Today is Tuesday, Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2018. There are 314 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Feb. 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Project Mercury's Friendship 7 spacecraft, which circled the globe three times in a flight lasting 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds before splashing down safely in the Atlantic Ocean 800 miles southeast of Bermuda.
On this date:
* In 1792, President George Washington signed an act creating the United States Post Office Department.
* In 1938, Anthony Eden resigned as British foreign secretary following Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's decision to negotiate with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
* In 1938, Anthony Eden resigned as British foreign secretary following Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's decision to negotiate with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
* In 1942, Lt. Edward "Butch" O'Hare became the U.S. Navy's first flying ace of World War II by shooting down five Japanese bombers while defending the aircraft carrier USS Lexington in the South Pacific.
* In 2003, a fire sparked by pyrotechnics broke out during a concert by the group Great White at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island, killing 100 people and injuring about 200 others.
Ten years ago: Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew returned to Earth after delivering a new European lab to the international space station.
Five years ago: The Obama administration announced a broad new effort to fight the growing theft of American trade secrets following fresh evidence linking cyberstealing to China's military. Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., entered a guilty plea in federal court to criminal charges that he'd engaged in a scheme to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items; his wife, Sandra Jackson, pleaded guilty to filing false joint federal income tax returns.
One year ago: President Donald Trump tapped Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his new national security adviser, replacing the ousted Michael Flynn.
Today's Birthdays: Socialite Gloria Vanderbilt is 94. Actor Sidney Poitier is 91. Racing Hall of Famer Bobby Unser is 84. Jazz-soul singer Nancy Wilson is 81. Racing Hall of Famer Roger Penske is 81. Singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie is 77. Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito is 76. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is 76. Actress Sandy Duncan is 72. Actor Peter Strauss is 71. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is 67. Model Cindy Crawford is 52. Actress Lili Taylor is 51. Actress Andrea Savage is 45. Singer Brian Littrell is 43. Actor Jay Hernandez is 40. Country musician Coy Bowles is 39. Singer Rihanna is 30.
Thought for Today: "I've always believed in the adage that the secret of eternal youth is arrested development."-Alice Roosevelt Longworth, former first daughter (born 1884, died this date in 1980).
-The Associated Press