TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS SATURDAY, FEB. 25, the 56th day of 2023. There are 309 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:

On this date in 1964, Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) became world heavyweight boxing champion as he defeated Sonny Liston in Miami Beach. In 1901, United States Steel Corp. was incorporated by J.P. Morgan. In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving Congress the power to levy and collect income taxes, was declared in effect by Secretary of State Philander Chase Knox. In 1919, Oregon became the first state to tax gasoline, at 1 cent per gallon. In 1957, the Supreme Court, in Butler v. Michigan, overturned a Michigan statute making it a misdemeanor to sell books containing obscene language that would tend to corrupt “the morals of youth.” In 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, 28 Americans were killed when an Iraqi Scud missile hit a U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. In 1994, American-born Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire with an automatic rifle inside the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank, killing 29 Muslims before he was beaten to death by worshippers. In 2010, in Vancouver, the Canadian women beat the U.S. 2-0 for their third straight Olympic hockey title. In 2020, U.S. health officials warned that the coronavirus was certain to spread more widely in the U.S.; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to be prepared. TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Former professional wrestler Ric Flair and humorist Jack Handey are 74. Rock singer-musician Mike Peters (The Alarm; Big Country) is 64. Comedian Carrot Top, and model and actor Veronica Webb are 58. Actors Alexis Denisof and Tea Leoni are 57. Actor Lesley Boone is 55. Actor Sean Astin and singer Daniel Powter are 52. Latin singer Julio Iglesias Jr., R&B singer Justin Jeffre and actor Anson Mount are 50. Comedian-actor Chelsea Handler is 48. Actor Rashida Jones is 47. Actors Justin Berfield, James and Oliver Phelps (“Harry Potter” movies) and Jameela Jamil are 37.