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 Today's highlight in history:
On Aug. 14, 1945, President Harry Truman announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally, ending World War II.
On this date:
In 1848, the Oregon Territory was created.
In 1900, international forces, including U.S. Marines, entered Beijing to put down the Boxer Rebellion, which was aimed at purging China of foreign influence.
In 1917, China declared war on Germany and Austria during World War I.
In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law.
In 1947, Pakistan became independent of British rule.
In 1969, British troops went to Northern Ireland to intervene in sectarian violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics.
In 1973, the U.S. bombing of Cambodia came to a halt.
In 1980, workers went on strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland, in a job action that resulted in the creation of the Solidarity labor movement.
In 1981, Pope John Paul II left a Rome hospital, three months after being wounded in an attempt on his life.
In 2003, a huge blackout hit the northeastern United States and part of Canada; 50 million people lost power.
Ten years ago: An unrepentant Timothy McVeigh was formally sentenced to death for the Oklahoma City bombing. Two cosmonauts (Vasily Tsibliyev and Alexander Lazutkin) made it safely home to Earth after a luckless six-month mission aboard the Mir space station.
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 Five years ago: Mexican President Vicente Fox angrily canceled a scheduled meeting with President George Bush hours after Texas executed a Mexican national for killing a Dallas police officer. Pop artist pioneer Larry Rivers died in Southampton, N.Y., at age 78.
One year ago: Israel halted its offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas as a U.N.-imposed cease-fire went into effect after a month of warfare that killed more than 900 people. Cuban state television aired the first video of Fidel Castro since he stepped down as president to recover from surgery, showing the bedridden Cuban leader talking with his brother Raul as well as Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Actor Bruno Kirby died in Los Angeles at age 57.
Today's birthdays: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Russell Baker is 82. Singer Buddy Greco is 81. Actress Alice Ghostley is 81. Singer Dash Crofts is 67. Rock singer David Crosby is 66. Country singer Connie Smith is 66. Former jockey Robyn Smith Astaire is 63. Comedian-actor Steve Martin is 62. Actress Susan Saint James is 61. Singer-musician Larry Graham is 61. Actor Antonio Fargas is 61. Author Danielle Steel is 60. "Far Side" cartoonist Gary Larson is 57. Rock singer-musician Terry Adams (NRBQ) is 57. Actor Carl Lumbly is 56. Film composer James Horner is 54. Actress Jackee Harry is 51. Actress Marcia Gay Harden is 48. Former basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson is 48. Singer Sarah Brightman is 47. Actress Susan Olsen is 46. Rock musician Keith Howland (Chicago) is 43. Actress Emmanuelle Beart is 42. Actress Halle Berry is 41. Actress Catherine Bell is 39. Rock musician Kevin Cadogan is 37. Actor Scott Michael Campbell is 36. Actress Lalanya Masters is 35. Actress Mila Kunis is 24.
Thought for today: "Home is any four walls that enclose the right person."
-- Helen Rowland, American writer, journalist and humorist (1876-1950).
[Associated
Press]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
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