Today in History - May 31

By The Associated Press –

Today is Saturday, May 31, the 152nd day of 2008. There are 214 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 31, 1889, more than 2,000 people perished when a dam break sent water rushing through Johnstown, Pa.

On this date:

In 1809, composer Franz Joseph Haydn died in Vienna, Austria.

In 1819, poet Walt Whitman was born in West Hill, N.Y.

In 1908, actor Don Ameche was born in Kenosha, Wis.

In 1910, the Union of South Africa was founded.

In 1916, during World War I, British and German fleets fought the naval Battle of Jutland off Denmark; there was no clear-cut victor, although the British suffered heavier losses.

In 1961, South Africa became an independent republic.

In 1970, tens of thousands of people died in an earthquake in Peru.

In 1976, Martha Mitchell, the estranged wife of former Attorney General John N. Mitchell, died in New York.

In 1977, the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, three years in the making, was completed.

In 1994, the United States announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union.

Ten years ago: Storms tore from Pennsylvania through New England, killing several people and knocking out power for nearly one million customers. Singer Geri Halliwell, also known as "Ginger Spice" of the Spice Girls, confirmed she was leaving the group.

Five years ago: President Bush visited the site of the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland as he challenged allies to overcome their bitterness and mistrust over the Iraq war and unite in the struggle against terrorism. Anti-government extremist and bomber Eric Rudolph was arrested outside a grocery store in Murphy, N.C. Air France's Concorde returned to Paris in a final commercial flight.

One year ago: President Bush, under international pressure to take tough action against global warming, called for a world summit to set a long-term global strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In a breach of security, detailed plans for the new U.S. Embassy under construction in Baghdad appeared on the Web site of the architectural firm that was contracted to design the massive facility. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush attended the dedication of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Elaine Stewart is 79. Actor-director Clint Eastwood is 78. Singer Peter Yarrow is 70. Former Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite is 69. Singer-musician Augie Meyers is 68. Actress Sharon Gless is 65. Football Hall-of-Famer Joe Namath is 65. Actor Tom Berenger is 58. Actor Gregory Harrison is 58. Actress Roma Maffia is 50. Comedian Chris Elliott is 48. Actor Kyle Secor is 48. Actress Lea Thompson is 47. Singer Corey Hart is 46. Rapper DMC is 44. Rapper Kid Frost is 44. Actress Brooke Shields is 43. Country musician Ed Adkins (The Derailers) is 41. Jazz musician Christian McBride is 36. Actor Colin Farrell is 32. Rock musician Scott Klopfenstein (Reel Big Fish) is 31. Actor Eric Christian Olsen is 31. Rock musician Andy Hurley (Fall Out Boy) is 28. Actor Jonathan Tucker is 26. Actor Curtis Williams Jr. is 21.

Thought for Today: "In the faces of men and women I see God." — Walt Whitman (1819-1892).


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j...lBMYQD910CSJ04

Today in History - June 1

By The Associated Press
Sun Jun 1, 12: 01 AM ET


Today is Sunday, June 1, the 153rd day of 2008. There are 213 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On June 1, 1813, the mortally wounded commander of the U.S. frigate Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence, said, "Don't give up the ship" during a losing battle with a British frigate.

On this date:

In 1533, Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII, was crowned as Queen Consort of England.

In 1792, Kentucky became the 15th state of the Union.

In 1796, Tennessee became the 16th state.

In 1868, James Buchanan, the 15th president of the United States, died near Lancaster, Pa.

In 1926, actress Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson in Los Angeles.

In 1943, a civilian flight from Portugal to England was shot down by the Germans during World War II, killing all aboard, including actor Leslie Howard.

In 1958, Charles de Gaulle became premier of France, marking the beginning of the end of the Fourth Republic.

In 1968, author-lecturer Helen Keller, who earned a college degree despite being blind and deaf almost all of her life, died in Westport, Conn., at age 87.

In 1968, the British television series "The Prisoner," starring Patrick McGoohan, had its American premiere on CBS.

In 1980, Cable News Network made its debut.

Ten years ago: President Clinton abruptly abandoned his claim of executive privilege in the Monica Lewinsky investigation. Thousands of refugees from Serbia's Kosovo province streamed into neighboring Albania to escape deadly fighting.

