SATURDAY

Associated Press

Today is Feb. 19, the 50th day of 2022. There are 315 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlights in History:

On Feb. 19, 2008, an ailing Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency after nearly a half-century in power; his brother Raul was later named to succeed him.

On this date:

In 1473, astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland.

In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr, accused of treason, was arrested in the Mississippi Territory, in present-day Alabama. (Burr was acquitted at trial.)

In 1878, Thomas Edison received a U.S. patent for “an improvement in phonograph or speaking machines.”

In 1942, during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for the relocation and internment of people of Japanese ancestry, including U.S.-born citizens.

In 1945, Operation Detachment began during World War II as some 30,000 U.S. Marines began landing on Iwo Jima, where they commenced a successful month-long battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces.

In 1959, an agreement was signed by Britain, Turkey and Greece granting Cyprus its independence.

In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford, calling the issuing of the internment order for people of Japanese ancestry in 1942 “a sad day in American history,” signed a proclamation formally confirming its termination.

In 1985, the British soap opera “EastEnders” debuted on BBC Television.

In 1986, the U.S. Senate approved, 83-11, the Genocide Convention, an international treaty outlawing “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group,” nearly 37 years after the pact was first submitted for ratification.

In 1997, Deng Xiaoping, the last of China’s major Communist revolutionaries, died at age 92.

In 2003, an Iranian military plane carrying 275 members of the elite Revolutionary Guards crashed in southeastern Iran, killing all on board.

In 2019, President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to develop plans for a new Space Force within the Air Force, accepting less than the full-fledged department he had wanted.

Ten years ago: Three skiers were killed when an avalanche swept them about a quarter-mile down an out-of-bounds canyon at Stevens Pass, Wash., but a fourth skier caught up in the slide was saved by a safety device. Forty-four inmates were killed in a prison riot in Apodaca, northern Mexico.

Five years ago: Three former elite U.S. gymnasts, including 2000 Olympian Jamie Dantzscher, appeared on CBS’ “60 Minutes” to say they were sexually abused by Dr. Larry Nassar, a volunteer team physician for USA Gymnastics. (Nassar would be sentenced to decades in prison after hundreds of girls and women said he sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment.) Anthony Davis had an All-Star Game for the record books, scoring 52 points as the Western Conference beat the Eastern Conference 192-182 — the highest-scoring game in league history.

One year ago: Southern cities slammed by winter storms that left millions without power for days were dealing with water pipes ruptured by record-low temperatures; the breaks created a shortage of clean drinking water, shut down airports and left hospitals scrambling. The United States officially returned to the Paris climate accord; President Joe Biden told a virtual gathering of European leaders that the world “can no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change.” U.S. officials scrambled to reinforce the nation’s cyber defenses following a sweeping hack that may have exposed government and corporate secrets to Russia. Kim Kardashian West filed for divorce from Kanye West in Los Angeles after 6 1/2 years of marriage.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Smokey Robinson is 82. Actor Carlin Glynn is 82. Former Sony Corp. Chairman Howard Stringer is 80. Singer Lou Christie is 79. Rock musician Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell) is 74. Actor Stephen Nichols is 71. Author Amy Tan is 70. Actor Jeff Daniels is 67. Rock singer-musician Dave Wakeling is 66. Talk show host Lorianne Crook is 65. Actor Ray Winstone is 65. Actor Leslie David Baker is 64. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is 63. Britain’s Prince Andrew is 62. Tennis Hall of Famer Hana Mandlikova is 60. Singer Seal is 59. Actor Jessica Tuck is 59. Country musician Ralph McCauley (Wild Horses) is 58. Rock musician Jon Fishman is 57. Actor Justine Bateman is 56. Actor Benicio Del Toro is 55. Actor Bellamy Young is 52. Rock musician Daniel Adair is 47. Pop singer-actor Haylie Duff is 37. Actor Arielle Kebbel is 37. Christian rock musician Seth Morrison (Skillet) is 34. Actor Luke Pasqualino is 32. Actor Victoria Justice is 29. Actor David Mazouz (TV: “Gotham”) is 21. Actor Millie Bobby Brown is 18.

