Today is Monday, Jan. 26, the 26th day of 2009. There are 339 days left in the year. This is the Lunar New Year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 26, 1788, the first European settlers in Australia, led by Capt. Arthur Phillip, landed in present-day Sydney.

On this date:

In 1784, in a letter to his daughter, Benjamin Franklin expressed unhappiness over the choice of the eagle as the symbol of America, and stated his own preference: the turkey.

In 1837, Michigan became the 26th state.

In 1841, Britain formally occupied Hong Kong, which the Chinese had ceded to the British.

In 1861, Louisiana seceded from the Union.

In 1870, Virginia rejoined the Union.

In 1942, the first American expeditionary force to go to Europe during World War II went ashore in Northern Ireland.

In 1950, India officially proclaimed itself a republic as Rajendra Prasad took the oath of office as president.

In 1962, the United States launched Ranger 3 to land scientific instruments on the moon -- but the probe missed its target by more than 22,000 miles.

In 1969, President Richard M. Nixon declared a federal disaster in California in the wake of major flooding.

In 1979, former Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller died in New York at age 70.


Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton welcomed a frail Pope John Paul II as the pontiff began his seventh pilgrimage to the United States in St. Louis. Jordan's King Hussein turned over the temporary operation of his country to his eldest son and flew back to the United States for urgent medical care.

Five years ago: The White House retreated from its once-confident claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction; Democrats swiftly sought to turn the about-face into an election-year issue. Lionel Tate, the Florida teen who'd killed a six-year-old playmate and became the youngest defendant in the nation to be locked away for life, was released after three years behind bars. At least 16 people were killed in the collapse of a building in Nasr City, Egypt.

One year ago: Barack Obama routed Hillary Rodham Clinton in the South Carolina primary. Maria Sharapova won the Australian Open, beating Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 6-3 for her third Grand Slam singles title. Mirai Nagasu became the second-youngest woman after Tara Lipinski to win the title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held in St. Paul, Minn. Christian Brando, the troubled eldest son of the late actor Marlon Brando, died in Los Angeles at age 49. Radical PLO leader George Habash died in Amman, Jordan, at age 81.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Anne Jeffreys is 86. Actress Joan Leslie is 84. Cartoonist Jules Feiffer is 80. Sportscaster-actor Bob Uecker is 74. Actor Scott Glenn is 70. Singer Jean Knight is 66. Activist Angela Davis is 65. Rock musician Corky Laing (Mountain) is 61. Actor David Strathairn is 60. Alt-country singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams is 56. Rock singer-musician Eddie Van Halen is 54. Reggae musician Norman Hassan (UB40) is 51. Actress-comedian-talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is 51. Hockey Hall-of-Famer and coach of the Phoenix Coyotes Wayne Gretzky is 48. Musician Andrew Ridgeley is 46. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jazzie B. (Soul II Soul) is 46. Actor Paul Johansson is 45. Gospel singer Kirk Franklin is 39. Actress Jennifer Crystal is 36. Rock musician Chris Hesse (Hoobastank) is 35. Actress Sarah Rue is 31. Country musician Michael Martin (Marshall Dyllon) is 26.

Thought for Today: "Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking." -- Albert Einstein, German-born physicist (1879-1955).
________________

Source: Associated Press

Today is Tuesday, Jan. 27, the 27th day of 2009. There are 338 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 27th, 1967, astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo spacecraft at Cape Kennedy, Fla.

On this date:

In 1756, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.

In 1880, Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.

In 1901, opera composer Giuseppe Verdi died in Milan, Italy, at age 87.

In 1943, some 50 bombers struck Wilhelmshaven in the first all-American air raid against Germany during World War II.

In 1944, the Soviet Union announced the complete end of the deadly German siege of Leningrad, which had lasted for more than two years.

In 1945, Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland.

In 1951, an era of atomic testing in the Nevada desert began as an Air Force plane dropped a one-kiloton bomb on Frenchman Flat.

In 1967, more than 60 nations signed a treaty banning the orbiting of nuclear weapons.

