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Tag: Al Franken

  • Today in History: December 7, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

    Today in History: December 7, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

    Today in History

    Today is Wednesday, Dec. 7, the 341st day of 2022. There are 24 days left in the year.

    Today’s Highlight in History:

    On Dec. 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched an air raid on the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii as well as targets in Malaya, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippines and Wake Island; the United States declared war against Japan the next day.

    On this date:

    In 1787, Delaware became the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

    In 1796, electors chose John Adams to be the second president of the United States.

    In 1917, during World War I, the United States declared war on Austria-Hungary.

    In 1963, during the Army-Navy game, videotaped instant replay was used for the first time in a live sports telecast.

    In 1972, America’s last moon mission to date was launched as Apollo 17 blasted off from Cape Canaveral.

    In 1982, convicted murderer Charlie Brooks Jr. became the first U.S. prisoner to be executed by injection, at a prison in Huntsville, Texas.

    In 1988, a major earthquake in the Soviet Union devastated northern Armenia; official estimates put the death toll at 25-thousand.

    In 2001, Taliban forces abandoned their last bastion in Afghanistan, fleeing the southern city of Kandahar.

    In 2004, Hamid Karzai (HAH’-mihd KAHR’-zeye) was sworn in as Afghanistan’s first popularly elected president.

    In 2017, Democratic Sen. Al Franken said he would resign after a series of sexual harassment allegations; he took a parting shot at President Donald Trump, describing him as “a man who has bragged on tape about his history of sexual assault.” Republican Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona said he would resign, after revealing that he discussed surrogacy with two female staffers.

    In 2018, the man who drove his car into counterprotesters at a 2017 white nationalist rally in Virginia was convicted of first-degree murder; a state jury rejected defense arguments that James Alex Fields Jr. acted in self-defense.

    In 2020, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Yeager, the World War II fighter pilot ace and quintessential test pilot who in 1947 became the first person to fly faster than sound, died at 97.

    Ten years ago: President Barack Obama asked Congress for $60.4 billion in federal aid for New York, New Jersey and other states hit by Superstorm Sandy (lawmakers ended up passing a $50.5 billion emergency relief measure in addition to a $9.7 billion bill to replenish the National Flood Insurance Program).

    Five years ago: A white former South Carolina police officer, Michael Slager, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black motorist, Walter Scott, in North Charleston in 2015. Demonstrators in the Gaza Strip burned U.S. flags and pictures of President Trump, and Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli forces in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, after Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

    One year ago: During a video call lasting more than two hours, President Joe Biden warned Russia’s Vladimir Putin that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would bring sanctions and enormous harm to the Russian economy. A major outage in Amazon’s cloud computing network severely disrupted services at a wide range of U.S. companies for more than five hours, impacting everything from airline reservations and auto dealerships to payment apps and video streaming services.

    Today’s Birthdays: Linguist and political philosopher Noam Chomsky is 94. Bluegrass singer Bobby Osborne is 91. Actor Ellen Burstyn is 90. Broadcast journalist Carole Simpson is 82. Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is 75. Actor-director-producer James Keach is 75. Country singer Gary Morris is 74. Singer-songwriter Tom Waits is 73. Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, is 70. Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird is 66. Actor Priscilla Barnes is 65. Former “Tonight Show” announcer Edd (cq) Hall is 64. Rock musician Tim Butler (The Psychedelic Furs) is 64. Actor Patrick Fabian is 58. Actor Jeffrey Wright is 57. Actor C. Thomas Howell is 56. Actor Kimberly Hébert Gregory (TV: “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World”) is 50. Producer-director Jason Winer is 50. Former NFL player Terrell Owens is 49. Rapper-producer Kon Artis is 48. Pop singer Nicole Appleton (All Saints) is 47. Latin singer Frankie J is 46. Country singer Sunny Sweeney is 46. Actor Chris Chalk is 45. Actor Shiri Appleby is 44. Pop-rock singer/celebrity judge Sara Bareilles (bah-REHL’-es) is 43. Actor Jennifer Carpenter is 43. Actor Jack Huston is 40. MLB first baseman Pete Alonso is 28.

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  • Today in History: November 26, the NHL is founded

    Today in History: November 26, the NHL is founded

    Today in History

    Today is Saturday, Nov. 26, the 330th day of 2022. There are 35 days left in the year.

    Today’s Highlight in History:

    On Nov. 26, 1950, China entered the Korean War, launching a counteroffensive against soldiers from the United Nations, the U.S. and South Korea.

