Today is Saturday, Jan. 3, the 3rd day of 2009. There are 362 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History
On Jan. 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th state as President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation.
On this date:
In 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X.
In 1777, General George Washington’s army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, N.J.
In 1868, the Meiji (MAY’-jee) Restoration re-established the authority of Japan’s emperor and heralded the fall of the military rulers known as shoguns.
In 1909, Danish-American comedian Victor Borge was born in Copenhagen.
In 1938, the March of Dimes campaign to fight polio was organized.
In 1947, congressional proceedings were televised for the first time as viewers in Washington, Philadelphia and New York got to see some of the opening ceremonies of the 80th Congress.
In 1949, in a pair of rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court said that states had the right to ban closed shops.
In 1961, the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba.
In 1990, ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican’s diplomatic mission.
In 1993, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a historic nuclear missile-reduction treaty in Moscow.
Ten years ago: Chicagoans dug out from their biggest snowstorm in more than 30 years. Israeli authorities detained, and later expelled, 14 members of Concerned Christians, a Denver-based cult which Israeli officials feared was plotting violence in Jerusalem to bring about the Second Coming of Christ.
Five years ago: A Boeing 737 owned by Egyptian charter tour operator Flash Airlines crashed into the Red Sea, killing all 148 people aboard, most of them French tourists. NASA’s Mars rover, Spirit, touched down on Mars.
One year ago: Barack Obama won Democratic caucuses in Iowa, while Mike Huckabee won Republican caucuses. After nearly 27 years in prison, Texas inmate Charles Chatman was set free by a judge because of new DNA evidence showing he’d been wrongly convicted of rape. Pop star Britney Spears was hospitalized after a child custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline resulted in an hours-long standoff with police. The Kansas Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl, defeating Virginia Tech 24-21.
Today’s Birthdays
Record producer Sir George Martin is 83. Actor Robert Loggia is 79. Actor Dabney Coleman is 77. Journalist-author Betty Rollin is 73. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Bobby Hull is 70. Singer-songwriter-producer Van Dyke Parks is 66. Musician Stephen Stills is 64. Rock musician John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) is 63. Actress Victoria Principal is 59. Actor-director Mel Gibson is 53. Actress Shannon Sturges is 41. Jazz musician James Carter is 40. Contemporary Christian singer Nichole Nordeman is 37. Actor Jason Marsden is 34. Actress Danica McKellar is 34. Actor Nicholas Gonzalez is 33. Singer Kimberley Locke (“American Idol”) is 31. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lloyd is 23. Actor Alex D. Linz is 20.
Thought for Today
”The human body is the best picture of the human soul.” — Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian philosopher (1889-1951).
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Full article: http://wcbstv.com/watercooler/today.history.january.2.899285.html
