

Other Notable Events, June 11
In 1920, U.S. Sen. Warren G. Harding, R-Ohio, was chosen as the "dark horse" Republican candidate for president. That November, he was elected the 29th president of the United States.

In 1927, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge welcomed Charles Lindbergh home after the pilot made history's first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, New York to Paris.

In 1963, facing federalized Alabama National Guard troops, Gov. George Wallace ended his blockade of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and allowed two African-Americans to enroll.

In 1967, the Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors ended with a United Nations-brokered cease-fire. The outnumbered Israel forces achieved a swift and decisive victory in the brief war.

In 1985, Karen Ann Quinlan died at age 31 in a New Jersey nursing home, nearly 10 years after she lapsed into an irreversible coma. Her condition had sparked a nationwide controversy over her "right to die."

In 1987, Margaret Thatcher became the first British prime minister in 160 years to win three consecutive terms.

In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an anti-flag burning law passed by Congress in 1989, reigniting calls for a constitutional amendment.

Also in 1990, former Reagan national security adviser John Poindexter was sentenced to six months in prison, becoming the first Iran-Contra defendant to receive prison time in the arms-for-hostages scandal.

In 1993, North Korea said it would suspend its withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

In 1994, after 49 years, the Russian military occupation of what had been East Germany ended with the departure of the Red Army from Berlin.

In 2003, a bomb explosion aboard a Jerusalem bus killed at least 13 people and injured 53 more.

In 2004, a second service was held for former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, attended by President George W. Bush, the four living ex-presidents and world leaders. The body was flown to California for burial.

In 2005, the world's richest countries agreed to a debt relief deal for the poorest nations, writing off $40 billion in debt.

In 2007, a U.S. appeals court ruled that U.S. President George Bush cannot detain indefinitely as an "enemy combatant" a foreign national arrested in the United States.

In 2008, a U.S. air and ground attack aimed at Taliban militants on the Afghan border killed 11 Pakistan paramilitary forces, angering Pakistan and increasing tension with the United States.



Notable Birthdays for June 11
Those born on this date include:
- English playwright/poet Ben Jonson in 1572
- German composer Richard Strauss in 1864
- Montana's Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, in 1880
- Undersea explorer Jacques Cousteau in 1910
- Football coach Vince Lombardi in 1913
- Author William Styron in 1925
- Actor Chad Everett in 1936 (age 73)
- Actor Gene Wilder in 1933 (age 76)
- Actress Adrienne Barbeau in 1945 (age 64)
- Scottish auto racer Jackie Stewart in 1939 (age 70)
- Former football player Joe Montana in 1956 (age 53)
- Actor Joshua Jackson ( Dawson's Creek ) in 1978 (age 31)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

HISTORY FOR JUNE 10




This Day in History, June 10
On June 10th, 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous was founded.

Other Notable Events, June 10
In 1652, silversmith John Hull, in defiance of English colonial law, established the first mint in America.

In 1692, in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Bridget Bishop, the first colonist tried in the Salem witch trials, was hanged after being found guilty of the practice of witchcraft.

In 1898, U.S. Marines invaded Cuba in the Spanish-American War.

In 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio.

In 1942, the German Gestapo burned the tiny Czech village of Lidice after shooting 173 men and shipping the women and children to concentration camps.

In 1943, Hungarian Laszlo Biro invented the ballpoint pen.

In 1989, the Rev. Jerry Falwell said his conservative lobbying group, the Moral Majority, had accomplished its goals and would be disbanded.

In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines erupted, spewing debris as far as 20 miles away.

In 1992, Texas law officers urged a boycott of Time-Warner and Warner Bros. over a recording by rap artist Ice-T that they said encouraged the shooting of officers.

In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton froze most financial transactions between the United States and Haiti and suspended commercial flights to the Caribbean nation.

In 1995, Cuba announced the arrest of U.S. financier-turned-fugitive Robert Vesco on spying charges. Vesco had fled the United States in 1972 ahead of embezzlement charges.

In 1998, a jury in Jacksonville, Fla., found the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. liable in the lung cancer death of a smoker. The jury awarded his family $950,000, including $450,000 in punitive damages -- the first such assessment in a smoking-related lawsuit.

In 1999, NATO suspended its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia.

In 2000, Syrian President Hafez Assad died from a heart attack at age 69. He had ruled Syria since 1970.

In 2003, a three-member Ontario Court of Appeal in Canada ordered that full marriage rights be extended to same-sex couples.

In 2004, Ray Charles, a 12-time Grammy-winning singer-pianist who pioneered the blending of country and R&B, died at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 73.

In 2005, in a landmark civil lawsuit against the tobacco industry, the U.S. government scaled back its demands for penalties from $130 billion to $10 billion. The government had asked for the larger sum to help 45 million U.S. smokers quit smoking.

