En este día...

	Friday, December 24th The 358th day of 2010. There are 7 days left in the year. Go to a previous date.

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Today's Highlights in History
See a larger version of this front page.		On Dec. 24, 1992, President Bush pardoned former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and five others in the Iran-Contra scandal. (Go to article.)On Dec. 24, 1907, I. F. Stone, the American journalist famous for his witty commentary in his newsletter, "I.F. Stone's Weekly", was born.Following his death on June 18,1989, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
		On December 24, 1859, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about congressional debates over slavery, William Henry Seward's famous "Irrepressible Conflict" speech, and the presidential election of 1860. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)

On this date in:
1814	The War of 1812 officially ended as the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Ghent in Belgium.
1851	Fire devastated the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., destroying about 35,000 volumes.
1865	The Ku Klux Klan was founded as a private social club by several Confederate Army veterans in Pulaski, Tenn.
1871	Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Aida" had its world premiere in Cairo, Egypt, to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal.
1906	Canadian physicist Reginald A. Fessenden became the first person to broadcast a music program over radio, from Brant Rock, Mass.
1920	Enrico Caruso gave his last public performance, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
1943	President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower supreme commander of Allied forces during World War II.
1968	The Apollo 8 astronauts, orbiting the moon, read passages from the Old Testament Book of Genesis during a Christmas Eve TV broadcast.
2002	Laci Peterson was reported missing from her Modesto, Calif., home, by her husband, Scott, who was later convicted of murdering her and their unborn son.
2009	The Senate passed health care legislation, 60-39, in the chamber's first Christmas Eve vote since 1895.
2009	A woman jumped barriers in St. Peter's Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI as he was walking down the main aisle to begin Christmas Eve Mass; the pope was unhurt.

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Current Birthdays

Ryan Seacrest turns 36 years old today.

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg TV personality Ryan Seacrest ("American Idol") turns 36 years old today.

83 Mary Higgins Clark Mystery writer 70 Anthony Fauci Public health official 64 Jeff Sessions U.S. senator, R-Ala. 44 Diedrich Bader Actor ("The Drew Carey Show") 39 Ricky Martin Singer 37 Stephenie Meyer Author ("Twilight" series)

Historic Birthdays
I. F. Stone
12/24/1907 - 6/18/1989 American journalist  (Go to obit.)
60	William Paterson 12/24/1745 - 9/9/1806 Irish-born American governor of New Jersey
58	Kit Carson 12/24/1809 - 5/23/1868 American frontiersman and folk hero
65	Matthew Arnold 12/24/1822 - 4/15/1888 English poet and social critic
73	Michael Curtiz 12/24/1886 - 4/10/1962 Hungarian-born American film director
22	Georges-Marie Guynemer 12/24/1894 - 9/11/1917 French World War I combat pilot
60	Baby Dodds 12/24/1898 - 2/14/1959 American jazz musician
70	Howard Hughes 12/24/1905 - 4/5/1976 American manufacturer and aviator
67	Ava Gardner 12/24/1922 - 1/25/1990 American actress

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SOURCE: The Associated Press
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