This is the weekend of XXX and XXX, the XXth and XXth day of 2024. There are XXX days left in the year as of Sunday.
Today in History: June 29, Apple releases first iPhone to consumers
By The Associated Press undefined
Today in History
Today is Saturday, June 29, the 181st day of 2024. There are 185 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History: On June 29, 2007, the first version of the iPhone went on sale to the public; over 2.3 billion iPhones have been sold to date.
Also on this date:
In 1520, Montezuma II, the ninth and last emperor of the Aztecs, died in Tenochtitlan (tay-nohch-TEET'-lahn) under unclear circ*mstances (some say he was killed by his own subjects; others, by the Spanish).
In 1613, London's original Globe Theatre, where many of Shakespeare's plays were performed, was destroyed by a fire sparked by a cannon shot during a performance of "Henry VIII."
In 1767, Britain approved the Townshend Revenue Act, which imposed import duties on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper and tea shipped to the American colonies. (Colonists bitterly protested, prompting Parliament to repeal the duties — except for tea.)
In 1776, the Virginia state constitution was adopted, and Patrick Henry was made governor.
In 1946, authorities in British-ruled Palestine arrested more than 2,700 Jews in an attempt to stamp out extremists.
In 1967, Jerusalem was reunified as Israel removed barricades separating the Old City from the Israeli sector.
In 1970, the United States ended a two-month military offensive into Cambodia.
In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a trio of death sentences, saying the way they had been imposed constituted cruel and unusual punishment. (The ruling prompted states to effectively impose a moratorium on executions until their capital punishment laws could be revised.)
In 1978, actor Bob Crane of "Hogan's Heroes" fame was found bludgeoned to death in an apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was appearing in a play; he was 49.
In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled, 5-3, that President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violated U.S. and international law.
In 2009, disgraced financier Bernard Madoff received a 150-year sentence for his multibillion-dollar fraud. (Madoff died in prison in April 2021.)
In 2018, the Annapolis Capital Gazette newspaper in Maryland kept its promise to put out the day's paper, despite the shooting deaths of five people in its newsroom a day earlier.
In 2021, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld died at the age of 88 in New Mexico; he had been Pentagon chief during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan that toppled the Taliban regime following the 9/11 attacks, and also at the start of the long and costly Iraq war in 2003.
In 2022, R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for using his R&B superstardom to subject young fans to sexual abuse. The singer and songwriter was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking the previous year.
Today's Birthdays: Songwriter L. Russell Brown is 84. Singer-songwriter Garland Jeffreys is 81. Actor Gary Busey is 80. Former actor and politician Fred Grandy is 76. Rock musician Ian Paice (Deep Purple) is 76. Singer Don Dokken is 71. Rock singer Colin Hay (Men At Work) is 71. Actor Maria Conchita Alonso is 69. Actor Sharon Lawrence ("NYPD Blue") is 63. Actor Amanda Donohoe is 62. Actor Judith Hoag is 61. Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is 61. Producer-writer Matthew Weiner is 59. Actor Melora Hardin is 57. Actor Brian D'Arcy James is 56. Rap DJ and record producer DJ Shadow is 52. Actor Zuleikha Robinson is 47. Rock musician Sam Farrar (Maroon 5) is 46. Actor Luke Kirby is 46. Singer and TV personality Nicole Scherzinger is 46. Comedian-writer Colin Jost (johst) is 42. Actor Lily Rabe is 42. NBA forward Kawhi Leonard is 33. Actor Camila Mendes (TV: "Riverdale") is 30. Soccer player Jude Bellingham is 21.
Today in History: June 30, Night of the Long Knives
By The Associated Press undefined
Today in History
Today is Sunday, June 30, the 182nd day of 2024. There are 184 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On June 30, 1934, Adolf Hitler launched his "blood purge" of political and military rivals in Germany in what came to be known as the "Night of the Long Knives."
Also on this date:
In 1918, labor activist and socialist Eugene V. Debs was arrested in Cleveland, charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 for a speech he'd made two weeks earlier denouncing U.S. involvement in World War I. (Debs was sentenced to prison and disenfranchised for life.)
In 1921, President Warren G. Harding nominated former President William Howard Taft to be chief justice of the United States, succeeding the late Edward Douglass White.
In 1936, Margaret Mitchell's novel "Gone With the Wind" was released.
In 1958, the U.S. Senate passed the Alaska statehood bill by a vote of 64-20.
In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, that the government could not prevent The New York Times or The Washington Post from publishing the Pentagon Papers.
