This day in history

[January 25, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Jan. 25, the 25th day of 2011. There are 340 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Jan. 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy held the first presidential news conference to be carried live on radio and television.

On this date:

In 1787, Shays's Rebellion suffered a setback when debt-ridden farmers led by Capt. Daniel Shays failed to capture an arsenal at Springfield, Mass.

In 1890, reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) of the New York World completed a round-the-world journey in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes. The United Mine Workers of America was founded in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1909, the opera "Elektra" by Richard Strauss premiered in Dresden, Germany.

In 1915, Alexander Graham Bell inaugurated U.S. transcontinental telephone service between New York and San Francisco.

In 1936, former Gov. Al Smith, D-N.Y., delivered a radio address in Washington, titled "Betrayal of the Democratic Party," in which he fiercely criticized the New Deal policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1947, American gangster Al Capone died in Miami Beach, Fla., at age 48.

In 1959, American Airlines began Boeing 707 jet flights between New York and Los Angeles.

In 1971, Charles Manson and three women followers were convicted in Los Angeles of murder and conspiracy in the 1969 slayings of seven people, including actress Sharon Tate. Idi Amin seized power in Uganda by ousting President Milton Obote (oh-BOH'-tay) in a military coup.

In 1981, the 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived in the United States.

In 1990, an Avianca Boeing 707 ran out of fuel and crashed in Cove Neck, Long Island, N.Y.; 73 of the 158 people aboard were killed. Actress Ava Gardner died in London at age 67.

Ten years ago: A jury in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., found 13-year-old Lionel Tate guilty of first-degree murder in the death of a six-year-old family friend, Tiffany Eunick. (An appeals court overturned the first-degree murder conviction in 2004. Tate was freed from prison under a deal in which he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 10 years' probation; however, Tate is back behind bars for violating that probation.)

Five years ago: In his first encyclical, "God Is Love," Pope Benedict XVI said the Roman Catholic Church had a duty through its charitable work to influence political leaders to ease suffering and promote justice. Seven children were killed when the car they were in was crushed between a truck and a stopped school bus in Lake Butler, Fla. Richard Hatch of "Survivor" fame was convicted in Providence, R.I., of failing to pay taxes on his $1 million in winnings (he later served more than three years in federal prison and was then placed on supervised release, but now faces the prospect of further jail time for violating the terms of his release).

One year ago: Iraq hanged Ali Hassan al-Majid (ah-LEE' hah-SAHN' ahl mah-ZHEED'), known as "Chemical Ali" for his role in gassing 5,000 people in a Kurdish village. An Ethiopian airliner crashed into the Mediterranean after taking off from Beirut in a fierce thunderstorm; all 90 people aboard were killed. Director James Cameron's sci-fi spectacle "Avatar" overtook his shipwreck saga "Titanic" to become the world's highest-grossing film.

Today's birthdays: Actor Gregg Palmer is 84. The former president of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze, is 83. Actor Dean Jones is 80. Country singer Claude Gray is 79. Blues singer Etta James is 73. Movie director Tobe Hooper is 68. Actress Leigh Taylor-Young is 66. Actress Jenifer (cq) Lewis is 54. Actress Dinah Manoff is 53. Country musician Mike Burch (River Road) is 45. Iowa Gov. Chet Culver is 45. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kina is 42. Actress China Kantner is 40. Actress Ana Ortiz is 40. Musician Matt Odmark (OHD'-mark) (Jars of Clay) is 37. Actress Mia Kirshner is 36. Actress Christine Lakin is 32. Rhythm-and-blues singer Alicia (ah-LEE'-sha) Keys is 30. Actor Michael Trevino (TV: "The Vampire Diaries") is 26.

Thought for today: "I don't want to live. I want to love first, and live incidentally." -- Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, American writer (1900-1948)

[Associated Press]

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