Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., celebrated his 100th birthday on Capitol Hill. Thurmond, who retired the following year, had served the Senate since 1954, making him both the longest-serving and oldest member of Congress. He died June 27, 2003.
In 2004, the U.S. Congress said it was considering a proposal to withhold millions of dollars in foreign aid unless countries agree to shield Americans from prosecution of war crimes.
In 2006, Fiji's prime minister was placed under house arrest as the Pacific island nation's military announced it had taken control of the government.
In 2007, a man opened fire in a popular Omaha mall, killing eight and wounding five others before apparently turning the gun on himself. The shooting came about an hour after U.S. President George Bush had left Omaha.
A thought for the day: Archibald MacLeish said of Americans, "They were the first self-constituted, self-declared, self-created People in the history of the world."
Today is Saturday, Dec. 6, the 341st day of 2008 with 25 to follow.
The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include England's King Henry VI in 1421; French chemist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac in 1778; pioneer Western movie star William S. Hart in 1870; poet Joyce Kilmer in 1886; lyricist Ira Gershwin in 1896; photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1898; actress Agnes Moorehead in 1900; jazz pianist Dave Brubeck in 1920 (age 88); comedian Wally Cox in 1924; actors James Naughton in 1945 (age 63) and Tom Hulce in 1953 (age 55); comedian Steven Wright in 1955 (age 53); and actress Janine Turner in 1962 (age 46).
On this date in history:
In 1811, the first in a series of earthquakes rocked the Midwest, in and around New Madrid, Mo.
In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S Constitution was ratified, abolishing slavery in the United States.
In 1907, in West Virginia's Marion County, an explosion in a network of mines owned by the Fairmont Coal Company in Monongah killed 361 coal miners. It was the worst mining disaster in U.S. history.
In 1917, more than 1,600 people died in an explosion when a Belgian relief ship and a French munitions vessel collided in the harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia.
In 1922, the Irish Free State, forerunner of the modern Republic of Ireland, was officially proclaimed.
In 1933, Americans crowded into liquor stores, bars and cafes to buy their first legal alcoholic beverages in 13 years, following repeal of Prohibition.
In 1941, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a message to Japanese Emperor Hirohito expressing hope that gathering war clouds would be dispelled. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor the next day.
In 1969, an all-star concert headlined by the Rolling Stones at the Altamont Speedway in Livermore, Calif., was marred by tragedy when a spectator was stabbed to death by members of the Hell's Angels, who had been hired as security guards for the event.
In 1973, Gerald Ford was sworn in as U.S. vice president under Richard Nixon, replacing Spiro Agnew, who had resigned in the face of income tax evasion charges.
In 1975, the U.S. Senate authorized a $2.3 billion emergency loan to save New York City from bankruptcy.
In 1990, Saddam Hussein asked the Iraqi parliament to authorize the release of all hostages being held by Iraq. The legislature acted the next day and all Americans who wished to leave were out a week later.
In 1991, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued sweeping changes in food labeling rules that required more detailed listing of contents.
In 1997, the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East was hit by one of the largest earthquakes recorded, measuring 8.5 to 9 in magnitude. But, there were no reported deaths in the sparsely populated area.
In 2002, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was "gravely disturbed" by Israel's Gaza attack that left 10 Palestinians dead, including two U.N. Relief Works Agency employees.
In 2003, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., denying she had planned to run for president, blasted U.S. President George Bush for trying to wreck the United States.
Also in 2003, U.S. Embassy officials confirmed that U.S. troops apparently accidentally bombed a house near Ghazni, Afghanistan, killing nine children and one adult.
In 2004, the U.S. Congress passed a sweeping intelligence bill that would create a national intelligence director and enact other major recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission.
In 2005, two suicide bombers targeted a Baghdad police academy, reportedly killing at least 43 officers and cadets and injuring 73 others.
Also in 2005, at least 128 people were killed when an Iranian military aircraft hit a 10-story residential building in Tehran and exploded shortly after takeoff.
In 2006, Robert Gates was confirmed as the secretary of defense by the U.S. Senate on a 95-2 vote.
