Today is Monday, Sept. 29, the 273rd day of 2008 with 93 to follow.
Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown.
The moon is new. The morning star is Saturn. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include Spanish poet-novelist Miguel de Cervantes, author of "Don Quixote," in 1547; British naval hero Adm. Horatio Nelson in 1758; pioneer nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi in 1901; singing movie cowboy Gene Autry in 1907; film directors Michelangelo Antonioni in 1912 and Stanley Kramer in 1913; actor Trevor Howard in 1913; actress Anita Ekberg in 1931 (age 77); rock 'n' roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis in 1935 (age 73); actor Larry Linville ("M*A*S*H") in 1939; singer/actress Madeline Kahn in 1942; Polish leader Lech Walesa in 1943 (age 65); and TV personality Bryant Gumbel in 1948 (age 60).
On this date in history:In 1789, the U.S. War Department organized the United States' first standing army -- 700 troops who would serve for three years.
In 1923, Britain began to govern Palestine under a League of Nations mandate.
In 1936, in the presidential race between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Alf Landon, both parties used radio for the first time.
In 1941, the Babi Yar massacre of nearly 34,000 Jewish men, women, and children began on the outskirts of Kiev in the Nazi-occupied Ukraine.
In 1986, the Soviet Union freed U.S. journalist Nicholas Daniloff, whom Moscow accused of spying.
In 1991, sharing power for first time in 26 years, Zaire's President Mobuto Sese Seko named opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi prime minister.
In 1992, after weeks of stalemate, U.S. President George H.W. Bush, seeking re-election, challenged his Democratic opponent, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, to four debates.
Also in 1992, Brazil's President Collor became the first Latin American leader to be impeached.
And in 1992, Earvin "Magic" Johnson announced he was returning to the Los Angeles Lakers less than a year after he retired because he had the AIDS virus.
In 2003, a published report said the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency concluded that most of the information provided by Iraqi defectors was worthless.
Also in 2003, electricity was restored in Italy after a weekend blackout put 57 million people in the dark.
In 2004, a Saudi suspected of being an associate of Osama bin Laden and a Yemeni militant were sentenced to death for the bombing of the USS Cole in which 17 U.S. sailors were killed four years earlier.
Also in 2004, TV icon Martha Stewart was ordered to serve her five-month prison sentence for obstructing justice at a prison camp for women in Alderson, W.Va.
In 2005, John Roberts Jr. easily won confirmation by the U.S. Senate to become chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was sworn in later that day, succeeding the late William Rehnquist.
Also in 2005, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage in his state.
In 2006, U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., resigned in the wake of revelations he sent inappropriate e-mail messages to an underage former Capitol Hill page.
Also in 2006, the U.S. Congress approved President George Bush's plan for the interrogations and military trials of suspected terrorists.
In 2007, hundreds of rebels attacked an African Union base in Haskanita, a town in the Darfur region of Sudan, and reportedly killed at least 10 peacekeeping troops.
Also in 2007, the Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack on a bus that killed at least 27 Afghan soldiers and injured 21 more in Kabul.
A thought for the day: British statesman Edmund Burke said, "Superstition is the religion of feeble minds." Today is Tuesday, Sept. 30, the 274th day of 2008 with 92 to follow.The moon is waxing. The morning star is Saturn. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They 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; actresses Deborah Kerr in 1921 and Angie Dickinson in 1931 (age 77); singers Johnny Mathis in 1935 (age 73) and Marilyn McCoo in 1943 (age 65); singer Frankie Lymon in 1942; actress Victoria Tennant in 1950 (age 58); actor Eric Stoltz in 1961 (age 47); actress/singer Crystal Bernard in 1961 (age 47); and actresses Fran Drescher ("The Nanny") in 1957 (age 51) and Jenna Elfman ("Dharma and Greg") in 1971 (age 37), and tennis star Martina Hingis in 1980 (age 28).
On this date in history: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.