In 2006, three detainees at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, hanged themselves in the first reported deaths at the facility, prompting calls to close the facility.

In 2007, Israeli planes attacked Gaza, one day after a Palestinian gunman rammed the security border and opened fired in Israel.

Also in 2007, the Iranian government was reported intensifying its domestic crackdown of dissidents by targeting banks, unions and civic groups and accusing women and student groups of seeking to overthrow the government.

In 2008, a massive turnout reported to include several hundred thousand people jammed the streets of Seoul to protest South Korea's decision to resume imports of U.S. beef, which was banned in 2003 after mad cow disease was diagnosed in the United States.



Notable Birthdays for June 10
Those born on this date include:
- Actress Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an Oscar (best supporting actress, Gone with the Wind ), in 1895
- Britain's Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1921 (age 88)
- Judy Garland in 1922
- Children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak in 1928 (age 81)
- Attorney F. Lee Bailey in 1933 (age 76)
- Actor Andrew Stevens in 1955 (age 54)
- Model/actress Elizabeth Hurley, in 1965 (age 44)
- Olympic figure skater Tara Lipinski in 1982 (age 27)
- Actress Leelee Sobieski in 1983 (age 26).

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

History for June 9th




This Day in History, June 9
On June 9th, 1534, Jacques Cartier discovered the St. Lawerence River.


Other Notable Events, June 9
In 1534, French navigator Jacques Cartier became the first European explorer to discover the St. Lawrence River in present-day Quebec, Canada.

In 1898, Britain leased Hong Kong from China for 99 years. The territory returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

In 1934, Donald Duck made his first screen appearance in "The Wise Little Hen."

In 1943, The U.S. Congress passed an act authorizing employers to withhold income tax payments from salary checks.

In 1973, Secretariat won racing's Triple Crown with a spectacular victory in the Belmont Stakes, first horse to do so since Citation in 1948. Earlier, Secretariat had captured the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

In 1984, an Italian prosecutor's report linked the Bulgarian secret service to the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. Three Bulgarians were indicted but a trial failed to prove charges against them.

In 1989, Chinese officials continued their crackdown on pro-democracy activists with arrests and a sweeping propaganda campaign.

In 1993, Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito married former diplomat Masako Owada in Tokyo.

In 1994, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to require the Clinton administration to stop participating in the U.N.-sponsored arms embargo against the Bosnian government.

In 1995, Colombian police arrested Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela, believed to be a leader of the Cali drug cartel.

In 1998, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar was sworn in as Nigeria's military ruler, one day after the death of Gen. Sani Abacha of a heart attack.

In 2003, former U.S. first lady Hillary Clinton's memoir "Living History" sold 200,000 copies the first day.

Also in 2003, North Korea said it needed to develop nuclear weapons to save costs by reducing conventional forces and had no plan for nuclear blackmail.

In 2004, the body of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan was flown to Washington for a state funeral. Earlier, more than 100,000 mourners paid their respects at the Reagan presidential library in California.

In 2005, after weeks of protests, Bolivian President Carlos Mesa resigned.

In 2006, the new Iraqi Cabinet was completed with the appointments of ministers of defense, interior and national security.

In 2007, thousands took to Rome's streets to protest U.S. President George Bush's visit, clashing with police who responded with tear gas. The following day, Bush was greeted with enthusiasm when he became the first U.S. president to visit Albania.

In 2008, Internet providers Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner agreed to block access nationwide to Web sites that distribute child pornography.

Also in 2008, a human rights group charged that the Zimbabwean government was responsible for at least 36 political killings ahead of a presidential runoff election between President Robert Mugabe and challenger Morgan Tsvangirai.

Notable Birthdays for June 9
Those born on this date include:
- Russian Czar Peter the Great in 1672
- Composer Cole Porter in 1891
- Composer, conductor, inventor Fred Waring in 1900
- Actor Robert Cummings in 1910
- Guitarist and recording pioneer Les Paul in 1915 (age 94)
- Robert S. McNamara, former U.S. Defense secretary and World Bank president, in 1916 (age 93)
- Journalist Marvin Kalb in 1930 (age 79)
- Comedian Jackie Mason in 1931 (age 78)
- Soul singer Jackie Wilson in 1934
- Sportscaster Dick Vitale in 1939 (age 70)
- Actor Michael J. Fox in 1961 (age 48)
- Actor Johnny Depp in 1963 (age 46)
- Actor Gloria Reuben in 1964 (age 45)
- Actor Natalie Portman in 1981 (age 28)

Monday, June 8, 2009

History for June 8




This Day in History, June 8
On June 8th, 1949, celebrities such as Danny Kaye and Helen Keller were named members of the Communist party during the Red Scare.

