Wednesday, April 23, 2020

Today is Thursday, April 23, the 114th day of 2020. There are 252 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 23, 1616 (Old Style calendar), English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare died in Stratfordupon-avon on what has traditionally been regarded as the 52nd anniversary of his birth in 1564.

On this date:

In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States, which responded in kind two days later.

In 1914, Chicago’s Wrigley Field, then called Weeghman Park, hosted its first major league game as the Chicago Federals defeated the Kansas City Packers 9-1.

In 1943, U.S. Navy Lt. (jg) John F. Kennedy assumed command of PT-109, a motor torpedo boat, in the Solomon Islands during World War II. (On Aug. 2, 1943, PT-109 was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, killing two crew members; Kennedy and 10 others survived.) In 1954, Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit the first of his 755 major-league home runs in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. (The Braves won, 7-5.)

In 1968, student protesters began occupying buildings on the campus of Columbia University in New York; police put down the protests a week later. The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged to form the United Methodist Church.

In 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for assassinating New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (The sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.)

In 1987, 28 construction workers were killed when an apartment complex being built in Bridgeport, Connecticut, suddenly collapsed. In 1988, a federal ban on smoking during domestic airline flights of two hours or less went into effect. In 1996, a civil court jury in The Bronx, New York, ordered Bernhard Goetz (BUR-NAHRD’ gehts) to pay $43 million to Darrell Cabey, one of four young men he’d shot on a subway car in 1984.

In 1998, James Earl Ray, who confessed to assassinating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and then insisted he’d been framed, died at a Nashville, Tennessee, hospital at age 70.

In 2005, the recently created videosharing website Youtube uploaded its first clip, “Me at the Zoo,” which showed Youtube co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo.

In 2007, Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first freely elected president, died in Moscow at age 76. Ten years ago: Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the nation’s toughest illegal immigration law, saying “decades of inaction and misguided policy” had created a “dangerous and unacceptable situation”; opponents said the law would encourage discrimination against Hispanics. The Coast Guard suspended a three-day search for 11 workers missing after an explosion rocked the Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Five years ago: Blaming the “fog

of war,” President Barack Obama revealed that U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan had inadvertently killed an American and an Italian, two hostages held by al-qaida, as well as two other Americans who had leadership roles with the terror network. Former CIA Director David Petraeus, whose career was destroyed by an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, was sentenced in Charlotte, North Carolina, to two years’ probation and fined $100,000 for giving her classified material while she was working on the book. The Senate voted 56-43 to confirm Loretta Lynch as U.S. attorney general.

One year ago: President Donald Trump met with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, hours after bashing the company and accusing it of not treating him well because he’s a Republican. The S&P 500 hit an all-time high, closing at 2,933.68 and marking the stock market’s complete recovery from a nosedive at the end of 2018. Sri Lanka’s president gave the country’s military sweeping police powers in the wake of the Easter Sunday church and hotel bombings that killed more than 250 people.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Alan Oppenheimer is 90. Actor David Birney is 81. Actor Lee Majors is 81. Hockey Hall of Famer Tony Esposito is 77. Irish nationalist Bernadette Devlin Mcaliskey is 73. Actress Blair Brown is 73. Writer-director Paul Brickman is 71. Actress Joyce Dewitt is 71. Actor James Russo is 67. Filmmakerauthor Michael Moore is 66. Actress Judy Davis is 65. Actress Valerie Bertinelli is 60. Actor Craig Sheffer is

60. Actor-comedian-talk show host George Lopez is 59. U.S. Olympic gold medal skier Donna Weinbrecht is 55. Actress Melina Kanakaredes (kah-nah-kah’-ree-deez) is 53. Rock musician Stan Frazier (Sugar Ray) is

52. Country musician Tim Womack (Sons of the Desert) is 52. Actor Scott Bairstow (Behr’-stow) is 50. Actor-writer John Lutz is 47. Actor Barry Watson is 46. Rock musician Aaron Dessner (The National) is 44. Rock musician Bryce Dessner (The National) is 44. Professional wrestler/actor John Cena is 43. Actorwriter-comedian John Oliver is 43. Actor Kal Penn is 43. Retired MLB All-star Andruw Jones is 43. Actress Jaime King is 41. Pop singer Taio (Ty’-oh) Cruz is 37. Actor Aaron Hill is 37. Actor Jesse Lee Soffer is 36. Actress Rachel Skarsten is 35. Rock musician Anthony Lamarca (The War on Drugs) is 33. Singer-songwriter John Fullbright is 32. Tennis player Nicole Vaidisova (vay-deh-soh’-vuh) is 31. Actor Dev Patel (PUH-TEHL’) is

30. Actor Matthew Underwood is 30. Actor Camryn Walling is 30. Model Gigi Hadid is 25. Rock musicians Jake and Josh Kiszka (Greta Van Fleet) are

24. Actor Charlie Rowe (TV: “Salvation”) is 24. Tennis player Ashleigh Barty is 24. U.S. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Chloe Kim is 20.

