Today is Saturday, May 31, the 152nd day of 2008. There are 214 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On May 31, 1889, more than 2,000 people perished when a dam break sent water rushing through Johnstown, Pa.

On this date:

• In 1809, composer Franz Joseph Haydn died in Vienna, Austria.

• In 1819, poet Walt Whitman was born in West Hill, N.Y.

• In 1910, the Union of South Africa was founded.

• In 1916, during World War I, British and German fleets fought the naval Battle of Jutland off Denmark; there was no clear-cut victor, although the British suffered heavier losses.

• In 1977, the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, three years in the making, was completed.

• In 1994, the United States announced it was no longer aiming long-range nuclear missiles at targets in the former Soviet Union.

Five years ago: President Bush visited the site of the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau in Poland as he challenged allies to overcome their bitterness and mistrust over the Iraq war and unite in the struggle against terrorism. Anti-government extremist and bomber Eric Rudolph was arrested outside a grocery store in Murphy, N.C.

One year ago: In a breach of security, detailed plans for the new U.S. Embassy under construction in Baghdad appeared on the Web site of the architectural firm that was contracted to design the massive facility. Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush attended the dedication of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Elaine Stewart is 79. Actor-director Clint Eastwood is 78. Singer Peter Yarrow is 70. Former Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite is 69. Singer-musician Augie Meyers is 68. Actress Sharon Gless is 65. Football Hall-of-Famer Joe Namath is 65. Actor Tom Berenger is 58. Actor Gregory Harrison is 58. Actress Roma Maffia is 50. Comedian Chris Elliott is 48. Actor Kyle Secor is 48. Actress Lea Thompson is 47. Singer Corey Hart is 46. Rapper DMC is 44. Rapper Kid Frost is 44. Actress Brooke Shields is 43. Country musician Ed Adkins (The Derailers) is 41. Jazz musician Christian McBride is 36. Actor Colin Farrell is 32. Rock musician Scott Klopfenstein (Reel Big Fish) is 31. Actor Eric Christian Olsen is 31. Rock musician Andy Hurley (Fall Out Boy) is 28. Actor Jonathan Tucker is 26. Actor Curtis Williams Jr. is 21.



Thought for Today: “In the faces of men and women I see God.”—Walt Whitman (1819-1892).