Paradise Driver

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Today is Friday, April 30th.

The 121st day of 2004.

There are 245 days left in the year.



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Today's Highlight in History:



One hundred years ago, on April 30th, 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition opened in St. Louis as President Theodore Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key at the White House to signal the official start of the world's fair commemorating the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase, albeit a year late. (The fair drew some 20 million visitors before it closed the following December.)



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On this date:



In 1006, The brightest supernova in recorded history is observed.



In 1789, George Washington took office in New York as the first president of the United States.



In 1798, The U.S. Department of the Navy was established.



In 1803, The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for 60 million francs, the equivalent of about $15 million.



In 1812, Louisiana became the 18th state of the Union.



In 1864, New York became the first state to charge a hunting license fee.



In 1885, The Boston Pops Orchestra is formed.



In 1900, Engineer John Luther "Casey" Jones of the Illinois Central Railroad died in a wreck near Vaughan, Miss., after staying at the controls in an effort to save the passengers.



In 1900, Hawaii was organized as a U.S. territory.



In 1904, 100 years ago, the ice cream cone made its debut.



In 1912, Actress Eve Arden (Eunice Quedens) was born in Mill Valley, CA. She died November 12, 1990 at the age of 78.



In 1931, The George Washington Bridge, linking New York City and New Jersey, opened.



In 1939, The New York World's Fair officially opened.



In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first U.S. president to appear on television when he was televised at the New York World's Fair.



In 1943, The British submarine HMS Seraph dropped 'the man who never was,' a dead man the British planted with false invasion plans, into the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain.



In 1945, As Russian troops approached his Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler committed suicide along with his wife of one day, Eva Braun.



In 1947, President Truman signed a measure officially changing the name of Boulder Dam to Hoover Dam.



In 1952, Mr Potato Head is the 1st toy to be advertised on television



In 1961, The 1st shuttle flights between Washington DC, Boston MA & New York NY begin (Eastern Airlines)



In 1962, NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to an altitude of 75,190 meters (246,683 feet/ 46.72 miles).



In 1964, The FCC ruled that all TV receivers should be equipped to receive both VHF and UHF channels.



In 1969, WEDB TV channel 40 in Berlin NH (PBS) begins broadcasting



In 1970, President Nixon announced the U.S. was sending troops into Cambodia, an action that sparked widespread protest.



In 1973, President Nixon announced the resignations of top aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, along with Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst and White House counsel John Dean.



In 1975, The South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces as President Duong Van Minh announced an unconditional surrender. The communists occupied Saigon and re-named it Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnam War came to an halt.



In 1988, The largest banana split ever, at 4.55 miles long, is made in Selinsgrove PA



In 1991, In Bangladesh a cyclone (hurricane) kills over 131,000 and leaves 9 million homeless



In 1992, The final episode of "The Cosby Show" aired on NBC.



In 1995, President Clinton announced he would end U.S. trade and investment with Iran, denouncing the Tehran government as "inspiration and paymaster to terrorists."



In 1997, The television series "Ellen" made TV history when its lead character "came out" as a lesbian.



In 1998, A man set himself on fire and shot himself to death on a Los Angeles area freeway in a scene captured on live television.



In 2001, The world's first space "tourist", California businessman Dennis Tito, arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.



Ten years ago (1994):



The counting of ballots began in South Africa's first all-race elections.



Some 100,000 men, women and children fleeing ethnic slaughter in Rwanda crossed into neighboring Tanzania.



Five years ago (1999):



A bomb exploded at a gay pub in London, killing three people and injuring more than 70.



The Reverend Jesse Jackson met with three U.S. soldiers being held prisoner by Yugoslavia.



One year ago (2003):



International mediators presented Israeli and Palestinian leaders with a new Middle East "road map," a U.S.-backed blueprint for ending 31 months of violence and establishing a Palestinian state. Mahmoud Abbas took office as Palestinian prime minister.



The U.S. Navy withdrew from its disputed Vieques bombing range in Puerto Rico, prompting celebrations by islanders.



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Today's Birthdays:



Actor Al Lewis (The Munsters' "Grandpa Munster", Car 54 Where Are You?'s "Off. Leo Schnauser") is 94.



Actress Cloris Leachman is 78.



Singer Willie Nelson is 71.



Actor Gary Collins is 66.



Actor Burt Young is 64.



Singer Bobby Vee is 61.



Actress Jill Clayburgh is 60.



King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustav is 58.



Movie director Allan Arkush is 56.



Actor Perry King is 56.



Singer Merrill Osmond is 51.



Movie director Jane Campion is 50.



Actor Paul Gross is 45.



Basketball executive Isiah Thomas is 43.



Country musician Robert Reynolds (The Mavericks) is 42.



Rapper Turbo B (Snap) is 37.



Rock musician Clark Vogeler is 35.



Rhythm and blues singer Chris "Choc" Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 33.



Rock musician Chris Henderson (3 Doors Down) is 33.



Country singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson is 33.



Rock singer J.R. Richards (Dishwalla) is 32.



Rhythm and blues singer Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees) is 31.



Actor Johnny Galecki is 29.



Actress Kirsten Dunst is 22.



Country singer Tyler Wilkinson (The Wilkinsons) is 20.



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Thought for Today:

"More persons, on the whole, are humbugged by believing nothing, than by believing too much." -

- P.T. Barnum, American showman (1810-1891).

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