JULY 27TH

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Today is Sunday, July 27, the 209th day of 2008. There are 157 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 27, 1789, President Washington signed a measure establishing the Department of Foreign Affairs, forerunner of the Department of State.
On this date:

• In 1694, the Bank of England received a royal charter as a commercial institution.
• In 1794, French revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre was overthrown and placed under arrest; he was executed the following day.
• In 1861, Union Gen. George B. McClellan took command of the Army of the Potomac.
• In 1866, Cyrus W. Field finished laying out the first successful underwater telegraph cable between North America and Europe. (A previous cable in 1858 burned out after only a few weeks of use.)
• In 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.
• In 1960, Vice President Richard M. Nixon was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in Chicago.
• In 1967, in the wake of urban rioting, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission to assess the causes of the violence, the same day black militant H. Rap Brown said in Washington that violence was "as American as cherry pie."
• In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted 27-11 to adopt the first of three articles of impeachment against President Nixon, charging he had personally engaged in a course of conduct designed to obstruct justice in the Watergate case.
• In 1980, on day 267 of the Iranian hostage crisis, the deposed Shah of Iran died at a military hospital outside Cairo, Egypt, at age 60.
• In 1996, terror struck the Atlanta Olympics as a pipe bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park, killing one person and injuring 111. (Anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph later pleaded guilty to the bombing.)

Ten years ago:

• President Clinton held a town meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., on the future of Social Security, during which he expressed skepticism about proposals to privatize part of the Social Security trust fund.
• Monica Lewinsky spent five hours being interviewed by prosecutors in New York in a possible prelude to an immunity deal.

Five years ago:

• Comedian Bob Hope died in Toluca Lake, Calif., at age 100.
• Lance Armstrong won a record-tying fifth straight title in the Tour de France.

One year ago:

• The House sent President Bush legislation to intensify anti-terror efforts in the U.S., carrying out major recommendations of the independent 9/11 Commission.
• Former Qwest Communications chief Joe Macchio was sentenced to six years in prison for illegally selling $52 million in stock while not telling investors that his telecommunications company faced serious financial risks.
• Two Phoenix news helicopters collided and crashed while covering a police chase on live television, killing four people on board.

Today's Birthdays:

• TV producer Norman Lear is 86.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer Harvey Fuqua is 79.
• Actor Jerry Van Dyke is 77.
• Sportscaster Irv Cross is 69.
• Actor John Pleshette is 66.
• Singer Bobbie Gentry is 64.
• Actress-director Betty Thomas is 60.
• Olympic gold medal figure skater Peggy Fleming is 60.
• Actor Maury Chaykin is 59.
• Singer Maureen McGovern is 59.
• Actress Janet Eilber is 57.
• Actress Roxanne Hart is 56.
• Country musician Duncan Cameron (Sawyer Brown) is 52.
• Comedian Bill Engvall is 51.
• Jazz singer Karrin Allyson is 46.
• Country singer Stacy Dean Campbell is 41.
• Rock singer Juliana Hatfield is 41.
• Actor Julian McMahon is 40.
• Comedian Maya Rudolph is 36.
• Singer-songwriter Pete Yorn is 34.
• Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers is 31.
• Singer Cheyenne Kimball is 18.

Thought for Today:

"Verily, when the day of judgment comes, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done."
Thomas a Kempis, German theologian (1380-1471).

"Let's all be careful out there!"