Today is Sunday, Jan. 23, the 23rd day of 2011. There are 342 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight
On Jan. 23, 1961, word reached the world that the Portuguese ocean liner Santa Maria, with some 600 passengers aboard, had been seized in the Caribbean by two dozen hijackers led by Henrique Galvao, an opponent of Portugal’s leader, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. (The drama ended on Feb. 2 with the surrender of the hijackers off Brazil.)
On this date
@History item:In 1845, Congress decided all national elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
In 1932, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In 1964, the 24th amendment to the Constitution, eliminating the poll tax in federal elections, was ratified.
In 1968, North Korea seized the Navy intelligence ship USS Pueblo, charging its crew with being on a spying mission. (The crew was released 11 months later.)
In 1973, President Richard M. Nixon announced an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War.
In 2001, California energy officials eked sufficient power out of tight West Coast electricity supplies to avoid rush hour blackouts as lawmakers scrambled to make longer-term deals to buy power. Five people identified by Chinese authorities as Falun Gong followers set themselves on fire in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square; two died.
Today’s birthdays: Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., is 87. Actress Jeanne Moreau is 83. Actress Chita Rivera is 78. Actor-director Lou Antonio is 77. Actor Rutger Hauer is 67. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jerry Lawson (The Persuasions) is 67. Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del., is 64. Singer Anita Pointer is 63. Actor Richard Dean Anderson is 61. Rock musician Bill Cunningham is 61. Rock singer Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) is 58. Princess Caroline of Monaco is 54. Singer Anita Baker is 53. Reggae musician Earl Falconer (UB40) is 52. Actress Mariska Hargitay is 47.
Thought for today: “The trouble is that hardly anybody in America goes to bed angry at night.” — George J. Stigler, American economist (1911-1991).
Associated Press
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