Today in History

Today is Thursday, June 14, the 166th day of 2012. There are 200 days left in the year. This is Flag Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia adopted the Stars and Stripes as the national flag.

On this date:

In 1775, the Continental Army, forerunner of the United States Army, was created.

In 1801, former American Revolutionary War General and notorious turncoat Benedict Arnold died in London.

In 1922, Warren G. Harding became the first president heard on radio, as Baltimore station WEAR broadcast his speech dedicating the Francis Scott Key memorial at Fort McHenry.

In 1940, German troops entered Paris during World War II; the same day, the Nazis began transporting prisoners to the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland.

In 1943, the Supreme Court, in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, ruled that children in public schools could not be forced to salute the flag of the United States.

In 1952, President Harry S. Truman officiated at the keel-laying of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus at the Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, Conn.

In 1954, the words "under God" were added to the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 1967, the space probe Mariner 5 was launched from Cape Kennedy on a flight that took it past Venus.

In 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered a ban on continued domestic use of the pesticide DDT, to take effect at year's end.

In 1982, Argentine forces surrendered to British troops on the disputed Falkland Islands.

In 1985, the 17-day hijack ordeal of TWA Flight 847 began as a pair of Lebanese Shiite Muslim extremists seized the jetliner shortly after takeoff from Athens, Greece.

In 1992, Mona Van Duyn became the first woman to be named the nation's poet laureate by the Library of Congress.

Ten years ago: American Roman Catholic bishops meeting in Dallas adopted a policy to bar sexually abusive clergy from face-to-face contact with parishioners but keep them in the priesthood. A suicide bomber blew up a truck at the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 14 Pakistanis.

Five years ago: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared an emergency after the Hamas militant group effectively took control of the Gaza Strip. Reputed Klansman James Ford Seale was convicted of kidnapping Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, two black teenagers who were deliberately drowned in Mississippi in 1964. (Seale, sentenced to life, died in prison in 2011 at age 76.) Ruth Graham, the wife of evangelist Billy Graham, died in Montreat, N.C., at age 87. Former U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim died in Vienna, Austria, at age 88. The San Antonio Spurs won their fourth NBA title in nine years as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 83-82 in Game 4.

One year ago: President Barack Obama made a four-hour visit to Puerto Rico, becoming the first president since John F. Kennedy to make an official visit to the U.S. territory. The long-delayed, problem-plagued musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" officially opened on Broadway.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Marla Gibbs is 81. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., is 73. Writer Peter Mayle is 73. Actor Jack Bannon is 72. Country-rock musician Spooner Oldham is 69. Rock singer Rod Argent (The Zombies; Argent) is 67. Real estate mogul and TV personality Donald Trump is 66. Singer Janet Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 66. Rock musician Barry Melton is 65. Rock musician Alan White (Yes) is 63. Actor Eddie Mekka is 60. Actor Will Patton is 58. Olympic gold-medal speed skater Eric Heiden is 54. Singer Boy George is 51. Rock musician Chris DeGarmo is 49. Actress Traylor Howard is 46. Actress Yasmine Bleeth is 44. Actor Faizon Love is 44. Tennis player Steffi Graf is 43. Screenwriter Diablo Cody is 34. Actor J.R. Martinez is 29. Actor-singer Kevin McHale is 24. Actress Lucy Hale is 23. Actor Daryl Sabara is 20.

Thought for Today: "It is the flag just as much of the man who was naturalized yesterday as of the men whose people have been here many generations." -- Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. senator and historian (1850-1924).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.