Today is Thursday, July 20, the 201st day of 2023. There are 164 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after reaching the surface in their Apollo 11 lunar module.
On this date:
In 1917, America’s World War I draft lottery began as Secretary of War Newton Baker, wearing a blindfold, reached into a glass bowl and pulled out a capsule containing the number 258 during a ceremony inside the Senate office building.
In 1944, an attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion only wounded the Nazi leader.
In 1951, Jordan’s King Abdullah I was assassinated in Jerusalem by a Palestinian gunman who was shot dead on the spot by security.
In 1976, America’s Viking 1 robot spacecraft made a successful, first-ever landing on Mars.
In 1977, a flash flood hit Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing more than 80 people and causing $350 million worth of damage.
In 1990, Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, one of the court’s most liberal voices, announced he was stepping down.
In 1993, White House deputy counsel Vincent Foster Jr., 48, was found shot to death in a park near Washington, D.C.; it was ruled a suicide.
In 2006, the Senate voted 98-0 to renew the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act for another quarter-century.
In 2007, President George W. Bush signed an executive order prohibiting cruel and inhuman treatment, including humiliation or denigration of religious beliefs, in the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects.
In 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted almost totally along party lines, 13-6, to approve Elena Kagan to be the Supreme Court’s fourth female justice.
In 2015, the United States and Cuba restored full diplomatic relations after more than five decades of frosty relations rooted in the Cold War. The U.N. Security Council unanimously endorsed a landmark deal to rein in Iran’s nuclear program.
Ten years ago: People rallied in dozens of U.S. cities, urging authorities to press federal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman, the former neighborhood watch leader found not guilty in the shooting death of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. Five employees of an Italian cruise company were convicted of manslaughter in the Costa Concordia shipwreck that killed 32 people, receiving sentences of less than three years. Longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas, 92, died in Washington.
Five years ago: President Donald Trump escalated his threats to punish China for its trade policies, warning in an interview airing on CNBC that he was prepared to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports. Ohio Gov. John Kasich spared the life of condemned killer Raymond Tibbetts, commuting his sentence to life without parole, after a juror came forward and said information about the extent of Tibbetts’ tough childhood wasn’t properly presented at trial. Charlotte, North Carolina, was chosen to host the 2020 Republican National Convention.
One year ago: The U.S. Senate unexpectedly launched a new push to protect same-sex marriage in federal law after a surprising number of Republicans helped pass landmark legislation in the House. The bill started as an election-season political effort following the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling, which raised concerns that other rights could be at risk. (The legislation would pass months later.) Britain’s record-breaking heat wave spurred calls for the government to speed up efforts to adapt to a changing climate, after wildfires created the busiest day for London firefighters since bombs rained down on the city during World War II. An Indiana man ran into a burning home and saved five people, including a 6-year-old girl he jumped out of a second-floor window with. Nick Bostic said the serious injuries he suffered were “all worth it.”
Today’s Birthdays: Former Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., is 87. Artist Judy Chicago is 84. Rock musician John Lodge (The Moody Blues) is 80. Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 79. Singer Kim Carnes is 78. Rock musician Carlos Santana is 76. Rock musician Jay Jay French (Twisted Sister) is 71. Rock musician Paul Cook (The Sex Pistols, Man Raze) is 67. Actor Donna Dixon is 66. Rock musician Mick MacNeil (Simple Minds) is 65. Country singer Radney Foster is 64. Actor Frank Whaley is 60. Actor Dean Winters is 59. Rock musician Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) is 57. Actor Reed Diamond is 56. Actor Josh Holloway is 54. Singer Vitamin C is 54. Actor Sandra Oh is 52. Actor Omar Epps is 50. Actor Simon Rex is 49. Actor Judy Greer is 48. Actor Charlie Korsmo is 45. Singer Elliott Yamin (yah-MEEN’) (American Idol) is 45. Supermodel Gisele Bundchen is 43. Rock musician Mike Kennerty (The All-American Rejects) is 43. Actor Percy Daggs III is 41. Actor John Francis Daley is 38. Dancer-singer-actor Julianne Hough is 35. Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is 35.
