Today is Thursday, May 29, the 150th day of 2008. There are 216 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 29, 1765, Patrick Henry denounced the Stamp Act before Virginia’s House of Burgesses. (It was during this speech that Henry supposedly responded to cries of “Treason!” by declaring, “If this be treason, make the most of it,” according to an 1817 biography of Henry by William Wirt, who wrote that he had confirmed the quote with former President Thomas Jefferson.)

On this date:

Ten years ago: Republican elder statesman Barry Goldwater died in Paradise Valley, Ariz., at age 89.

Five years ago: President Bush, in a wide-ranging interview with reporters at the White House, repeated his defense of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, and hinted that relations with France remained scarred over its opposition to the war. AOL Time Warner and Microsoft announced a settlement in their battle over Internet browsers, with the software giant paying AOL $750 million.

One year ago: President Bush ordered new U.S. economic sanctions to pressure Sudan’s government to halt the bloodshed in Darfur. Cindy Sheehan, the soldier’s mother who had galvanized an anti-war movement with her monthlong protest outside President Bush’s ranch, announced her “resignation” as the public face of the movement. In Hudson Oaks, Texas, Gilberta Estrada, 25, hanged three of her small daughters and herself in a closet using pieces of clothing and sashes; a fourth daughter, 8 months old, survived.