Today is Thursday, Aug. 1, the 213th day of 2019. There are 152 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight:
On August 1, 1944, an uprising broke out in Warsaw, Poland, against Nazi occupation; the revolt lasted two months before collapsing.
On this date:
In 1714, Britain’s Queen Anne died at age 49; she was succeeded by George I.
In 1876, Colorado was admitted as the 38th state.
In 1907, the U.S. Army Signal Corps established an aeronautical division, the forerunner of the U.S. Air Force.
In 1914, Germany declared war on Russia at the onset of World War I.
In 1936, the Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
In 1957, the United States and Canada announced they had agreed to create the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
In 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, went on an armed rampage at the University of Texas in Austin that killed 14 people, most of whom were shot by Whitman while he was perched in the clock tower of the main campus building. (Whitman, who had also slain his wife and mother hours earlier, was finally gunned down by police.)
In 1973, the movie “American Graffiti,” directed by George Lucas, first opened.
In 1981, the rock music video channel MTV made its debut.
In 1994, Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley confirmed they’d been secretly married 11 weeks earlier. (Presley filed for divorce from Jackson in Jan. 1996, citing irreconcilable differences.)
In 2007, the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.
In 2013, defying the United States, Russia granted Edward Snowden temporary asylum, allowing the National Security Agency leaker to slip out of the Moscow airport where he had been holed up for weeks.
Ten years ago: A fierce storm caused an outdoor stage at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alberta, Canada, to collapse, killing one person and injuring dozens of others. A gunman opened fired at a gay youth center in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing two people. Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, 76, died in Manila.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama, in a televised news conference, said that the United States had “tortured” al-Qaida detainees captured after 9/11, adding, “We did some things that were contrary to our values.” Congress approved a $225 million package to replenish Israel’s missile defense system known as Iron Dome. A medical examiner ruled that a New York City police officer’s chokehold caused the death of Eric Garner, whose videotaped arrest and final pleas of “I can’t breathe!” had sparked outrage.
One year ago: The remains of dozens of presumed casualties of the Korean War were returned to U.S. soil; in an emotional ceremony in Hawaii, military members carried 55 boxes draped with American flags off two military transport planes. Ohio State University put football coach Urban Meyer on paid leave amid claims that his wife knew about allegations of domestic violence against an assistant coach years before the staff member was fired.
Today’s birthdays: Singer Ramblin’ Jack Elliott is 88. Former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, R-N.Y., is 82. Actor Giancarlo Giannini is 77. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams is 69. Blues singer-musician Robert Cray is 66. Singer Michael Penn is 61. Rock singer Joe Elliott (Def Leppard) is 60. Rock singer-musician Suzi Gardner (L7) is 59. Rapper Chuck D (Public Enemy) is 59. Actor Jesse Borrego is 57. Actor Demian Bichir is 56. Rapper Coolio is 56. Actor John Carroll Lynch is 56. Rock singer Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) is 55. Movie director Sam Mendes is 54. Country singer George Ducas is 53. Country musician Charlie Kelley is 51. Actress Jennifer Gareis is 49. Actor Charles Malik Whitfield is 47. Actress Tempestt Bledsoe is 46. Actor Jason Momoa is 40. Actress Honeysuckle Weeks is 40. Singer Ashley Parker Angel is 38. Actress Taylor Fry is 38. Actor Elijah Kelley is 33. Actor James Francis Kelly is 30. Actress Ella Wahlestedt is 21.
Thought for today: “As scarce as truth is, the supply is always greater than the demand.” — “Josh Billings” (Henry Wheeler Shaw), American author (1818-1885).
— Associated Press
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