Thought for Today: “For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,/ When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,/ Must give us pause.” — From “Hamlet.”

Friday, April 24, 2020

Today is Friday, April 24, the 115th day of 2020. There are 251 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 24, 1877, federal troops were ordered out of New Orleans, ending the North’s post-civil War rule in the South.

On this date:

In 1800, Congress approved a bill establishing the Library of Congress. In 1913, the 792-foot Woolworth Building, at that time the tallest skyscraper in the world, officially opened in Manhattan as President Woodrow Wilson pressed a button at the White House to signal the lighting of the towering structure.

In 1915, in what’s considered the start of the Armenian genocide, the Ottoman Empire began rounding up Armenian political and cultural leaders in Constantinople.

In 1961, in the wake of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, the White House issued a statement saying that President John F. Kennedy “bears sole responsibility for the events of the past few days.”

In 1967, Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was killed when his Soyuz 1 spacecraft smashed into the Earth after his parachutes failed to deploy properly during re-entry; he was the first human spaceflight fatality. In 1980, the United States launched an unsuccessful attempt to free the American hostages in Iran, a mission that resulted in the deaths of eight U.S. servicemen.

In 1986, Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, for whom King Edward VIII had given up the British throne, died in Paris at age 89.

In 1995, the final bomb linked to the Unabomber exploded inside the Sacramento, California, offices of a lobbying group for the wood products industry, killing chief lobbyist Gilbert B. Murray. (Theodore Kaczynski was later sentenced to four lifetimes in prison for a series of bombings that killed three men and injured 29 others.)

In 2003, U.S. forces in Iraq took custody of Tariq Aziz (Tah’-rihk AHZEEZ’), the former Iraqi deputy prime minister. China shut down a Beijing hospital as the global death toll from SARS surpassed 260.

In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI formally began his stewardship of the Roman Catholic Church; the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said in his installation homily that as pontiff he would listen to the will of God in governing the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics. In 2009, Mexico shut down schools, museums, libraries and state-run theaters across its overcrowded capital in hopes of containing a deadly swine flu outbreak.

In 2013, in Bangladesh, a shoddily constructed eight-story commercial building housing garment factories collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people. Ten years ago: The policy-setting panel of the International Monetary Fund, with a nervous eye on Greece, pledged during a meeting in Washington to address the risks posed to the global recovery from high government debt. A dozen people were killed by a tornado system that bumped down in Louisiana before plowing into Mississippi and then Alabama. Etiquette expert Elizabeth Post (granddaughter-in-law of Emily Post) died in Naples, Florida, at 89.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama marked the 10th anniversary of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, praising the nation’s spying operations as the most capable in the world. The presidents of Russia and France joined other leaders at ceremonies in Yerevan commemorating the estimated 1.5

million Armenian victims of the 1916 massacre by Ottoman Turks.

In a long-awaited interview about his gender identity, former Olympic champion Bruce Jenner told ABC’S Diane Sawyer said that “for all intents and purposes, I am a woman.”

One year ago: Avowed racist John William King was executed in Texas for the 1998 slaying of James Byrd Jr., who was chained to the back of a truck and dragged along a road outside Jasper, Texas; prosecutors said Byrd was targeted because he was black. North Korea’s Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia aboard an armored train for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said nearly 700 cases of measles had been reported in the United States so far in 2019; it was already the nation’s worst year for measles since 1994. Hundreds of students and staff at two Los Angeles universities were placed under quarantine, after officials said they may have been exposed to measles and either had not been vaccinated or could not verify that they were immune.

Today’s Birthdays: Movie directorproducer Richard Donner is 90. Actress Shirley Maclaine is 86. Actress-singer-director Barbra Streisand is 78. Former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley is 78. Country singer Richard Sterban (The Oak Ridge Boys) is 77. Rock musician Doug Clifford (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 75. R-and-b singer Ann Peebles is 73. Former Irish Taoiseach (Tee’-shuk) Enda Kenny is

69. Actor-playwright Eric Bogosian is 67. Rock singer-musician Jack Blades (Night Ranger) is 66. Actor Michael O’keefe is 65. Rock musician David J (Bauhaus) is 63. Actor Glenn Morshower is 61. Rock musician Billy Gould is 57. Actor-comedian Cedric the Entertainer is 56. Actor Djimon Hounsou (Jeye’-mihn Ohn’-soo) is

56. Rock musician Patty Schemel is

53. Actress Stacy Haiduk is 52. Rock musician Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors) is 52. Actor Aidan Gillen is 52. Actress Melinda Clarke is 51. Actor Rory Mccann is 51. Latin pop singer Alejandro Fernandez is 49. Countryrock musician Brad Morgan (Drive-by Truckers) is 49. Rock musician Brian Marshall (Creed; Alter Bridge) is

