Today is Friday, May 26, the 146th day of 2017. There are 219 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On May 26, 1917, a tornado in central Illinois killed 101 people, mostly in the Mattoon-Charleston area.
On this date:
In 1521, Martin Luther was banned by the Edict of Worms (vohrms) because of his religious beliefs and writings.
In 1868, the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson ended with his acquittal on the remaining charges.
In 1897, the Gothic horror novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker was first published in London.
In 1938, the House Un-American Activities Committee was established by Congress.
In 1940, Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of some 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk, France, began during World War II.
In 1942, the Tule (TOO’-lee) Lake Segregation Center for Japanese-American wartime internees opened in northern California. The U.S. War Department formally established the Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS). Radio Tokyo boasted of recent victories in the Pacific War and declared that “the Japanese people can look forward to a triumphal march into London and a victory march in New York.”
In 1954, explosions rocked the aircraft carrier USS Bennington off Rhode Island, killing 103 sailors. (The initial blast was blamed on leaking catapult fluid ignited by the flames of a jet.)
In 1960, U.N. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge accused the Soviets during a meeting of the Security Council of hiding a microphone inside a wood carving of the Great Seal of the United States that had been presented to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in Moscow. (The U.S. withdrew from the treaty in 2002.)
In 1977, George Willig scaled the outside of the South Tower of New York’s World Trade Center; he was arrested at the top of the 110-story building.
In 1981, 14 people were killed when a Marine jet crashed onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off Florida.
In 1991, a Lauda Air Boeing 767 crashed in Thailand, killing all 223 people aboard.
Ten years ago: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (NOO’-ree ahl-MAHL’-ih-kee), U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and American commander Gen. David Petraeus flew to Iraq’s blistering western desert in a rare joint outing to highlight gains there in the fight against insurgents.
Five years ago: Gruesome video posted online showed rows of dead Syrian children lying in a mosque in Houla, haunting images of what activists called one of the deadliest regime attacks yet in Syria’s 14-month-old uprising. International space station astronauts floated into the Dragon, a day after its heralded arrival as the world’s first commercial supply ship.
One year ago: President Barack Obama, visiting Japan, said foreign leaders were “rattled” by Donald Trump and had good reason to feel that way, as he accused the presumptive Republican presidential nominee of ignorance about world affairs. First lady Michelle Obama told graduates at a Native American high school in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to take pride in their history and cultures at a time when she said the “loudest voices in the national conversation” suggested turning away from the tribal values that were part of their education. Angela Paton, an actress best known for appearing with Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day,” died in Oakland, California, at age 86.
Today’s Birthdays: Sportscaster Brent Musberger is 78. Rock musician Garry Peterson (Guess Who) is 72. Singer Stevie Nicks is 69. Actress Pam Grier is 68. Actor Philip Michael Thomas is 68. Country singer Hank Williams Jr. is 68. British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is 68. Actress Margaret Colin is 59. Country singer-songwriter Dave Robbins is 58. Actor Doug Hutchison is 57. Actress Genie Francis is 55. Comedian Bobcat Goldthwait is 55. Singer-actor Lenny Kravitz is 53. Actress Helena Bonham Carter is 51. Distance runner Zola Budd is 51. Rock musician Phillip Rhodes is 49. Actor Joseph Fiennes (FYNZ) is 47. Singer Joey Kibble (Take 6) is 46. Actor-producer-writer Matt Stone is 46. Contemporary Christian musician Nathan Cochran is 39. Actress Elisabeth Harnois is 38. Actor Hrach Titizian is 38.
Thought for Today: “Life is a tragedy full of joy.” — Bernard Malamud, American author (1914-1986).
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