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 Today's highlight in history:
On July 7, 1865, four people were hanged in Washington, D.C., for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Lincoln.
On this date:
In 1807, Napoleon I of France and Czar Alexander I of Russia signed a treaty at Tilsit ending war between their empires.
In 1896, the Democratic national convention opened in Chicago.
In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.
In 1908, the Democratic National Convention opened in Denver.
In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam).
In 1948, six female reservists became the first women to be sworn into the regular U.S. Navy.
In 1958, President Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act, which went into effect in January 1959.
In 1981, President Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1983, 11-year-old Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, left for a visit to the Soviet Union at the personal invitation of Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov.
In 2005, suicide terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 victims and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II.
Ten years ago: A jury in Santa Monica, Calif., convicted Mikhail Markhasev of murdering Ennis Cosby, Bill Cosby's only son, during a roadside robbery. (Markhasev was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.) Imprisoned Nigerian opposition leader Moshood Abiola died of what the government said was a heart attack. The American League defeated the National League 13-8 in baseball's All-Star Game, played in Denver.
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 Five years ago: A chunk of foam insulation fired at shuttle wing parts blew open a gaping 16-inch hole, yielding what one member of the Columbia investigation team said was the "smoking gun" proving what brought down the spaceship. NASA launched its second Mars rover. A federal judge approved a settlement fining WorldCom $750 million for its $11 billion accounting scandal. Golfer Hilary Lunke won the U.S. Women's Open.
One year ago: A truck bomb devastated the public market in Armili, Iraq, killing at least 115 people. A 24-hour music marathon spanning seven continents reached the Western Hemisphere with rappers, rockers and country stars taking the stage at Live Earth concerts to fight climate change. Venus Williams claimed her fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Marion Bartoli.
Today's birthdays: Blues musician Pinetop Perkins is 95. Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 81. Country singer Charlie Louvin is 81. Historian-author David McCullough is 75. Rock star Ringo Starr is 68. Singer-musician Warren Entner (The Grass Roots) is 64. Rock musician Jim Rodford is 63. Actor Joe Spano is 62. Pop singer David Hodo (The Village People) is 61. Country singer Linda Williams is 61. Actress Shelley Duvall is 59. Actress Roz Ryan is 57. Actor Billy Campbell is 49. Rock musician Mark White (Spin Doctors) is 46. Singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard is 45. Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan is 42. Rhythm-and-blues musician Ricky Kinchen (Mint Condition) is 42. Actress Jorja Fox is 40. Actress Cree Summer is 39. Actress Kirsten Vangsness is 36. Actor Troy Garity is 35. Actor Hamish Linklater is 32. Olympic silver and bronze medal figure skater Michelle Kwan is 28. Rapper Cassidy is 26. Country singer Gabbie Nolen is 26.
Thought for today: "There is no escape -- man drags man down, or man lifts man up."
-- Attributed to Booker T. Washington, American educator and author
(1856-1915)
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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