The Blues Meets Death

By The Associated Press Sat Mar 28, 12:01 am ET Today is Saturday, March 28, the 87th day of 2009. There are 278 days left in the year. Also, the AP, AP A/V, & UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: Thirty years ago, in 1979, America's worst commercial nuclear accident occurred inside the Unit 2 reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, Pa.On this date: In 1834, the U.S. Senate voted to censure President Andrew Jackson for the removal of federal deposits from the Bank of the United States. In 1854, during the Crimean War, Britain and France declared war on Russia. In 1896, the opera "Andrea Chenier," by Umberto Giordano, premiered in Milan. In 1898, the Supreme Court, in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, ruled that a child born in the United States to Chinese immigrants was a U.S. citizen. In 1930, the names of the Turkish cities of Constantinople and Angora were changed to Istanbul and Ankara. In 1939, the Spanish Civil War effectively ended as Madrid fell to the forces of Francisco Franco. In 1941, novelist and critic Virginia Woolf died in Lewes, England. In 1942, during World War II, British naval forces raided the Nazi-occupied French port of St. Nazaire in Operation Chariot. In 1969, the 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, died in Washington at age 78. In 1994, absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco died in Paris at age 84. Ten years ago: NATO broadened its attacks on Yugoslavia to target Serb military forces in Kosovo in the fifth straight night of airstrikes; thousands of refugees flooded into Albania and Macedonia from Kosovo. The Baltimore Orioles beat a Cuban all-star team 3-2 in Havana. Venus Williams beat younger sister Serena 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to win the Lipton Championships in the first all-sister women's final in 115 years. Five years ago: French President Jacques Chirac's government suffered stinging defeats in regional elections seen as a vote of censure against painful economic reforms. Actor and writer Sir Peter Ustinov died in Genolier, Switzerland, at age 82. Game show host Art James died in Palm Springs, Calif., at age 74. One year ago: President Bush declared that Iraq was standing at a defining moment as it struggled to put down heavily armed Shiite militias in new flare-ups of violence. Cuba made it legal for its citizens to own cell phones in their own names. Today's Birthdays: Former White House national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski is 81. Country musician Charlie McCoy is 68. Movie director Mike Newell is 67. Actress Conchata Ferrell is 66. Actor Ken Howard is 65. Actress Dianne Wiest is 61. Country singer Reba McEntire is 54.Olympic gold-medal gymnast Bart Conner is 51. Rapper Salt (Salt-N-Pepa) is 43. Actress Tracey Needham is 42. Actor Max Perlich is 41. Movie director Brett Ratner is 40. Country singer Rodney Atkins is 40. Actor Vince Vaughn is 39. Rapper Mr. Cheeks (Lost Boyz) is 38. Actor Ken L. is 36. Rock musician Dave Keuning is 33. Actress Annie Wersching is 32. Actress Julia Stiles is 28. This Date In Entertainment March 28: On March 28th, 1958, W.C. Handy, the composer known as "the father of the blues," died of natural causes in New York at the age of 84. He's perhaps best known for his "Memphis Blues" and "St. Louis Blues." Eddie Cochran recorded "Summertime Blues." In 1964, Madame Tussaud's in London announced that The Beatles would become the first pop stars to be cast in wax. In 1974, bluesman Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup died of a stroke at the age of 69. Crudup wrote the Elvis Presley hit "That's All Right (Mama)." In 1976, Genesis opened its first North American tour in Buffalo, New York, with drummer Phil Collins as lead vocalist, after auditioning more than 400 singers to replace Peter Gabriel. In 1990, comedian Richard Pryor was discharged from an Australian hospital after being treated for a mild heart attack. Singer Eddy Arnold underwent heart bypass surgery in Nashville. In 1995, Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett announced they were separating after 21 months of marriage. In 1996, Phil Collins announced he was leaving Genesis. In 1998, "The Capeman," Paul Simon's $11 million musical starring Marc Anthony, closes on Broadway after 69 regular performances. Source: Associated Press

Thought for Today: "Humanitarianism needs no apology... Unless we ... feel it toward all men without exception, we shall have lost the chief redeeming force in human history." — Ralph Barton Perry, American author and educator (1876-1957). Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights ignored. 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.