Today is Saturday, July 12, the 194th day of 2008. There are 172 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

One hundred years ago, on July 12, 1908, comedian Milton Berle was born Mendel Berlinger in New York City.

On this date:

• In 1543, England’s King Henry VIII married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr.

• In 1690, forces led by William of Orange defeated the army of James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.

• In 1812, United States forces led by Gen. William Hull entered Canada during the War of 1812 against Britain. (However, Hull retreated shortly thereafter to Detroit.)

• In 1862, Congress authorized the Medal of Honor.

• In 1977, President Carter defended Supreme Court decisions limiting government payments for poor women’s abortions, saying, “There are many things in life that are not fair.”

• In 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter F. Mondale announced he’d chosen U.S. Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro of New York to be his running mate.

• In 1993, some 200 people were killed when an earthquake measuring magnitude 7.8 struck northern Japan and triggered a tsunami.

Today’s Birthdays: Andrew Wyeth is 91. Van Cliburn is 74. Bill Cosby is 71. Richard Simmons is 60. Cheryl Ladd is 57. Sandi Patty is 52. Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi is 37.

Thought for Today: “I’d rather be a ‘could-be’ if I cannot be an ‘are’; because a ‘could-be’ is a ‘maybe’ who is reaching for a star. I’d rather be a ‘has-been’ than a ‘might-have-been,’ by far; for a ‘might-have-been’ has never been, but a ‘has’ was once an ‘are.”’—Milton Berle, American comedian (1908-2002).