JULY 20TH

***

Today is Sunday, July 20, the 202nd day of 2008. There are 164 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon as they stepped out of their lunar module.

On this date:

• In 1810, Colombia declared independence from Spain.
• In 1861, the Congress of the Confederate States began holding sessions in Richmond, Va.
• In 1871, British Columbia entered Confederation as a Canadian province.
• In 1917, the draft lottery in World War I went into operation.
• In 1944, an attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion at Hitler's Rastenburg headquarters only wounded the Nazi leader.
• In 1944, President Roosevelt was nominated for an unprecedented fourth term of office at the Democratic convention in Chicago.
• In 1976, America's Viking 1 robot spacecraft made a successful, first-ever landing on Mars.
• In 1977, a flash flood hit Johnstown, Pa., killing more than 80 people and causing $350 million in damage.
• In 1988, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis received the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Atlanta.
• In 1988, Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini accepted a truce with Iraq, even though he said the decision was like drinking poison.

Ten years ago:

• Russia won an $11.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to help avert the devaluation of its currency.
• A smoky fire broke out aboard the cruise ship Ecstasy just 2 miles from the Florida shore, forcing the ship's return to port.

Five years ago:

• Gen. John Abizaid, the top commander of coalition forces in Iraq, predicted that resistance to U.S. forces in Iraq would grow in coming months as progress was made in creating a new government to replace the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein.
• President Bush welcomed Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi to his Texas ranch for a two-day visit.
• Ben Curtis, an unknown PGA Tour rookie in his first major championship, won the British Open.

One year ago:

• President Bush signed an executive order prohibiting cruel and inhuman treatment, including humiliation or denigration of religious beliefs, in the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects.
• Tammy Faye Messner, who as Tammy Faye Bakker helped her husband, Jim, build a multimillion-dollar evangelism empire, then watched it collapse in disgrace, died at age 65 near Kansas City, Mo.

Today's Birthdays:

• Actress-singer Sally Ann Howes is 78.
• Rockabilly singer Sleepy LaBeef is 73.
• Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., is 72.
• Actress Diana Rigg is 70.
• Rock musician John Lodge (The Moody Blues) is 65.
• Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 64.
• Singer Kim Carnes is 63.
• Rock musician Carlos Santana is 61.
• Rock musician Paul Cook (The Sex Pistols, Man Raze) is 52.
• Actress Donna Dixon is 51.
• Rock musician Mick McNeil (Simple Minds) is 50.
• Country singer Radney Foster is 49.
• Actor Frank Whaley is 45.
• Rock singer Chris Cornell is 44.
• Rock musician Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) is 42.
• Actor Reed Diamond is 41.
• Actor Josh Holloway ("Lost") is 39.
• Singer Vitamin C is 39.
• Actor Simon Rex is 34.
• Actress Judy Greer is 33.
• Actor Charlie Korsmo is 30.
• Singer Elliott Yamin ("American Idol") is 30.
• Actor John Francis Daley is 23.
• Country singer-professional dancer Julianne Hough is 20.
• Actress Billi Bruno is 12.

Thought for Today:

"No man can resolve himself into Heaven."
Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist (1837-1899).

"Let's all be careful out there!"