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Today is Sunday, April 18, the 108th day of 2010. There are 257 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere began his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Mass., warning American colonists that the British were coming.
On this date:
In 1906, a devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by raging fires; estimates of the final death toll range between 3,000 and 6,000.
In 1910, suffragists showed up at the U.S. Capitol with half a million signatures on petitions demanding that women receive the right to vote.
In 1934, the first laundromat (called a "washateria") opened, in Fort Worth, Texas.
In 1942, an air squadron from the USS Hornet led by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities.
In 1945, famed American war correspondent Ernie Pyle, 44, was killed by Japanese gunfire on the Pacific island of Ie Shima (ee-EH' shee-MAH'), off Okinawa.
In 1946, the League of Nations went out of business.
In 1949, the Republic of Ireland was proclaimed.
In 1978, the Senate approved the Panama Canal Treaty, providing for the complete turnover of control of the waterway to Panama on the last day of 1999.
In 1980, the independent nation of Zimbabwe (zihm-BAH'-bway), formerly Zimbabwe Rhodesia, came into being.
In 1983, 63 people, including 17 Americans, were killed at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, by a suicide bomber.
Ten years ago: In a defeat for the United States, a United Nations commission in Geneva voted 22-18 against censuring China's human rights record. Robert L. Yates Jr. was arrested in Spokane, Wash. and charged with murdering a teen-age prostitute. (Yates later confessed to killing 13 people, and was sentenced to 408 years in prison; he was subsequently convicted of two other killings and sentenced to death.) In his first game back following a 12-game suspension for making disparaging remarks about minorities, gays and immigrants, Atlanta's John Rocker pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a 4-3, 12-inning victory over Philadelphia.
Five years ago: Cardinals meeting at the Vatican failed to select a successor to Pope John Paul II in their first round of voting. Lance Armstrong announced he was retiring after the upcoming Tour de France (however, he came out of retirement three years later). Defending champion Catherine Ndereba (dah-REH'-bah) of Kenya became the first woman to win a fourth Boston Marathon and Ethiopia's Hailu Negussie won the men's race. (Marathon grand marshal Jacqueline Gareau was given the chance to re-create her actual victory in the 1980 race, supposedly won by hoaxster Rosie Ruiz; Gareau ran the last 100 yards of the course and broke a tape at the finish line.)
One year ago: President Barack Obama offered a spirit of cooperation to America's hemispheric neighbors at the Summit of the Americas in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. The White House said President Barack Obama was "deeply disappointed" at news Iran had convicted American journalist Roxana Saberi of spying for the United States and sentenced her to eight years in prison. (Saberi was released on appeal the following month.) Emma Hendrickson, a 100-year-old great-great-grandmother from Morris Plains, N.J., became the oldest competitor in the history of the United States Bowling Congress Women's Championships, rolling a 115, 97 and 106 for a 318 series during team competition at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Barbara Hale is 89. Actor Clive Revill is 80. Actor James Drury is 76. Actor Robert Hooks is 73. Actress Hayley Mills is 64. Actor James Woods is 63. Actress-director Dorothy Lyman is 63. Actress Cindy Pickett is 63. Country musician Walt Richmond (The Tractors) is 63. Country musician Jim Scholten (Sawyer Brown) is 58. Actor Rick Moranis is 57. Actress Melody Thomas Scott is 54. Actor Eric Roberts is 54. Actor John James is 54. Rock musician Les Pattinson (Echo and the Bunnymen) is 52. Author-journalist Susan Faludi is 51. Actress Jane Leeves is 49. Talk show host Conan O'Brien is 47. Bluegrass singer-musician Terry Eldredge is 47. Actor Eric McCormack is 47. Actress Maria Bello is 43. Actress Mary Birdsong is 42. Rock musician Greg Eklund (The Oolahs) is 40. Actor David Tennant is 39. Country musician Marvin Evatt (EH'-veht) is 36. Rock musician Mark Tremonti is 36. Rhythm-and-blues singer Trina (Trina and Tamara) is 36. Actress Melissa Joan Hart is 34. Actor Sean Maguire is 34. Actress America Ferrera is 26. Actress Alia Shawkat is 21. Actor Moises Arias ("Hannah Montana") is 16.
Thought for Today: "Love has the quality of informing almost everything — even one's work." — Sylvia Ashton-Warner, New Zealander author and educator (1908-1984).
(Above Advance for Use Sunday, April 18)
Copyright 2010, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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