    On this date:

    In 1825, the first college social fraternity, the Kappa Alpha Society, was formed at Union College in Schenectady, New York.

    In 1864, English mathematician and writer Charles Dodgson presented a handwritten and illustrated manuscript, “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground,” to his 12-year-old friend Alice Pleasance Liddell; the book was later turned into “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” published under Dodgson’s pen name, Lewis Carroll.

    In 1883, former slave and abolitionist Sojourner Truth died in Battle Creek, Michigan.

    In 1917, the National Hockey League was founded in Montreal, succeeding the National Hockey Association.

    In 1941, U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull delivered a note to Japan’s ambassador to the United States, Kichisaburo Nomura (kee-chee-sah-boor-oh noh-moo-rah), setting forth U.S. demands for “lasting and extensive peace throughout the Pacific area.” The same day, a Japanese naval task force consisting of six aircraft carriers left the Kuril Islands, headed toward Hawaii.

    In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered nationwide gasoline rationing, beginning Dec. 1.

    In 1943, during World War II, the HMT Rohna, a British transport ship carrying American soldiers, was hit by a German missile off Algeria; 1,138 men were killed.

    In 1973, President Richard Nixon’s personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, told a federal court that she’d accidentally caused part of the 18-1/2-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.

    In 1986, President Ronald Reagan appointed a commission headed by former Sen. John Tower to investigate his National Security Council staff in the wake of the Iran-Contra affair.

    In 2000, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified George W. Bush the winner over Al Gore in the state’s presidential balloting by a 537-vote margin.

    In 2008, teams of heavily armed Pakistani gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular tourist attraction and a crowded train station in Mumbai, India, leaving at least 166 people dead in a rampage lasting some 60 hours.

    In 2020, Americans marked the Thanksgiving holiday amid the coronavirus pandemic, with many celebrations canceled or reduced; Zoom and FaceTime calls connected some families with those who didn’t want to travel.

    Ten years ago: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak abruptly quit politics, saying in a surprise announcement, “I feel I have exhausted my political activity, which had never been a special object of desire for me.” New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie announced that he would be seeking re-election, so he could continue to guide the state through a recovery from Superstorm Sandy.

    Five years ago: Congressman John Conyers of Michigan gave up his leadership position as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, while denying allegations that he had sexually harassed female staff members. Amid allegations that he had groped women in the past, Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken said he felt “embarrassed and ashamed,” but that he looked forward to gradually regaining the trust of voters. (Franken announced less than two weeks later that he was resigning from Congress.)

    One year ago: A World Health Organization panel classified a new COVID-19 variant as a highly transmissible virus of concern, and named it “omicron” under its Greek-letter system. The United States, Canada, Russia and a host of other countries joined the European Union in restricting travel for visitors from southern Africa. Stephen Sondheim, the songwriter who reshaped the American musical theater in the second half of the 20th century, died at his Connecticut home at the age of 91.

    Today’s Birthdays: Impressionist Rich Little is 84. Singer Tina Turner is 83. Singer Jean Terrell is 78. Pop musician John McVie is 77. Actor Marianne Muellerleile is 74. Actor Scott Jacoby is 66. Actor Jamie Rose is 63. Country singer Linda Davis is 60. Actor Scott Adsit is 57. Blues singer-musician Bernard Allison is 57. Country singer-musician Steve Grisaffe is 57. Actor Kristin Bauer is 56. Actor Peter Facinelli is 49. Actor Tammy Lynn Michaels Etheridge is 48. DJ/record label executive DJ Khaled (KAL’-ehd) is 47. Actor Maia (MY’-ah) Campbell is 46. Country singer Joe Nichols is 46. Contemporary Christian musicians Anthony and Randy Armstrong (Red) are 44. Actor Jessica Bowman is 42. Pop singer Natasha Bedingfield is 41. Actor Jessica Camacho is 40. Rock musician Ben Wysocki (The Fray) is 38. Singer Lil Fizz is 37. MLB All-Star Matt Carpenter is 37. Actor-singer-TV personality Rita Ora is 32. Actor/singer Aubrey Peeples is 29.

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  • Today in History: November 17, Suez Canal opens

    Today in History: November 17, Suez Canal opens

    Today in History

    Today is Thursday, Nov. 17, the 321st day of 2022. There are 44 days left in the year.

    Today’s Highlight in History:

    On Nov. 17, 1869, the Suez Canal opened in Egypt.

