Calendar

Thursday, January 7, 2021

Today is Thursday, Jan. 7, the seventh day of 2021. There are 358days leftin the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 7, 1789, America held its first presidential election as voters chose electors who, a month later, selected Georgewashington to be the nation’s first chief executive.

On this date:

In 1927, commercial transatlantic telephone service was inaugurated between New York and London.

In 1942, Japanese forces began besieging American and Filipino troops in Bataan during World War II. ( The fall of Bataan three months later was followed by the notorious Death March.)

In 1953, President Truman announced in his State of the Union message to Congress that the United States had developed a hydrogen bomb.

In 1959, the United States recognized the new government of Cuba, six days after Fidel Castro led the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista.

In 1972, Lewis F. Powell, Jr. and William H. Rehnquist were sworn in as the 99th and 100th members of the U. S. Supreme Court. In 1979, Vietnamese forces captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government. In 1989, Emperor Hirohito of Japan died in Tokyo at age 87; he was succeeded by his son, Crown Prince Akihito.

In 1999, for the second time in history, an impeached American president went on trial before the Senate. President Bill Clinton faced charges of perjury and obstruction of justice; he was acquitted.

In 2004, President George W. Bush proposed legal status, at least temporarily, for millions of immigrants improperly working in the U. S.

In 2006, U. S. Rep. Tom Delay, RTexas, facing corruption charges, stepped down as House majority leader. ( Delay was found guilty in Nov. 2010of illegally funneling corporate money to Texas candidates; his conviction was eventually overturned.)

In 2015, masked gunmen stormed the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French newspaper that had caricatured the Prophet Mohammad, methodically killing 12people, including the editor, before escaping in a car. ( Two suspects were killed two days later.)

In 2019, Amazon eclipsed Microsoft as the most valuable publicly- traded company in the U. S. For the first time in more than 25years, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was absent from oral arguments as she recuperated from cancer surgery.

Ten years ago: A package addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ignited at a Washington postal facility, a day after fiery packages sent to Maryland’s governor and state transportation secretary burned the fingers of workers who opened them.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama tore into the National Rifle Association during a televised town hall meeting in Fairfax, Virginia, as he dismissed what he called a “conspiracy” alleging that the federal government — and Obama in particular — wanted to seize all firearms as a precursor to imposing martial law.

One year ago: A magnitude 6.4 earthquake, the strongest to hit Puerto Rico in more than 100 years, killed one person, injured nine others and knocked out power across the U. S. territory. A stampede at the funeral of Gen. Qassem Soleimani in his Iranian hometown of Kerman killed 56people and injured more than 200. Jury selection began in New York for the rape and sexual assault trial of Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein; about a third of the first 120prospective jurors were sent home after they said they could not be impartial. Neil Peart, the drummer for the influential rock trio Rush, died at the age of 67at his California home; the band said he had been battling brain cancer.

Today’s Birthdays: Magazine publisher Jann Wenner is 75. Singer Kenny Loggins is 73. Singer- songwriter Marshall Chapman is 72. Actor Erin Gray is

71. Actor Sammo Hung is 69. Actor Jodi Long is 67. Actor David Caruso is 65. Talk show host Katie Couric is 64. Country singer David Lee Murphy is 62. Rock musician Kathy Valentine is 62. Actor David Marciano is 61. Sen. John Thune, R- S. D., is 60. Actor Hallie Todd is 59. Sen. Rand Paul, R- Ky., is 58. Actor Nicolas Cage is 57. Singer- songwriter John Ondrasik ( on- DRAH’- sik) ( Five for Fighting) is 56. Actor Rex Lee is 52. Actor Doug E. Doug is 51. Actor Kevin Rahm is

50. Actor Jeremy Renner is 50. Country singer- musician John Rich is 47. Actor Dustin Diamond is 44. Actor Reggie Austin is 42. Singer- rapper Aloe Blacc is 42. Actor Lauren Cohan is 39. Actor Brett Dalton is 38. Actor Robert Ri’chard is 38. Actor Lyndsy Fonseca is 34. Actor Liam Aiken is 31. Actor Camryn Grimes is 31. Actor Max Morrow is 30. Actor Marcus Scribner is 21.

Friday, January 8, 2021

Today is Friday, Jan. 8, the eighth day of 2021. There are 357days leftin the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 8, 1998, Ramzi Yousef ( RAHM’- zee YOO’- sef), the mastermind of the 1993World Trade Center bombing, was sentenced in New York to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

On this date:

In 1815, the lastmajor engagement of the War of 1812came to an end as U. S. forces defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans, not having gotten word of the signing of a peace treaty. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson outlined his Fourteen Points for lasting peace after World War I. Mississippi became the first state to ratify the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which established Prohibition.

In 1935, rock- and- roll legend Elvis Presleywas born in Tupelo, Mississippi.

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson, in his State of the Union address, declared an “unconditional war on poverty in America.”

In 1968, the Otis Redding single “( Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” was released on the Volt label almost a month after the singer’s death in a plane crash. In 1973, the Paris peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam resumed.

In 1982, American Telephone and Telegraph settled the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against it by agreeing to divest itself of the 22Bell System companies.

