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 Today's highlight in history:
On May 12, 1958, the United States and Canada signed an agreement to create the North American Air Defense Command (later the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD for short).
On this date:
In 1870, an act creating the Canadian province of Manitoba was given royal assent, to take effect in July.
In 1907, actress Katharine Hepburn was born in Hartford, Conn.
In 1932, the body of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, was found in a wooded area near Hopewell, N.J.
In 1937, Britain's King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey.
In 1943, during World War II, Axis forces in North Africa surrendered.
In 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the Berlin Blockade.
In 1970, the Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice.
In 1975, the White House announced the new Cambodian government had seized an American merchant ship, the Mayaguez, in international waters.
In 1978, the Commerce Department said hurricanes would no longer be given only female names.
In 1982, in Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who was trying to reach Pope John Paul II.
Ten years ago: A day after India's first atomic test blasts in 24 years, neighboring Pakistan said it was ready to test a nuclear device itself. Indonesian President Suharto's security forces killed at least six student demonstrators.
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 Five years ago: Suicide bombers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed nine U.S. citizens and 26 people overall. A suicide truck-bomb attack killed at least 60 at a government compound in northern Chechnya. L. Paul Bremer, the new American civilian administrator of Iraq, arrived in Baghdad; coalition forces announced they had taken custody of Dr. Rihab Rashid Taha, the Iraqi scientist known as "Dr. Germ." (Taha was later released after no charges were brought.) Fifty-nine Democratic lawmakers brought the Texas House to a standstill by going into hiding in a dispute over a Republican congressional redistricting plan.
One year ago: Virginia Tech held its first commencement ceremonies since the April 16 shooting rampage that claimed 32 victims and the shooter. Voters in the Dallas suburb of Farmers Branch became the first in the nation to back an ordinance prohibiting landlords from renting to most illegal immigrants. A U.S. patrol was attacked south of Baghdad; four Americans and an Iraqi interpreter were killed, three soldiers were captured. (The body of one abducted soldier was later found in the Euphrates River.) A U.S.-led coalition operation supported by NATO troops killed the Taliban's most prominent military commander, Mullah Dadullah.
Today's birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Yogi Berra is 83. Critic John Simon is 83. Composer Burt Bacharach is 80. Comedian George Carlin is 71. Actress Millie Perkins is 70. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jayotis Washington is 67. Country singer Billy Swan is 66. Actress Linda Dano is 65. Musician Ian McLagan is 63. Actress Lindsay Crouse is 60. Singer-musician Steve Winwood is 60. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 58. Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 58. Singer Billy Squier is 58. Country singer Kix Brooks is 53. Actress Kim Greist is 50. Actor Ving Rhames is 49. Rock musician Billy Duffy is 47. Actor Emilio Estevez is 46. Actress April Grace is 46. Actress Vanessa A. Williams ("Soul Food") is 45. Country musician Eddie Kilgallon is 43. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 42. Actor Scott Schwartz is 40. Actress Kim Fields is 39. Actress Samantha Mathis is 38. Actress Jamie Luner is 37. Actor Christian Campbell is 36. Actor Mackenzie Astin is 35. Actress Malin Akerman is 30. Actor Jason Biggs is 30. Actress Emily VanCamp is 22. Actor Malcolm David Kelley is 16. Actors Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten ("Everybody Loves Raymond") are 13.
Thought for today: "Act well at the moment, and you have performed a good action to all eternity."
-- Johann Kaspar Lavater, Swiss theologian (1741-1801)
[Associated Press]
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