AP News, January 27th, 2008
Today is Sunday, Jan. 27, the 27th day of 2008. There are 339 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Jan. 27, 1967, astronauts Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White and Roger B. Chaffee died in a flash fire during a test aboard their Apollo spacecraft at Cape Kennedy, Fla.
On this date:
In 1756, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.
In 1880, Thomas Edison received a patent for his electric incandescent lamp.
In 1901, opera composer Giuseppe Verdi died in Milan, Italy, at age 87.
In 1943, some 50 bombers struck Wilhelmshaven in the first all-American air raid against Germany during World War II.
In 1944, the Soviet Union announced the complete end of the deadly German siege of Leningrad, which had lasted for more than two years.
In 1945, Soviet troops liberated the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland.
In 1951, an era of atomic testing in the Nevada desert began as an Air Force plane dropped a 1-kiloton bomb on Frenchman Flat.
In 1967, more than 60 nations signed a treaty banning the orbiting of nuclear weapons.
In 1973, the Vietnam peace accords were signed in Paris.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan greeted the 52 former American hostages released by Iran at the White House.
Ten years ago: Shaken by scandal over his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, President Bill Clinton sought to reassert his leadership in his State of the Union address, urging Congress to "save Social Security first" before cutting taxes or increasing spending. Earlier in the day, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, on NBC's "Today" show, charged the allegations against her husband were the work of a "vast right-wing conspiracy."
Five years ago: The Bush administration dismissed Iraq's response to U.N. disarmament demands as inadequate. Meanwhile, chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix charged that Iraq had never genuinely accepted U.N. resolutions demanding its disarmament and warned that "cooperation on substance" was necessary for a peaceful solution.
One year ago: Tens of thousands of anti-war demonstrators marched in Washington, D.C., calling for the U.S. to get out of Iraq. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led a congressional delegation to Pakistan, where she met with President General Pervez Musharraf. Serena Williams won her third Australian Open singles title, routing Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2. Kimmie Meissner won her first national title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Today's Birthdays: Singer Bobby "Blue" Bland is 78. Actor James Cromwell is 68. Actor John Witherspoon is 66. Rock musician Nick Mason (Pink Floyd) is 63. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nedra Talley (The Ronettes) is 62. Ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov is 60. John Roberts, chief justice of the United States, is 53. Country singer Cheryl White is 53. Country singer-musician Richard Young (The Kentucky Headhunters) is 53. Actress Mimi Rogers is 52. Rock musician Janick Gers (Iron Maiden) is 51. Rock singer Margo Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 47. Rock musician Gillian Gilbert is 47. Actress Bridget Fonda is 44. Actor Alan Cumming is 43. Country singer Tracy Lawrence is 40. Rock singer Mike Patton is 40. Rapper Tricky is 40. Rock musician Michael Kulas (James) is 39. Actor Josh Randall is 36. Country singer Kevin Denney is 32.
Thought for Today: "All history is modern history." — Wallace Stevens, American poet and author (1879-1955).
