JANUARY 17TH

Today is Saturday, Jan. 17, the 17th day of 2009.
There are 348 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Jan. 17, 1961, in his farewell address, President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned against the rise of "the military-industrial complex."

On this date:

• In 1562, French Protestants were recognized under the Edict of St. Germain.
• In 1893, the 19th president of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes, died in Fremont, Ohio, at age 70; Hawaii's monarchy was overthrown as a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Lili'uokalani to abdicate.
• In 1917, the United States paid Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
• In 1945, Soviet and Polish forces liberated Warsaw during World War II; Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving tens of thousands of Jews, disappeared in Hungary while in Soviet custody.
• In 1946, the United Nations Security Council held its first meeting, in London.
• In 1966, a U.S. Air Force B-52 carrying four unarmed hydrogen bombs crashed on the Spanish coast. (Three of the bombs were quickly recovered, but the fourth wasn't recovered until April.)
• In 1977, convicted murderer Gary Gilmore, 36, was shot by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.
• In 1989, five children were shot to death at the Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, Calif., by a drifter, Patrick Purdy, who then killed himself.
• In 1994, a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Southern California, killing at least 72 people.
• In 1995, more than 6,000 people were killed when an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 devastated the city of Kobe, Japan.

Ten years ago:

• As White House lawyers met to work on President Bill Clinton's defense, their client spent the day preparing for his State of the Union address.
• The defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos defeated the New York Jets, 23-10, to win the American Football Conference title; the Atlanta Falcons upset the Minnesota Vikings, 30-27, to win the National Football Conference championship.

Five years ago:

• Three U.S. soldiers were killed north of Baghdad, pushing the U.S. death toll in the Iraq conflict to 500.
• Hollywood producer Ray Stark died at age 88.

One year ago:

• Bobby Fischer, the chess master who became a Cold War icon when he dethroned the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky as world champion in 1972, died in Reykjavik, Iceland, at age 64.
• Character actor Allan Melvin died in Los Angeles at age 84.

Today's Birthdays:

• Actress Betty White is 87.
• Actor James Earl Jones is 78.
• Talk show host Maury Povich is 70.
• Former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali is 67.
• Pop singer Chris Montez is 67.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer William Hart (The Delfonics) is 64.
• Rock musician Mick Taylor is 61.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer Sheila Hutchinson (The Emotions) is 56.
  
• Singer Steve Earle is 54.
• Singer Paul Young is 53.
• Actor-comedian Steve Harvey is 52.
• Singer Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) is 50.
• Actor-comedian Jim Carrey is 47.
• Future first lady Michelle Obama is 45.
• Actor Joshua Malina is 43.
• Singer Shabba Ranks is 43.
• Actor Naveen Andrews is 40.
• Rapper Kid Rock is 38.
• Actor Freddy Rodriguez is 34.
• Actress Zooey Deschanel is 29.
• Singer Ray J is 28.
• Country singer Amanda Wilkinson is 27.

Thought for Today:

"The course of history can be changed but not halted."
Paul Robeson, American actor, singer and civil rights activist (1898-1976).

"Let's all be careful out there!"