In 1973, the Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan greeted the 52 former American hostages just released by Iran at the White House.


Ten years ago: The Republican-controlled Senate blocked dismissal of the impeachment case against President Bill Clinton and then voted for new testimony from Monica Lewinsky and two other witnesses -- but by margins well short of the two-thirds needed to oust the president.

Five years ago: John Kerry won the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary. A jury in New York heard opening arguments in the trial of Martha Stewart, who was accused of lying about a stock sale she was convicted in March 2004 and sentenced to five months in prison. Former "Tonight Show" host Jack Paar died in Greenwich, Conn., at age 85.

One year ago: Former Indonesian president Suharto, whose regime killed hundreds of thousands of left-wing political opponents, died in Jakarta at age 86. Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died in Salt Lake City, Utah, at age 97. Novak Djokovic fended off unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the Australian Open final, earning his first Grand Slam title. Evan Lysacek won his second straight title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, in St. Paul, Minn.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Bobby "Blue" Bland is 79. Actor James Cromwell is 69. Actor John Witherspoon is 67. Rock musician Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) is 64. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nedra Talley (The Ronettes) is 63. Ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov is 61. Chief U.S. Justice John Roberts is 54. Country singer Cheryl White is 54. Country singer-musician Richard Young (The Kentucky Headhunters) is 54. Actress Mimi Rogers is 53. Rock musician Janick Gers (Iron Maiden) is 52. Sportscaster and political commentator Keith Olbermann is 50. Rock singer Margo Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 48. Rock musician Gillian Gilbert is 48. Actress Bridget Fonda is 45. Actor Alan Cumming is 44. Country singer Tracy Lawrence is 41. Rock singer Mike Patton is 41. Rapper Tricky is 41. Rock musician Michael Kulas (James) is 40. Actor Josh Randall is 37. Country singer Kevin Denney is 33.

Thought for Today: "There's a difference between beauty and charm. A beautiful woman is one I notice. A charming woman is one who notices me." -- John Erskine, American author and educator (1879-1951).
________________

Source: Associated Press

__________________
~Time owns each and everything~
~Useless youth if not useful for Pakistan~

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 28, the 28th day of 2009. There are 337 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven of its crew members: flight commander Francis R. "Dick" Scobee; pilot Michael Smith; Ronald McNair; Ellison Onizuka; Judith Resnik; Gregory Jarvis; and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

On this date:

In 1547, England's King Henry VIII died; he was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward VI.

In 1853, Cuban revolutionary Jose Marti was born in Havana.

In 1878, the first daily college newspaper, Yale News now Yale Daily News, began publication in New Haven, Conn.

In 1909, the United States withdrew its forces from Cuba as Jose Miguel Gomez became president.

In 1915, the United States Coast Guard was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill merging the Life-Saving Service and Revenue Cutter Service.

In 1916, Louis D. Brandeis was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson to the Supreme Court; Brandeis became the court's first Jewish member.

In 1945, during World War II, Allied supplies began reaching China over the newly reopened Burma Road.

In 1969, a major oil spill off Santa Barbara, Calif., occurred as a Union Oil well blew out, sending oil and natural gas into the Santa Barbara Channel.

In 1973, a cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam War.

In 1978, fire swept through the historic downtown Coates House hotel in Kansas City, Mo., killing 20 people.


Ten years ago: Ford Motor Company announced it was buying the Volvo car division in a $6.45 billion deal. Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan honored a personal request for mercy from Pope John Paul II, sparing triple murderer Darrell Mease from being executed.

Five years ago: British Prime Minister Tony Blair won vindication when a judge said the BBC was wrong to report the government had "sexed up" intelligence to justify war in Iraq. Former U.S. Navy commander Lloyd "Pete" Bucher, who'd helped his USS Pueblo crew survive brutal captivity in North Korea, then faced criticism back home, died in Poway, Calif., at age 76.

