Wednesday, February 11, 2009

History: Birthday Pals Jeb Bush & Sarah Palin in '12?

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 11, the 42nd day of 2009. There are 323 days left in the year. AP "Today in History" Page. AP A/V wrap-upToday's Highlight in History: On Feb. 11, 1858, French teenager Bernadette Soubirous reported the first of 18 visions of a lady dressed in white in a grotto near Lourdes. (The Catholic Church later accepted that the visions were of the Virgin Mary.) [Sure. Wasn't just any old "lady in white." Had to be the V. M. herself. — Ed.] On this date: In 1812, Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a re-districting law favoring his party, giving rise to the term "gerrymandering." In 1861, President-elect Abraham Lincoln departed Springfield, Ill., for Washington. In 1847, inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio. One hundred years ago, in 1909, heavyweight boxer Max Baer was born in Omaha, Neb.; Oscar-winning writer-producer-director Joseph L. Mankiewicz was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. In 1929, the Lateran Treaty was signed, with Italy recognizing the independence and sovereignty of Vatican City. In 1937, a six-week-old sit-down strike against General Motors ended, with the company agreeing to recognize the United Automobile Workers Union. In 1945, U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin wrapped up a conference at Yalta in the Crimea by signing a series of agreements on the governance of post-World War II Europe.In 1972, McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. and Life magazine canceled plans to publish what turned out to be a fake autobiography of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. In 1975, Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of Britain's opposition Conservative Party. Thirty years ago, in 1979, followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran, nine days after the religious leader returned to his home country following 15 years of exile. Twenty years ago, in 1989, the Reverend Barbara C. Harris became the first woman consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal Church, in a ceremony held in Boston. In 1990, South African activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in captivity. In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced his choice of Miami prosecutor Janet Reno to be the nation's first female attorney general. Ten years ago: A federal jury in New York found several gun makers responsible in three area shootings for letting guns fall into the hands of criminals and assessed damages; gun makers were found liable in six other instances, but no monetary damages were awarded in those cases. (However, the plaintiffs suffered a setback in 2001 when the New York Court of Appeals invalidated such claims.) In 2002, Israel attacked Palestinian security headquarters in Gaza City in response to unprecedented Palestinian rocket fire and a shooting attack on Israeli civilians. Five years ago: Wesley Clark dropped out of the race for the White House. A car bomb at an army recruiting center in Baghdad, Iraq, killed 47 people. Cable TV giant Comcast Corporation launched a hostile bid to buy The Walt Disney Company for more than $54 billion (Comcast later dropped its bid). In 2006, Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a quail hunt in Texas. Also in 2006, Dubai Ports World, a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, struck a $6.8 billion deal to take over operations at six U.S. ports. (The deal was later blocked.) One year ago: The Defense Department charged Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five other detainees at Guantanamo Bay with murder and war crimes in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks. (Charges against one were later dropped.) Yahoo Inc. rejected Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited takeover bid. Tom Lantos, a 14-term California congressman who was a forceful voice for human rights, died in Bethesda, Md., at age 80. Today's Birthdays: Actor Leslie Nielsen is 83. Actor Conrad Janis is 81. Actress Tina Louise is 75. [Now we feel old, even if Ms. Louise doesn't look 75. — Ed.]Actor Burt Reynolds is 73. Songwriter Gerry Goffin is 70. Actor Sonny Landham is 68. Bandleader Sergio Mendes is 68. Rhythm-and-blues singer Otis Clay is 67. Actor Philip Anglim is 57. Former governor of Florida, brother of former President George W. Bush Jeb Bush is 56. [Don't you just love the word "former?" — Ed.] Actress Catherine Hickland is 53. Rock musician David Uosikkinen (The Hooters) is 53. Actress Carey Lowell is 48. Singer Sheryl Crow is 47. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is 45. Actress Jennifer Aniston is 40. [Those last four in one room would make quite a birthday party. — Ed.] Thought for Today: "Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the one thing that he can't afford to lose." — Thomas Alva Edison (born this day in 1847, died in 1931). On February eleventh, 1963, The Beatles recorded all of the tracks for their first album to be released in the UK, "Please Please Me." John Lennon had a bad cold and belted out "Twist and Shout" in one take.  In 1964, The Beatles performed their first US concert, at the Coliseum in Washington. In the following days, the band performed in New York and in Florida, but the concerts were not considered part of an official tour. [Only took a yr. — Ed.] In 1965, Ringo Starr married Maureen Cox in London. They divorced in 1975. In 1970, the Ringo Starr-Peter Sellers film "The Magic Christian" premiered in New York. The film's soundtrack album included the Badfinger song "Come and Get It," which was written by Paul McCartney. In 1972, David Bowie first performed as "Ziggy Stardust," at a show in Tollworth, England. In 1983, The Rolling Stones tour documentary "Let's Spend The Night Together" opened in the US and Canada. In 1986, Boy George guest-starred on an episode of "The A-Team" as a singer mistakenly booked into a country dance hall. In 1987, in the wake of Liberace's death from AIDS, the London Daily Mirror asked if it could have back the $53,000 US libel award the entertainer won from the paper more than 30 years earlier. The tabloid had called Liberace a "fruit-flavoured, mincing, ice-covered heap of mother love" in 1956.  Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reversed. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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