Today is Monday, Dec. 30, the 364th day of 2013. There is one day left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Dec. 30, 1813, British troops burned Buffalo, N.Y., during the War of 1812.
On this date:
In
1853, the United States and Mexico signed a treaty under which the U.S.
agreed to buy some 45,000 square miles of land from Mexico for $10
million in a deal known as the Gadsden Purchase.
In 1860, 10 days after South Carolina seceded from the Union, the state militia seized the United States Arsenal in Charleston.In 1903, about 600 people died when fire broke out at the recently opened Iroquois Theater in Chicago.
In 1922, Vladimir I. Lenin proclaimed the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
In
1936, the United Auto Workers union staged its first "sit-down" strike
at the General Motors Fisher Body Plant No. 1 in Flint, Mich. (The
strike lasted until Feb. 11, 1937.)
In 1940, California's first
freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena,
was officially opened by Gov. Culbert L. Olson.In 1948, the Cole Porter musical "Kiss Me, Kate" opened on Broadway.
In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos was inaugurated for his first term as president of the Philippines.
In 1972, the United States halted its heavy bombing of North Vietnam.
In
1993, Israel and the Vatican agreed to recognize each other. Hollywood
agent Irving "Swifty" Lazar died in Beverly Hills, Calif. at age 86.
In
1994, a gunman walked into a pair of suburban Boston abortion clinics
and opened fire, killing two employees. (John C. Salvi III was later
convicted of murder; he died in prison, an apparent suicide.)
In
2006, Iraqis awoke to news that Saddam Hussein had been hanged; victims
of his three decades of autocratic rule took to the streets to
celebrate.
Ten years
ago: The Bush administration announced it was banning the sale of
ephedra, and urged consumers to immediately stop using the herbal
stimulant linked to 155 deaths and dozens of heart attacks and strokes.
Author John Gregory Dunne died in New York City at age 71.
Five
years ago: A defiant Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-uh-vich)
named former state Attorney General Roland Burris to Barack Obama's
Senate seat, a surprise move that put the governor's opponents in the
uncomfortable position of trying to block his choice from becoming the
Senate's only black member. (Burris was sworn in as a U.S. senator the
following month.) Israeli aircraft kept up a relentless string of
attacks on Hamas-ruled Gaza, smashing a government complex, security
installations and the home of a top militant commander. Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev signed a law extending presidential terms from
four years to six.
One year ago: Recalling the shooting rampage
that killed 20 first graders in Connecticut as the worst day of his
presidency, President Barack Obama, in an interview on NBC's "Meet the
Press," pledged to put his "full weight" behind legislation aimed at
preventing gun violence. A bus crashed on an icy Oregon highway, killing
nine passengers and injuring almost 40 on Interstate 84 east of
Pendleton.
Today's
Birthdays: Actor Joseph Bologna is 79. Actor Russ Tamblyn is 79.
Baseball Hall-of-Famer Sandy Koufax is 78. Actor Jack Riley is 78. Folk
singer Noel Paul Stookey is 76. TV director James Burrows is 73. Actor
Fred Ward is 71. Singer-musician Michael Nesmith is 71. Actress Concetta
Tomei (toh-MAY') is 68. Singer Patti Smith is 67. Rock singer-musician
Jeff Lynne is 66. TV personality Meredith Vieira is 60. Actress Sheryl
Lee Ralph is 58. Actress Patricia Kalember is 57. Country singer Suzy
Bogguss is 57. "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer is 56. Actress-comedian
Tracey Ullman is 54. Rock musician Rob Hotchkiss is 53. Radio-TV
commentator Sean Hannity is 52. Sprinter Ben Johnson is 52. Actor George
Newbern is 50. Singer Jay Kay (Jamiroquai) is 44. Rock musician Byron
McMackin (Pennywise) is 44. Actress Meredith Monroe is 44. Actor Daniel
Sunjata is 42. Actress Maureen Flannigan is 41. Actor Jason Behr is 40.
Golfer Tiger Woods is 38. TV personality-boxer Laila Ali is 36. Actress
Lucy Punch is 36. Singer-actor Tyrese Gibson is 35. Actress Eliza Dushku
is 33. Rock musician Tim Lopez (Plain White T's) is 33. Actress Kristin
Kreuk is 31. Folk-rock singer-musician Wesley Schultz (The Lumineers)
is 31. NBA player LeBron James is 29. Pop-rock singer Ellie Goulding
(GOL'-ding) is 27. Pop-rock musician Jamie Follese (FAHL'-es-ay) (Hot
Chelle (shel) Rae) is 22.
Thought
for Today: "Work is a dull thing; you cannot get away from that. The
only agreeable existence is one of idleness, and that is not,
unfortunately, always compatible with continuing to exist at all." —
Rose Macaulay, English poet and essayist (1881-1958).