One year ago: President George W. Bush, in his last State of the Union address, urged passage of an economic stimulus package and asked Americans to remain patient with the long, grinding war in Iraq. In a daring ambush, Iraqi insurgents blasted a U.S. patrol with a roadside bomb and showered survivors with gunfire from a mosque in Mosul; five American soldiers were killed in the explosion. A U.S. missile attack in Pakistan killed veteran al-Qaida leader Abu Laith al-Libi. Mass. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama for the White House.

Today's Birthdays: Musician-composer Acker Bilk is 80. Actor Nicholas Pryor is 74. Actor Alan Alda is 73. Actress Susan Howard is 67. Actress Marthe Keller is 64. Actress-singer Barbi Benton is 59. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is 54. Actress Harley Jane Kozak is 52. Movie director Frank Darabont is 50. Rock musician Dave Sharp is 50. Rock singer Sam Phillips is 47. Rock musician Dan Spitz (Anthrax) is 46. Country musician Greg Cook (Ricochet) is 44. Gospel singer Marvin Sapp is 42. Singer Sarah McLachlan is 41. Rapper Rakim is 41. DJ Muggs (Cypress Hill) is 41. Actress Kathryn Morris ("Cold Case") is 40. Rhythm-and-blues singer Anthony Hamilton is 38. Rock musician Brandon Bush (Train) is 36. Singer Joey Fatone, Jr. ('N Sync) is 32. Rapper Rick Ross is 32. Actress Rosamund Pike is 30. Singer Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) is 29. Actor Elijah Wood is 28.

Thought for Today: "Since when do we have to agree with people to defend them from injustice?" -- Lillian Hellman, American author and playwright (1905-1984).
________________

Source: Associated Press

__________________
~Time owns each and everything~
~Useless youth if not useful for Pakistan~

Today is Thursday, Jan. 29, the 29th day of 2009. There are 336 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 29, 1820, Britain's King George III died at Windsor Castle, ending a reign that had seen both the American and French revolutions.

On this date:

In 1843, the 25th president of the United States, William McKinley, was born in Niles, Ohio.

In 1845, Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven" was first published, in the New York Evening Mirror.

In 1861, Kansas became the 34th state of the Union.

In 1919, the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which launched Prohibition, was certified by Acting Secretary of State Frank L. Polk.

In 1929, The Seeing Eye, a New Jersey-based school which trains guide dogs to assist the blind, was incorporated by Dorothy Harrison Eustis and Morris Frank.

In 1936, the first members of baseball's Hall of Fame, including Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, were named in Cooperstown, N.Y.

In 1939, Irish poet-dramatist William Butler Yeats died in Menton, France.

In 1963, the first members of pro football's Hall of Fame were named in Canton, Ohio.

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter formally welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping to the White House, following the establishment of diplomatic relations.

In 1998, a bomb rocked an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala., killing security guard Robert Sanderson and critically injuring Emily Lyons, a nurse. The bomber, Eric Rudolph, was captured in May 2003 and is serving a life sentence.


Ten years ago: The Senate delivered subpoenas for Monica Lewinsky and two of President Bill Clinton's advisers, summoning them for private, videotaped testimony in the impeachment trial. Attorney General Janet Reno rejected a special prosecutor investigation of former White House deputy chief of staff Harold Ickes.

Five years ago: A suicide bomber struck a bus in Jerusalem, killing ten Israelis. British author M.M. Kaye died in Lavenham, England, at age 95.

One year ago: John McCain won a breakthrough triumph in the Florida primary, easing past Mitt Romney for his first-ever triumph in a primary open only to Republicans. Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton claimed victory in a campaign-free Florida presidential primary in which all the candidates had signed pledges not to compete. The national Democratic Party had stripped the state of its delegates as punishment for moving its primary ahead of Feb. 5. Margaret Truman, the only child of President Harry S. Truman, died in Chicago at age 83. Raymond Jacobs, believed to be the last surviving member of the group of Marines photographed during the first U.S. flag-raising on Iwo Jima, died in Redding, Calif., at age 82.

