AP News, December 31st, 2007
Today is Tuesday, Jan. 8, the eighth day of 2008. There are 358 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Jan 8, 1935, rock 'n' roll legend Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Miss.
On this date:
In 1798, the 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was declared in effect by President John Adams nearly three years after its ratification by the states; it prohibited a citizen of one state from suing another state in federal court.
In 1815, U.S. forces led by Gen. Andrew Jackson defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans — the closing engagement of the War of 1812.
In 1918, President Wilson outlined his "Fourteen Points" for lasting peace after World War I.
In 1918, Mississippi became the first state to ratify the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, which established Prohibition.
In 1959, Charles de Gaulle was inaugurated as president of France's Fifth Republic.
In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared a "War on Poverty" in his State of the Union address.
In 1965, the Star of India and other stolen gems were returned to the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
In 1973, the Paris peace talks between the United States and North Vietnam resumed.
In 1976, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai died in Beijing.
In 1987, for the first time, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 2,000, ending the day at 2,002.25.
Ten years ago: Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was sentenced in New York to life imprisonment. Air traffic control over the Pacific broke down for 16 hours; officials said the outage posed no real danger. At the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Philadelphia, Michelle Kwan received seven perfect presentation marks out of nine for her short program.
Five years ago: A commuter plane crashed at the Charlotte, N.C., airport, killing all 21 people on board. A Turkish Airlines jet crashed in Turkey, killing 75 people.
One year ago: A Moroccan man convicted of aiding three of the four suicide pilots who had committed the 9/11 attacks was sentenced by a German court to the maximum of 15 years in prison for his role in the terror plot. The Florida Gators won college football's national championship by defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes 41-14. Actress Yvonne De Carlo died in Woodland Hills, Calif., at age 84.
Today's Birthdays: Actor-comedian Larry Storch is 85. Actor Ron Moody is 84. Comedian Soupy Sales is 82. Broadcast journalist Sander Vanocur is 80. CBS newsman Charles Osgood is 75. Singer Shirley Bassey is 71. Game show host Bob Eubanks is 70. Country-gospel singer Cristy Lane is 68. Rhythm-and-blues singer Anthony Gourdine (Little Anthony and the Imperials) is 67. Actress Yvette Mimieux is 66. Physicist Stephen Hawking is 66. Rock musician Robby Krieger (The Doors) is 62. Rock singer David Bowie is 61. Movie director John McTiernan is 57. Actress Harriet Sansom Harris is 53. Singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith is 44. Actress Maria Pitillo is 43. Actress Michelle Forbes is 41. Singer R. Kelly is 41. Rock musician Jeff Abercrombie (Fuel) is 39. Actress Ami Dolenz is 39. Reggae singer Sean Paul is 35. Country singer Tift Merritt is 33. Actress Jenny Lewis is 32. Actor Scott Whyte is 30. Actress Sarah Polley is 29. Actress Gaby Hoffman is 26.
Thought for Today: "Curses are like processions. They return to the place from which they came." — Giovanni Ruffini, Italian writer (1807-1881).
