Also in 1994, Haiti declared a state of siege following passage of a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing an invasion of the Caribbean nation.

In 1995, Westinghouse Electric Corp. announced it was buying CBS, one day after Disney announced its purchase of Capital Cities/ABC.

In 1996, Mohammed Farah Aidid, who had controlled much of Somalia during its civil war, died of wounds suffered during a skirmish with another faction.

In 2002, the United Nations said it found no evidence to back up claims by the Palestinians that the Israeli army had massacred Palestinian refugees at a camp in Jenin.

In 2003, a suicide bomber killed at least 35 people at a military hospital in Chechnya, Russia.

In 2004, U.S. Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge said five buildings housing financial institutions in New York City, Newark, N.J. and Washington, including the New York Stock Exchange, were reported to be terrorist targets.

Also in 2004, more than 400 people died in a supermarket fire on the outskirts of Asuncion, Paraguay.

In 2005, bypassing U.S. Senate opposition with a recess appointment, U.S. President George Bush named John Bolton to be the United States envoy to the United Nations.

Also in 2005, Saudi Arabian King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, who had ruled since 1982, died in a Riyadh hospital after a long illness at the age of 83. He was succeeded by his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah.

In 2006, Israel stepped up its offensive against Hezbollah by sending thousands of additional troops into Lebanon to attack rocket launching sites. Hezbollah responded with about 200 missiles the next day.

Also in 2006, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro underwent surgery for intestinal bleeding in Havana two weeks before his 80th birthday.

In 2007, an eight-lane bridge across the Mississippi River at Minneapolis collapsed during evening rush hour, killing a reported 13 people and injuring 79. About 50 vehicles were thrown into or near the water when the steel-and-concrete Interstate 35W span buckled and fell.

Also in 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to expand healthcare coverage to more than 4 million children and increase Medicare payments to doctors by 5 percent.

And, Fisher-Price announced it was recalling nearly 1 million Chinese-made toys because they were covered in potentially harmful lead paint.

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A thought for the day: in "An Enemy of the People," playwright Henrik Ibsen wrote, "A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm."

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Today is Saturday, Aug. 2, the 215th day of 2007 with 151 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune and Uranus. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include singer Helen Morgan in 1900; actresses Myrna Loy in 1905 and Beatrice Straight in 1914; band leader Johnny Long in 1915; author James Baldwin and actor Carroll O'Connor, both in 1924; filmmaker Wes Craven in 1939 (age 69); and actors Peter O'Toole in 1932 (age 76), Joanna Cassidy in 1945 (age 63), Kathryn Harrold in 1950 (age 58), Victoria Jackson in 1959 (age 49), Mary Louise Parker in 1964 (age 44) and Edward Furlong in 1977 (age 31); and writer/director/actor Kevin Smith in 1970 (age 38).

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On this date in history:

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, was signed by members of the Continental Congress.

In 1923, U.S. President Warren G. Harding, on a tour of Alaska and the West Coast, died of a stroke in a San Francisco hotel at the age of 58 as rumors of a potential corruption scandal swirled in Washington. He was succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge.

In 1934, with the death of German President Paul von Hindenburg, Chancellor Adolf Hitler became absolute dictator of Germany under the title of fuehrer, or "leader."

In 1968, a major earthquake in the Philippines rocked Manila, killing 307 people.

In 1974, John Dean, counsel to U.S. President Richard Nixon, was sentenced to 1-to-4 years in prison for his part in the Watergate cover-up.

In 1988, U.S. military investigators concluded that crew errors led to the shooting down on July 3 of an Iranian passenger jet by the USS Vincennes in the Persian Gulf.

In 1990, Iraq invaded and overran neighboring Kuwait after weeks of tension over disputed land and oil production quotas.

In 1999, in a magazine interview, U.S. first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said her husband lied at first about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky to protect her, his wife.

In 2000, the Republican Party nominated George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to head its ticket for the November elections.

In 2001, former Bosnian Gen. Radislav Krstic was found guilty of genocide in the massacre of 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys.

In 2003, the Saudi government issued a formal denial that two Saudi figures reportedly linked to Sept. 11 terrorists were intelligence agents.

In 2004, U.S. President George Bush, giving qualified support to a report from a commission investigating the 2001 terrorist attacks, said he favored the appointment of a national intelligence director.

Also in 2004, crude oil prices rose sharply after the terror alert in the United States was hiked over an al-Qaida threat, posting a record $43.92 a barrel before slipping back.

In 2005, U.S. President George Bush signed the Central America Trade Agreement with six countries, granting greater access for U.S. products.

Also in 2005, an Air France jumbo jet caught fire after skidding off the runway at Toronto's international airport but all 297 passengers and 12 crew members survived.

In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI renewed his call for a cease-fire in the Middle East fight between Israel and Hezbollah, saying nothing "can justify the spilling of innocent blood."

Also in 2006, at least 12 people, mostly children and athletes, were killed and 14 wounded when two bombs in gym bags exploded near a soccer field in Baghdad.

In 2007, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, returning to Washington from the Middle East, called the political situation in Iraq "discouraging." He said the Bush administration had "underestimated the depth of mistrust" between the Sunni and Shiite religious blocs.

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A thought for the day: English philosopher Samuel Johnson said, "A man should keep his friendships in constant repair."

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Today is Sunday, Aug. 3, the 216th day of 2008 with 150 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune and Uranus. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include Elisha Graves Otis, inventor of the modern elevator, in 1811; World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle in 1900; orchestra leader Ray Bloch in 1902; actress Dolores del Rio in 1905; band leader Les Elgart in 1917; author Leon Uris in 1924; singer Tony Bennett in 1926 (age 82); TV personality and lifestyle consultant Martha Stewart in 1941 (age 67); and actors Martin Sheen in 1940 (age 68) and Jay North in 1951 (age 57).

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On this date in history:

In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain for the New World with a convoy of three small ships -- the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria -- and fewer than 100 crewmen.

In 1914, Germany declared war on France and invaded Belgium. The following day, Britain declared war on Germany and World War I was under way.

In 1958, the U.S. nuclear submarine "Nautilus" crossed under the North Pole.

In 1981, U.S. air traffic controllers went on strike. The strikers were fired within one week.

In 1990, the prime ministers of East and West Germany agreed to move up unification to early fall and rescheduled all-German elections for Oct. 14.

In 1991, Japanese Finance Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto publicly apologized but refused to resign for involvement in loans worth $10 million to three friends.

In 1997, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he wouldn't honor agreements with the Palestine National Authority unless it cracked down on terrorism.

In 1998, talks broke down between Iraqi officials and Richard Butler, the head of the U.N. team overseeing the dismantling of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

In 2004, Missouri voters approved an amendment to the state constitution banning same-sex marriages.

Also in 2004, the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor was opened to the public for the first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In 2005, in the first emergency repair conducted in space, astronauts fixed a potentially dangerous problem by removing two strips of protruding cloth from the underside of the space shuttle Discovery that could have overheated during re-entry.

Also in 2005, South Korea scientists reported the first successful cloning of a dog, considered one of the most difficult animals to copy.

In 2006, Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, told Congress that sectarian violence in Baghdad was "probably as bad as I've seen it" and predicted a possible civil war.

Also in 2006, Ukrainian leaders reached a coalition agreement after President Victor Yushchenko nominated his archrival as prime minister.

In 2007, the U.S. Congress passed a bill allowing the National Security Agency to monitor e-mail and telephone communications between the United States and foreign countries without a court warrant if terrorism was believed to be involved.

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A thought for the day: it was Henry David Thoreau who said, "Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in milk."