AP News, December 2nd, 2007
Today is Sunday, Dec. 2, the 336th day of 2007. There are 29 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
Fifty years ago, on Dec. 2, 1957, the Shippingport Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania, the first full-scale commercial nuclear facility in the United States, began operations. (The reactor ceased operating in 1982.)
On this date:
In 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor of the French.
In 1823, President Monroe outlined his doctrine opposing European expansion in the Western Hemisphere.
In 1859, militant abolitionist John Brown was hanged for his raid on Harper's Ferry the previous October.
In 1927, Ford Motor Co. formally unveiled its Model A automobile, the successor to its Model T.
In 1942, an artificially created, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was demonstrated for the first time, at the University of Chicago.
In 1954, the Senate voted to condemn Wisconsin Republican Joseph R. McCarthy for conduct that "tends to bring the Senate into disrepute."
In 1967, Cardinal Francis Spellman died in New York at age 78.
In 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency began operating under director William Ruckelshaus.
In 1980, four American churchwomen were raped and murdered outside San Salvador. (Five national guardsmen were convicted in the killings.)
In 1982, in the first operation of its kind, doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center implanted a permanent artificial heart in the chest of retired dentist Barney Clark, who lived 112 days with the device.
Ten years ago: Attorney General Janet Reno declined to seek an independent counsel investigation of telephone fundraising by President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, concluding they did not violate election laws, a decision that drew jeers from Republicans.
Five years ago: A statement attributed to al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the car-bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya and the attempted shoot-down of an Israeli airliner, both on Nov. 28. The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether minorities could be given a boost to get into universities. (A divided court later allowed the nation's colleges and universities to select students based in part on race, but emphasized that race could not be the overriding factor.) Italian interior designer and architect Achille Castiglioni died in Milan at age 84.
One year ago: Fidel Castro failed to attend a military parade marking the 50th anniversary of the start of the Cuban revolution, fueling speculation he might not return to power. A triple car bombing in a predominantly Shiite district of Baghdad killed dozens of people. A sport utility vehicle driven by actor Lane Garrison hit a tree in Beverly Hills, killing a 17-year-old passenger; Garrison was later sentenced to three years and four months in prison for drunken driving.
Today's Birthdays: Character actor Bill Erwin is 93. Former Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig is 83. Actress Julie Harris is 82. Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III is 76. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is 68. Actress Cathy Lee Crosby is 63. Movie director Penelope Spheeris is 62. Country singer John Wesley Ryles is 57. Actor Keith Szarabajka is 55. Actor Dan Butler is 53. Broadcast journalist Stone Phillips is 53. Actor Dennis Christopher is 52. Actor Steven Bauer is 51. Country singer Joe Henry is 47. Rock musician Rick Savage (Def Leppard) is 47. Tennis Hall-of-Famer Tracy Austin is 45. Rock musician Nate Mendel (Foo Fighters) is 39. Actress Rena Sofer is 39. Rock singer Jimi HaHa (Jimmie's Chicken Shack) is 39. Actress Lucy Liu is 39. Rapper Treach (Naughty By Nature) is 37. Tennis player Monica Seles is 34. Singer Nelly Furtado is 29. Pop singer Britney Spears is 26. Actresses Daniella and Deanna Canterman are 15.
Thought for Today: "Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes." — Henry J. Kaiser, American industrialist (1882-1967).