A thought for the day: Spanish nun, mystic and reformer St. Theresa said, "Whenever conscience commands anything, there is only one thing to fear, and that is fear." Today is Wednesday, Oct. 1, the 275th day of 2008 with 91 to follow.The moon is waxing. The morning star is Saturn. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They 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 84); U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, also in 1924; former major league batting champion Rod Carew in 1945 (age 63); actors Walter Matthau in 1920, James Whitmore in 1921 (age 87), Tom Bosley in 1927 (age 81), George Peppard in 1928, Laurence Harvey in 1928, Richard Harris in 1930, Julie Andrews in 1935 (age 73), Stella Stevens in 1936 (age 72), Stephen Collins in 1947 (age 61) and Randy Quaid in 1950 (age 58); and former home run champ Mark McGwire in 1963 (age 45).
On this date in history: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.
A thought for the day: the dying words of American naval hero Capt. James Lawrence -- "Don't give up the ship" -- became an honored naval motto. Today is Thursday, Oct, 2, the 276th day of 2008 with 90 to follow.The moon is waxing. The morning star is Saturn. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include England's King Richard III in 1452; Nat Turner, a black slave and leader of the only effective and sustained U.S. slave revolt, in 1800; German statesman Paul von Hindenburg in 1847; French World War I military commander Ferdinand Foch in 1851; Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi, known as Mahatma Gandhi, in 1869; comedians Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx in 1890 and Bud Abbott in 1895; child actor George "Spanky" McFarland of "Our Gang" and "Little Rascals" fame, in 1928; movie critic Rex Reed in 1938 (age 70); pop singer Don McLean in 1945 (age 63); fashion designer Donna Karan in 1948 (age 60); rock singer Sting (Gordon Sumner) in 1951 (age 57); and actress Lorraine Bracco in 1955 (age 53).
On this date in history:In 1780, British spy Maj. John Andre was convicted in connection with Benedict Arnold's treason and was hanged in Tappan, N.Y.
In 1950, the "Peanuts" comic strip by Charles M. Schulz was published for the first time.
In 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African-American justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1969, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas resigned after admitting he had made a financial deal with the Louis Wolfson Foundation.
In 1984, Richard Miller became the first FBI agent to be charged with espionage. He was convicted two years later of passing government secrets to the Soviet Union through his Russian lover.
In 1985, actor Rock Hudson died of AIDS. He was 59 years old.
In 1991, the Organization of American States resolved to isolate Haiti's military junta and restore Aristide's government to power.
In 1992, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to override U.S. President George H.W. Bush's veto of a bill that would have reversed the administration's "gag rule" on abortion information.
In 1993, ousted Russian Vice President Aleksandr Rutskoi called for people to take to the streets against President Boris Yeltsin's "dictatorship."
In 2001, NATO said that the United States had shown evidence, sufficient to justify NATO military action, that Osama bin Laden and his organization were responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
In 2002, the first in a series of apparent random sniper attacks that terrorized the Washington area for three weeks occurred on this date with the slaying of a 55-year-old Maryland man.
In 2003, David Kay, the chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq, told Congress his team had yet to find conclusive evidence of weapons of mass destruction in that country.
Also in 2003, a federal judge barred prosecutors of accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui from seeking the death penalty or linking him with the Sept. 11 attacks because he hadn't been allowed to interview al-Qaida operatives who might help his case.
In 2004, at least 48 people were killed in a series of attacks across the Indian states of Nagaland and Assam.
In 2005, 21 people died after a tour boat flipped over on Lake George in New York's Adirondacks.
Also in 2005, Connecticut issued its first licenses for "civil unions," becoming the third state to offer same-sex couples a legal way to unite.
In 2006, five Amish girls were fatally wounded in a series of shootings in a rural, one-room schoolhouse in Nickle Mines, Pa. The suspect, a milk truck driver who also killed himself, had told his wife that he needed to avenge something that had happened 20 years ago, officers said.
In 2007, Yemen's coast guard and NATO ships worked to recover bodies from the Red Sea after a volcano erupted on an island some 85 miles off the coast.
Also in 2007, the U.S. military said 64 troops had died in Iraq in September, 20 fewer than the previous month.
