Today is Monday, April 22, the 112th day of 2019.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On April 22, 2000, in a dramatic pre-dawn raid, armed immigration agents seized Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy at the center of a custody dispute, from his relatives’ home in Miami; Elian was reunited with his father at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.
On this date:
In 1864, Congress authorized the use of the phrase “In God We Trust” on U.S. coins.
In 1898, with the United States and Spain on the verge of war, the U.S. Navy began blockading Cuban ports. Congress authorized creation of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, also known as the “Rough Riders.”
In 1915, the first full-scale use of deadly chemicals in warfare took place as German forces unleashed chlorine gas against Allied troops at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres (EE’-preh) in Belgium during World War I; thousands of soldiers are believed to have died.
In 1952, an atomic test in Nevada became the first nuclear explosion shown on live network television as a 31-kiloton bomb was dropped from a B-50 Superfortress.
In 1954, the publicly televised sessions of the Senate Army-McCarthy hearings began.
In 1970, millions of Americans concerned about the environment observed the first “Earth Day.”
In 1993, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated in Washington, D.C. to honor victims of Nazi extermination.
In 1994, Richard M. Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, died at a New York hospital four days after suffering a stroke; he was 81.
In 2004, Army Ranger Pat Tillman, who’d traded in a multi-million-dollar NFL contract to serve in Afghanistan, was killed by friendly fire; he was 27.
In 2005, Zacarias Moussaoui (zak-uh-REE’-uhs moo-SOW’-ee) pleaded guilty in a federal courtroom outside Washington, D.C. to conspiring with the Sept. 11 hijackers to kill Americans. (Moussaoui is serving a life prison sentence.)
In 2008, Hillary Rodham Clinton won the Pennsylvania Democratic primary, defeating Barack Obama and keeping her presidential hopes alive.
In 2013, a seriously wounded Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (joh-HAHR’ tsahr-NEYE’-ehv) was charged in his hospital room with bombing the Boston Marathon in a plot with his older brother, Tamerlan (TAM’-ehr-luhn), who died after a fierce gunbattle with police. Richie Havens, 72, the folk singer and guitarist who was the first performer at the 1969 Woodstock festival, died in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Ten years ago: President Barack Obama marked Earth Day with a pitch for his energy plan, calling for a “new era of energy exploration in America” during a visit to Newton, Iowa. The FDA said 17-year-old girls could get “morning after” birth control without a prescription. Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls won the NBA’s rookie of the year award. British-born movie director Ken Annakin (”Swiss Family Robinson”) died in Beverly Hills, California, at age 94. Oscar-winning British cinematographer Jack Cardiff (”Black Narcissus”) died in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England, at age 94.
Five years ago: In a blow to affirmative action, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld, 6-2, a voter-approved change to the Michigan Constitution forbidding the state’s public colleges to take race into account in admissions. Vice President Joe Biden told Ukrainian political leaders the United States stood with them against “humiliating threats” and encouraged them to root out corruption as they rebuilt their government. Albert Pujols became the first major leaguer to hit his 499th and 500th homers in the same game, driving in five runs to help the Los Angeles Angels beat the Washington Nationals 7-2.
One year ago: A nearly naked gunman carrying an assault rifle stormed a Waffle House restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, shooting four people to death before a customer rushed him and wrestled the weapon away; after a manhunt lasting more than 24 hours, Travis Reinking was arrested on charges including four counts of criminal homicide. (After being ordered to receive treatment for schizophrenia, Reinking was deemed fit for trial; he has pleaded not guilty.) An Islamic State suicide bomber attacked a voter registration center in the Afghan capital, killing 60 people and wounding 130 others.
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