HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY

Today’s highlight: On Jan. 13, 1982, an Air Florida 737 crashed into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge and fell into the Potomac River while trying to take off during a snowstorm, killing a total of 78 people; four passengers and a flight attendant survived. On this date:

1794: President George Washington approved a measure adding two stars and two stripes to the American flag, following the admission of Vermont and Kentucky to the Union. The number of stripes was later reduced to the original 13.

1941: A new law went into effect granting Puerto Ricans U.S. birthright citizenship. Novelist and poet James Joyce died in Zurich, Switzerland, less than a month before his 59th birthday. 1962: Comedian Ernie Kovacs died in a car crash in west Los Angeles 10 days before his 43rd birthday. 1964: Roman Catholic Bishop Karol Wojtyla (the future Pope John Paul II) was appointed Archbishop of Krakow, Poland, by Pope

Paul VI. 1968: Country singer

Johnny Cash performed and recorded a pair of shows at Folsom State Prison in California; material from the concerts was released as an album by Columbia Records under the title “Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison,” which proved a hit. 1978: Former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey died in Waverly, Minnesota, at age 66.

1990: L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the nation’s first elected black governor as he took the oath of office in Richmond.

1992: Japan apologized for forcing tens of thousands of Korean women to serve as sex slaves for its soldiers during World War II, citing newly uncovered documents that showed the Japanese army had a role in abducting the so-called “comfort women.” 1997: Seven black soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for World War II valor; the lone survivor of the group, former Lt. Vernon Baker, received his medal from President Bill Clinton at the White House.

2000: Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stepped aside as CEO and promoted company president Steve Ballmer to the position.