Five years ago: Leaders of the world's seven wealthiest nations and Russia pledged billions of dollars to fight AIDS and hunger on the opening day of their summit in Evian, France.

One year ago: The FDA warned consumers to avoid using toothpaste made in China because it might contain a poisonous chemical used in antifreeze. Kidnapped British journalist Alan Johnston appeared in a videotape posted on an Islamic Web, the first time he was seen since being abducted nearly three months earlier in Gaza. (Johnston was freed July 4.) Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian walked out of a Michigan prison, where he'd spent eight years for ending the life of a man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Richard Erdman is 83. Actor Andy Griffith is 82. Actor Edward Woodward is 78. Singer Pat Boone is 74. Actor-writer-director Peter Masterson is 74. Actor Morgan Freeman is 71. Actor Rene Auberjonois is 68. Opera singer Frederica von Stade is 63. Actor Brian Cox is 62. Rock musician Ronnie Wood is 61. Actor Jonathan Pryce is 61. Actor Powers Boothe is 60. Actress Gemma Craven is 58. Country singer Ronnie Dunn (Brooks and Dunn) is 55. Actress Lisa Hartman Black is 52. Singer-musician Alan Wilder is 49. Rock musician Simon Gallup (The Cure) is 48. Country musician Richard Comeaux (River Road) is 47. Actor-singer Jason Donovan is 40. Actress Teri Polo is 39. Model-actress Heidi Klum is 35. Singer Alanis Morissette is 34. TV personality Damien Fahey is 28. Actor Taylor Handley is 24.

Thought for Today: "Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last." — Charlotte Bronte, English novelist (1816-1855).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080601/...n_hi/history_1

__________________
Marwatone.

Today in History - June 2

By The Associated Press
Mon Jun 2, 12: 01 AM ET

Today is Monday, June 2, the 154th day of 2008. There are 212 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On June 2, 1953, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain was crowned in Westminster Abbey, 16 months after the death of her father, King George VI.

On this date:

In 1857, English composer Edward Elgar was born near Worcester, England.

In 1886, President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom in a White House ceremony.

In 1897, Mark Twain, 61, was quoted by the New York Journal as saying from London that "the report of my death was an exaggeration."

In 1924, Congress passed a measure that was then signed by President Coolidge granting American citizenship to all U.S.-born American Indians.

In 1941, baseball's "Iron Horse," Lou Gehrig, died in New York of a degenerative disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; he was 37.

In 1946, Italy held a referendum which resulted in the Italian monarchy being abolished in favor of a republic.

In 1966, the U.S. space probe Surveyor 1 landed on the moon and began transmitting detailed photographs of the lunar surface.

In 1975, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller said his commission had found no widespread pattern of illegal activities at the Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1979, Pope John Paul II arrived in his native Poland on the first visit by a pope to a Communist country.

In 1986, for the first time, the public could watch the proceedings of the U.S. Senate on television as a six-week experiment of televised sessions began.

Ten years ago: Voters in California passed Proposition 227, which effectively abolished the state's 30-year-old bilingual education program by requiring that all children be taught in English. Monica Lewinsky hired a new defense team, Jacob Stein and Plato Cacheris, replacing William H. Ginsburg as her lead attorney.

Five years ago: President Bush, visiting the Middle East, pledged to work unstintingly for the goal of Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side without bloodshed. The Federal Communications Commission eased limits on media ownership.

One year ago: U.S. authorities said four Muslim men had been foiled from carrying out a plot to destroy John F. Kennedy International Airport, kill thousands of people and trigger an economic catastrophe by blowing up a jet fuel artery running through populous New York residential neighborhoods.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Milo O'Shea is 83. Actress-singer Sally Kellerman is 71. Actor Ron Ely is 70. Actor Stacy Keach is 67. Rock musician Charlie Watts is 67. Singer William Guest (Gladys Knight & The Pips) is 67. Actor Charles Haid is 65. Composer Marvin Hamlisch is 64. Movie director Lasse Hallstrom is 62. Actor Jerry Mathers is 60. Actress Joanna Gleason is 58. Actor Dennis Haysbert is 54. Comedian Dana Carvey is 53. Actor Gary Grimes is 53. Rock singer Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) is 48. Singer Merril Bainbridge is 40. Rapper B-Real (Cypress Hill) is 38. Actress Paula Cale is 38. Actor-comedian Wayne Brady is 36. Actor Wentworth Miller is 36. Rock musician Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane) is 32. Actor Zachary Quinto is 31. Actress Nikki Cox is 30. Actor Justin Long is 30. Actor Deon Richmond is 30. Rhythm-and-blues singer Irish Grinstead (702) is 28. Rock musician Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes) is 28. Country singer Dan Cahoon (Marshall Dyllon) is 25.

