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Monday, July 07, 2008

July 7TH

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Today is Monday, July 7, the 189th day of 2008. There are 177 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 7, 1865, four people were hanged in Washington, D.C., for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Lincoln.

On this date:
  • In 1807, Napoleon I of France and Czar Alexander I of Russia signed a treaty at Tilsit ending war between their empires.
  • In 1896, the Democratic national convention opened in Chicago.
  • In 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii.
  • In 1908, the Democratic National Convention opened in Denver.
  • In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam).
  • In 1948, six female reservists became the first women to be sworn into the regular U.S. Navy.
  • In 1958, President Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act, which went into effect in January 1959.
  • In 1981, President Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O'Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • In 1983, 11-year-old Samantha Smith of Manchester, Maine, left for a visit to the Soviet Union at the personal invitation of Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov.
  • In 2005, suicide terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 victims and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II.

Ten years ago:
  • A jury in Santa Monica, Calif., convicted Mikhail Markhasev of murdering Ennis Cosby, Bill Cosby's only son, during a roadside robbery. (Markhasev was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.)
  • Imprisoned Nigerian opposition leader Moshood Abiola died of what the government said was a heart attack.
  • The American League defeated the National League 13-8 in baseball's All-Star Game, played in Denver.

Five years ago:
  • A chunk of foam insulation fired at shuttle wing parts blew open a gaping 16-inch hole, yielding what one member of the Columbia investigation team said was the "smoking gun" proving what brought down the spaceship.
  • NASA launched its second Mars rover.
  • A federal judge approved a settlement fining WorldCom $750 million for its $11 billion accounting scandal.
  • Golfer Hilary Lunke won the U.S. Women's Open.

One year ago:
  • A truck bomb devastated the public market in Armili, Iraq, killing at least 115 people.
  • A 24-hour music marathon spanning seven continents reached the Western Hemisphere with rappers, rockers and country stars taking the stage at Live Earth concerts to fight climate change.
  • Venus Williams claimed her fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Marion Bartoli.

Today's Birthdays:
  • Blues musician Pinetop Perkins is 95.
  • Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 81.
  • Country singer Charlie Louvin is 81.
  • Historian-author David McCullough is 75.
  • Rock star Ringo Starr is 68.
  • Singer-musician Warren Entner (The Grass Roots) is 64.
  • Rock musician Jim Rodford is 63.
  • Actor Joe Spano is 62.
  • Pop singer David Hodo (The Village People) is 61.
  • Country singer Linda Williams is 61.
  • Actress Shelley Duvall is 59.
  • Actress Roz Ryan is 57.
  • Actor Billy Campbell is 49.
  • Rock musician Mark White (Spin Doctors) is 46.
  • Singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard is 45.
  • Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan is 42.
  • Rhythm-and-blues musician Ricky Kinchen (Mint Condition) is 42.
  • Actress Jorja Fox is 40.
  • Actress Cree Summer is 39.
  • Actress Kirsten Vangsness is 36.
  • Actor Troy Garity is 35.
  • Actor Hamish Linklater is 32.
  • Olympic silver and bronze medal figure skater Michelle Kwan is 28.
  • Rapper Cassidy is 26.
  • Country singer Gabbie Nolen is 26.

Thought for Today:
"There is no escape — man drags man down, or man lifts man up."
Attributed to Booker T. Washington, American educator and author (1856-1915).



"Let's all be careful out there!"