AUGUST 16TH

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Today is Saturday, August 16, the 229th day of 2008.
There are 137 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley died at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tenn., at age 42.

On this date:

• In 1777, American forces won the Revolutionary War Battle of Bennington.
• In 1812, Detroit fell to British and Indian forces in the War of 1812.
• In 1858, a telegraphed message from Britain's Queen Victoria to President Buchanan was transmitted over the recently laid trans-Atlantic cable.
• In 1948, baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York at age 53.
• In 1954, Sports Illustrated was first published by Time Inc.
• In 1956, Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
• In 1960, Britain ceded control of the crown colony of Cyprus.
• In 1978, James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., told a Capitol Hill hearing he did not commit the crime, saying he'd been set up by a mysterious man called "Raoul."
• In 1987, 156 people were killed when Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed while trying to take off from Detroit.
• In 2000, delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles nominated Al Gore for president.

Ten years ago:

• Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland united in uncomprehending grief over the car bomb slaughter of 29 people in Omagh a day earlier.
• A day before President Clinton was to face a criminal grand jury concerning his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, his lawyer said, "The truth is the truth, and that's how the president will testify."

Five years ago:

• The Midwest and Northeast were almost fully recovered from the worst power outage in U.S. history.
• A car driven by U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow ran a stop sign on a rural road in South Dakota and collided with motorcyclist Randy Scott, who died in the accident.
• Idi Amin, the former dictator of Uganda, died in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia; he was believed to have been about 80.

One year ago:

• Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant, was convicted in Miami of helping Islamic extremists and plotting overseas attacks. (Padilla, once accused of plotting with al-Qaida to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb," was later sentenced to 17 years and four months in prison on the unrelated terror support charges.)
• A cave-in killed three rescuers in the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah; the search for six trapped miners was later abandoned.

Today's Birthdays:

• Actor Fess Parker is 84.
• Actress Ann Blyth is 80.
• Actor Robert Culp is 78.
• Sportscaster Frank Gifford is 78.
• Singer Eydie Gorme is 77.
• Actress Julie Newmar is 75.
• Actor John Standing is 74.
• Actor Gary Clarke is 72.
• Actress Anita Gillette is 72.
• Actress Carole Shelley is 69.
• Country singer Billy Joe Shaver is 69.
• Movie director Bruce Beresford is 68.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer Robert "Squirrel" Lester (The Chi-Lites) is 66.
• Actor Bob Balaban is 63.
• Ballerina Suzanne Farrell is 63.
• Actress Lesley Ann Warren is 62.
• Rock singer-musician Joey Spampinato (NRBQ) is 58.
• Actor Reginald VelJohnson is 56.
• TV personality Kathie Lee Gifford is 55.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer J.T. Taylor is 55.
• Movie director James Cameron is 54.
• Actor Jeff Perry is 53.
• Rock musician Tim Farriss (INXS) is 51.
• Singer Madonna is 50.
• Actress Angela Bassett is 50.
• Actress Laura Innes is 49.
• Actor Timothy Hutton is 48.
• Actor Steve Carell is 45.
• Actor Donovan Leitch is 40.
• Actor Andy Milder (TV: "Weeds") is 40.
• Country singer Emily Robison (The Dixie Chicks) is 36.
• Actor George Stults is 33.
• Singer Vanessa Carlton is 28.
• Actress Agnes Bruckner is 23.
• Actor Shawn Pyfrom is 22.
• Country singer Ashton Shepherd is 22.

Thought for Today:

"If a man wants his dreams to come true, he must wake up."
Anonymous.

"Let's all be careful out there!"