Thought for Today: "Experience isn't interesting till it begins to repeat itself — in fact, till it does that, it hardly is experience." — Elizabeth Bowen, Irish-born author (1899-1973).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080602/...n_hi/history_1

__________________
Marwatone.

Today in History - June 3

By The Associated Press
Tue Jun 3, 12: 01 AM ET


Today is Tuesday, June 3, the 155th day of 2008. There are 211 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

Two hundred years ago, on June 3, 1808, Jefferson Davis, the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, was born in Christian County, Ky.

In 1621, the Dutch West India Company received its charter for a trade monopoly in parts of the Americas and Africa.

In 1888, the poem "Casey at the Bat," by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, was first published, in the San Francisco Daily Examiner.

In 1935, the French liner Normandie set a record on its maiden voyage, arriving in New York after crossing the Atlantic in just four days.

In 1937, the Duke of Windsor, who had abdicated the British throne, married Wallis Warfield Simpson in Monts, France.

In 1948, the 200-inch reflecting Hale Telescope at the Palomar Mountain Observatory in California was dedicated.

In 1963, Pope John XXIII died at age 81; he was succeeded by Pope Paul VI.

In 1965, astronaut Edward White became the first American to "walk" in space, during the flight of Gemini 4.

In 1968, pop artist Andy Warhol was shot and critically wounded in his New York film studio, known as "The Factory," by Valerie Solanas, an actress and self-styled militant feminist.

In 1983, Gordon Kahl, a militant tax protester wanted in the slayings of two U.S. marshals in North Dakota, was killed in a gun battle with law enforcement officials near Smithville, Ark.

In 1989, Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died.

Ten years ago: President Clinton urged Congress to renew normal trade benefits for China, saying good relations with Beijing were crucial amid fears of a nuclear arms race in South Asia. A high-speed train derailed in Eschede, Germany, killing 101 people.

Five years ago: World leaders closed out a summit in Evian, France, by pledging to rebuild Iraq and combat the threat of nuclear weapons in Iran and North Korea. Arab leaders pledged to renounce terror and help end violence against Israel, standing in solidarity with President Bush at a summit in Egypt. Sammy Sosa was ejected in the first inning of Chicago's 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after umpires found cork in his shattered bat.

One year ago: After attending the MTV Movie Awards, Paris Hilton reported to jail to serve a 45-day sentence for a probation violation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. (Hilton was released after three days behind bars for an unspecified medical condition, but a Los Angeles County judge ordered her back to jail.)

Today's Birthdays: Actor Tony Curtis is 83. TV producer Chuck Barris is 79. Actress Irma P. Hall is 73. Author Larry McMurtry is 72. Rock singer Ian Hunter (Mott The Hoople) is 69. Singer Eddie Holman is 62. Musician Too Slim (Riders in the Sky) is 60. Rock musician Richard Moore is 59. Singer Suzi Quatro is 58. Singer Deneice Williams is 57. Rock musician Billy Powell (Lynyrd Skynyrd) is 56. Singer Dan Hill is 54. Actor Scott Valentine is 50. Rock musician Kerry King (Slayer) is 44. CNN host Anderson Cooper is 41. Country singer Jamie O'Neal is 40. Singers Gabriel and Ariel Hernandez (No Mercy) are 37. Actress-singer Lalaine ("Lizzie McGuire") is 21.

Thought for Today: "Never be haughty to the humble; never be humble to the haughty." — Jefferson Davis, Confederate president (1808-1889).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080603/...n_hi/history_1

__________________
Marwatone.

Today in History - June 4

By The Associated Press
Wed Jun 4, 12: 01 AM ET


Today is Wednesday, June 4, the 156th day of 2008. There are 210 days left in the year.


Today's highlight in history:

On June 4, 1942, the Pacific Battle of Midway began during World War II; three days later, American naval forces claimed a decisive victory over the Japanese.

