Today is Saturday, July 5, the 186th day of 2014. There are 179 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight:
On July 5, 1954, Elvis Presley’s first commercial recording session took place at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee; the song he recorded was “That’s All Right.”
On this date:
In 1687, Isaac Newton first published his Principia Mathematica, a three-volume work setting out his mathematical principles of natural philosophy.
In 1811, Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain.
In 1865, William Booth founded the Salvation Army in London.
In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act.
In 1943, the Battle of Kursk began during World War II; in the weeks that followed, the Soviets were able to repeatedly repel the Germans, who eventually withdrew in defeat.
In 1946, the bikini, created by Louis Reard (ray-AHRD’), was modeled by Micheline Bernardini during a poolside fashion show in Paris.
In 1947, Larry Doby made his debut with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first black player in the American League.
In 1962, independence took effect in Algeria; the same day, civilians of European descent, mostly French, came under attack by extremists in the port city of Oran.
In 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win a Wimbledon singles title as he defeated Jimmy Connors.
In 1984, the Supreme Court weakened the 70-year-old “exclusionary rule,” deciding that evidence seized in good faith with defective court warrants could be used against defendants in criminal trials.
In 1989, “The Seinfeld Chronicles,” the pilot to the situation comedy “Seinfeld,” aired on NBC-TV.
In 1991, a worldwide financial scandal erupted as regulators in eight countries shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International.
Ten years ago: In a stinging rebuke, Mexican President Vicente Fox’s chief of staff, Alfonso Durazo, resigned; in a 19-page letter, Durazo said he objected to first lady Marta Sahagun’s presidential ambitions and claimed the administration was repeating some of the vices of the old ruling party that Fox had unseated after seven decades in power.
Five years ago: A bankruptcy judge ruled that General Motors Corp. could sell the bulk of its assets to a new company, clearing the way for the automaker to emerge from bankruptcy protection. Riots and street battles that killed nearly 200 people erupted in China’s western Xinjiang province in the deadliest ethnic unrest to hit the region in decades. Roger Federer won his record 15th Grand Slam title when he outlasted Andy Roddick 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 in a marathon match for his sixth Wimbledon championship.
One year ago: Pope Francis cleared two of the 20th Century’s most influential popes to become saints in the Roman Catholic church, approving a miracle needed to canonize Pope John Paul II and waiving Vatican rules to honor Pope John XXIII. Enraged Islamists pushed back against the toppling of President Mohammed Morsi, as tens of thousands of his supporters took to the streets vowing to win his reinstatement and clashed with their opponents in violence that killed some three dozen people.
Copyright 2014, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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