Today in History

Today is Sunday, May 15, the 135th day of 2022. There are 230 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On May 15, 1948, hours after declaring its independence, the new state of Israel was attacked by Transjordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

On this date:

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act establishing the Department of Agriculture.

In 1928, the Walt Disney cartoon character Mickey Mouse made his debut in the silent animated short "Plane Crazy."

In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its unanimous In re Gault decision, ruled that juveniles accused of crimes were entitled to the same due process afforded adults.

In 1970, just after midnight, Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green, two Black students at Jackson State College in Mississippi, were killed as police opened fire during student protests.

In 1972, Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot and left paralyzed while campaigning for president in Laurel, Maryland, by Arthur H. Bremer, who served 35 years for attempted murder.

In 1975, U.S. forces invaded the Cambodian island of Koh Tang and captured the American merchant ship Mayaguez, which had been seized by the Khmer Rouge. (All 39 crew members had already been released safely by Cambodia; some 40 U.S. servicemen were killed in connection with the operation.)

In 1988, the Soviet Union began the process of withdrawing its troops from Afghanistan, more than eight years after Soviet forces entered the country.

In 2000, by a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out a key provision of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, saying that rape victims could not sue their attackers in federal court.

In 2007, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, who built the Christian right into a political force, died in Lynchburg, Virginia, at age 73.

In 2009, General Motors told about 1,100 dealers their franchises would be terminated.

In 2015, a jury sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and left more than 250 wounded.

In 2020, President Donald Trump formally unveiled a coronavirus vaccine program he called "Operation Warp Speed," to speed development of COVID-19 vaccines and quickly distribute them around the country. Comedic actor Fred Willard, whose films included "Best In Show" and "Anchorman," died at 86.

Ten years ago: Francois Hollande became president of France after a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in central Paris; he was the country's first Socialist leader since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving was named the NBA's Rookie of the Year.

Five years ago: The United States accused Syria of executing thousands of imprisoned political opponents and burning their bodies in a crematorium to hide the evidence. The Supreme Court shut the door on North Carolina Republicans' effort to revive a state law that mandated voter identification and scaled back early voting, provisions that a lower court said improperly targeted minority voters.

One year ago: Israel escalated its attacks on the Gaza Strip, bombing the home of a senior Hamas leader, killing a family of 10 in a refugee camp and destroying a high-rise that housed The Associated Press and other media; the Hamas militant group continued a stream of rocket volleys into Israel, and one man was killed when a rocket hit his home outside Tel Aviv. China landed a spacecraft on Mars for the first time, in the latest step forward for its ambitious goals in space. Rombauer won the Preakness in Baltimore at odds of 11-1, defeating Medina Spirit, who would later be disqualified from his Kentucky Derby win because of a failed drug test.

Today's Birthdays: Actor-singer Anna Maria Alberghetti is 86. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is 86. Singer Lenny Welch is 84. Actor-singer Lainie Kazan is 80. Actor Gunilla Hutton is 80. Actor Chazz Palminteri is 76. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is 74. Singer-songwriter Brian Eno is 74. Actor Nicholas Hammond (Film: "The Sound of Music") is 72. Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett is 69. Musician-composer Mike Oldfield is 69. Actor Lee Horsley is 67. TV personality Giselle Fernandez is 61. Rapper Grandmaster Melle Mel is 61. Actor Brenda Bakke is 59. Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith is 53. Actor Brad Rowe is 52. Actor David Charvet is 50. Actor Russell Hornsby is 48. Rock musician Ahmet Zappa is 48. Olympic gold medal gymnast Amy Chow is 44. Actor David Krumholtz is 44. Rock musician David Hartley (The War on Drugs) is 42. Actor Jamie-Lynn Sigler is 41. Actor Alexandra Breckenridge is 40. Rock musician Brad Shultz (Cage the Elephant) is 40. Rock musician Nick Perri is 38. Tennis player Andy Murray is 35.