A thought for the day: Queen Elizabeth I of England said, "A fool too late bewares when all the peril is past." Today is Friday, Oct. 3, the 277th day of 2008 with 89 to follow.The moon is waxing. The morning star is Saturn. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include Cherokee Chief John Ross, who led opposition to the forced move of his people to what is now Oklahoma, in 1790; historian George Bancroft in 1800; novelists Thomas Wolfe in 1900 and Gore Vidal in 1925 (age 83); rock 'n' roll singer Chubby Checker in 1941 (age 67); singer/songwriter Lindsey Buckingham in 1947 (age 61); actor/singer Jack Wagner in 1959 (age 49); and actress Neve Campbell in 1973 (age 35).
On this date in history:In 1922, Rebecca Felton, a Georgia Democrat, became the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.
In 1932, Iraq won its independence after Britain ended its mandate over the Arab nation following 17 years of British rule.
In 1952, Britain successfully tested its first atomic bomb.
In 1955, the children's TV show "Captain Kangaroo" with Bob Keeshan in the title role was broadcast for the first time.
In 1967, folksinger and songwriter Woody Guthrie died at the age of 55.
In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko signed strategic arms limitation agreements, putting the first restrictions on the two countries' nuclear weapons.
In 1981, IRA prisoners at Maze Prison in Belfast, Northern Ireland, ended a seven-month hunger strike in which 10 men died.
In 1989, troops loyal to Panamanian military leader Manuel Noriega crushed a coup attempt by rebel mid-level officers. Noriega was held briefly by coup plotters but escaped unharmed.
In 1990, formerly communist East Germany merged with West Germany, ending 45 years of post-war division.
In 1992, William Gates III, the college-dropout founder of Microsoft Corp., headed the Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans with a net worth of $6.3 billion.
In 1993, fighting erupted in the streets of Moscow between pro- and anti-Yeltsin forces. Sixty-two people died in the violence that ended two days later when the rebel vice president and speaker of parliament surrendered.
In 1995, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of charges that he killed his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.
Also in 1995, a bomb nearly killed the president of Macedonia, a relatively peaceful part of the former Yugoslavia.
In 2001, amid rising concerns about the use of lethal substances by terrorists, the U.S. government said it was planning to stockpile 40 million doses of smallpox vaccine.
In 2002, fear escalated in the Washington area as five people were killed over a 16-hour period in apparent random sniper shootings.
In 2005, Harriet Miers, the White House counsel, was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by U.S. President George Bush to succeed the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor. Meanwhile, the high court opened a new term with a new chief justice, John Roberts.
Also in 2005, a Texas grand jury indicted U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, the former House of Representatives majority leader, for money laundering. The new indictment was aimed at correcting problems with an earlier charge against him.
And, in 2005, U.N. monitors said Afghanistan's parliamentary elections were marred by significant fraud and voter intimidation.
In 2006, a hijacked Turkish Airlines jetliner with 113 aboard landed safely in Brindisi, Italy, after Italian military jets escorted it down. The Italian civil aviation agency said the two alleged hijackers were unarmed and only wanted to get a message to Pope Benedict XVI.
In 2007, U.S. President George Bush vetoed a bill that would have increased funding of the State Children's Health Insurance Program to provide health coverage to more than 10 million children. Bush said the proposal was a move toward universal healthcare, which he opposes.
Also in 2007, more than 3,000 miners were trapped underground in a South African gold mine after power was cut accidentally to an elevator used to take them to the surface. There were no injuries reported but rescue took hours since the only elevator working could haul just 300 workers to the surface every 30 minutes.
A thought for the day: American poet Emily Dickinson wrote,"Behold this little Bane –
"The Boon of all alive –
"As common as it is known
"The name of it is Love."
