Thursday, February 19, 2004

 

Spotlight: Topic of the Day: Bidding ends today on a Navy F/A 18 Hornet on eBay (story).

Word of the day: lugubrious -- mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree. Used in William Safire's latest column. (© )

Today's News:

• Howard Dean -- ends campaign for the presidency (story)
• Iran -- train wreck kills 200+ (story)
• Cyprus -- reunification talks begin (story)

Today's History:

• Aaron Burr -- former Vice President was arrested in Alabama for treason; he was later acquitted (1807)
• Iwo Jima -- invaded by 30,000 US marines (1945)
• Johan van Oldenbarneveldt -- treason trial began in The Hague (1619)

Today's Birthdays:

• Nicolas Copernicus -- astronomer known for figuring out that the sun is the center of our solar system (1473-1543)
• Lee Marvin -- rugged star of The Dirty Dozen (1924-1987)
• Benicio Del Toro -- Mexican cop in Traffic turns 37