In 1971, A Soviet space mission ended in tragedy when three cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 11 were found dead of asphyxiation inside their capsule after it had returned to Earth.
In 1985, 39 American hostages from a hijacked TWA jetliner were freed in Beirut after being held 17 days.
In 1986, the Supreme Court, in Bowers v. Hardwick, ruled 5-4 that states could outlaw hom*osexual acts between consenting adults (however, the nation's highest court effectively reversed this decision in 2003 in Lawrence v. Texas).
In 1994, the U.S. Figure Skating Association stripped Tonya Harding of the national championship and banned her for life for her role in the attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan.
In 2009, American soldier Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl went missing from his base in eastern Afghanistan, and was later confirmed to have been captured by insurgents after walking away from his post. (Bergdahl was released on May 31, 2014 in exchange for five Taliban detainees; he pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, but was spared a prison sentence by a military judge.)
In 2012, Islamist Mohammed Morsi became Egypt's first freely elected president as he was sworn in during a pair of ceremonies.
In 2016, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that transgender people would be allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military, ending one of the last bans on service in the armed forces.
In 2019, President Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea, meeting Kim Jong-un at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.
In 2020, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a landmark bill retiring the last state flag bearing the Confederate battle emblem. Boston's arts commission voted unanimously to remove a statue depicting a freed slave kneeling at Abraham Lincoln's feet.
In 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Lea Massari ("L'Avventura") is 91. Actor Nancy Dussault (doo-SOH') is 88. Olympic track champion Billy Mills is 86. Oceanographer Robert Ballard is 82. Singer-songwriter Glenn Shorrock (Little River Band) is 80. Jazz musician Stanley Clarke is 73. Actor David Garrison ("Married…with Children) is 72. Actor-comedian David Alan Grier is 68. Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen is 66. Actor Vincent D'Onofrio is 65. Actor Deirdre Lovejoy ("The Wire") is 62. Actor Rupert Graves is 61. Boxer Mike Tyson is 58. Actor Monica Potter is 53. Actor Rick Gonzalez is 45. Actor Lizzy Caplan is 42. Country music singer-songwriter Cole Swindell is 41. Singer and actress Fantasia is 40. Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps is 39. Actor Sean Marquette ("The Goldbergs") is 35. Baseball player Trea Turner is 31.
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This is the weekend of Saturday, June 29, and Sunday, June 30, the 182nd and 183rd day of 2024. There are 183 days left in the year as of Sunday.
Saturday's Highlight in History:
On June 29, 2007, the first version of the iPhone went on sale to the public; over 2.3 billion iPhones have been sold to date.
Also on this date:
In 1520, Montezuma II, the ninth and last emperor of the Aztecs, died in Tenochtitlan (tay-nohch-TEET’-lahn) under unclear circ*mstances (some say he was killed by his own subjects; others, by the Spanish).
In 1613, London’s original Globe Theatre, where many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed, was destroyed by a fire sparked by a cannon shot during a performance of “Henry VIII.”
In 1767, Britain approved the Townshend Revenue Act, which imposed import duties on glass, paint, oil, lead, paper and tea shipped to the American colonies. (Colonists bitterly protested, prompting Parliament to repeal the duties — except for tea.)
In 1776, the Virginia state constitution was adopted, and Patrick Henry was made governor.
In 1946, authorities in British-ruled Palestine arrested more than 2,700 Jews in an attempt to stamp out extremists.
In 1967, Jerusalem was reunified as Israel removed barricades separating the Old City from the Israeli sector.
In 1970, the United States ended a two-month military offensive into Cambodia.
In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a trio of death sentences, saying the way they had been imposed constituted cruel and unusual punishment. (The ruling prompted states to effectively impose a moratorium on executions until their capital punishment laws could be revised.)
In 1978, actor Bob Crane of “Hogan’s Heroes” fame was found bludgeoned to death in an apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was appearing in a play; he was 49.
In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled, 5-3, that President George W. Bush’s plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violated U.S. and international law.
In 2009, disgraced financier Bernard Madoff received a 150-year sentence for his multibillion-dollar fraud. (Madoff died in prison in April 2021.)
In 2018, the Annapolis Capital Gazette newspaper in Maryland kept its promise to put out the day’s paper, despite the shooting deaths of five people in its newsroom a day earlier.
In 2021, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld died at the age of 88 in New Mexico; he had been Pentagon chief during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan that toppled the Taliban regime following the 9/11 attacks, and also at the start of the long and costly Iraq war in 2003.
