Today in History

Today is Friday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2009. There are 314 days left in the year. The AP page. The AP video is not currently functional. The UPI Almanac.  Today's Highlight in History: Two hundred years ago, in 1809, the Supreme Court, in United States v. Peters, 9 US 115, ruled that no state legislature could annul the judgments or determine the jurisdictions of federal courts. [Take your "states rights" & stick 'em where they belong, jerks. — Ed.] On this date: In 1790, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II died. In 1792, President George Washington signed an act creating the US Post Office. In 1839, Congress prohibited dueling in the District of Columbia. In 1934, a blizzard inundated the northeastern United States. In 1938, Anthony Eden resigned as British foreign secretary following Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's decision to negotiate with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. In 1944, during World War II, US bombers began raiding German aircraft manufacturing centers in a series of attacks that became known as "Big Week." In 1959, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 600 for the first time, at 602.21. In 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard the Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7. John Glenn and mission control. In 1971, the National Emergency Warning Center in Colorado erroneously ordered US radio and TV stations off the air; some stations heeded the alert, which was not lifted for about 40 minutes. In 2003, a fire broke out during a rock concert at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, killing 100 people and injuring about 200 others. Ten years ago: The United States and five other nations agreed to extend by three days a deadline for a Kosovo peace agreement. (NATO had threatened air strikes against the Serbs if they did not reach an agreement with Albanian insurgents.) Movie reviewer Gene Siskel died at a hospital outside Chicago at age 53. Five years ago: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the state attorney general to take immediate legal steps to stop same-sex weddings in San Francisco. (On March 11, 2004, the California Supreme Court ordered an immediate halt to same-sex weddings in San Francisco.) Bypassing angry Senate Democrats, President George W. Bush installed Alabama Attorney General William Pryor as a US appeals court judge in his second "recess appointment" of a controversial nominee in five weeks. One year ago: A U. S. Navy cruiser blasted a disabled spy satellite with a pinpoint missile strike that achieved the main mission of exploding a tank of toxic fuel 130 miles above the Pacific Ocean. Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew returned to Earth, after delivering a new European lab to the international space station. 

Today's Birthdays: Fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt is 85. Actor Sidney Poitier is 82. Actress Marj Dusay is 73. Jazz-soul singer Nancy Wilson is 72. Singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie is 68. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Phil Esposito is 67. Movie director Mike Leigh is 66. Actress Brenda Blethyn is 63. Actress Sandy Duncan is 63. Rock musician J. Geils is 63. Actor Peter Strauss is 62. Rock singer-musician-producer Walter Becker (Steely Dan) is 59. Country singer Kathie Baillie is 58. Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst is 55. Actor Anthony Stewart Head is 55. Country singer Leland Martin is 52. Actor James Wilby is 51. Rock musician Sebastian Steinberg is 50. [OK, who the fuck are those two? "Rock musician?" Besides being an oxymoron, who is this fuck, what band is he in, etc.? Just because Google™ exists doesn't mean we have to use it. Do a little work AP, what the fuck are we not paying you for? — Ed.] Comedian Joel Hodgson is 49. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley is 46. Rock musician Ian Brown (Stone Roses) is 46. Actor French Stewart is 45. Actor Ron Eldard is 44. Model Cindy Crawford is 43. Actor Andrew Shue is 42. Actress Lili Taylor is 42.  On February 20th, 1967, singer Kurt Cobain of Nirvana was born. In 1969, "Goodbye Cream," a documentary of Cream's farewell concert, opened in Baltimore. Fans and critics alike panned the movie for its poor sound quality and strange editing. [Dudes, it was the '60s. — Ed.] In 1970, the John Lennon single "Instant Karma" was released. In 1974, Cher filed for separation from Sonny Bono after ten years of marriage.In 1982, singer Pat Benatar and her guitarist, Neil Geraldo, got married in Hawaii. In 1993, Jackyl lead singer Jesse James Dupree was arrested for allegedly exposing himself onstage during a concert a few days earlier in Long Beach, Calif. (Dupree later pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct and paid a $100 fine.) In 1997, Ben and Jerry's introduced a new ice cream flavor, Phish Food, named after the rock group Phish. It contained chocolate ice cream, marshmallows, caramel and fish-shaped fudge. In 2003, pyrotechnics from Great White's stage show ignited soundproofing foam and burned down a club in West Warwick, R.I. One hundred people died, including band guitarist Ty Longley. In 2007, Britney Spears checked into rehab. She checked out the next day. [Apparently, if you're Brit, you can check in & you can leave. Eagles, our ass. — Ed.] Thought for Today: "There is no hope of joy except in human relations." — Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French author-aviator (1900-1944). [Adjusted for truth. — Ed.] Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. 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. Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.