Springtime For Hitler: 30 April

By The Associated Press 1 hr 22 mins ago Today is Thursday, April 30, the 120th day of 2009. There are 245 days left in the year. AP. A/V. UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: One hundred and fifty years ago, in April 30, 1859, the Charles Dickens novel "A Tale of Two Cities" was first published in serial form in the premiere issue of All the Year Round, a literary magazine owned by Dickens. (The novel was presented in 31 weekly installments.) On this date: Two hundred and twenty years ago, in 1789, George Washington took office in New York as the first president of the United States. In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for 60 million francs, the equivalent of about $15 million. In 1812, Louisiana became the 18th state of the Union. [That was quick! — Ed.] In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition opened in St. Louis. One hundred years ago, in 1909, Juliana, queen of the Netherlands from 1948 to 1980, was born in The Hague. Seventy years ago, in 1939, the New York World's Fair officially opened with a ceremony that included an address by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1945, as Russian troops approached his Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler committed suicide along with his wife of one day, Eva Braun.In 1948, the Charter of the Organization of American States was signed in Bogota, Colombia. In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon announced the U.S. was sending troops into Cambodia, an action that sparked widespread protest. In 1973, Nixon announced the resignations of top aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, along with Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst and White House counsel John Dean. In 1975, The South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces. Original AP story. [Ho! Ho! Ho Chi Minh! NLF is gonna win! And we did, too! — Ed.]Ten years ago: A bomb exploded at a gay pub in London, killing three people and injuring more than 70. (David Copeland, a white supremacist, was later convicted of murder for a series of bombings in London and sentenced to six life sentences.) The Rev. Jesse Jackson met with each of the three U.S. soldiers being held prisoner by Yugoslavia. Five years ago: Arabs expressed outrage at graphic photographs of naked Iraqi prisoners being humiliated by U.S. military police; President George W. Bush condemned the mistreatment of prisoners, saying "that's not the way we do things in America." On ABC's "Nightline," Ted Koppel read aloud the names of 721 U.S. servicemen and women killed in the Iraq war (the Sinclair Broadcast Group refused to air the program on seven ABC stations). Michael Jackson pleaded not-guilty in Santa Maria, Calif., to a grand jury indictment that expanded the child molestation case against him. (Jackson was acquitted at trial.) Former NBA star Jayson Williams was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in the shotgun slaying of a limousine driver at his New Jersey mansion, but found guilty of trying to cover up the shooting. (Williams faces retrial on a reckless manslaughter count.) One year ago: The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for a seventh straight time, reducing the federal funds rate a quarter-point to 2 percent. An avalanche in Italy's northwestern Alps killed five French ski-mountaineers. Today's Birthdays: Actress Cloris Leachman is 83. Singer Willie Nelson is 76. Actor Gary Collins is 71. Actor Burt Young is 69. Singer Bobby Vee is 66. Actress Jill Clayburgh is 65. Movie director Allan Arkush is 61. Actor Perry King is 61. Singer Merrill Osmond is 56. Movie director Jane Campion is 55. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is 50. Actor Paul Gross is 50. FIU coach Isiah Thomas is 48. Country musician Robert Reynolds (The Mavericks) is 47. Actor Adrian Pasdar is 44. Rapper Turbo B (Snap) is 42. Rock musician Clark Vogeler is 40. R&B singer Chris "Choc" Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 38. Rock musician Chris Henderson (3 Doors Down) is 38. Country singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson is 38. Actress Lisa Dean Ryan is 37. R&B singer Akon is 36. R&B singer Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees) is 36. Actor Johnny Galecki is 34. Singer-musician Cole Deggs (Cole Deggs and the Lonesome) is 33. Also born on this date: Actress Eve Arden (in 1908), & the person on the left in the photo below (not telling.)Today in Entertainment History In 1945, "Arthur Godfrey Time" made its debut on the CBS radio network. In 1965, The Kinks began their first headlining tour of the UK. The Yardbirds were the opening act. In 1966, folk artist Richard Farina died in a motorcycle accident in California. He had just been at a party to promote his book "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me." Farina was 29. In 1968, Blood, Sweat and Tears founder Al Kooper, along with saxophonist Randy Brecker, left the band after recording the group's first album, "Child is Father to the Man." In 1980, the Roger Daltrey film "McVicar" opened in London. Daltrey's hit from the soundtrack was called "Free Me." In 1983, blues singer and guitarist Muddy Waters died in suburban Chicago at the age of 68.In 1997, Ellen DeGeneres' character Ellen came out as gay on the sit-com "Ellen." [Bringing telebision & then the world to the very edge of the abyss, huh? — Ed.] Also in 1997, Frank Gifford, Kathie Lee Gifford's husband, was caught on videotape in a hotel embracing an ex-flight attendant. In 1999, Marilyn Manson canceled his concert near Denver in the wake of the shootings at Columbine High School.

Thought for Today: "Upper classes are a nation's past; the middle class is its future." — Ayn Rand, Russian-born author (1905-1982).  [Maybe someone should point this out to her wealth-worshipping followers. — Ed.] 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. Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reversed.