There are 335 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
- On Jan. 30, 1968, the Tet Offensive began during the Vietnam War as Communist forces launched surprise attacks against South Vietnamese provincial capitals; although the Communists were beaten back, the offensive was seen as a major setback for the U.S. and its allies.
On this date:
- In 1649, England's King Charles I was beheaded.
- In 1882, the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was born in Hyde Park, N.Y.
- In 1909, community organizer and social activist Saul Alinsky was born in Chicago.
- In 1933, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. The first episode of the "Lone Ranger" radio program was broadcast on station WXYZ in Detroit.
- In 1939, the Supreme Court, in Tennessee Electric Power Co. v. Tennessee Valley Authority, upheld the right of the federally owned TVA to compete with private utilities.
- In 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi was shot and killed by a Hindu extremist.
- In 1962, two members of "The Flying Wallendas" high-wire act were killed when their seven-person pyramid collapsed during a performance in Detroit.
- In 1972, 13 Roman Catholic civil rights marchers were shot to death by British soldiers in Northern Ireland on what became known as "Bloody Sunday."
- In 1979, the civilian government of Iran announced it had decided to allow Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who'd been living in exile in France, to return.
- In 2003, Richard Reid, the British citizen and al-Qaida follower who'd tried to blow up a trans-Atlantic jetliner with explosives hidden in his shoes, was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in Boston.
Ten years ago:
- NATO authorized its secretary-general to launch military action in Yugoslavia if the warring parties failed to negotiate an agreement for autonomy in Kosovo.
Five years ago:
- Former French Prime Minister Alain Juppe was found guilty in connection with a party financing scandal and declared ineligible for public office for 10 years.
- NASA's Mars rover Opportunity spied hints of a mineral that typically forms in water — a finding that could mean the dry and dusty Red Planet was once wetter and more hospitable to life.
One year ago:
- John Edwards bowed out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
- Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the Republican presidential contest and endorsed front-runner and longtime friend John McCain.
- The Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate for the second time in just over a week, reducing the federal funds rate by a half point to 3 percent.
Today's Birthdays:
- Actress Dorothy Malone is 84.
- Producer-director Harold Prince is 81.
- Actor Gene Hackman is 79.
- Actress Tammy Grimes is 75.
- Actress Vanessa Redgrave is 72.
- Country singer Jeanne Pruett is 72.
- Country singer Norma Jean is 71.
- Vice President Dick Cheney is 68.
- Rock singer Marty Balin is 67.
- Rhythm-and-blues musician William King (The Commodores) is 60.
- Singer Phil Collins is 58.
- Actor Charles S. Dutton is 58.
- Actress-comedian Brett Butler is 51.
- Singer Jody Watley is 50.
- Actor Norbert Leo Butz is 42.
- Country singer Tammy Cochran is 37.
- Actor Christian Bale is 35.
- Pop-rock singer-songwriter Josh Kelley is 29.
- Actor Wilmer Valderrama is 29.
- Actor Jake Thomas is 19.
Thought for Today:
"The excellent becomes the permanent."
Jane Addams, social worker and Nobel Peace laureate (1860-1935).
"Let's all be careful out there!"