Today is Saturday, January 2nd, the second day of 2021. There are still 363 days in the year.
Today’s highlight in history:
On Jan. 2, 1974President Richard Nixon signed law requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 miles per hour in order to conserve gasoline in the face of an OPEC oil embargo. (The maximum speed of 90 km / h was effectively lifted in 1987; the federal speed limits were abolished in 1995.)
On this date:
In 1788Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the US Constitution.
In 1811Senator Timothy Pickering, a federalist from Massachusetts, became the first member of the U.S. Senate to be censored after failing to properly reveal the contents of an executive document.
In 1921Services first aired on the radio when KDKA in Pittsburgh aired the regular Sunday service of the city’s Calvary Episcopal Church.
In 1959The Soviet Union launched its Luna 1 spacecraft, the first man-made object to fly past the moon, its seemingly intended target.
In 1960 Senator John F. Kennedy from Massachusetts started his successful bid for the presidency.
In 1967Republican Ronald Reagan took the oath of office as the new governor of California in a ceremony held in Sacramento just after midnight.
In 197166 people were killed in a crowd of spectators leaving a football game at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, Scotland.
In 1981Police in Sheffield, England, arrested Peter Sutcliffe, who confessed to being the “Yorkshire Ripper,” the serial killer of 13 women.
In 1983The original Broadway production of the musical “Annie” was closed after 2,377 performances.
In 2007The state funeral for former President Gerald R. Ford began with an elaborate service at Washington National Cathedral and then moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In 2015California began issuing driver’s licenses to immigrants who were illegally in the country. Little Jimmy Dickens, a little singer-songwriter who was the oldest cast member on the Grand Ole Opry, died at the age of 94.
In 2018 Senator Al Franken officially resigned from the Senate a month after the Minnesota Democrat announced his plan to leave Congress on a series of sexual misconduct allegations. NBC News announced that Hoda Kotb will co-anchor the first two hours of the “Today” show, replacing Matt Lauer after he is fired on sexual misconduct allegations.
Ten years ago: The US Navy said it will investigate slippery videos broadcast to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. (Captain Owen P. Honors, who produced the videos as the ship’s executive officer, was deposed as commander of the Enterprise, but was later allowed to remain in the Navy.) A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck southern Chile, sending tens of thousands of people to the one Fear the tsunami. Maj. Richard “Dick” Winters, who fought in several major battles during World War II and whose quiet leadership was recorded in the book and television miniseries “Band of Brothers”, died at the age of 92 in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Actor Anne Francis, 80, died in Santa Barbara, California.
Five years ago: A heavily armed group led by Ammon and Ryan Bundy seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon and began a 41-day stalemate to protest the detention of two ranchers convicted of fire on public land and around to demand the handover of public land by the federal government for local control. Senator Bernie Sanders’ campaign of Vermont said it raised more than $ 33 million in the past three months to win the Democratic nomination, just below the amount rival Hillary Clinton raised over the same period. The Mayoress of Temixco, Mexico, Gisela Mota, was murdered the day after she took office. Two suspects were killed in a clash with police and three others were arrested. 47 prisoners executed by Saudi Arabia, including a prominent Shiite cleric; Shiite leaders in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East were quick to condemn Riyadh and warn of a sectarian backlash.
A year ago: Former Obama Housing Secretary Julian Castro, the only Latino candidate in the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, announced that he was going to end his bid, saying he realized “it’s just not our time”. The Trump administration announced that it would crack down on most of the flavored e-cigarettes that were popular with underage teenagers. The plan included exceptions that benefited vape makers, retailers, and adults who used the nicotine delivery devices.
Today’s birthdaysDennis Hastert, former House Speaker, is 79 years old. TV presenter Jack Hanna is 74 years old. The actress Wendy Phillips is 69 years old. The actress Cynthia Sikes is 67 years old. Actress Gabrielle Carteris and film director Todd Haynes are 60 years old. Famer Edgar Martinez is 58. Actor Tia Carrere is 54. Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. is 53. Model Christy Turlington is 52. Actors Taye Diggs and Renée Elise Goldsberry are 50. Singer Doug Robb (Hoobastank) and actor Dax Shepard are 46. Actor Paz Vega is 45. Ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff (TV: “Dancing with the Stars”) is 43. Musician Jerry DePizzo Jr. (OAR) is 42. Singer Kelton Kessee (IMX) and singer-musician Ryan Merchant (Capital Cities) are 40. Actors Kate Bosworth and Anthony Carrigan are 38. Actor Peter Gadiot is 36. Jazz singer-musician Trombone Shorty is 35. Singer-songwriter Mandy Harvey (TV: America’s Got Talent is 33. Rhythm and blues singer and rapper Bryson Tiller is 28.
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