On this date:

In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers first publicly demonstrated their hot-air balloon, which did not carry any passengers, over Annonay, France.

In 1784, opera singer Elizabeth Thible became the first woman to fly aboard a Montgolfier hot-air balloon, over Lyon, France.

In 1878, the Ottoman Empire turned over control of Cyprus to the British.

In 1892, the Sierra Club was incorporated in San Francisco.

In 1896, Henry Ford made a successful pre-dawn test run of his horseless carriage, called a "quadricycle," through the streets of Detroit.

In 1939, the German ocean liner St. Louis, carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees from Germany, was turned away from the Florida coast by U.S. officials.

In 1940, the Allied military evacuation from Dunkirk, France, ended.

In 1954, French Premier Joseph Laniel and Vietnamese Premier Buu Loc signed treaties in Paris according "complete independence" to Vietnam.

In 1979, Joe Clark of the Progressive Conservatives became the 16th prime minister of Canada.

In 1989, Chinese army troops stormed Beijing to crush a pro-democracy movement, killing hundreds, possibly thousands, of people.

Ten years ago: A federal judge sentenced Terry Nichols to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. Americans aboard the shuttle Discovery arrived at the Russian space station Mir to pick up U.S. astronaut Andrew Thomas, who'd spent four months in orbit.

Five years ago: President Bush held landmark meetings with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers, hoping to advance a Middle East peace plan after winning new support from top Arab leaders. Martha Stewart stepped down as head of her media empire, hours after federal prosecutors in New York charged her with obstruction of justice, conspiracy, securities fraud and lying to investigators. (Stewart was later convicted of lying about why she'd sold her shares of ImClone Systems stock in 2001, just before the stock price plunged.)

One year ago: President Bush left on an eight-day European trip that included a Group of Eight summit in Germany. Military judges dismissed charges against a Guantanamo detainee accused of chauffeuring Osama bin Laden and another who allegedly killed a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. Insurgents linked to al-Qaida issued a video in which they claimed to have killed all three U.S. soldiers captured in an ambush on May 12. (The body of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr. has been recovered; Spc. Alex Jimenez and Pvt. Byron Fouty remain missing.) A federal indictment accused Lousiana Democratic Congressman William Jefferson of receiving more than $500,000 in bribes (Jefferson has maintained his innocence).

Today's Birthdays: Actor Bruce Dern is 72. Musician Roger Ball is 64. Actress-singer Michelle Phillips is 64. Jazz musician Anthony Braxton is 63. Singer Gordon Waller (Peter and Gordon) is 63. Rock musician Danny Brown (The Fixx) is 57. Actor Parker Stevenson is 56. Actor Keith David is 52. Actress Julie Gholson is 50. Actor Eddie Velez is 50. Singer-musician El DeBarge is 47. Actress Julie White is 47. Tennis player Andrea Jaeger is 43. Actor Scott Wolf is 40. Comedian Horatio Sanz is 39. Actor Noah Wyle is 37. Rock musician Stefan Lessard (The Dave Matthews Band) is 34. Actor-comedian Russell Brand is 33. Actress Angelina Jolie is 33. Rock musician JoJo Garza (Los Lonely Boys) is 28. Rock musician Zac Farro is 18.

Thought for Today: "If America forgets where she came from, if the people lose sight of what brought them along, if she listens to the deniers and mockers, then will begin the rot and dissolution." — Carl Sandburg, American writer (1878-1967).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080604/...n_hi/history_1

__________________
Marwatone.

Today in History - June 5

By The Associated Press
Thu Jun 5, 12: 01 AM ET


Today is Thursday, June 5, the 157th day of 2008. There are 209 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On June 5, 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel after claiming victory in California's Democratic presidential primary. Gunman Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was immediately arrested.

On this date:

In 1884, Civil War hero Gen. William T. Sherman refused the Republican presidential nomination, saying, "I will not accept if nominated and will not serve if elected."

In 1917, about 10 million American men began registering for the draft in World War I.

In 1933, the United States went off the gold standard.

In 1940, during the World War II Battle of France, Germany attacked French forces along the Somme line.

In 1947, Secretary of State George C. Marshall gave a speech at Harvard University in which he outlined an aid program for Europe that came to be known as "The Marshall Plan."

In 1967, war erupted in the Mideast as Israel raided military aircraft parked on the ground in Egypt; Syria, Jordan and Iraq entered the conflict.