47. Actor Derek Luke is 46. Actorproducer Thad Luckinbill is 45. Actor Eric Balfour is 43. Actress Rebecca Mader is 43. Country singer Rebecca Lynn Howard is 41. Country singer Danny Gokey is 40. Actress Reagan Gomez is 40. Actor Austin Nichols is 40. Actress Sasha Barrese is 39. Contemporary Christian musician Jasen Rauch (Red) is 39. Singer Kelly Clarkson is 38. Rock singer-musician Tyson Ritter (The All-american Rejects) is 36. Country singer Carly Pearce is 30. Actor Joe Keery is 28. Actor Jack Quaid is 28. Actor Doc Shaw is 28. Actor Jordan Fisher is

26. Golfer Lydia Ko is 23.

Thought for Today: “I feel proud to be living in a country where people are not afraid to laugh at themselves and where political satire is tolerated by the government, if not the television network.” — Pat Paulsen, American comedian (born 1927, died this date in 1997).

Saturday, April 25, 2020 Today is Saturday, April 25, the 116th day of 2020. There are 250 days left in the year. Today’s Highlights in History:

On April 25, 1945, during World War II, U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe (El’-beh) River, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany’s defenses. Delegates from some 50 countries gathered in San Francisco to organize the United Nations.

On this date:

In 1507, a world map produced by German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller contained the first recorded use of the term “America,” in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci (vehs-poo’-chee).

In 1859, ground was broken for the Suez Canal.

In 1874, radio pioneer Guglielmo (goo-yehl’-moh) Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy.

In 1898, the United States Congress declared war on Spain; the 10-week conflict resulted in an American victory.

In 1915, during World War I, Allied soldiers invaded the Gallipoli (guhlihp’-uh-lee) Peninsula in an unsuccessful attempt to take the Ottoman Empire out of the war.

In 1917, legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia.

In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping.

In 1983, 10-year-old Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, received a reply from Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov to a letter she’d written expressing her concerns about nuclear war; Andropov gave assurances that the Soviet Union did not want war, and invited Samantha to visit his country, a trip she made in July. In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed in orbit from the space shuttle Discovery. (It was later discovered that the telescope’s primary mirror was flawed, requiring the installation of corrective components to achieve optimal focus.)

In 1992, Islamic forces in Afghanistan took control of most of the capital of Kabul following the collapse of the Communist government.

In 1995, show business legend Ginger Rogers died in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 83.

In 2002, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes of the Grammy-winning trio TLC died in an SUV crash in Honduras; she was 30.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama made a pilgrimage to Billy Graham’s mountainside home, concluding his North Carolina vacation with his first meeting with the ailing evangelist who had counseled commanders in chief since Dwight Eisenhower. An al-qaida front group in Iraq confirmed the deaths of its two top leaders a week after a raid by Iraqi and U.S. security forces on the leaders’ safe house near Tikrit (TIH-KREET’), north of Baghdad. British writer Alan Sillitoe, 82, died in London.

Five years ago: A magnitude-7.8 earthquake in Nepal killed more than 8,200 people. Families of soldiers, leaders and visitors gathered in Turkey near former battlefields, honoring thousands of Australians and New Zealanders who fought in the Gallipoli campaign of World War I on the 100th anniversary of the ill-fated British-led invasion. Italy celebrated the 70th anniversary of a partisan uprising against the Nazis and their Fascist allies near the end of World War II.

One year ago: Former Vice President Joe Biden entered the Democratic presidential race, declaring the fight against Donald Trump to be a “battle for the soul of this nation.” Russian President Vladimir Putin began a summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in the Russian city of Vladivostok; Putin said Kim told him that he was willing to give up nuclear weapons, but only in exchange for ironclad security guarantees. The Arizona Cardinals led off the NFL draft by selecting Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray, the Heisman Trophy winner.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Al Pacino is 80. Ballroom dance judge Len Goodman (TV: “Dancing with the Stars”) is 76. Rock musician Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 75. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus (BYORN ul-vay’-us) (ABBA) is 75. Actress Talia Shire is 75. Actor Jeffrey Demunn is 73. Rock musician Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is

70. Country singer-songwriter Rob Crosby is 66. Actor Hank Azaria is

56. Rock singer Andy Bell (Erasure) is 56. Rock musician Eric Avery is

55. Country musician Rory Feek (Joey + Rory) is 55. TV personality Jane Clayson is 53. Actress Renee Zellweger is 51. Actress Gina Torres is 51. Actor Jason Lee is 50. Actor Jason Wiles is 50. Actress Emily Bergl is 45. Actor Jonathan Angel is 43. Actress Marguerite Moreau is

43. Singer Jacob Underwood is 40. Actress Melonie Diaz is 36. Actress Sara Paxton is 32. Actress Allisyn Ashley Arm is 24. Actress Jayden Rey is 11.

Thought for Today: “I think it is all a matter of love: the more you love a memory, the stronger and stranger it is.” — Vladimir Nabokov, Russianborn author (1899-1977).