Today in History

Today is Thursday, June 25, the 176th day of 2015. There are 189 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 25, 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South.

On this date:

In 1788, Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution.

In 1876, Lt. Col. Colonel George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.

In 1910, President William Howard Taft signed the White-Slave Traffic Act, more popularly known as the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for "immoral" purposes.

In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was enacted.

In 1943, Congress passed, over President Franklin D. Roosevelt's veto, the Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act, which allowed the federal government to seize and operate privately owned war plants facing labor strikes.

In 1959, spree killer Charles Starkweather, 20, was put to death in Nebraska's electric chair. Eamon de Valera was inaugurated as president of Ireland.

In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that recitation of a state-sponsored prayer in New York State public schools was unconstitutional.

In 1975, the government of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency aimed at cracking down on political opponents. (The state of emergency was lifted in March 1977.)

In 1981, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that male-only draft registration was constitutional.

In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its first "right-to-die" decision, ruled that family members could be barred from ending the lives of persistently comatose relatives who had not made their wishes known conclusively. African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela met with President George H.W. Bush at the White House.

In 1995, Warren Burger, the 15th chief justice of the United States, died in Washington at age 87.

In 2009, death claimed Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop," in Los Angeles at age 50 and actress Farrah Fawcett in Santa Monica, California, at age 62.

Ten years ago: Hardline Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner of Iran's presidential runoff election. The NAACP selected retired Verizon executive Bruce S. Gordon to be its new president (however, Gordon abruptly resigned in March 2007). Stage and screen actor John Fiedler, 80, died in Englewood, New Jersey.

Five years ago: Group of Eight leaders, including President Barack Obama, began meeting in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada. BP said its effort to drill a relief well through 2 1/2 miles of rock to stop the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was on target for completion by mid-August. Edwin Jackson threw the fourth no-hitter of the season, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 1-0 victory over his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays.

One year ago: In an emphatic defense of privacy in the digital age, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that police generally may not search the cellphones of people they arrest without first getting search warrants. Tim Lincecum pitched his second no-hitter against the San Diego Padres in less than a year, allowing only one runner and leading the San Francisco Giants to a 4-0 win. The NFL agreed to remove a $675 million cap on damages from thousands of concussion-related claims after a federal judge questioned whether there would be enough money to cover as many as 20,000 retired players.

Today's Birthdays: Actress June Lockhart is 90. Civil rights activist James Meredith is 82. Rhythm-and-blues singer Eddie Floyd is 78. Actress Barbara Montgomery is 76. Actress Mary Beth Peil (peel) is 75. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Willis Reed is 73. Singer Carly Simon is 70. Rock musician Ian McDonald (Foreigner; King Crimson) is 69. Actor-comedian Jimmie Walker is 68. Actor-director Michael Lembeck is 67. TV personality Phyllis George is 66. Rock singer Tim Finn is 63. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is 61. Rock musician David Paich (Toto) is 61. Actor Michael Sabatino is 60. Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain is 59. Actor-writer-director Ricky Gervais is 54. Actor John Benjamin Hickey is 52. Rock singer George Michael is 52. Actress Erica Gimpel is 51. Retired NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo is 49. Rapper-producer Richie Rich is 48. Rapper Candyman is 47. Contemporary Christian musician Sean Kelly (Sixpence None the Richer) is 44. Actress Angela Kinsey is 44. Rock musician Mike Kroeger (Nickelback) is 43. Rock musician Mario Calire is 41. Actress Linda Cardellini is 40. Actress Busy Philipps is 36.

Thought for Today: "A straight line is the shortest in morals as in mathematics." -- Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish novelist (1767-1849).

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