Today is Palm Sunday, March 16, the 76th day of 2008. There are 290 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War, the My Lai Massacre of Vietnamese civilians was carried out by U.S. Army troops; estimates of the death toll vary between 347 and 504. The same day, in Washington, New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

On this date:

n In A.D. 37, Roman emperor Tiberius died; he was succeeded by Caligula.

n In 1802, President Jefferson signed a measure authorizing the establishment of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

n In 1935, Adolf Hitler decided to break the military terms set by the Treaty of Versailles by ordering the rearming of Germany.

n In 1984, William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, was kidnapped by gunmen; he died in captivity.

n In 1985, Terry Anderson, chief Middle East correspondent for The Associated Press, was abducted in Beirut; he was released in December 1991.

Five years ago: Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein warned that if Iraq were attacked, it would take the war anywhere in the world “wherever there is sky, land or water.” President Bush gave the United Nations one more day to find a diplomatic solution to the standoff.

Today’s Birthdays: Comedian-director Jerry Lewis is 82. Movie director Bernardo Bertolucci is 67. Game show host Chuck Woolery is 67. Singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker is 66. Country singer Robin Williams is 61. Actor Erik Estrada is 59. Rapper Flavor Flav (Public Enemy) is 49.



Thought for Today: “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.” — From “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, American author (1804-1864).

—Associated Press