Today is Thursday, Jan. 10, the 10th day of 2008. There are 356 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Jan. 10, 1776, Thomas Paine published his influential pamphlet, "Common Sense."
In 1861, Florida seceded from the Union.
In 1870, John D. Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil.
In 1920, the League of Nations was established as the Treaty of Versailles went into effect.
In 1946, the first manmade contact with the moon was made as radar signals transmitted by the U.S. Army Signal Corps were bounced off the lunar surface.
In 1946, the first General Assembly of the United Nations convened in London.
In 1947, the musical fantasy "Finian's Rainbow," with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, opened on Broadway.
In 1957, Harold Macmillan became prime minister of Britain, following the resignation of Anthony Eden.
In 1967, Massachusetts Republican Edward W. Brooke, the first black elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote, took his seat.
In 1978, the Soviet Union launched two cosmonauts aboard the Soyuz 27 capsule for a rendezvous with the Salyut 6 space laboratory.
In 1984, the United States and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations for the first time in more than a century.
Ten years ago: In his weekly radio address, President Clinton denounced Chicago physicist Richard Seed's expressed desire to clone humans, calling it "morally unacceptable." Michelle Kwan won the ladies' U.S. Figure Skating Championship in Philadelphia; Tara Lipinski came in second and Nicole Bobek, third.
Five years ago: North Korea withdrew from a global treaty barring it from making nuclear weapons. With just three days left in office, Illinois Gov. George Ryan pardoned four death row inmates he said had been tortured by Chicago police into falsely confessing to murders in the 1980's.
One year ago: President George W. Bush said he took responsibility for any mistakes in Iraq and announced an increase in U.S. troops there to quell violence. The Democratic-controlled House voted 315-116 to increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.
Thought for Today: "People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G.K. Chesterton, British writer (1874-1936).