In 2007, news reports said the CIA had destroyed videotapes of the interrogation of two al-Qaida suspects in 2005. Meanwhile, U.S. Congressional intelligence committees voted to outlaw harsh methods of interrogation including waterboarding and other severe techniques reported to be in use.
Also in 2007, a coal mine gas explosion in China's Shanxi Province killed at least 70 people and left 26 others trapped underground. The head of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety said the initial investigation indicated the blast was caused by illegal mining activities.
A thought for the day: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert Houghwout Jackson wrote, "The day that this country ceases to be free for irreligion, it will cease to be free for religion."
Today is Sunday, Dec. 7, the 342nd day of 2008 with 24 to follow.
The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Saturn and Mars. The evening stars are Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Sagittarius. They include Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1598; waxworks museum founder Marie Tussaud in 1761; German physiologist Theodor Schwann, co-originator of the cell theory and the first to use the term, in 1810; novelist Willa Cather in 1873; composer Rudolph Friml ("Indian Love Call") in 1879; actor Eli Wallach in 1915 (age 93); actor Ted Knight in 1923; linguist Noam Chomsky in 1928 (age 80); actress Ellen Burstyn in 1932 (age 76); rock/folksinger Harry Chapin in 1942; Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench in 1947 (age 61); former basketball star and coach Larry Bird in 1956 (age 52); and actor C. Thomas Howell in 1966 (age 42).
On this date in history:
In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1909, Leo Baekeland patented the process for making Bakelite, giving birth to the modern plastics industry.
In 1925, five-time Olympic gold medalist and future movie Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller set a world record in 150-yard free-style swimming.
In 1931, U.S. President Herbert Hoover refused to see a group of "hunger marchers" at the White House.
In 1941, Japan launched a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, catapulting the United States into World War II. The Japanese attack left a reported 2,403 dead, 188 destroyed planes and a crippled Pacific Fleet. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt described it as "a date that will live in infamy."
In 1972, Apollo 17 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on the last scheduled manned mission to the moon.
In 1983, the first execution by lethal injection took place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas.
In 1986, the speaker of Iran's parliament said his country would help free more U.S. hostages in Lebanon in exchange for more U.S. arms.
In 1987, Mikhail Gorbachev arrived in Washington, the first Soviet leader to officially visit the United States since 1973.
In 1988, as many as 60,000 people were killed when a powerful earthquake rocked the Soviet republic of Armenia.
In 1991, on the 50th anniversary of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. President George H.W. Bush called for an end to recriminations and sought the healing of old wounds.
In 1992, the destruction of a 16th-century mosque by militant Hindus touched off five days of violence across India that left more than 1,100 people dead.
In 1993, U.S. Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary revealed the United States had conducted 204 underground nuclear tests from 1963-90 without informing the public.
Also in 1993, astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavor fixed the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.
In 1995, a two-week strike by hundreds of thousands of French public-sector workers protesting planned cuts in welfare spending spread to cities throughout France.
In 2001, the U.S. Labor Department announced the loss of nearly 1 million jobs over the previous three months.
In 2002, Azra Akin, a 21-year-old model from Turkey, won the Miss World competition, two weeks after Muslim-Christian violence in Nigeria forced organizers to move the pageant to London. More than 200 people were killed in the religious riots.
In 2003, during a visit to the United States, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said "we will never tolerate" Taiwan splitting away from China.
In 2004, Hamid Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president.
In 2005, U.S. air marshals killed a man who said he had a bomb aboard an American Airlines plane at Miami International Airport. No bomb was found and authorities said the man's wife told them he was mentally ill and hadn't taken his medication.
In 2007, the Bush administration and mortgage lenders agreed to freeze rates for up to five years for people up to date on subprime loans due for sharp increases. Critics say the plan would affect only a small percentage of those facing such rate hikes.
Also in 2007, the South Korean coast guard struggled to contain the largest ever oil spill in Korea following a collision between a barge and an oil tanker that spilled 10,000 tons of oil into coastal waters.
A thought for the day: Roscoe Pound said, "The law must be stable but it must not stand still."
