Today is Friday, Dec. 19, the 353rd day of 2014. There are 12 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Dec. 19, 1974, Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States in
the U.S. Senate chamber by Chief Justice Warren Burger with President Gerald R. Ford looking on (in a
first for the Senate, the proceeding was televised live).
On this date:
In 1777, Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, to camp
for the winter.
In 1813, British forces captured Fort Niagara during the War of 1812.
In 1843, "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens, was first published in England.
In 1907, 239 workers died in a coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania.
In 1932, the British Broadcasting Corp. began transmitting overseas with its Empire Service to Australia.
In 1946, war broke out in Indochina as troops under Ho Chi Minh launched widespread attacks against the
French.
In 1950, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was named commander of the military forces of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization.
In 1961, former U.S. Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., 73, suffered a debilitating stroke while in Palm
Beach, Florida.
In 1972, Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, winding up the Apollo program of manned lunar landings.
In 1984, a coal fire at the Wilberg Mine near Orangeville, Utah, killed 27 people. Britain and China
signed an accord returning Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty on July 1, 1997.
In 1986, Lawrence E. Walsh was appointed independent counsel to investigate the Iran-Contra affair.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the Republican-controlled House for perjury and
obstruction of justice (he was subsequently acquitted by the Senate).
Ten years ago: In Iraq, car bombs tore through a Najaf funeral procession and Karbala’s main bus station,
killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 120 in the two Shiite holy cities. In Baghdad, three
Iraqi election officials were killed execution-style by insurgents.
Five years ago: A U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen ended with a nonbinding accord to show for two
weeks of debate and frustration; the deal was brokered by President Barack Obama, who attended the
conference on its final day. A snowstorm paralyzed much of the eastern U.S. on the last holiday shopping
weekend.
One year ago: Discount retailer Target announced that data connected to about 40 million credit and debit
card accounts had been stolen as part of a breach that began over the Thanksgiving weekend.
