 Today's highlight in history:
On April 18, 1942, an air squadron from the USS Hornet led by Lt.
Col. James H. Doolittle raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities
during World War II.
On this date:
In 1775, Paul Revere began his famous ride from Charlestown to
Lexington, Mass., warning American colonists that the British were
coming.
In 1831, the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa was officially
opened.
In 1906, a devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by
raging fires; estimates of the final death toll range between 3,000
and 6,000.
In 1910, suffragists showed up at the U.S. Capitol with half a
million signatures demanding that women have the right to vote.
In 1912, the RMS Carpathia, carrying survivors of the Titanic
disaster, arrived in New York.
In 1934, the first laundromat (called a "washateria") opened in Fort
Worth, Texas.
In 1942, the first World War II edition of The Stars and Stripes was
published as a weekly newspaper.
In 1945, famed American war correspondent Ernie Pyle, 44, was killed
by Japanese gunfire on the Pacific island of Ie Shima (ee-EH'
shee-MAH'), off Okinawa.
In 1949, the Republic of Ireland was proclaimed.
In 1954, Gamal Abdel Nasser seized power, becoming prime minister of
Egypt.
In 1978, the Senate approved the Panama Canal Treaty, providing for
the complete turnover of control of the waterway to Panama on the
last day of 1999.
In 1983, 63 people, including 17 Americans, were killed at the U.S.
Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, by a suicide bomber. Ten years ago: Police arrested actor Robert Blake in the
shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, nearly a year earlier
(Blake was acquitted at his criminal trial but found liable in a
civil trial). Amtrak's Auto Train derailed near Crescent City, Fla.,
killing four passengers. Afghanistan's former king, Mohammad Zaher
Shah, returned to his country after 29 years in exile. A small plane
slammed into a skyscraper in Milan, Italy, killing the plane's sole
occupant and two other people. Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl
died near Colla Micheri, Italy, at age 87.
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Five years ago: The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, upheld
the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. Four large bombs exploded in
mainly Shiite locations of Baghdad, killing at least 183 people.
Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox faced the minimum 27 batters
in a 6-0 no-hit victory over the Texas Rangers. Curtis Strange and
Hubert Green joined the World Golf Hall of Fame.
One year ago: Standard & Poor's lowered its long-term outlook
for the U.S. government's fiscal health from "stable" to "negative."
Crystal Mangum, who'd falsely accused three Duke lacrosse players of
raping her, was charged with murdering her boyfriend, Reginald Daye.
Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai won the Boston Marathon in a record time of
2:03:02, while fellow Kenyan Caroline Kilel won the women's race in
2:22:36. The Los Angeles Times won a Pulitzer Prize for revealing
that officials in Bell, Calif., were paying themselves exorbitant
salaries; but for the first time in the Pulitzers' 95-year history,
no award was given in the category of breaking news. Jennifer Egan's
novel "A Visit From the Goon Squad" won the Pulitzer for fiction.
Today's birthdays: Actress Barbara Hale is 91. Actor Clive
Revill is 82. Actor James Drury is 78. Actor Robert Hooks is 75.
Actress Hayley Mills is 66. Actor James Woods is 65.
Actress-director Dorothy Lyman is 65. Actress Cindy Pickett is 65.
Country musician Walt Richmond (The Tractors) is 65. Country
musician Jim Scholten (Sawyer Brown) is 60. Actor Rick Moranis is
59. Actress Melody Thomas Scott is 56. Actor Eric Roberts is 56.
Actor John James is 56. Rock musician Les Pattinson (Echo and the
Bunnymen) is 54. Author-journalist Susan Faludi is 53. Actress Jane
Leeves is 51. Talk show host Conan O'Brien is 49. Bluegrass
singer-musician Terry Eldredge is 49. Actor Eric McCormack is 49.
Actress Maria Bello is 45. Actress Mary Birdsong is 44. Rock
musician Greg Eklund (The Oolahs) is 42. Actor David Tennant is 41.
Country musician Marvin Evatt (EH'-veht) is 38. Rock musician Mark
Tremonti is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singer Trina (Trina and Tamara) is
38. Actress Melissa Joan Hart is 36. Actor Sean Maguire is 36. Actor
Bryce Johnson is 35. Reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian (kar-DASH'-ee-uhn)
is 33. Actress America Ferrera is 28. Actress Alia Shawkat is 23.
Actress Britt Robertson (TV: "Life Unexpected") is 22. Actor Moises
Arias ("Hannah Montana") is 18.
Thought for today: "There is no shame in not knowing; the
shame lies in not finding out." -- Russian proverb
[Associated Press]
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