    On this date:

    In 1800, Congress held its first session in the partially completed U.S. Capitol building.

    In 1917, French sculptor Auguste Rodin (roh-DAN’) died at age 77.

    In 1947, President Harry S. Truman, in an address to a special session of Congress, called for emergency aid to Austria, Italy and France. (The aid was approved the following month.)

    In 1969, the first round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the United States and the Soviet Union opened in Helsinki, Finland.

    In 1973, President Richard Nixon told Associated Press managing editors in Orlando, Florida: “People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.”

    In 1979, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini (ah-yah-TOH’-lah hoh-MAY’-nee) ordered the release of 13 Black and/or female American hostages being held at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

    In 1989, the Walt Disney animated feature “The Little Mermaid” opened in wide release.

    In 1997, 62 people, most of them foreign tourists, were killed when militants opened fire at the Temple of Hatshepsut (haht-shehp-SOOT’) in Luxor, Egypt; the attackers, who also hacked their victims, were killed by police.

    In 2002, Abba Eban (AH’-bah EE’-ban), the statesman who helped persuade the world to approve creation of Israel and dominated Israeli diplomacy for decades, died near Tel Aviv; he was 87.

    In 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the 38th governor of California.

    In 2018, Argentina’s navy announced that searchers had found a submarine that disappeared a year earlier with 44 crewmen aboard; the government said it would be unable to recover the vessel.

    In 2020, President Donald Trump fired the nation’s top election security official, Christopher Krebs, who had refuted Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud and vouched for the integrity of the vote. Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said the U.S. would reduce troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan to about 2,500 in each country by mid-January, accelerating troop withdrawals during Trump’s final days in office. Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California easily won reelection as House Republican leader.

    Ten years ago: Israel destroyed the headquarters of Hamas’ prime minister and blasted a sprawling network of smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip, broadening a blistering four-day-old offensive against the Islamic militant group. A speeding train crashed into a bus carrying Egyptian children to their kindergarten, killing 48 children and three adults.

    Five years ago: Sen. Al Franken apologized to the woman who had accused him of forcibly kissing her and groping her during a 2006 USO tour; the Minnesota Democrat said he remembered the encounter differently. The Rev. Jesse Jackson disclosed that he had been receiving outpatient care for two years for Parkinson’s disease.

    One year ago: The House voted to censure Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona for posting an animated video that depicted him killing Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a sword. Florida Republicans approved a sweeping bill to hobble coronavirus vaccine mandates in businesses. Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying Jan. 6 rioter whose horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint made him one of the more recognizable figures in the assault on the Capitol, was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Rapper Young Dolph, widely admired in the hip-hop community for his authenticity and fierce independence, was shot and killed inside a cookie shop in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. (Two men have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.) The Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected a request by Steven Avery to review his conviction for a 2005 killing; the case was the focus of a popular Netflix series “Making a Murderer.”

    Today’s Birthdays: Sen. James Inhofe (IHN’-hahf), R-Okla., is 88. Singer Gordon Lightfoot is 84. Singer-songwriter Bob Gaudio (GOW’-dee-oh) is 81. Movie director Martin Scorsese (skor-SEH’-see) is 80. Actor Lauren Hutton is 79. Actor-director Danny DeVito is 78. “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels is 78. Movie director Roland Joffe is 77. Former Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean is 74. Former House Speaker John Boehner (BAY’-nur) is 73. Actor Stephen Root is 71. Rock musician Jim Babjak (The Smithereens) is 65. Actor Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is 64. Actor William Moses is 63. Entertainer RuPaul is 62. Actor Dylan Walsh is 59. Former National Security Adviser Susan Rice is 58. Actor Sophie Marceau (mahr-SOH’) is 56. Actor-model Daisy Fuentes is 56. Blues singer/musician Tab Benoit (behn-WAH’) is 55. R&B singer Ronnie DeVoe (New Edition; Bell Biv DeVoe) is 55. Rock musician Ben Wilson (Blues Traveler) is 55. Actor David Ramsey is 51. Actor Leonard Roberts is 50. Actor Leslie Bibb is 49. Actor Brandon Call is 46. Country singer Aaron Lines is 45. Actor Rachel McAdams is 44. Rock musician Isaac Hanson (Hanson) is 42. Former MLB outfielder Ryan Braun is 39. Musician Reid Perry (The Band Perry) is 34. Actor Raquel Castro is 28.

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