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Today is Wednesday, June 13, the 165th day of 2012. There are 201 days left in the year.
Highlight in History
On June 13, 1942, the first of two four-man Nazi sabotage teams arrived in the United States during World War II. The first group disembarked from a U-boat off Long Island, N.Y.; the second one arrived several days later on the Florida coast. (The eight were arrested after one of them went to U.S. authorities; six of the saboteurs were executed.)
On this date
In 1842, Queen Victoria became the first British monarch to ride on a train, traveling from Slough Railway Station to Paddington in 25 minutes.
In 1886, King Ludwig II of Bavaria drowned in Lake Starnberg.
In 1927, aviation hero Charles Lindbergh was honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City.
In 1935, James Braddock claimed the title of world heavyweight boxing champion from Max Baer in a 15-round fight in Long Island City, N.Y.
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Office of War Information, and appointed radio news commentator Elmer Davis to be its head.
In 1944, Germany began launching flying-bomb attacks against Britain during World War II.
In 1962, “Lolita,” Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of the Vladimir Nabokov novel, had its world premiere in New York City.
In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled in Miranda v. Arizona that criminal suspects had to be informed of their constitutional right to consult with an attorney and to remain silent.
In 1971, The New York Times began publishing excerpts of the Pentagon Papers, a secret study of America’s involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967 that had been leaked to the paper by military analyst Daniel Ellsberg.
In 1982, King Khalid of Saudi Arabia died at the age of 69; he was succeeded by a half-brother, Crown Prince Fahd.
In 1992, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton stirred controversy during an appearance before the Rainbow Coalition by criticizing rap singer Sister Souljah for making remarks that he said were “filled with hatred” toward whites.
In 1996, the 81-day-old Freemen standoff ended as 16 remaining members of the anti-government group surrendered to the FBI and left their Montana ranch.
Ten years ago
U.S. Roman Catholic bishops opened an extraordinary closed-door meeting in Dallas on the sex scandal that was shaking the church as they crafted a plan for a zero-tolerance policy for pedophile priests. Backed by the United States, Hamid Karzai (HAH’-mihd KAHR’-zeye) overwhelmingly won 18 more months as leader of Afghanistan’s fledgling government. The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup, beating the Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 in game 5 of the finals.
Five years ago
In Beirut, Lebanon, a powerful car bombing killed Walid Eido (wah-LEED’ eye-EE’-doh), a prominent anti-Syrian legislator. Insurgents blew up the two minarets of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra, Iraq, a year after the shrine’s golden dome was destroyed in a bombing.
One year ago
Facing off in New Hampshire, Republican White House hopefuls condemned President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy from the opening moments of their first major debate of the 2011-2012 campaign season, and pledged emphatically to repeal his historic year-old health care overhaul.
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