In 2022, R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison for using his R&B superstardom to subject young fans to sexual abuse. The singer and songwriter was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking the previous year.
Today’s Birthdays: Songwriter L. Russell Brown is 84. Singer-songwriter Garland Jeffreys is 81. Actor Gary Busey is 80. Former actor and politician Fred Grandy is 76. Rock musician Ian Paice (Deep Purple) is 76. Singer Don Dokken is 71. Rock singer Colin Hay (Men At Work) is 71. Actor Maria Conchita Alonso is 69. Actor Sharon Lawrence (“NYPD Blue”) is 63. Actor Amanda Donohoe is 62. Actor Judith Hoag is 61. Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter is 61. Producer-writer Matthew Weiner is 59. Actor Melora Hardin is 57. Actor Brian D’Arcy James is 56. Rap DJ and record producer DJ Shadow is 52. Actor Zuleikha Robinson is 47. Rock musician Sam Farrar (Maroon 5) is 46. Actor Luke Kirby is 46. Singer and TV personality Nicole Scherzinger is 46. Comedian-writer Colin Jost (johst) is 42. Actor Lily Rabe is 42. NBA forward Kawhi Leonard is 33. Actor Camila Mendes (TV: “Riverdale”) is 30. Soccer player Jude Bellingham is 21.
Sunday's Highlights in History:
On June 30, 1934, Adolf Hitler launched his "blood purge" of political and military rivals in Germany in what came to be known as the "Night of the Long Knives."
Also on this date:
In 1918, labor activist and socialist Eugene V. Debs was arrested in Cleveland, charged under the Espionage Act of 1917 for a speech he'd made two weeks earlier denouncing U.S. involvement in World War I. (Debs was sentenced to prison and disenfranchised for life.)
In 1921, President Warren G. Harding nominated former President William Howard Taft to be chief justice of the United States, succeeding the late Edward Douglass White.
In 1936, Margaret Mitchell's novel "Gone With the Wind" was released.
In 1958, the U.S. Senate passed the Alaska statehood bill by a vote of 64-20.
In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, that the government could not prevent The New York Times or The Washington Post from publishing the Pentagon Papers.
In 1971, A Soviet space mission ended in tragedy when three cosmonauts aboard Soyuz 11 were found dead of asphyxiation inside their capsule after it had returned to Earth.
In 1985, 39 American hostages from a hijacked TWA jetliner were freed in Beirut after being held 17 days.
In 1986, the Supreme Court, in Bowers v. Hardwick, ruled 5-4 that states could outlaw hom*osexual acts between consenting adults (however, the nation's highest court effectively reversed this decision in 2003 in Lawrence v. Texas).
In 1994, the U.S. Figure Skating Association stripped Tonya Harding of the national championship and banned her for life for her role in the attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan.
In 2009, American soldier Pfc. Bowe R. Bergdahl went missing from his base in eastern Afghanistan, and was later confirmed to have been captured by insurgents after walking away from his post. (Bergdahl was released on May 31, 2014 in exchange for five Taliban detainees; he pleaded guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, but was spared a prison sentence by a military judge.)
In 2012, Islamist Mohammed Morsi became Egypt's first freely elected president as he was sworn in during a pair of ceremonies.
In 2016, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced that transgender people would be allowed to serve openly in the U.S. military, ending one of the last bans on service in the armed forces.
In 2019, President Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to set foot in North Korea, meeting Kim Jong-un at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.
In 2020, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a landmark bill retiring the last state flag bearing the Confederate battle emblem. Boston's arts commission voted unanimously to remove a statue depicting a freed slave kneeling at Abraham Lincoln's feet.
In 2022, Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Lea Massari ("L'Avventura") is 91. Actor Nancy Dussault (doo-SOH') is 88. Olympic track champion Billy Mills is 86. Oceanographer Robert Ballard is 82. Singer-songwriter Glenn Shorrock (Little River Band) is 80. Jazz musician Stanley Clarke is 73. Actor David Garrison ("Married…with Children) is 72. Actor-comedian David Alan Grier is 68. Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen is 66. Actor Vincent D'Onofrio is 65. Actor Deirdre Lovejoy ("The Wire") is 62. Actor Rupert Graves is 61. Boxer Mike Tyson is 58. Actor Monica Potter is 53. Actor Rick Gonzalez is 45. Actor Lizzy Caplan is 42. Country music singer-songwriter Cole Swindell is 41. Singer and actress Fantasia is 40. Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps is 39. Actor Sean Marquette ("The Goldbergs") is 35. Baseball player Trea Turner is 31.
