TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries crossed the English Channel in a balloon. In 1955, Marian Anderson made her debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera House, becoming the first African American to sing there. In 1999, the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton began in the Senate.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Millard Fillmore (1800-1874), U.S. president; Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), composer; Zora Neale Hurston (1901-1960), writer; Charles Addams (1912-1988), cartoonist; David Caruso (1956- ), actor, is 52; Katie Couric (1957- ), TV news anchor, is 51; Nicolas Cage (1964- ), actor, is 44.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1927, in Hinckley, IL, the Harlem Globetrotters played the first game of their long career.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "You know, everybody makes mistakes when they are president." - Bill Clinton
TODAY'S FACT: The original Harlem Globetrotters were actually from Chicago. The name was a marketing tool. The team didn't play a game in Harlem until 1968.
TODAY'S NUMBER: 2.5 - length in hours of the first balloon trip across the English Channel (at its narrowest point of 21 miles).
TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter (December 31, 2007) and new moon (January 8, 2008).
