This day in history

[July 02, 2008]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, July 2, the 184th day of 2008. There are 182 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress passed a resolution saying that "these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States."

On this date:

In 1807, in the wake of the Chesapeake incident, in which the crew of a British frigate boarded an American ship and forcibly removed four suspected deserters, President Jefferson ordered all British ships to vacate U.S. territorial waters.

In 1881, President Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau at the Washington railroad station; Garfield died the following September. (Guiteau was hanged in June 1882.)

In 1908, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall was born in Baltimore.

In 1926, the United States Army Air Corps was created.

In 1937, aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight along the equator.

In 1961, author Ernest Hemingway shot himself to death at his home in Ketchum, Idaho.

In 1964, President Johnson signed into law a sweeping civil rights bill passed by Congress.

In 1987, 18 illegal aliens were found dead inside a locked boxcar near Sierra Blanca, Texas, in what authorities called a botched smuggling attempt; a 19th man survived.

In 1994, a USAir DC-9 crashed in poor weather at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, killing 37 of the 57 people aboard.

In 1996, electricity and phone service were knocked out for millions of customers from Canada to the Southwest after power lines throughout the West failed on a record-hot day.

Ten years ago: Apologizing to viewers and Vietnam veterans for "serious faults" in its reporting, Cable News Network retracted a story alleging U.S. commandos had used nerve gas to kill American defectors during the war.

Five years ago: Palestinian police marched into Bethlehem, taking control of the ancient West Bank city after Israel withdrew under a U.S.-backed peace plan. Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics.

One year ago: President Bush commuted the sentence of former aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, sparing him from a two-and-half-year prison term in the CIA leak case. Russian President Vladimir Putin concluded his visit to Kennebunkport, Maine, where he'd held talks with President Bush. Opera singer Beverly Sills died in New York at age 78.

Today's birthdays: Country singer Marvin Rainwater is 83. Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos is 79. Jazz musician Ahmad Jamal is 78. Actor Robert Ito is 77. Actress Polly Holliday is 71. Former White House chief of staff John H. Sununu is 69. Actor Ron Silver is 62. Writer-director-comedian Larry David is 61. Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of President Johnson, is 61. Actor Saul Rubinek is 60. Rock musician Roy Bittan (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band) is 59. Rock musician Gene Taylor (The Blasters) is 56. Actress-model Jerry Hall is 52. Actor Jimmy McNichol is 47. Rock musician Dave Parsons (Bush) is 43. Actress Yancy Butler is 38. Contemporary Christian musician Melodee DeVevo (Casting Crowns) is 32. Singer Michelle Branch is 25. Actress Vanessa Lee Chester is 24. Actress-singer Ashley Tisdale is 23. Actress Lindsay Lohan is 22.

Thought for today: "Genius is eternal patience." -- Michelangelo, Italian artist (1475-1564)

[Associated Press]

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