VALDOSTA —
Highlight in History
On Dec. 31, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed an enabling act paving the way for Virginia’ western counties to become the state of West Virginia, which took place in June 1863.
On this date
In 1985, singer Rick Nelson, 45, and six other people were killed when fire broke out aboard a DC-3 that was taking the group to a New Year’s Eve performance in Dallas.
In 1986, 97 people were killed when fire broke out in the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (Three hotel workers later pleaded guilty in connection with the blaze.)
In 1987, Robert Mugabe, prime minister of Zimbabwe, was sworn in as the country’s first executive president.
In 1992, President George H.W. Bush visited Somalia, where he saw firsthand the famine racking the east African nation, and praised U.S. troops who were providing relief to the starving population.
Ten years ago
Emerging from holiday seclusion at his Texas ranch, President George W. Bush told reporters an attack by Saddam Hussein or a terrorist ally “would cripple our economy.” North Korea accused the United States of planning an invasion and vowed to fight “to the last man” hours after it expelled two U.N. monitors, leaving its nuclear program shrouded in secrecy. An explosion at a clandestine fireworks factory in the Mexican port city of Veracruz ignited an entire city block, killing 28 people.
Five years ago
President George W. Bush signed legislation to allow states and local governments to cut investment ties with Sudan because of the violence in Darfur. Sara Jane Moore, who took a shot at President Gerald R. Ford in San Francisco in 1975, was paroled after 32 years behind bars.
One year ago
President Barack Obama signed a wide-ranging defense bill into law despite having “serious reservations” about provisions that regulated the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists. A NASA spacecraft fired its engine and slipped into orbit around the moon in the first of two back-to-back arrivals over the New Year’s weekend.
Top News
Related Photos
-
A fire breaks out at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Dec. 31, 1986. The Associated Press
Discussion
Today in History for Monday, Dec. 31, 2012
-
-
Rare Superman comic found in house insulation
It’s considered the Holy Grail of comic books: Action Comics No. 1 from 1938, featuring the debut of Superman. David Gonzales found one mixed in with old newspapers insulating the ceiling of a house he was renovating in a small town in Minnesota.
-
Toronto mayor denies he smokes crack cocaine
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford denied Friday that he smokes crack cocaine and said he is not an addict after a video purported to show him using the drug. The mayor of Canada’s largest city did not say whether he has ever used crack.
-
16 hurt in shuttle bus crash near Atlanta airport
Sixteen people were taken to the hospital Friday, at least two in serious condition, after they were hurt in a crash between a hotel shuttle bus and a tractor-trailer near Atlanta’s airport, officials said.
-
Trucker bumps I-5 bridge, sees horror behind him
The trucker was hauling a load of drilling equipment when his load bumped against the steel framework over an Interstate 5 bridge. He looked in his rearview mirror and watched in horror as the span collapsed into the water behind him. Two vehicles fell into the icy Skagit River.
-
Judge: Ariz. sheriff’s office profiles Latinos
A federal judge ruled Friday that the office of America’s self-proclaimed toughest sheriff systematically singled out Latinos in its trademark immigration patrols, marking the first finding by a court that the agency racially profiles people.
-
Today in History for Saturday, May 25, 2013
Today is Saturday, May 25, the 145th day of 2013. There are 220 days left in the year.
-
VHS graduation to be broadcast online
Valdosta City Schools along with Valdosta High School will celebrate the academic careers of our students on Friday, May 24, at its annual Commencement Ceremony beginning at 7:00 pm at Valdosta State University's Physical Education Complex.
-
VDT Weekend Update
News Reporter Caitlin Barker speaks to Bernard Bulemu and Eric Mathis, representatives from the South Georgia Regional Library about their summer programs for kids, teens and adults during the month of June, as well as lists fun summer camps taking place in the Valdosta area.
-
Man shot by FBI had ties to Boston bombing suspect
A Chechen immigrant shot to death in Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent implicated himself in a triple slaying that officials believe may have been connected to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, authorities said.
-
WHO: Scientific red tape mars efforts vs. virus
International efforts to combat a new pneumonia-like virus that has now killed 22 people are being slowed by unclear rules and competition for the potentially profitable rights to disease samples, the head of the World Health Organization warned Thursday.
- More Top News Headlines
-
