Today is Tuesday, Jan. 21, the 21st day of 2020. There are 345 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Jan. 21, 1861, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi and four other Southerners whose states had seceded from the Union resigned from the U.S. Senate.
On this date:
- In 1793, during the French Revolution, King Louis XVI, condemned for treason, was executed on the guillotine.
- In 1908, New York City's Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance prohibiting women from smoking in public establishments (the measure was vetoed by Mayor George B. McClellan Jr., but not before one woman, Katie Mulcahey, was jailed overnight for refusing to pay a fine).
- In 1950, former State Department official Alger Hiss, accused of being part of a Communist spy ring, was found guilty in New York of lying to a grand jury. (Hiss, who proclaimed his innocence, served less than four years in prison.)
- In 1954, the first atomic submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched at Groton, Connecticut (however, the Nautilus did not make its first nuclear-powered run until nearly a year later).
- In 1976, British Airways and Air France inaugurated scheduled passenger service on the supersonic Concorde jet.
- In 1977, on his first full day in office, President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders.
- In 1994, a jury in Manassas, Virginia, found Lorena Bobbitt not guilty by reason of temporary insanity of maliciously wounding her husband John, whom she'd accused of sexually assaulting her.
- In 1997, Speaker Newt Gingrich was reprimanded and fined as the House voted for the first time in history to discipline its leader for ethical misconduct.
- In 2003, the Census Bureau announced that Hispanics had surpassed blacks as America's largest minority group.
- In 2007, Lovie Smith became the first black head coach to make it to the Super Bowl when his Chicago Bears won the NFC championship, beating the New Orleans Saints 39-14.
Ten years ago: A bitterly divided U.S. Supreme Court, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, vastly increased the power of big business and labor unions to influence government decisions by freeing them to spend their millions directly to sway elections for president and Congress. Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards finally admitted fathering a daughter during an affair before his second White House bid.
Five years ago: Defying President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner announced that he'd invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stand before Congress and push for new sanctions against its archenemy Iran. (Netanyahu addressed Congress on March 3, 2015.)
One year ago: Security forces in Venezuela put down a pre-dawn uprising by national guardsmen that triggered violent street protests; the move came as opposition leaders regained momentum in their efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro.
Today's Birthdays: World Golf Hall of Famer Jack Nicklaus is 80. Opera singer-conductor Placido Domingo is 79. Singer Mac Davis is 78. Actress Jill Eikenberry is 73. Country musician Jim Ibbotson is 73. Singer-songwriter Billy Ocean is 70. Former U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke is 70. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is 69. Actor-director Robby Benson is 64. Actress Geena Davis is 64. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., is 59. Basketball Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon is 57. Actress Charlotte Ross is 52. Actor John Ducey is 51. Actress Karina Lombard is 51. Actor Ken Leung is 50. Rapper Levirt (B-Rock and the Bizz) is 50. Rock musician Mark Trojanowski (Sister Hazel) is 50. Rock singer-songwriter Cat Power is 48. Rock DJ Chris Kilmore (Incubus) is 47. Actor Vincent Laresca is 46. Singer Emma Bunton (Spice Girls) is 44. Actor Jerry Trainor is 43. Country singer Phil Stacey is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nokio (Dru Hill) is 41. Actress Izabella Miko is 39. Actor Luke Grimes is 36. Actress Feliz Ramirez is 28.
Thought for Today: "I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate." - George Burns, American comedian (1896-1996).
- The Associated Press