Today is Saturday, Oct. 4, the 278th day of 2008 with 88 to follow.The moon is waxing. The morning star is Saturn. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States, in 1822; Frederic Remington, painter of the American West, in 1861; journalist/author Damon Runyan in 1884; pioneer movie comedian Buster Keaton in 1895; actors Charlton Heston in 1924, Clifton Davis in 1945 (age 63), Susan Sarandon in 1946 (age 62), Armand Assante in 1949 (age 59) and Liev Schreiber in 1967 (age 41); authors Jackie Collins and Anne Rice, both in 1941 (age 67); and actresses Alicia Silverstone in 1976 (age 32) and Rachel Leigh Cook in 1979 (age 29).
On this date in history:In 1777, American forces under Gen. George Washington were defeated by the British in a battle at Germantown, Pa.
In 1890, Mormons in Utah renounced polygamy.
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first man-made space satellite, Sputnik 1.
In 1965, Pope Paul VI arrived at Kennedy International Airport in New York on the first visit by a reigning pope to the United States.
In 1976, Earl Butz resigned as U.S. agriculture secretary with an apology for what he called the "gross indiscretion" of uttering a racist remark.
In 1989, Art Shell was hired by the Oakland Raiders as the first black head coach in the modern NFL.
In 1991, the United States and 23 other countries signed an agreement banning mineral and oil exploration in Antarctica for 50 years.
In 1992, as many as 250 people were killed when an El Al 747 cargo plane crashed into an apartment building on the outskirts of Amsterdam.
Also in 1992, the Mozambique government and RENAMO rebels signed a historic peace accord, ending 16 years of civil war in the southeast African nation.
In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton ordered several hundred more U.S. troops to Somalia one day after the deaths of three U.S. Marines in Mogadishu.
In 2001, a Siberian Airlines jetliner exploded and plunged into the Black Sea, killing all 64 passengers and 12 crew members. The United States said evidence showed the plane had been hit by a missile fired during a Ukrainian military training exercise.
And in 2001 sports, Rickey Henderson of the San Diego Padres scored his 2,246th run, breaking Ty Cobb's Major League Baseball record.
In 2002, the so-called shoe bomber, Richard Reid, pleaded guilty to charges against him stemming from his alleged effort to detonate explosives hidden in his sneakers during a 2001 Paris-to-Miami flight.
In 2003, a suicide bomber killed herself and 19 others in an attack on a crowded restaurant in the northern Israeli port of Haifa.
In 2004, SpaceShipOne, the first, privately funded rocket to reach the edge of space, flew to an altitude above 62 miles over the California desert.
Also in 2004, Gordon Cooper, one of the first U.S. astronauts, who logged more than 225 hours in space, died at his California home. He was 77.
In 2006, U.S. President George Bush signed into law a bill allocating funds for a 700-mile bridge on the United States-Mexico border to help control immigration.
Also in 2006, Iraq suspended a brigade of 800 Baghdad policemen and arrested their commander on charges of aiding sectarian death squads, U.S. officials said.
In 2007, the U.S. Justice Department issued a secret, so-called "torture memo" endorsing harsh interrogation techniques, The New York Times reported. It said techniques were permissible by law so long as they didn't result in pain comparable to organ failure or death.
Also in 2007, at least 30 people died in a plane crash shortly after takeoff from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said. All 22 aboard the plane died, as did eight others on the ground.
A thought for the day: author Damon Runyan wrote, "... always try to rub up against money, for if you rub up against money long enough, some of it may rub off on you." Today is Sunday, Oct. 5, the 279th day of 2008 with 87 to follow.The moon is waxing. The morning star is Saturn. The evening stars are Mars, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter and Uranus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include French philosopher Denis Diderot in 1713; Chester A. Arthur, 21st president of the United States, in 1829; rocket pioneer Robert Goddard in 1882; restaurant entrepreneur Ray Kroc (McDonald's) and comic Larry Fine of The Three Stooges (the one with the wild wavy hair) in 1902; actor Donald Pleasence in 1919; political activist and defrocked priest Philip Berrigan in 1923; actress Glynis Johns in 1923 (age 85); actor/comedian Bill Dana in 1924 (age 84); Vaclav Havel, president of the Czech Republic, in 1936 (age 72); rock singer/songwriter Steve Miller in 1943 (age 65); actress Karen Allen in 1951 (age 57); Irish rock musician Bob Geldof, organizer of the 1985 Live Aid famine relief concert, in 1951 (age 57); race car driver Michael Andretti in 1962 (age 46) and actress Kate Winslet in 1975 (age 33).