Today's Birthdays: Actor John Forsythe is 91. Actor Noel Harrison is 75. Author Germaine Greer is 70. Actress Katharine Ross is 69. Actor Tom Selleck is 64. Rhythm-and-blues singer Bettye LaVette is 63. Actor Marc Singer is 61. Actress Ann Jillian is 59. Rock musician Tommy Ramone (Ramones) is 57. Rock musician Louie Perez (Los Lobos) is 56. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is 55. Country singer Irlene Mandrell is 53. Actress Diane Delano is 52. Actress Judy Norton Taylor ("The Waltons") is 51. Rock musician Johnny Spampinato (NRBQ) is 50. Olympic gold-medal diver Greg Louganis is 49. Rock musician David Baynton-Power (James) is 48. Rock musician Eddie Jackson (Queensryche) is 48. Actor Nicholas Turturro is 47. Rock singer-musician Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera) is 45. Actor-director Edward Burns is 41. Actress Heather Graham is 39. Actor Sharif Atkins is 34. Actress Sara Gilbert is 34. Actor Andrew Keegan is 30. Actor Jason James Richter is 29. Blues musician Jonny Lang is 28.


Thought for Today: "And were an epitaph to be my story I'd have a short one ready for my own. I would have written of me on my stone: `I had a lover's quarrel with the world."' -- Robert Frost, American poet (born 1874, died on this day in 1963).
________________

Source: Associated Press

__________________
~Time owns each and everything~
~Useless youth if not useful for Pakistan~

Today is Friday, Jan. 30, the 30th day of 2009. There are 335 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 30, 1968, the Tet Offensive began during the Vietnam War as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals; although the Communists were beaten back, the offensive was seen as a major setback for the U.S. and its allies.

On this date:

In 1649, England's King Charles I was beheaded.

In 1882, the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was born in Hyde Park, N.Y.

In 1909, community organizer and social activist Saul Alinsky was born in Chicago.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. The first episode of the "Lone Ranger" radio program was broadcast on station WXYZ in Detroit.

In 1939, the Supreme Court, in Tennessee Electric Power Co. v. Tennessee Valley Authority, upheld the right of the federally-owned TVA to compete with private utilities.

In 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi was shot and killed by a Hindu extremist.

In 1962, two members of "The Flying Wallendas" high-wire act were killed when their seven-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit.

In 1972, 13 Roman Catholic civil rights marchers were shot to death by British soldiers in Northern Ireland on what became known as "Bloody Sunday."

In 1979, the civilian government of Iran announced it had decided to allow Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who'd been living in exile in France, to return.

In 2003, Richard Reid, the British citizen and al-Qaida follower who'd tried to blow up a trans-Atlantic jetliner with explosives hidden in his shoes, was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in Boston.


Ten years ago: NATO authorized its secretary-general to launch military action in Yugoslavia if the warring parties failed to negotiate an agreement for autonomy in Kosovo.

Five years ago: Former French Prime Minister Alain Juppe was found guilty in connection with a party financing scandal and declared ineligible for public office for ten years. NASA's Mars rover Opportunity spied hints of a mineral that typically forms in water -- a finding that could mean the dry and dusty Red Planet was once wetter and more hospitable to life.

One year ago: John Edwards bowed out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the Republican presidential contest and endorsed front-runner and longtime friend John McCain. The Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate for the second time in just over a week, reducing the federal funds rate by a half point to 3 percent.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Dorothy Malone is 84. Producer-director Harold Prince is 81. Actor Gene Hackman is 79. Actress Tammy Grimes is 75. Actress Vanessa Redgrave is 72. Country singer Jeanne Pruett is 72. Country singer Norma Jean is 71. Vice President Dick Cheney is 68. Rock singer Marty Balin is 67. Rhythm-and-blues musician William King (The Commodores) is 60. Singer Phil Collins is 58. Actor Charles S. Dutton is 58. Actress-comedian Brett Butler is 51. Singer Jody Watley is 50. Actor Norbert Leo Butz is 42. Country singer Tammy Cochran is 37. Actor Christian Bale is 35. Pop-rock singer-songwriter Josh Kelley is 29. Actor Wilmer Valderrama is 29. Actor Jake Thomas is 19.

