This day in history

[May 12, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, May 12, the 132nd day of 2010. There are 233 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On May 12, 1949, the Soviet Union lifted the Berlin Blockade, which the Western powers had succeeded in circumventing with their Berlin Airlift.

On this date:

In 1870, an act creating the Canadian province of Manitoba was given royal assent, to take effect in July.

In 1930, Chicago's Adler Planetarium first opened to the public.

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 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).

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 attacked Pope John Paul II. (In 2008, the pope's longtime private secretary revealed the pontiff was slightly wounded.)

Ten years ago: During visits to Ohio and Minnesota, President Bill Clinton called for open trade with China, saying it would help the communist nation move closer to democracy. Adam Petty, 19, the fourth-generation driver of NASCAR's most famous family, died in a crash during practice for the Busch 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Five years ago: The Foreign Relations Committee voted 10-8 along party lines to advance John Bolton's nomination to be U.N. ambassador without the customary recommendation that the Senate approve it. Microsoft officially unveiled its Xbox 360 video game console.

One year ago: The government warned that without changes, Social Security would be depleted in 2037, and the Medicare trust fund would become insolvent in 2017. Five Miami men were convicted in a plot to blow up FBI buildings and Chicago's Sears Tower. Suspected Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk was deported from the United States to Germany. On the second day of his Holy Land tour, Pope Benedict XVI took his message of peace to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Today's birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Yogi Berra is 85. Critic John Simon is 85. Composer Burt Bacharach is 82. Actress Millie Perkins is 72. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jayotis Washington is 69. Country singer Billy Swan is 68. Actress Linda Dano is 67. Musician Ian McLagan is 65. Actress Lindsay Crouse is 62. Singer-musician Steve Winwood is 62. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 60. Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 60. Singer Billy Squier is 60. Country singer Kix Brooks is 55. Actress Kim Greist is 52. Rock musician Eric Singer (KISS) is 52. Actor Ving Rhames is 51. Rock musician Billy Duffy is 49. Actor Emilio Estevez is 48. Actress April Grace is 48. Actress Vanessa A. Williams ("Melrose Place") is 47. Country musician Eddie Kilgallon is 45. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 44. Actor Scott Schwartz is 42. Actress Kim Fields is 41. Actress Samantha Mathis is 40. Actress Jamie Luner is 39. Actor Christian Campbell is 38. Actor Mackenzie Astin is 37. Actress Malin (MAH'-lin) Akerman is 32. Actor Jason Biggs is 32. Actress Emily VanCamp is 24. Actor Malcolm David Kelley is 18. Actors Sullivan and Sawyer Sweeten ("Everybody Loves Raymond") are 15.

Thought for today: "Dissent is not sacred; the right of dissent is." -- Thurman Arnold, American lawyer (1891-1969)

[Associated Press]

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