On this date in history:In 1813, the Shawnee Indian Chief Tecumseh was killed while fighting on the side of the British during the War of 1812.
In 1918, Germany's Hindenburg Line was broken as World War I neared an end.
In 1965, Pope Paul VI made an unprecedented 14-hour visit to New York to plead for world peace before the United Nations.
In 1973, Egypt and Syria, hoping to win back territory lost to Israel during the third Arab-Israeli war, launched a coordinated attack against Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
In 1975, U.S. Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, charged that the CIA tried to kill Cuban President Fidel Castro during the administrations of three U.S. presidents.
In 1986, former U.S. Marine Eugene Hasenfus was captured after a plane carrying arms for the Nicaraguan rebels was shot down over Nicaragua. Nicaragua's Sandinista government later convicted him but then granted a pardon.
In 1989, TV evangelist Jim Bakker was convicted on 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy for fleecing his PTL flock.
Also in 1989, the Dalai Lama, exiled god-king of Tibet, won the Nobel Peace Prize for nonviolent efforts to free his homeland from China.
In 1991, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, responding to unilateral U.S. action, announced cuts in nuclear weapons that would reduce the number of strategic warheads to 5,000 in seven years.
In 1992, the last of the three pathologists who conducted the autopsy on U.S. President John Kennedy broke his silence and dismissed the conspiracy theories.
In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton ordered the resumption in nuclear testing after China broke the informal moratorium and exploded a nuclear device beneath its western desert.
In 1994, South African President Nelson Mandela ended two days of talks with U.S. President Bill Clinton at the White House.
Also in 1994, 53 members of a secretive religious cult were found dead -- the victims of murder or suicide -- over a two-day period in Switzerland and in Quebec, Canada.
In 1995, U.S. President Bill Clinton announced the warring parties in Bosnia had agreed to a cease-fire.
In 1999, MCI WorldCom Inc. announced that it had agreed to buy the Sprint Corp. in a $129 billion deal that would be the largest corporate acquisition ever at that point.
In 2000, hundreds of thousands of Yugoslavians overthrew the Belgrade government, causing Slobodan Milosevic, the defeated presidential incumbent, to resign, ending 13 years of rule.
In 2001, 1,000 U.S. troops were sent to Uzbekistan, a part of the former Soviet Union.
Also in 2001, Robert Stevens, photo editor for America media Inc. of Boca Raton Fla., publisher of the National Enquirer and other tabloids, died after being infected with anthrax.
And in 2001 sports, Barry Bonds hit his 71st home run, most by a player in one season, breaking Mark McGwire's 1998 Major League Baseball record. The San Francisco Giants slugger finished the season with 73 homers.
In 2003, in retaliation to a suicide bombing at a Haifa restaurant the previous day, Israeli planes struck a suspected terrorist training camp in Syria near Damascus.
In 2004, British regulators suspended production of flu vaccine at the Liverpool plant of Chiron, a U.S. company, because of contamination. The action resulted in about a 50-percent reduction in vaccine available for the United States.
In 2005, scientists announced that a form of bird flu that jumped directly to humans was the real cause of a 1918 pandemic that killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide.
In 2006, the U.S. House of Representatives ethics committee opened an investigation into the conduct of former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., who resigned after reports of sexually explicit e-mail exchanges with an underage male page surfaced.
In 2007, U.S. President Bush said the United States "does not torture people" and adheres "to U.S. law and our international obligations." He was commenting on an earlier secret government report that reportedly endorsed harsh interrogation techniques.
Also in 2007, U.S. sprinter Marion Jones, who won five medals during the 2000 Olympic Games, three of them gold, admitted taking steroids to enhance her track performance. She drew a two-year ban and forfeiture of medals on her guilty plea to lying to federal investigators.
A thought for the day: Samuel Longhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) said: "Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest."Copyright 2008 by United Press International
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