AUGUST 3RD

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Today is Sunday, August 3, the 216th day of 2008.
There are 150 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On August 3, 1958, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater.

On this date:

• In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on a voyage that took him to the present-day Americas.
• In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr went on trial before a federal court in Richmond, Va., charged with treason. (He was acquitted less than a month later.)
• In 1914, Germany declared war on France at the onset of World War I.
• In 1923, Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the 30th president of the United States, following the death of Warren G. Harding.
• In 1943, Gen. George S. Patton slapped a private at an army hospital in Sicily, accusing him of cowardice. (Patton was later ordered by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to apologize for this and a second, similar episode.)
• In 1948, former Communist Whittaker Chambers, testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee, accused former State Department official Alger Hiss of having been part of a Communist cell, a charge Hiss denied.
• In 1949, the National Basketball Association was formed as a merger of the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League.
• In 1980, closing ceremonies were held in Moscow for the Summer Olympic Games, which had been boycotted by dozens of countries, including the United States.
• In 1981, U.S. air traffic controllers went on strike, despite a warning from President Reagan they would be fired, which they were.
• In 1988, the Soviet Union released Mathias Rust, the young West German pilot who had landed a light plane near Moscow's Red Square in May 1987.

Ten years ago:

• The White House played down the possibility that President Clinton would reverse previous statements and admit to a sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky when he testified before a grand jury.

Five years ago:

• The Episcopal Church's House of Deputies further paved the way for the Rev. V. Gene Robinson to become the church's first openly gay elected bishop, approving him on a 128-63 vote.
• Annika Sorenstam completed a career Grand Slam at the Women's British Open, beating Se Ri Pak by a stroke in a thrilling head-to-head showdown.
• Hank Stram, Marcus Allen, James Lofton, Elvin Bethea and Joe DeLamielleure were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

One year ago:

• A jury at Camp Pendleton, Calif., sentenced Marine Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III to 15 years in prison for the murder of an Iraqi civilian during a fruitless search for an insurgent.
• Iraqis welcomed home their soccer team, which had won the Asian Cup.

Today's Birthdays:

• Author P.D. James is 88.
• Broadway composer Richard Adler is 87.
• Singer Gordon Stoker (The Jordanaires) is 84.
• Singer Tony Bennett is 82.
• Actor Martin Sheen is 68.
• Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is 67.
• Singer Beverly Lee (The Shirelles) is 67.
• Rock musician B.B. Dickerson is 59.
• Movie director John Landis is 58.
• Actress JoMarie Payton is 58.
• Actor Jay North ("Dennis the Menace") is 57.
• Country musician Randy Scruggs is 55.
• Actor John C. McGinley is 49.
  
• Rock singer-musician Lee Rocker (The Stray Cats) is 47.
• Rock singer James Hetfield (Metallica) is 45.
• Rock singer-musician Ed Roland (Collective Soul) is 45.
• Actor Isaiah Washington is 45.
• Country musician Dean Sams (Lonestar) is 42.
• Rock musician Stephen Carpenter (Deftones) is 38.
• Hip-hop artist Spinderella (Salt-N-Pepa) is 37.
• Actress Brigid Brannagh is 36.
• Actress Evangeline (ee-VAN'-gel-een) Lilly is 29.
• Singer Holly Arnstein (Dream) is 23.

Thought for Today:

"The soul of a civilization is its religion, and it dies with its faith."
Will (1885-1981) and Ariel Durant (1898-1981), American historians.

"Let's all be careful out there!"