Thought for Today: "The excellent becomes the permanent." -- Jane Addams, social worker and Nobel Peace laureate (1860-1935).
________________

Source: Associated Press

__________________
~Time owns each and everything~
~Useless youth if not useful for Pakistan~

Today is Saturday, Jan. 31, the 31st day of 2009. There are 334 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 31, 1958, the United States entered the Space Age with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, Explorer I.

On this date:

In 1606, Guy Fawkes, convicted of treason for his part in the "Gunpowder Plot" against the English Parliament and King James I, was executed.

In 1865, General Robert E. Lee was named General-in-Chief of all the Confederate armies.

In 1917, during World War I, Germany served notice it was beginning a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

In 1919, baseball Hall-of-Famer Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Ga.

In 1929, revolutionary Leon Trotsky and his family were expelled from the Soviet Union.

In 1944, during World War II, U.S. forces began a successful invasion of Kwajalein Atoll and other parts of the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.

In 1945, Pvt. Eddie Slovik, 24, became the first U.S. soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion as he was shot by an American firing squad in France.

In 1949, the first TV daytime soap opera, "These Are My Children," began broadcasting from the NBC station in Chicago. It lasted all of four weeks.

In 1971, astronauts Alan Shepard, Jr., Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on a mission to the moon.

In 2000, an Alaska Airlines jet plummeted into the Pacific Ocean, killing all 88 people aboard.


Ten years ago: The Denver Broncos repeated as NFL champions, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 34-19 in Super Bowl 33. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham presented what they called convincing proof that the AIDS virus originated in chimpanzees and spread to people in Africa.

Five years ago: Six U.S.-bound flights from England, Scotland and France were canceled because of security concerns. Justine Henin-Hardenne won her third Grand Slam title, defeating Kim Clijsters 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the Australian Open. John Elway and Barry Sanders were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on their first attempt; they were joined by Bob Brown and Carl Eller.

One year ago: President George W. Bush, speaking at the Nevada Policy Research Institute, said he would not jeopardize security gains in Iraq by withdrawing U.S. forces too quickly. A drifter pleaded guilty to murdering a young woman who'd gone missing while hiking in the north Georgia mountains; Gary Michael Hilton was swiftly sentenced to life in prison in the death of Meredith Emerson.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Carol Channing is 88. Actress Jean Simmons is 80. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks is 78. Composer Philip Glass is 72. Actor Stuart Margolin is 69. Actress Jessica Walter is 68. Former U.S. Representative Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) is 68. Blues singer-musician Charlie Musselwhite is 65. Actor Glynn Turman is 63. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan is 62. Singer-musician KC (KC and the Sunshine Band) is 58. Rock singer Johnny Rotten is 53. Actress Kelly Lynch is 50. Actor Anthony LaPaglia is 50. Singer-musician Lloyd Cole is 48. Actor John Dye is 46. Rock musician Jeff Hanneman (Slayer) is 45. Rock musician Al Jaworski (Jesus Jones) is 43. Actress Minnie Driver is 39. Actress Portia de Rossi is 36. Actor-comedian Bobby Moynihan is 32. Actress Kerry Washington is 32. Singer Justin Timberlake is 28.


Thought for Today: "Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have." -- Rabbi Hyman Judah Schachtel, American theologian, author and educator (1907-1990).
________________

Source: Associated Press

__________________
~Time owns each and everything~
~Useless youth if not useful for Pakistan~

Today is Sunday, Feb. 1, the 32nd day of 2009. There are 333 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry, killing all seven of its crew members: Commander Rick Husband; pilot William McCool; Michael Anderson; Kalpana Chawla; David Brown; Laurel Clark; and Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli in space.

On this date:


In 1859, operetta composer Victor Herbert was born in Dublin, Ireland.

In 1861, Texas voted to secede from the Union.

In 1920, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police came into existence, merging the Royal North West Mounted Police and the Dominion Police.

In 1946, Norwegian statesman Trygve Lie was chosen to be the first secretary-general of the United Nations.

In 1958, the United Arab Republic, a union of Egypt and Syria, was established. Syria withdrew from the union in 1961.

