Today in History

Today is Tuesday, June 10, the 161st day of 2014. There are 204 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 10, 1964, the Senate voted to limit further debate on a proposed civil rights bill, shutting off a filibuster by Southern senators. (The Civil Rights Act of 1964 went on to win congressional approval and was signed by President Lyndon Johnson.)

On this date:

In 1692, the first official execution resulting from the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts took place as Bridget Bishop was hanged.

In 1864, the Confederate Congress authorized military service for men between the ages of 17 and 70.

In 1907, eleven men in five cars set out from the French embassy in Beijing on a race to Paris. (Prince Scipione Borghese of Italy was the first to arrive in the French capital two months later.)

In 1921, President Warren G. Harding signed into law the Budget and Accounting Act, which created the Bureau of the Budget and the General Accounting Office.

In 1934, English composer Frederick Delius, 72, died in Grez-sur-Loing, France.

In 1940, Italy declared war on France and Britain; Canada declared war on Italy.

In 1942, during World War II, German forces massacred 173 male residents of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, in retaliation for the killing of Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich.

In 1944, German forces massacred 642 residents of the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane.

In 1967, the Middle East War ended as Israel and Syria agreed to observe a United Nations-mediated cease-fire.

In 1971, President Richard M. Nixon lifted a two-decades-old trade embargo on China.

In 1985, socialite Claus von Bulow was acquitted by a jury in Providence, Rhode Island, at his retrial on charges he'd tried to murder his heiress wife, Martha "Sunny" von Bulow.

In 1994, the action thriller "Speed," starring Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper and Sandra Bullock, was released by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.

Ten years ago: Singer-musician Ray Charles, known for such hits as "What'd I Say," "Georgia on My Mind" and "I Can't Stop Loving You," died in Beverly Hills, California, at age 73.

Five years ago: James von Brunn, an 88-year-old white supremacist, opened fire in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., killing security guard Stephen T. Johns. (Von Brunn died at a North Carolina hospital in January 2010 while awaiting trial.) Donald Trump fired Miss California USA Carrie Prejean, who'd sparked controversy when she said gays shouldn't be allowed to marry, citing contract violations.

One year ago: Jury selection began in Sanford, Florida, in the trial of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, charged with second-degeee murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. (Zimmerman was acquitted.)

Today's Birthdays: Britain's Prince Philip is 93. Columnist Nat Hentoff is 89. Attorney F. Lee Bailey is 81. Actress Alexandra Stewart is 75. Singer Shirley Alston Reeves (The Shirelles) is 73. Actor Jurgen Prochnow is 73. Media commentator Jeff Greenfield is 71. Football Hall of Famer Dan Fouts is 63. Country singer-songwriter Thom Schuyler is 62. Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., is 61. Actor Andrew Stevens is 59. Singer Barrington Henderson is 58. Former New York Governor-turned-media commentator Eliot Spitzer is 55. Rock musician Kim Deal is 53. Singer Maxi Priest is 53. Actress Gina Gershon is 52. Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn is 51. Rock musician Jimmy Chamberlin is 50. Actress Kate Flannery is 50. Model-actress Elizabeth Hurley is 49. Rock musician Joey Santiago is 49. Actor Doug McKeon is 48. Rock musician Emma Anderson is 47. Country musician Brian Hofeldt (The Derailers) is 47. Rapper The D.O.C. is 46. Rock singer Mike Doughty is 44. Rhythm-and-blues singer JoJo is 43. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is 43. Rhythm-and-blues singer Faith Evans is 41. Actor Hugh Dancy is 39. Rhythm-and-blues singer Lemisha Grinstead (702) is 36. Actor DJ Qualls is 36. Actor Shane West is 36. Country singer Lee Brice is 35. Singer Hoku is 33. Actress Leelee Sobieski is 32. Olympic gold medal figure skater Tara Lipinski is 32. Model-actress Kate Upton is 22. Sasha Obama is 13.

Thought for Today: "It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious." -- Corollary to "Murphy's Law."

Copyright 2014, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.