Today is Friday, Dec. 26, the 361st day of 2008. There are five days left in the year. The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today. This is Boxing Day.
Today's Highlight in History:
One hundred years ago, on Dec. 26, 1908, Jack Johnson became the first African-American boxer to win the world heavyweight championship as he defeated Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia. (Johnson's victory sparked a search for a "great white hope" who would reclaim the title; Jess Willard accomplished the feat in 1915.)
On this date:
In 1776, the British suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.
In 1799, former President George Washington was eulogized by Colonel Henry Lee as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
In 1917, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation authorizing the government to take over operation of the nation's railroads.
In 1941, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the US Congress.
In 1947, heavy snow blanketed the Northeast, burying New York City under 26.4 inches of snow in 16 hours; the severe weather was blamed for some 80 deaths.
In 1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Mo., at age 88.
In 1996, 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey was found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family's home in Boulder, Colo. (To date, the slaying remains unsolved, despite a widely publicized "confession" by John Mark Karr.)
In 2004, more than 200,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean.
In 2006, former President Gerald R. Ford died in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at age 93.
Ten years ago: President Clinton, in his weekly radio address, urged Congress to lower the blood-alcohol limit for drunken driving nationwide to .08 percent.
Five years ago: An earthquake struck the historic Iranian city of Bam, killing at least 26,000 people. Three snowboarders were killed in an avalanche in Provo Canyon, Utah.
Associated Press
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