SUNDAY

Associated Press

Today is Feb. 20, the 51st day of 2022. There are 314 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Feb. 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Project Mercury’s Friendship 7 spacecraft, which circled the globe three times in a flight lasting 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds before splashing down safely in the Atlantic Ocean 800 miles southeast of Bermuda.

On this date:

In 1792, President George Washington signed an act creating the United States Post Office Department.

In 1862, William Wallace Lincoln, the 11-year-old son of President Abraham Lincoln and first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, died at the White House, apparently of typhoid fever.

In 1905, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Jacobson v. Massachusetts, upheld, 7-2, compulsory vaccination laws intended to protect the public’s health.

In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an immigration act which excluded “idiots, imbeciles, feebleminded persons, epileptics, insane persons” from being admitted to the United States.

In 1933, Congress proposed the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to repeal Prohibition.

In 1938, Anthony Eden resigned as British foreign secretary following Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s decision to negotiate with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

In 1965, America’s Ranger 8 spacecraft crashed on the moon, as planned, after sending back thousands of pictures of the lunar surface.

In 1987, a bomb left by Unabomber Ted Kaczynski exploded behind a computer store in Salt Lake City, seriously injuring store owner Gary Wright.

In 1998, Tara Lipinski of the U.S. won the ladies’ figure skating gold medal at the Nagano Olympics; Michelle Kwan won the silver.

In 2003, a fire sparked by pyrotechnics broke out during a concert by the group Great White at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., killing 100 people and injuring about 200 others.

In 2005, death claimed actor Sandra Dee at age 62; musical actor John Raitt at age 88; and counterculture writer Hunter S. Thompson at age 67.

In 2020, a poll by the Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found more Americans expressing some concern about catching the flu than about catching the coronavirus.

Ten years ago: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev held an unprecedented meeting with opposition leaders, who said they were encouraged by his promises to make it easier for anti-Kremlin parties to take part in elections. Former senator and astronaut John Glenn celebrated the 50th anniversary of his history-making space flight at the Ohio State University by kicking off a forum about NASA’s future.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump tapped Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his new national security adviser, replacing the ousted Michael Flynn.

One year ago: Debris from a United Airlines plane fell onto Denver suburbs during an emergency landing, with one very large piece that appeared to be part of the engine narrowly missing a home; authorities said nobody aboard or on the ground was reported hurt. Naomi Osaka won her fourth Grand Slam trophy by pulling away to beat Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 in the Australian Open final.

Today’s Birthdays: Racing Hall of Famer Roger Penske is 85. Singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie is 81. Hockey Hall of Famer Phil Esposito is 80. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is 80. Movie director Mike Leigh is 79. Actor Brenda Blethyn is 76. Actor Sandy Duncan is 76. Actor Peter Strauss is 75. Rock musician Billy Zoom (X) is 74. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is 71. Actor John Voldstad is 71. Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst is 68. Actor Anthony Head is 68. Country singer Leland Martin is 65. Actor James Wilby is 64. Rock musician Sebastian Steinberg is 63. Comedian Joel Hodgson is 62. Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is 59. Rock musician Ian Brown (Stone Roses) is 59. Actor French Stewart is 58. Actor Ron Eldard is 57. Model Cindy Crawford is 56. Actor Andrew Shue is 55. Actor Lili Taylor is 55. Actor Andrea Savage is 49. Singer Brian Littrell is 47. Actor Lauren Ambrose is 44. Actor Jay Hernandez is 44. Actor Chelsea Peretti is 44. Country musician Coy Bowles is 43. Actor Michael Zegen is 43. Actor Majandra Delfino is 41. Actor Jocko Sims is 41. Singer-musician Chris Thile is 41. Actor-singer Jessie Mueller is 39. MLB All-Star pitcher Justin Verlander is 39. Comedian Trevor Noah is 38. Actor Jake Richardson is 37. Actor Daniella Pineda is 35. Actor Miles Teller is 35. Singer Rihanna is 34. Actor Jack Falahee is 33.