TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS FRIDAY, JUNE 8, the 159th day of 2018. There are 206 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1968, authorities announced the capture in London of James Earl Ray, the suspected assassin of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In A.D. 632, the prophet Muhammad died in Medina.

In 1845, Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, died in Nashville, Tenn.

In 1917, during World War I, Maj. Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, arrived in Liverpool, England, while en route to France; also, the 1st Expeditionary Division (later the 1st Infantry Division) was organized at Fort Jay in New York.

In 1948, the “Texaco Star Theater” made its debut on NBC-TV with Milton Berle guest-hosting the first program. (Berle was later named the show’s permanent host.)

In 1953, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that restaurants in the District of Columbia could not refuse to serve blacks. In 1967, during the six-day Middle East war, 34 American servicemen were killed when Israel attacked the USS Liberty, a Navy intelligence-gathering ship in the Mediterranean Sea. (Israel later said the Liberty had been mistaken for an Egyptian vessel.)

In 1987, Fawn Hall began testifying at the Iran-Contra hearings, describing how, as secretary to National Security aide Oliver L. North, she had helped shred some documents and spirit away others.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor-comedian Jerry Stiller is 91. Actress Millicent Martin is 84. Singer Nancy Sinatra is 78. Singer Chuck Negron is 76. Actresses Sonia Braga and Kathy Baker are 68. Actor Griffin Dunne is 63. “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams is 61. Actor-director Keenen Ivory Wayans is 60. Rhythmand-blues singer Doris Pearson (Five Star) is 52. Rapper Kanye West is 41. TV personality-actress Maria Menounos is 40. Tennis player Kim Clijsters is 35. Tennis player Jelena Ostapenko is 21.