In 1959, men in Switzerland rejected giving women the right to vote by a more than 2-1 referendum margin. Swiss women gained the right to vote in 1971.

In 1960, four black college students began a sit-in protest at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., where they'd been refused service.

In 1968, during the Vietnam War, South Vietnam's police chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan executed a Viet Cong officer with a pistol shot to the head in a scene recorded by The Associated Press and NBC News. Richard M. Nixon announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

In 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini received a tumultuous welcome in Tehran as he ended nearly 15 years of exile.

In 1991, 34 people were killed when a USAir jetliner crashed atop a commuter plane on a runway at Los Angeles International Airport.


Ten years ago: With the promise of huge federal surpluses, President Bill Clinton proposed a $1.77 trillion budget for fiscal 2000. Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky gave a deposition that was videotaped for senators weighing impeachment charges against President Clinton.

Five years ago: Twin suicide bombers killed 109 people at two Kurdish party offices in Irbil, Iraq. A stampede during the annual Muslim pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia, killed at least 251 worshippers. The New England Patriots won their second Super Bowl in three seasons with a 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers; during the halftime show, Janet Jackson's breast became exposed, resulting in a $550,000 FCC fine against CBS. A federal appeals court threw out the fine in July 2008. Roger Federer beat Marat Safin 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-2 to win the Australian Open.

One year ago: Exxon Mobil posted the largest annual profit by a U.S. company -- $40.6 billion -- and the biggest quarterly profit to that time, breaking its own records. Microsoft announced an unsolicited bid for Yahoo, which later rejected it. Remote-controlled explosives strapped to two women killed nearly 100 people in Baghdad.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Stuart Whitman is 81. Singer Don Everly is 72. Actor Garrett Morris is 72. Singer Ray Sawyer (Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show) is 72. Actor Sherman Hemsley is 71. Bluegrass singer Del McCoury is 70. Jazz musician Joe Sample is 70. Comedian Terry Jones is 67. Rock musician Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 59. Blues singer-musician Sonny Landreth is 58. Actor-writer-producer Bill Mumy is 55. Rock singer Exene Cervenka is 53. Actor Linus Roache (TV: "Law and Order") is 45. Princess Stephanie of Monaco is 44. Country musician Dwayne Dupuy (Ricochet) is 44. Actress Sherilyn Fenn is 44. Lisa Marie Presley is 41. Comedian-actor Pauly Shore is 41. Actor Brian Krause is 40. Jazz musician Joshua Redman is 40. Rock musician Patrick Wilson (Weezer) is 40. Actor Michael C. Hall is 38. Rock musician Ron Welty is 38. Rapper Big Boi (Outkast) is 34. Country singer Julie Roberts is 30. Actor Jarrett Lennon is 27. TV personality Lauren Conrad is 23.

Thought for Today: "There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them." -- Vicki Baum, Austrian-born author (1888-1960).
________________

Source: Associated Press

__________________
~Time owns each and everything~
~Useless youth if not useful for Pakistan~

Today is Monday, Feb. 2, the 33rd day of 2009. There are 332 days left in the year. This is Groundhog Day.


Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 2, 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II.


On this date:

In 1536, present-day Buenos Aires, Argentina, was founded by Pedro de Mendoza of Spain.

In 1653, New Amsterdam -- now New York City -- was incorporated.

In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican-American War, was signed.

In 1870, the "Cardiff Giant," supposedly the petrified remains of a human discovered in Cardiff, N.Y., was revealed to be nothing more than carved gypsum.

In 1876, the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was formed in New York.

In 1897, fire destroyed the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg. A new statehouse was dedicated on the same site in 1906.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman sent a ten-point civil rights program to Congress, where the proposals ran into fierce opposition from southern lawmakers.

In 1959, public schools in Arlington and Norfolk, Va., were racially desegregated without incident.

In 1969, actor Boris Karloff died in Midhurst, England, at age 81.

In 1988, in a speech the broadcast television networks declined to carry live, President Ronald Reagan pressed his case for aid to the Nicaraguan Contras.


