Sunday News

Today in History

Today is Sunday, Feb. 3, the 34th day of 2013. There are 331 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight:

On Feb. 3, 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.

On this date:

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens held a shipboard peace conference off the Virginia coast; the talks deadlocked over the issue of Southern autonomy.

In 1930, the chief justice of the United States, William Howard Taft, resigned for health reasons.

In 1959, rock-and-roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

In 1966, the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first manmade object to make a soft landing on the moon.

In 1971, New York City police officer Frank Serpico, who had charged there was widespread corruption in the NYPD, was shot and seriously wounded during a drug bust in Brooklyn.

In 1991, the rate for a first-class postage stamp rose to 29 cents.

In 1998, Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker, 38, for the pickax killings of two people in 1983; she was the first woman executed in the United States since 1984.

Ten years ago: Legendary record producer Phil Spector was arrested in the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson at his mansion in Alhambra, Calif. (Spector's first trial ended in a jury deadlock; he was convicted of second-degree murder in a retrial and sentenced to 19 years to life in prison.)

Five years ago: The New York Giants scored a late touchdown to win Super Bowl XLII, 17-14, ending the New England Patriots' run at a perfect season.

One year ago: Federal prosecutors dropped their investigation of Lance Armstrong, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at determining whether the seven-time Tour de France winner and his teammates had participated in a doping program.

Today's Birthdays: Comedian Shelley Berman is 88. Football Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton is 73. Actress Blythe Danner is 70. Singer Dennis Edwards is 70. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is 66. Actress Morgan Fairchild is 63. Actress Pamela Franklin is 63. Actor Nathan Lane is 57. Rock musician Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) is 57. Actor-director Keith Gordon is 52. Country singer Matraca Berg is 49. Actress Maura Tierney is 48. Actor Warwick Davis is 43. Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee is 37. Musician Grant Barry is 36. Singer-songwriter Jessica Harp is 31. Rapper Sean Kingston is 23.

Thought for Today: "When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income." -- Plato, Greek philosopher.