In 1976, 14 people were killed when the Teton Dam in Idaho burst.

In 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that five homosexuals in Los Angeles had come down with a rare kind of pneumonia; they were the first recognized cases of what later became known as AIDS.

In 1993, country star Conway Twitty died in Springfield, Mo., at age 59.

In 2004, Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, died in Los Angeles at age 93 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

Ten years ago: A strike at a General Motors parts factory near Detroit closed five assembly plants and idled workers nationwide; the walkout lasted seven weeks. Volkswagen AG won approval to buy Rolls-Royce Motor Cars for $700 million. (However, BMW later got to purchase the Rolls-Royce brand name and logo.)

Five years ago: Speaking to American soldiers in Qatar, President Bush argued the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was justified and pledged that "we'll reveal the truth" on Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. The United States agreed to pull its ground troops away from the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. The New York Times' top two editors resigned in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal.

One year ago: Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for lying and obstructing the CIA leak investigation. (President Bush later commuted the prison sentence.) A fourth suspect in an alleged plot to destroy New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport surrendered to police in Trinidad.

Today's Birthdays: Actor-singer Bill Hayes is 83. Broadcast journalist Bill Moyers is 74. Rhythm-and-blues singer Floyd Butler (Friends of Distinction) is 67. Country singer Don Reid (The Statler Brothers) is 63. Rock musician Fred Stone (Sly and the Family Stone) is 62. Performance artist Laurie Anderson is 61. Country singer Gail Davies is 60. Author Ken Follett is 59. Rock musician Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) is 56. Jazz musician Kenny G is 52. Rock singer Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs) is 52. Actor Jeff Garlin is 46. Actress Karen Sillas is 45. Actor Ron Livingston is 41. Singer Brian McKnight is 39. Rock musician Claus Norreen (Aqua) is 38. Actor Mark Wahlberg is 37. Actor Chad Allen is 34. Rock musician P-Nut (311) is 34. Actress Navi Rawat is 31. Actress Liza Weil is 31. Rock musician Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy) is 29. Rock musician Seb Lefebvre (Simple Plan) is 27.

Thought for Today: "What is objectionable, what is dangerous, about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents." — Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. senator (1925-1968).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080605/...n_hi/history_1

__________________
Marwatone.

Today in History - June 6

By The Associated Press
Fri Jun 6, 12: 01 AM ET


Today is Friday, June 6, the 158th day of 2008. There are 208 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On June 6, 1944, the "D-Day" invasion of Europe took place during World War II as Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France.

On this date:

In 1799, American politician and orator Patrick Henry died at Red Hill Plantation, Va.

In 1844, the Young Men's Christian Association was founded in London.

In 1918, American Marines suffered heavy casualties as they launched their eventually successful counteroffensive against German troops in the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood in France.

In 1925, Walter Percy Chrysler founded the Chrysler Corporation.

In 1933, the first drive-in movie theater was opened by Richard Hollingshead in Camden County, N.J. (The movie shown was "Wives Beware," an Adolphe Menjou comedy previously released under the title "Two White Arms.")

In 1934, the Securities and Exchange Commission was established.

In 1966, black activist James Meredith was shot and wounded as he walked along a Mississippi highway to encourage black voter registration.

In 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, a day after he was shot by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan.

In 1978, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13, a primary ballot initiative calling for major cuts in property taxes.

In 1982, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon to drive Palestine Liberation Organization fighters out of the country. (The Israelis withdrew in June 1985.)

Ten years ago: The U.N. Security Council demanded in a unanimous vote that India and Pakistan refrain from further nuclear tests and sign nuclear control agreements. Real Quiet was denied horse racing's Triple Crown as Victory Gallop won the Belmont Stakes by a nose.

Five years ago: The government reported the U.S. unemployment rate had hit a nine-year high of 6.1 percent the previous month. Already the holder of U.S. rights to the Olympics through 2008, NBC secured the contracts for the 2010 and 2012 games for $2.2 billion.

One year ago: The Group of Eight summit opened in Heiligendamm, Germany. Police arrested a man in the abduction and death of 18-year-old Kelsey Smith, whose body was found in a Missouri park four days after she'd disappeared from a Kansas store's parking lot. Police in Connecticut looking for clues in the yearlong disappearance of a 15-year-old Bloomfield girl reported finding her locked in a hidden room in a West Hartford home owned by an acquaintance of her parents. (Adam Gault later pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sexually assaulting the girl.) The Anaheim Ducks captured the Stanley Cup with a 6-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. Bob Barker taped his last episode of CBS' "The Price Is Right."