Ten years ago: A federal jury in Portland, Ore., ordered abortion foes who had created "wanted" posters and a Web site listing the names and addresses of "baby butchers" to pay $107 million dollars in damages. Courts later reduced the judgment to more than $16 million; the U.S. Supreme Court has refused three times to hear an appeal by the defendants.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush unveiled a $2.4 trillion budget featuring a record deficit, as well as big increases for defense and homeland security. Deadly ricin was discovered in offices used by Senate majority leader Bill Frist. Israel killed a leader of Islamic Jihad and three other militants in a Gaza raid. An eleven-story apartment building collapsed in Konya, Turkey, killing 92 people.

One year ago: A gunman killed five women at a Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park, Ill., in an apparent botched robbery attempt, the case remains unsolved. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former supermodel Carla Bruni were married at the presidential Elysee Palace. Former Washington Redskins players Art Monk and Darrell Green were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame along with New England linebacker Andre Tippett, San Diego/San Francisco defensive end Fred Dean, Minnesota/Denver tackle Gary Zimmerman and senior committee choice, Kansas City cornerback Emmitt Thomas. Former Agriculture Secretary Earl L. Butz died in Washington, D.C., at age 98. Actor Barry Morse died in London at age 89.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Elaine Stritch is 84. Actor Robert Mandan is 77. Comedian Tom Smothers is 72. Rock singer-guitarist Graham Nash is 67. Actor Bo Hopkins is 67. Television executive Barry Diller is 67. Country singer Howard Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers) is 63. Actress Farrah Fawcett is 62. Actor Jack McGee is 60. Actor Brent Spiner is 60. Rock musician Ross Valory (Journey) is 60. Model Christie Brinkley is 55. Actor Michael Talbott is 54. Actress Kim Zimmer is 54. Rock musician Robert DeLeo (Army of Anyone; Stone Temple Pilots) is 43. Actress Jennifer Westfeldt is 39. Rock musician Ben Mize (Counting Crows) is 38. Rapper T-Mo is 37. Actress Marissa Jaret Winokur is 36. Actress Lori Beth Denberg is 33. Singer Shakira is 32. Country singer Blaine Larsen is 23.

Thought for Today: "Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it inflames the great." -- Bussy-Rabutin, French soldier and writer (1618-1693).
________________

Source: Associated Press

__________________
~Time owns each and everything~
~Useless youth if not useful for Pakistan~

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 3, the 34th day of 2009. There are 331 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

Fifty years ago, on Feb. 3, 1959, a single-engine plane crashed shortly after midnight near Clear Lake, Iowa, claiming the lives of rock-and-roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, as well as pilot Roger Peterson. That same day, an American Airlines Lockheed Electra from Chicago crashed into New York's East River while approaching LaGuardia Airport, killing 65 of the 73 people on board.

On this date:

In 1809, 200 years ago, German composer Felix Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg. Congress passed an act establishing the Illinois Territory effective March 1.

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens held a shipboard peace conference off the Virginia coast; the talks deadlocked over the issue of Southern autonomy.

In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.

In 1916, Canada's original Parliament Buildings, in Ottawa, burned down.

In 1924, the 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, died in Washington, D.C., at age 67.

In 1930, the chief justice of the United States, William Howard Taft, resigned for health reasons. He died just over a month later.

In 1943, during World War II, the U.S. transport ship Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a German torpedo. Four Army chaplains gave their life belts to four other men, and went down with the ship.

In 1966, the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first manmade object to make a soft landing on the moon.

In 1969, Yasser Arafat was elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee during a council meeting in Cairo, Egypt.

In 1989, Alfredo Stroessner, president of Paraguay for more than three decades, was overthrown in a military coup.


Ten years ago: The Clinton administration told Congress a NATO-led peacekeeping force could be needed in Kosovo for three to five years and might include up to 4,000 American troops.

Five years ago: John Kerry won Democratic presidential contests in five out of seven states. Work in the U.S. Senate slowed to a crawl, a day after ricin powder was found in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

One year ago: The New York Giants scored a late touchdown for a spectacular Super Bowl win, 17-14, that ended the New England Patriots' run at perfection.