In 1994, Tonya Harding won the ladies’ U. S. Figure Skating Championship in Detroit, a day after Nancy Kerrigan dropped out because of the clubbing attack that had injured her right knee. ( The U. S. Figure Skating Association later stripped Harding of the title.)

In 1997, the state of Arkansas put threemen to death in the second triple execution since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. ( The first also occurred in Arkansas, in 1994.) In 2004, A U. S. Black Hawk medivac helicopter crashed near Fallujah, Iraq, killing all nine soldiers aboard.

In 2006, the first funerals were held in West Virginia for the 12 miners who’d died in the Sago ( SAY’- goh) Mine disaster six days earlier.

In 2008, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton powered to victory in New Hampshire’s 2008 Democratic primary in a startling upset, defeating Sen. Barack Obama and resurrecting her bid for the White House; Sen. John Mccain defeated his Republican rivals to move back into contention for the GOP nomination.

Ten years ago: U. S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D- Ariz., was shot and critically wounded when a gunman opened fire as the congresswoman met with constituents in Tucson; six people were killed, 12others also injured. ( Gunman Jared Lee Loughner ( LAWF’- nur) was sentenced in Nov. 2012to seven consecutive life sentences, plus 140years.) Five years ago: Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the world’s most- wanted drug lord, was captured for a third time in a daring raid by Mexican marines, six months after walking through a tunnel to freedom from a maximum security prison in a made- for- Hollywood escape that deeply embarrassed the government and strained ties with the United States.

One year ago: Iran struck back at the United States for killing Iran’s top military commander, firing missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing American troops; more than 100U. S. service members were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries after the attack. As Iran braced for a counterattack, the country’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a Ukrainian jetliner after apparently mistaking it for a missile; all 176people on board were killed, including 82Iranians and more than 50Canadians. South Korea said it had put a Chinesewoman under isolated treatment amid concerns that she had brought back the virus that had sickened dozens in mainland China and Hong Kong. Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, said they planned to “step back” as senior members of the royal family while balancing their time between the U. K. and North America. Screenwriter and actor Buck Henry, who co- wrote and appeared in “The Graduate,” died in Los Angeles at the age of 89. Today’s Birthdays: Actorcomedian Larry Storch is 98. Former CBS newsman Charles Osgood is 88. Singer Shirley Bassey is 84. Game show host Bob Eubanks is 83. Countrygospel singer Cristy Lane is

81. Rhythm- and- blues singer Anthony Gourdine ( Little Anthony and the Imperials) is 80. Actor Yvette Mimieux is 79. Singer Juanita Cowart Motley ( The Marvelettes) is 77. Actor Kathleen Noone is 76. Rock musician Robby Krieger ( The Doors) is 75. Movie director John Mctiernan is 70. Actor Harriet Sansom Harris is 66. Actor Ron Cephas Jones is 64. Education Secretary Betsy Devos is 63. Singer- songwriter Ron Sexsmith is 57. Actor Michelle Forbes is

56. Actor Maria Pitillo ( pih- TIHL’loh) is 55. Singer R. Kelly is 54. Rock musician Jeff Abercrombie ( Fuel) is 52. Actor Ami Dolenz is

52. Reggae singer Sean Paul is

48. Actor Donnell Turner is 48. Country singer Tiftmerritt is 46. Actor- rock singer Jenny Lewis is 45. Actor Amber Benson is

44. Actor Scott Whyte is 43. Singer- songwriter Erin Mccarley is 42. Actor Sarah Polley is 42. Actor Rachel Nichols is 41. Actor Gaby Hoffman is 39. Rock musician Disashi Lumumbo- Kasongo ( dih- SAH’- shee LUHM’- uhm- boh kuh- SAHN’- goh) ( Gym Class Heroes) is 38. Actor Cynthia Erivo is

34. Actor Freddie Stroma is 34.

Saturday, January 9, 2021

Today is Saturday, Jan. 9, the ninth day of 2021. There are 356days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 9, 2020, Chinese state media said a preliminary investigation into recent cases of viral pneumonia had identified the probable cause as a new type of coronavirus.

On this date:

In 1788, Connecticut became the fifth state to ratify the U. S. Constitution.

In 1793, Frenchman Jean Pierre Blanchard, using a hot- air balloon, flew from Philadelphia to Woodbury, New Jersey.

In 1861, Mississippi became the second state to secede from the Union, the same day the Star of the West, a merchant vessel bringing reinforcements and supplies to Federal troops at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, retreated because of artillery fire. In 1913, Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, was born in Yorba Linda, California.

In 1916, the World War I Battle of Gallipoli ended after eight months with an Ottoman Empire victory as Allied forces withdrew. In 1945, during World War II, American forces began landing on the shores of Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines as the Battle of Luzon got underway, resulting in an Allied victory over Imperial Japanese forces.

In 1951, the United Nations headquarters in New York officially opened.

In 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in his State of the Union address to Congress, warned of the threat of Communist imperialism.

In 1987, the White House released a January 1986memorandum prepared for President Ronald Reagan by Lt. Col. Oliver L. North showing a link between U. S. arms sales to Iran and the release of American hostages in Lebanon.

In 2003, U. N. weapons inspectors said there was no “smoking gun” to prove Iraq had nuclear, chemical or biological weapons but they demanded that Baghdad provide private access to scientists and fresh evidence to back its claim that it had destroyed its weapons of mass destruction.