Today's Birthdays: Actress Billie Whitelaw is 76. Civil rights activist Roy Innis is 74. Singer Levi Stubbs is 72. Singer-songwriter Gary "U.S." Bonds is 69. Country singer Joe Stampley is 65. Actor Robert Englund is 59. Folk singer Holly Near is 59. Singer Dwight Twilley is 57. Playwright-actor Harvey Fierstein is 54. Comedian Sandra Bernhard is 53. Tennis player Bjorn Borg is 52. Actress Amanda Pays is 49. Comedian Colin Quinn is 49. Record producer Jimmy Jam is 49. Rock musician Steve Vai is 48. Rock singer-musician Tom Araya (Slayer) is 47. Actor Jason Isaacs is 45. Rock musician Sean Yseult (White Zombie) is 42. Actor Max Casella is 41. Actor Paul Giamatti is 41. Rhythm-and-blues singer Damion Hall (Guy) is 40. Rock musician Bardi Martin is 39. Rock musician James "Munky" Shaffer (Korn) is 38. TV correspondent Natalie Morales is 36. Country singer Lisa Brokop is 35. Rapper-rocker Uncle Kracker is 34. Actress Staci Keanan is 33.

Thought for Today: "Two dangers constantly threaten the world: order and disorder." — Paul Valery, French poet (1871-1945).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080606/...n_hi/history_1

__________________
Marwatone.

Today in History - June 7

By The Associated Press


Today is Saturday, June 7, the 159th day of 2008. There are 207 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed to the Continental Congress a resolution calling for American independence from Britain.

On this date:

In 1753, Britain's King George II gave his assent to an Act of Parliament establishing the British Museum.

In 1769, frontiersman Daniel Boone first began to explore present-day Kentucky.

In 1848, French Postimpressionist painter Paul Gauguin was born in Paris.

In 1929, the sovereign state of Vatican City came into existence as copies of the Lateran Treaty were exchanged in Rome.

In 1937, actress Jean Harlow died in Los Angeles at age 26.

In 1948, the Communists completed their takeover of Czechoslovakia with the resignation of President Edvard Benes.

In 1967, the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic opened in San Francisco.

In 1967, author-critic Dorothy Parker, famed for her caustic wit, died in New York at age 73.

In 1972, the musical "Grease" opened on Broadway, having already been performed in lower Manhattan.

In 1981, Israeli military planes destroyed a nuclear power plant in Iraq, a facility the Israelis charged could have been used to make nuclear weapons.

Ten years ago: In a crime that shocked the nation, James Byrd Jr., a 49-year-old black man, was chained to a pickup truck and dragged to his death in Jasper, Texas. (Two white men were later sentenced to death for the crime; a third received life in prison.) At the Tony Awards, "The Lion King" won best musical and "Art" was named best play.

Five years ago: In a national first, New Hampshire Episcopalians elected the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, their next bishop. A suicide bomber in Afghanistan killed four German peacekeepers; the blast also killed a teenage Afghan bystander. Justine Henin-Hardenne beat Kim Clijsters 6-0, 6-4 at the French Open, in the first all-Belgian Grand Slam final. Empire Maker beat Kentucky Derby-Preakness winner Funny Cide in the Belmont Stakes.

One year ago: At the G-8 summit in Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin, bitterly opposed to a U.S. missile shield in Europe, presented President Bush with a surprise counterproposal built around a Soviet-era radar system in Azerbaijan; Bush promised to consider the idea. After three days in jail for a reckless-driving probation violation, Paris Hilton was released by Los Angeles County sheriff's officials because of an undisclosed medical condition to be sent home under house arrest. (The next day, a judge ordered Hilton back to jail.)