Other Notable Events, June 8
In 1789, James Madison proposed the Bill of Rights, which led to the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

In 1861, Tennessee seceded from the Union to join the Confederacy.

In 1869, Ives McGaffney of Chicago obtained a patent for a "sweeping machine," the first vacuum cleaner.

In 1967, the USS Liberty, an intelligence ship sailing in international waters off Egypt, was attacked by Israeli jet planes and torpedo boats. Thirty-four Americans were killed in the attack, which Israel claimed was a case of mistaken identity.

In 1968, James Earl Ray, an escaped convict, was arrested in London and charged with the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

In 1987, Fawn Hall, former secretary to Iran-Contra scandal figure Oliver North, told congressional hearings that to protect her boss, she helped him alter and shred sensitive documents and smuggle papers out of the White House.

In 1990, Israel's nearly 3-month-old government crisis ended when Yitzhak Shamir and his Likud party won support of six right-wing and religious parties to form one of the most right-wing governing coalitions in Israeli history.

Also in 1990, an explosion started a fire aboard the Norwegian tanker Mega Borg, 57 miles off Galveston, Texas. The blaze burned for days as part of tanker's load of 38 million gallons leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.

In 1992, the U.N. Security Council authorized deployment of an infantry battalion to take over the airport in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and open it to humanitarian aid flights.

In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton received an honorary degree from Britain's Oxford University, which he had attended as a Rhodes scholar.

Also in 1994, two of the major warring factions in Bosnia, the Muslim-Croat federation and the Bosnian Serbs, signed a cease-fire agreement.

In 1995, U.S. Marines rescued downed American pilot Scott O'Grady in Bosnia.

In 1998, EU foreign ministers urged NATO and the United Nations to consider military action against the Yugoslav Serbs in their crackdown on the rebellious province of Kosovo.

In 1999, the case of five New York City police officers accused in the 1997 torturing of a Haitian immigrant ended with the conviction of one of the officers. A second officer pleaded guilty, three others were acquitted.

In 2003, Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. national security adviser, said that U.S. President George Bush's claim in his State of the Union address that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger was based on documents found to be forged.

Also in 2003, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he stands by his testimony before the United Nations that Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction before the war.

In 2004, police in Milan, Italy, arrested an Egyptian man suspected of masterminding the March 11 Madrid commuter train bombings in which 191 people were killed and more than 2,000 were injured.

In 2005, after a two-week trial, a jury in Miami found two former America West pilots guilty of operating an aircraft while drunk.

In 2006, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and seven others were confirmed killed after an airstrike on a house north of Baquba.

Also in 2006, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and former Republican Mayor Rudy Giuliani of New York came out on top in a new poll on possible 2008 presidential candidates.

In 2007, leaders of the eight industrialized nations meeting in Heiligendamm, Germany, agreed to consider ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 and to spend $60 billion to treat AIDS and other diseases in the Third World.

In 2008, the AAA reported the average cost of gasoline in the United States had reached $4 a gallon for the first time.
Notable Birthdays for June 8
Those born on this date include:
- German composer Robert Schumann in 1810
- Architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1867
- British geneticist Francis Crick, who helped determine the double helix structure of DNA, in 1916
- Actor Robert Preston in 1918
- Former first lady Barbara Bush in 1925 (age 84)
- Actor Jerry Stiller in 1927 (age 82)
- Comedian Joan Rivers in 1933 (age 76)
- Actor/singer James Darren in 1936 (age 73)
- Singer Nancy Sinatra in 1940 (age 69)
- Singer/songwriter Boz Scaggs in 1944 (age 65)
- Actress Kathy Baker in 1950 (age 59)
- Actor Griffin Dunne in 1955 (age 54)
- Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams in 1957 (age 52)
- Comedian Keenan Ivory Wayans in 1958 (age 51)
- Actress Juliana Margulies in 1966 (age 43)

Sunday, June 7, 2009

History for June 7th

This Day in History, June 7
On June 7th, 1099, the Siege of Jerusalem began.

Other Notable Events, June 7
In 1864, Republican delegates meeting in Baltimore renominated Abraham Lincoln as president. His running mate was Andrew Johnson.

In 1942, Japanese forces occupied Attu and Kiska in the Aleutian Islands. U.S. forces retook the islands one year later.

In 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law banning contraceptives.

In 1975, the first videocassette recorder went on sale to the public.

In 1982, Israeli jets bombed central Beirut while Israeli ground forces captured Beaufort Castle and surrounded the Lebanese city of Sidon.

In 1983, one day after Nicaragua expelled three U.S. diplomats, the Reagan administration ordered six Nicaraguan consulates closed and expelled six Nicaraguan diplomats.

In 1990, South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted a 4-year-old nationwide state of emergency in all but the strife-torn Indian Ocean province of Natal.

In 1996, Max Factor, who pioneered smudge-proof lipstick, died.