Today's Birthdays: Comedian Shelley Berman is 83. Football Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton is 69. Actress Bridget Hanley is 68. Actress Blythe Danner is 66. Singer Dennis Edwards is 66. Football Hall-of-Famer Bob Griese is 64. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is 62. Singer Melanie is 62. Actress Morgan Fairchild is 59. Actor Nathan Lane is 53. Rock musician Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) is 53. Actor Thomas Calabro is 50. Actor-director Keith Gordon is 48. Actress Michele Greene is 47. Country singer Matraca Berg is 45. Actress Maura Tierney is 44. Actor Warwick Davis is 39. Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee is 33. Musician Grant Barry is 32. Singer-songwriter Jessica Harp is 27. Rapper Sean Kingston is 19.

Thought for Today: "I can, therefore I am." -- Simone Weil, French philosopher (born this day in 1909, died 1943).
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Source: Associated Press

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~Time owns each and everything~
~Useless youth if not useful for Pakistan~

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 4, the 35th day of 2009. There are 330 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 4, 1789, electors chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States however, the results of the balloting were not counted in the U.S. Senate until two months later.

On this date:

In 1783, Britain declared a formal cessation of hostilities with its former colonies, the United States of America.

In 1861, delegates from six southern states met in Montgomery, Ala., to form the Confederate States of America.

In 1932, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid.

In 1938, the Thornton Wilder play "Our Town" opened on Broadway.

In 1941, the United Service Organizations (USO) came into existence.

In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at Yalta.

In 1948, the island nation of Ceylon -- now Sri Lanka -- became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.

In 1974, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

In 1976, more than 23,000 people died when a severe earthquake struck Guatemala with a magnitude of 7.5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In 1998, more than 2,300 people were killed when an earthquake hit northeast Afghanistan with a magnitude of 5.9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.


Ten years ago: In a case that produced a firestorm of outrage, Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant, was shot and killed in front of his Bronx home by four plainclothes New York City police officers. Senators at President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial voted to permit the showing of portions of Monica Lewinsky's videotaped deposition. Gravely ill with lymphatic cancer, Jordan's King Hussein left the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and was flown home.

Five years ago: The Massachusetts high court declared that gays were entitled to nothing less than marriage and that Vermont-style civil unions would not suffice. A Senate rattled by a ricin attack began returning to regular business with no illnesses reported.

One year ago: President George W. Bush proposed a record $3.1 trillion budget that included huge federal deficits. Thomas S. Monson was introduced as the 16th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, succeeded the late Gordon B. Hinckley. Harry Richard Landis, one of two known surviving U.S. veterans of World War I, died near Tampa, Fla. at age 108.

Today's Birthdays: Actor William Phipps is 87. Actor Conrad Bain is 86. Actor Gary Conway is 73. Movie director George A. Romero is 69. Rock musician John Steel (The Animals) is 68. Singer Florence LaRue (The Fifth Dimension) is 65. Former Vice President Dan Quayle is 62. Rock singer Alice Cooper is 61. Actor Michael Beck is 60. Actress Lisa Eichhorn is 57. Football Hall-of-Famer Lawrence Taylor is 50. Rock singer Tim Booth is 49. Rock musician Henry Bogdan is 48. Country singer Clint Black is 47. Country musician Dave Buchanan (Yankee Grey) is 43. Actress Gabrielle Anwar is 39. Actor Rob Corddry is 38. Singer David Garza is 38. Actor Michael Goorjian is 38. Rock musician Rick Burch (Jimmy Eat World) is 34. Singer Natalie Imbruglia is 34. Rapper Cam'ron is 33. Rock singer Gavin DeGraw is 32. Olympic gold medal gymnast-turned-singer Carly Patterson is 21.

Thought for Today: "Life is doubt, and faith without doubt is nothing but death." -- Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish philosopher (1864-1936).
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Source: Associated Press

__________________
~Time owns each and everything~
~Useless youth if not useful for Pakistan~