Today's Birthdays: Movie director James Ivory is 80. Actress Virginia McKenna is 77. Singer Tom Jones is 68. Poet Nikki Giovanni is 65. Actor Ken Osmond ("Leave It to Beaver") is 65. Former talk show host Jenny Jones is 62. Actress Anne Twomey is 57. Actor Liam Neeson is 56. Actress Colleen Camp is 55. Singer-songwriter Johnny Clegg is 55. Author Louise Erdrich is 54. Actor William Forsythe is 53. Record producer L.A. Reid is 52. Latin pop singer Juan Luis Guerra is 51. Singer-songwriter Prince is 50. Rock singer-musician Gordon Gano (The Violent Femmes) is 45. Rapper Ecstacy (Whodini) is 44. Rock musician Eric Kretz (Stone Temple Pilots) is 42. Rock musician David Navarro is 41. Actress Helen Baxendale is 38. Actor Karl Urban is 36. Rock musician Eric Johnson (The Shins) is 32. Actress Larisa Oleynik is 27. Tennis player Anna Kournikova is 27. Actor Michael Cera is 20. Actress Shelley Buckner is 19.

Thought for Today: "Some seek bread; and some seek wealth and ease; and some seek fame, but all are seeking rest." — Frederick Langbridge, English clergyman and author (1849-1922).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080607/...bZYfWlSgBgR9AF

__________________
Regards

Aarwaa

Pakistan is ruled by three As - Army, America and Allah.

Today in History - June 8

The Associated Press

Today is Sunday, June 8, the 160th day of 2008. There are 206 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 8, A.D. 632, the prophet Muhammad died in Medina.

On this date:

In 1845, Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States, died in Nashville, Tenn.

In 1861, Tennessee seceded from the Union.

In 1864, Abraham Lincoln was nominated for another term as president during the National Union (Republican) Party's convention in Baltimore.

In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt offered to act as a mediator in the Russo-Japanese War.

In 1915, Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned in a disagreement with President Wilson over U.S. handling of the sinking of the Lusitania.

In 1948, the "Texaco Star Theater" made its debut on NBC-TV with Milton Berle guest-hosting the first program. (Berle was later named the show's permanent host.)

In 1953, the Supreme Court, in District of Columbia v. Thompson Co., ruled that restaurants in the District of Columbia could not refuse to serve blacks.

In 1966, a merger was announced between the National and American Football Leagues, to take effect in 1970.

In 1967, 34 U.S. servicemen were killed when Israeli forces raided the Liberty, a Navy ship stationed in the Mediterranean. (Israel called the attack a tragic mistake.)

In 1978, a jury in Clark County, Nev., ruled the so-called "Mormon will," purportedly written by the late billionaire Howard Hughes, was a forgery.

Ten years ago: The National Rifle Association elected Charlton Heston its president. The shuttle Discovery pulled away from Mir, ending America's three-year space partnership with Russia. Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha died at age 54.

Five years ago: Frustrated and angry over delays, a coalition of the nation's mayors meeting in Denver asked federal officials to bypass state governments and give them the money they needed to beef up homeland security. Poles voted to join the European Union in 2004. Annika Sorenstam won the LPGA Championship for her fifth major title. Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero won the French Open men's final with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Martin Verkerk. George Foreman was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The Broadway show "Hairspray" won eight Tony Awards, including best musical; "Take Me Out," Richard Greenberg's play about a gay baseball player, was chosen best play.

One year ago: Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the Bush administration was replacing Gen. Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and recommending Adm. Mike Mullen for the job. Mary Winkler, who'd killed her preacher husband with a shotgun blast to the back as he lay in bed, was sentenced in Selmer, Tenn., to three years in prison. (She ended up serving 67 days in custody, 12 in jail and the rest in a mental health facility.) Paris Hilton was sent screaming and crying back to jail after a judge in Los Angeles ruled she had to serve out her sentence for a probation violation behind bars rather than under house arrest. The space shuttle Atlantis blasted off on a mission to the international space station.

Today's Birthdays: Former first lady Barbara Bush is 83. Actor-comedian Jerry Stiller is 81. Comedian Joan Rivers is 75. Actress Millicent Martin is 74. Actor James Darren is 72. Actor Bernie Casey is 69. Singer Nancy Sinatra is 68. Singer Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night) is 66. Musician Boz Scaggs is 64. Actor Don Grady is 64. Rock musician Mick Box (Uriah Heep) is 61. Author Sara Paretsky is 61. Actress Sonia Braga is 58. Actress Kathy Baker is 58. Country musician Tony Rice is 57. Singer Bonnie Tyler is 55. Actor Griffin Dunne is 53. "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams is 51. Actor-director Keenen Ivory Wayans is 50. Singer Mick Hucknall (Simply Red) is 48. Musician Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran) is 46. Rhythm-and-blues singer Doris Pearson (Five Star) is 42. Actress Julianna Margulies is 41. Actor Dan Futterman is 41. Actor David Sutcliffe is 39. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nicci Gilbert is 38. Actress Kelli Williams is 38. Actor Mark Feuerstein is 37. Contemporary Christian musician Mike Scheuchzer (MercyMe) is 33. Rapper Kanye West is 31. Folk-bluegrass singer-musician Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek) is 27.

