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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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
"No man can resolve himself into Heaven."
Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist (1837-1899).
"Let's all be careful out there!"
