TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Wednesday, April 8, the 98th day of 2015. There are 267 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On April 8, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act, which provided money for programs such as the Works Progress Administration. On this date:

In 1820, the Venus de Milo statue was discovered by a farmer on the Greek island of Milos.

In 1952, President Harry S. Truman seized the American steel industry to avert a nationwide strike. (The Supreme Court later ruled that Truman had overstepped his authority.

Ten years ago: With presidents and kings looking on, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square sang, applauded and chanted for the Catholic Church to declare John Paul II a saint as the pope was laid to rest.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the New START treaty in Prague.

One year ago: The U.S. said it would keep its current force of 450 land-based nuclear missiles but remove 50 from their launch silos as part of a plan to bring the U.S. into compliance with a 2011 US-Russia arms control treaty.

Today’s Birthdays: Comedian Shecky Greene is 89. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Seymour Hersh is 78. Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is 77. Basketball Hall-of-Famer John Havlicek is 75. “Mouseketeer” Darlene Gillespie is 74. Rhythmand-blues singer J.J. Jackson is 74.