Though for Today: "Love hath no physic for a grief too deep." _ Robert Nathan, American author and composer (1894-1985).

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...tory---june-8/

__________________
Regards

Aarwaa

Pakistan is ruled by three As - Army, America and Allah.

Today in History - June 9

By The Associated Press
Mon Jun 9, 12: 01 AM ET

Today is Monday, June 9, the 161st day of 2008. There are 205 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 9, A.D. 68, the Roman Emperor Nero committed suicide.

On this date:

In 1870, author Charles Dickens died in Gad's Hill Place, England.

In 1940, during World War II, Norway decided to surrender to the Nazis, effective at midnight.

In 1953, 94 people died when a tornado struck Worcester, Mass.

In 1954, during the Senate-Army Hearings, Army special counsel Joseph N. Welch berated Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, asking: "Have you no sense of decency, sir?"

In 1969, the U.S. Senate confirmed Warren Burger to be the new chief justice of the United States, succeeding Earl Warren.

In 1973, Secretariat became horse racing's first Triple Crown winner in 25 years by winning the Belmont Stakes.

In 1978, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints struck down a 148-year-old policy of excluding black men from the Mormon priesthood.

In 1980, comedian Richard Pryor suffered almost fatal burns at his San Fernando Valley, Calif., home when a mixture of "free-base" cocaine exploded.

In 1985, American educator Thomas Sutherland was kidnapped in Lebanon; he was released in November 1991 along with fellow hostage Terry Waite.

In 1986, the Rogers Commission released its report on the Challenger disaster, criticizing NASA and rocket-builder Morton Thiokol for management problems leading to the explosion that claimed the lives of seven astronauts.

Ten years ago: Three white men were charged in Jasper, Texas, with the brutal dragging death of James Byrd Jr., a black man. President Clinton unleashed a torrent of public works money, signing a $203 billion transportation bill.

Five years ago: As rebels bore down on the capital of Liberia, French helicopters rescued more than 500 Americans, Europeans and other foreigners. The New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 3-0 in Game 7.

One year ago: President Bush, denounced by anti-American protesters on the streets of Rome, defended his humanitarian record as he met at the Vatican with Pope Benedict XVI, who expressed concern about "the worrisome situation in Iraq." A day after being ordered back to jail, Paris Hilton said she wouldn't appeal her sentence for a probation violation. Rags to Riches became the first filly to win the Belmont Stakes since 1905. Justine Henin claimed her third consecutive French Open title with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Ana Ivanovic.

Today's Birthdays: Guitarist-inventor Les Paul is 93. Former World Bank president and former defense secretary Robert S. McNamara is 92. Actress Mona Freeman is 82. Media analyst Marvin Kalb is 78. Sports commentator Dick Vitale is 69. Author Letty Cottin Pogrebin is 69. Rock musician Jon Lord is 67. Mystery author Patricia Cornwell is 52. Actor Michael J. Fox is 47. Writer-producer Aaron Sorkin is 47. Actor Johnny Depp is 45. Jazz musician Wayman Tisdale is 44. Actress Gloria Reuben is 44. Rock musician Dean Felber (Hootie & the Blowfish) is 41. Rock musician Dean Dinning is 41. Musician Ed Simons is 38. Country musician Shade Deggs (Cole Deggs and the Lonesome) is 34. Actress Michaela Conlin (TV: "Bones") is 30. Actress Natalie Portman is 27. Actress Mae Whitman is 20.

Thought for Today: "History is a romance that is believed; romance, a history that is not believed." — Horace Walpole, English author (1717-1797).


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080609/...n_hi/history_1

__________________
Regards

Aarwaa

Pakistan is ruled by three As - Army, America and Allah.