In 2002, U.S. missionary Martin Burnham, captured in the Philippines by a Muslim group more than a year earlier, was fatally shot during a rescue attempt.

In 2003, four German peacekeepers were killed and 31 others hurt when a bomb exploded near a bus in Kabul, Afghanistan.

In 2004, a classified U.S. Department of Defense report said that the United States, under national security considerations, wasn't bound by international laws prohibiting torture.

In 2005, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter called for the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba.

In 2006, Iraq's Health Ministry reported that Baghdad's death toll due to violence in the city had surpassed 6,000 for the year.

In 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing legislation easing restrictions on federal funds for embryonic stem cell research but U.S. President George Bush later vetoed the bill.

Also in 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a joint venture with the United States on a European missile shield.

In 2008, Sen. Hillary Clinton officially ended her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination and endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for president.

Also in 2008, a leading Israeli official warned that Israel "will attack" Iran if it maintains its current nuclear weapons program. That threat came from Shaul Mofax, the transport minister and former defense chief.

Notable Birthdays for June 7
Those born on this date include:
- British fashion-plate George Beau Brummell in 1778
- French post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin in 1848
- Bandleader Glen Gray in 1906
- Actor-singer Dean Martin in 1917
- Actress Jessica Tandy in 1909
- Gwendolyn Brooks, the first black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, in 1917
- Singer Tom Jones in 1940 (age 69)
- Talk-show host Jenny Jones in 1946 (age 63)
- Actor Liam Neeson in 1952 (age 57)
- Singer/songwriter Prince in 1958 (age 51)
- Former tennis player Anna Kournikova in 1981 (age 28).

Saturday, June 6, 2009

History for June 6th

This Day in History, June 6
On June 6th, 1684, the Ashmoleon Museum opened as the first university museum

Other Notable Events, June 6
In 1872, feminist Susan B. Anthony was fined for voting in an election in Rochester, N.Y. She refused to pay the fine and the judge allowed her to go free.

In 1933, the first drive-in movie theater opened in Camden, N.J.

In 1944, hundreds of thousands of Allied troops began crossing the English Channel in the "D-Day" invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. It was the largest invasion in history.

In 1966, James Meredith, who in 1962 became the first African-American to attend the University of Mississippi, was wounded by a sniper during a civil rights march through the South.

In 1972, a coal mine explosion in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, trapped 464 miners underground. More than 425 people died.

In 1982, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon.

In 1994, national leaders and World War II veterans commemorated the 50th anniversary of "D-Day."

In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush proposed creation of a Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security whose main responsibility would be prevention of terrorist attacks.

In 2003, the U.S. Labor Department said unemployment in May hit a 9-year-high of 6.1 percent. The report said a net total of 2.5 million jobs had been lost in a little more than two years.

Also in 2003, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft defended the Justice Department's detention of 762 illegal immigrants after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and urged Congress to give the authorities even broader power to pursue suspected terrorists.

In 2005, at least 37 people were killed and dozens more injured in southern Nepal after a crowded bus hit a land mine planted by suspected Maoist rebels.

In 2006, in a document by the Pontifical Council on the Family, the Vatican said that unless abortion is punished as a crime it will be seen as a "banal" act.

Also in 2006, Satan worshippers came out in force at dawn on this, the sixth day of the sixth month of 2006 -- 6-6-6, a number the Bible deems Satanic.

In 2007, the remains of thousands of Jews killed by Nazis during World War II were unearthed from a mass grave found by workers digging pipelines in Ukraine.

Another mass grave suspected of holding the bodies of as many as 500 ethnic Albanians killed in the Kosovo War was found in an abandoned Serbian quarry.

Also in 2007, An estimated 10,000 young protesters clad in black threw stones at riot police at the Group of Eight summit in Germany, prompting a response of tear gas and water cannon.

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that the jobless rate increased from 5 to 5.5 percent, the biggest monthly increase in 22 years.

Also in 2008, U.S. and British diplomats report threats and other harassment in Zimbabwe amid government banning of all work by foreign aid agencies.
Notable Birthdays for June 6
Those born on this date include:
- Spanish painter Diego Velasquez in 1599
- American patriot Nathan Hale in 1755
- Russian poet Alexander Pushkin in 1799
- British Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott in 1868
- German novelist Thomas Mann in 1875
- Vaudeville bandleader Ted Lewis in 1890
- Indonesian dictator Ahmed Sukarno in 1901
- Bandleader Jimmie Lunceford in 1902
- Singer/songwriter Gary U.S. Bonds in 1939 (age 70)
- Actor David Dukes in 1945
- Comedian Sandra Bernhard in 1955 (age 54)
- Tennis player Bjorn Borg in 1956 (age 53)
- Actress Amanda Pays in 1959 (age 50)