This day in history         

[June 05, 2007]  (AP) Today is Tuesday, June 5, the 156th day of 2007. 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 1986, a federal jury in Baltimore convicted Ronald W. Pelton of selling secrets to the Soviet Union. (Pelton was sentenced to three life prison terms plus 10 years.)

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: Harold J. Nicholson, the highest ranking CIA officer ever caught spying against his own country, was sentenced to more than 23 years in prison for selling defense secrets to Russia after the Cold War.

Five years ago: 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart disappeared from her Salt Lake City home. (Smart was found alive in a Salt Lake suburb in March 2003; two people accused of abducting her have been found mentally unfit to stand trial.) A suicide bomber killed 17 Israelis on a bus. Magic Johnson was introduced as a member of the 2002 class elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Dee Dee Ramone, bass player for the pioneer punk band the Ramones, died in Los Angeles at age 50.

One year ago: More than 50 National Guardsmen from Utah became the first unit to work along the U.S.-Mexico border as part of President Bush's crackdown on illegal immigration. An Islamic militia with alleged links to al-Qaida seized Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, after weeks of fighting with U.S.-backed secular warlords. Serbian lawmakers proclaimed their Balkan republic a sovereign state after Montenegro decided to split from a union and dissolve the remnants of what was once Yugoslavia.

Today's birthdays: Actor-singer Bill Hayes is 82. Broadcast journalist Bill Moyers is 73. Rhythm-and-blues singer Floyd Butler (Friends of Distinction) is 66. Country singer Don Reid (The Statler Brothers) is 62. Rock musician Fred Stone (Sly and the Family Stone) is 61. Rock singer Laurie Anderson is 60. Country singer Gail Davies is 59. Author Ken Follett is 58. Rock musician Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) is 55. Jazz musician Kenny G is 51. Rock singer Richard Butler (Psychedelic Furs) is 51. Actor Jeff Garlin is 45. Actress Karen Sillas is 42. Actor Ron Livingston is 40. Singer Brian McKnight is 38. Rock musician Claus Norreen (Aqua) is 37. Actor Mark Wahlberg is 36. Actor Chad Allen is 33. Rock musician P-nut (311) is 33. Actress Navi Rawat is 30. Actress Liza Weil is 30. Rock musician Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy) is 28. Rock musician Seb Lefebvre (Simple Plan) is 26.

Thought for today: "Dare to be naive." -- R. Buckminster Fuller, American inventor and philosopher (1895-1983).

[Text copied from Associated Press file]