6 July: Anything But Palin. Anything! Rabies, Even!

By The Associated Press 18 mins ago Today is Monday, July 6, the 187th day of 2009. There are 178 days left in the year. The slightly off AP. A/V. UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: On July 6, 1944, an estimated 168 people died in a fire that broke out during a performance in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Conn. (Among the survivors was future actor Charles Nelson Reilly, then age 13.) On this date: In 1483, England's King Richard III was crowned. In 1535, St. Thomas More was executed in England for high treason. In 1699, pirate Capt. William Kidd was seized in Boston and deported to England where he was hanged. In 1777, during the American Revolution, British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga in New York. Two hundred years ago, in 1809, French troops arrested Pope Pius VII, who had excommunicated Emperor Napoleon I. In 1835, John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, died at age 79. In 1854, the first official meeting of the Republican Party took place in Jackson, Mich. In 1885, French scientist Louis Pasteur successfully tested an anti-rabies vaccine on a boy who had been bitten by an infected dog. In 1917, during World War I, Arab forces led by T.E. Lawrence and Auda Abu Tayi captured the port of Aqaba from the Turks. Ninety years ago, in 1919, a British dirigible landed at New York's Roosevelt Field to complete the first airship crossing of the Atlantic. In 1923, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed.In 1933, baseball's first All-Star game was held as the American League beat the National League 4-2 at Chicago's Comiskey Park.In 1945, President Harry S. Truman signed an executive order establishing the Medal of Freedom. In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title, defeating fellow American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2. In 1988, 167 North Sea oil workers were killed when a series of explosions and fires destroyed a drilling platform. In 1989, the U.S. Army destroyed its last Pershing IA missiles at an ammunition plant in Karnack, Texas, under terms of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty. In 1997, the rover Sojourner rolled down a ramp from the Mars Pathfinder lander onto the Martian landscape to begin inspecting soil and rocks. Ten years ago: Ehud Barak took office as prime minister of Israel, pledging to seek peace with neighboring Arab countries. Five years ago: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry chose former rival John Edwards to be his running mate. A U.S. fighter pilot who'd mistakenly bombed Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002, killing four, was found guilty in New Orleans of dereliction of duty; Maj. Harry Schmidt was reprimanded and docked a month's pay. One year ago: The U.S. launched an airstrike at combatants in Afghanistan's Nuristan province; the Afghan government later said 47 civilians died. President George W. Bush arrived in Japan for his eighth and final G8 summit, where he emphasized the urgency of providing aid to Africa. Rafael Nadal won a riveting five-set Wimbledon final, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7, denying Roger Federer a sixth straight title in a match that lasted 4 hours, 48 minutes. Today's Birthdays: Former first lady Nancy Reagan is 88. Actor William Schallert is 87. Actor Donal Donnelly is 78. Singer-actress Della Reese is 78. Actor Ned Beatty is 72. Singer Gene Chandler is 69. Country singer Jeannie Seely is 69. Actor Burt Ward is 64. Former President George W. Bush is 63. Actor-director Sylvester Stallone is 63. Actor Fred Dryer is 63. Actress Nathalie Baye is 61. Actor Geoffrey Rush is 58. Rock musician John Bazz (The Blasters) is 57. Actor Grant Goodeve is 57. Country singer Nanci Griffith is 56. Actress Allyce Beasley is 55. Jazz musician Rick Braun is 54. Country musician John Jorgenson is 53. Former first daughter Susan Ford Bales is 52. Former NHL player Ron Duguay is 52. Rock musician John Keeble (Spandau Ballet) is 50. Former NFL player Joe Jacoby is 50. Actor Brian Posehn is 43. Rapper Inspectah Deck (Wu-Tang Clan) is 39. Rapper 50 Cent is 33. Actress Tamera Mowry is 31. Actress Tia Mowry is 31. Today In Entertainment History -- In 1928, the first all-talking feature, "Lights of New York," had its gala premiere in New York.

In 1955, "Baby Let's Play House" became Elvis Presley's first national chart single, reaching number ten on Billboard's country chart.

In 1957, teenagers John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time – at a church in Liverpool, England, following a performance by Lennon's band, the Quarrymen.In 1964, The Beatles' first film, "A Hard Day's Night," had its royal premiere at London's Pavillion Theatre. The movie opened in the US the next month. In 1965, Marty Balin and Paul Kantner formed a folk-rock group that eventually became Jefferson Airplane. In 1971, jazz musician Louis Armstrong died in New York. He was 69. In 1973, Queen released its first single, "Keep Yourself Alive." Thirty-five years ago, in 1974, Garrison Keillor's radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion," debuted in a live broadcast from St. Paul, Minn. In 1979, songwriter and producer Van McCoy died of a heart attack in Englewood, New Jersey. He was 35. He had worked with artists like Aretha Franklin and Jackie Wilson, and was probably best known for his instrumental hit "The Hustle." In 1994, Vanessa Williams opened on Broadway in "Kiss of the Spider Woman." In 1998, singing cowboy Roy Rogers died at his home in Los Angeles. He was 86. Thought for Today: "On the outskirts of every agony sits some observant fellow who points." — Virginia Woolf, English author and critic (1882-1941). [That would be us. — Ed.]