Today is Sunday, June 17, the 169th day of 2012. There are 197 days left in the year. This is Father’s Day.
Today’s highlight
On June 17, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon’s eventual downfall began with the arrest of five burglars inside Democratic national headquarters in Washington, D.C.’s Watergate complex.
On this date
In 1397, the Treaty of Kalmar was signed, creating a union between the kingdoms of Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
In 1775, the Revolutionary War Battle of Bunker Hill resulted in a costly victory for the British, who suffered heavy losses.
In 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York Harbor aboard the French ship Isere.
In 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which boosted U.S. tariffs to historically high levels, prompting foreign retaliation.
In 1940, France asked Germany for terms of surrender in World War II.
In 1942, the U.S. Army began publishing “Yank, the Army Weekly,” featuring the debut of the cartoon character G.I. Joe.
In 1944, the republic of Iceland was established.
In 1957, mob underboss Frank Scalice was shot to death at a produce market in the Bronx, N.Y.
In 1961, Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West while his troupe was in Paris.
In 1971, the United States and Japan signed a treaty under which Okinawa would revert from American to Japanese control the following year, with the U.S. allowed to maintain military bases there. President Richard M. Nixon declared a “war” against drug abuse in America in a message to Congress.
In 1987, Charles Glass, a journalist on leave from ABC News, was kidnapped in Lebanon. (Glass escaped his captors in August 1987.)
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a breakthrough arms-reduction agreement.
Today’s birthdays
Actor Peter Lupus is 80. Actor William Lucking is 71. Singer Barry Manilow is 69. Comedian Joe Piscopo is 61. Actor Mark Linn-Baker is 58. Musician Philip Chevron (The Pogues) is 55. Actor Jon Gries is 55. Movie producer-director-writer Bobby Farrelly is 54. Actor Thomas Haden Church is 51. Actor Greg Kinnear is 49. Actress Kami Cotler (TV: “The Waltons”) is 47. Olympic gold-medal speed skater Dan Jansen is 47. Actor Jason Patric is 46. Rhythm-and-blues singer Kevin Thornton is 43. Actor-comedian Will Forte is 42. Latin pop singer Paulina Rubio is 41. Tennis player Venus Williams is 32. Actor-rapper Herculeez (AKA Jamal Mixon) is 29. Actor Damani Roberts is 16.
Thought for today
“Becoming a father is easy enough, but being one can be tough.” — Wilhelm Busch, German illustrator and poet (1832-1908).
Associated Press
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