Today is the 130th day of 2008 and the 51st day of spring.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman presented his proposal for European integration, called the "Schuman Declaration." In 1961, Newton Minow, newly appointed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, gave a speech to broadcasters in which he described network TV as a "vast wasteland." In 1974, the U.S. House of Representatives opened impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon. In 2001, during a soccer game in Ghana, 126 people died in a stampede caused by an encounter between fans and police.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: J.M. Barrie (1860-1937), playwright; Howard Carter (1874-1939), archaeologist; Mike Wallace (1918- ), journalist, is 90; Candice Bergen (1946- ), actress, is 62; Billy Joel (1949- ), musician, is 59; Tony Gwynn (1960- ), baseball player, is 48; Rosario Dawson (1979- ), actress, is 29.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, the White Sox finally won a 25-inning game that had been suspended from the day before. It was the longest timed game in Major League Baseball history, at 8 hours and 6 minutes.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "Ambition--it is the last infirmity of noble minds." J.M. Barrie [or "I'm not young enough to know everything." JM Barrie from The Admirable Crichton]
TODAY'S FACT: Mike Wallace has been a mainstay of the TV news program 60 Minutes since its start in 1968. He announced his retirement in March 2006 but has continued work on the show as a "Correspondent Emeritus."
TODAY'S NUMBER: 27 - number of member-nations in the European Union, a descendant of the Schuman Declaration; Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007.
TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (May 5) and first quarter (May 11).
