JULY 16TH

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Today is Wednesday, July 16, the 198th day of 2008. There are 168 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:

• On July 16, 1945, the United States exploded its first experimental atomic bomb, in the desert of Alamogordo, N.M.

On this date:

• In 1790, the District of Columbia was established as the seat of the United States government.
• In 1862, David G. Farragut became the first rear admiral in the United States Navy.
• In 1935, the first parking meters were installed, in Oklahoma City.
• In 1957, Marine Maj. John Glenn set a transcontinental speed record by flying a jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds.
• In 1958, the science-fiction film "The Fly" opened in San Francisco.
• In 1964, in accepting the Republican presidential nomination in San Francisco, Barry M. Goldwater said "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice" and that "moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."
• In 1969, Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Fla., on the first manned mission to the surface of the moon.
• In 1973, during the Senate Watergate hearings, former White House aide Alexander P. Butterfield publicly revealed the existence of President Nixon's secret taping system.
• In 1979, Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq.
• In 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died when their single-engine plane, piloted by Kennedy, plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard, Mass.

Ten years ago:

• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia refused to block Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr from calling President Clinton's Secret Service protectors before a grand jury.

Five years ago:

• The Environmental Protection Agency announced it was starting big-money, long-term cleanups at 10 Superfund toxic waste sites and putting 10 other sites aside for later.
• A car driven by 87-year-old George Russell Weller plowed through a farmer's market in Santa Monica, Calif., killing 10 people and injuring more than 70. (Weller was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to five years of probation.)
• Cuban-born "Queen of Salsa" Celia Cruz died in Fort Lee, N.J., at age 77.

One year ago:

• Declaring a "moment of choice" in the Middle East, President Bush said he would call Israel, the Palestinians and others in the region to a peace conference.
• A man carrying a gun and declaring "I am the emperor" was shot and killed by security outside the offices of Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter.
• A 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Japan's northwest coast killed 11 people and caused radioactive leaks at the world's most powerful nuclear power plant.

Today's Birthdays:

• Former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh is 76.
• Soul singer William Bell is 69.
• Actor Corin Redgrave is 69.
• Former tennis player Margaret Court is 66.
• Violinist Pinchas Zukerman is 60.
• Actor-singer Ruben Blades is 60.
• Rock composer-musician Stewart Copeland is 56.
• Dancer Michael Flatley is 50.
• Actress Phoebe Cates is 45.
• Country singer Craig Morgan is 44.
• Actor-comedian Will Ferrell is 41.
• Actress Rain Pryor is 39.
• Actor Corey Feldman is 37.
• Rock musician Ed Kowalczyk (Live) is 37.
• Rock singer Ryan McCombs (Drowning Pool) is 34.
• Actress AnnaLynne McCord is 21.
• Actor Mark Indelicato ("Ugly Betty") is 14.

Thought for Today:

"The fear of becoming a 'has been' keeps some people from becoming anything."
Eric Hoffer, American author-philosopher (1902-1983).

"Let's all be careful out there!"