Today is Monday, Dec. 30, the 365th day of 2024 with one to follow.
The moon is new. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Capricorn. They include writer Rudyard Kipling in 1865; musician Bo Diddley in 1928; actor/dancer Russ Tamblyn in 1934 (age 90); actor Joseph Bologna in 1934; Baseball Hall of Fame member Sandy Koufax in 1935 (age 89); musician Noel Paul Stookey (Peter, Paul and Mary) in 1937 (age 87); TV director James Burrows in 1940 (age 84); musician Mike Nesmith (Monkees) in 1942; musician Davy Jones (Monkees) in 1945; musician Patti Smith in 1946 (age 78); musician/producer Jeff Lynne (Traveling Wilburys/Electric Light Orchestra/Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band) in 1947 (age 77); TV personality Meredith Vieira in 1953 (age 71); actor Sheryl Lee Ralph in 1956 (age 68); TV personality Matt Lauer in 1957 (age 67); actor Tracey Ullman in 1959 (age 65); political commentator Sean Hannity in 1961 (age 63); actor George Newbern in 1964 (age 60); musician Jay Kay (Jamiroquai) in 1969 (age 55); actor Meredith Monroe in 1969 (age 55); actor Daniel Sunjata in 1971 (age 53); golfer Tiger Woods in 1975 (age 49); actor Lucy Punch in 1977 (age 47); TV personality/retired boxer Laila Ali in 1977 (age 47); musician/actor Tyrese Gibson in 1978 (age 46); musician Tim Lopez (Plain White T’s) in 1979 (age 44); actor Eliza Dushku in 1980 (age 44); actor Kristin Kreuk in 1982 (age 42); musician Wesley Schultz (Lumineers) in 1982 (age 42); NBA player LeBron James in 1984 (age 40); musician/actor Andra Day in 1984 (age 40); actor Caity Lotz in 1986 (age 38); musician Ellie Goulding in 1986 (age 38); musician V (BTS) in 1995 (age 29); musician Joshua Hong (Seventeen) in 1995 (age 29); actor/musician Dominic Fike in 1995 (age 29); actor Brady Noon in 2005 (age 19).
On this date in history:
In 1853, the United States bought 45,000 square miles of land along the Gila River from Mexico for $10 million. The area is now southern Arizona and New Mexico.
In 1903, flames swept the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, killing 602 people. The fire led to safety regulations for theaters around the world.
In 1916, Grigori Rasputin, a self-fashioned Russian holy man, was killed by Russian nobles eager to end his influence over the royal family.
In 1922, at the first Soviet Congress, Russia, Ukraine and two other Soviet republics signed a treaty creating the Soviet Union. The signing took place at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
In 1958, revolutionaries under the command of Ernesto “Che” Guevara battled with government troops loyal to Cuban President Fulgencio Batista for control of the city of Santa Clara. Within 12 hours of the rebel victory, Batista had fled the country, with control of the country passing to Fidel Castro.
In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos was inaugurated as president of the Philippines.
In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon ordered a halt in the bombing of North Vietnam and announced that peace talks with the Hanoi government would resume in Paris in January.
In 1986, Exxon Corp. became the first major international oil company to withdraw from South Africa because of that country’s racial policies.
In 1992, Ling-Ling, a giant female panda who delighted visitors to Washington’s National Zoo for more than two decades, died of heart failure.
In 1994, John Salvi III, an anti-abortion activist, went on a shooting spree at two abortion clinics in Brookline, Mass. He killed two workers and injured five others. Police captured him the next day.
In 2006, former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who had been convicted of the 1982 massacre of 148 Shiite men and boys, was executed by hanging in Baghdad.
In 2009, a suicide bomber, identified as a Jordanian informant, killed at least eight U.S. civilians, all but one of them CIA agents, at a base in Afghanistan.
In 2012, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hospitalized because of a blood clot, the State Department said. The clot, or thrombus, was discovered during a routine MRI while Clinton recuperated from a recent concussion.
In 2013, four NFL coaches were fired on the league’s so-called Black Monday: Mike Shanahan of the Washington Redskins, Leslie Fraiser of the Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay’s Greg Chiano and Jim Schwartz of the Detroit Lions. Cleveland’s Rob Chudzinski had been let go the day before.
In 2016, Indians deposited their last 500- and 1,000-rupee notes into the bank. The government withdrew the currency values in order to crack down on black market and counterfeit currency.
In 2020, Becky Hammon of the San Antonio Spurs made history as the first woman to coach an NBA regular season game when she filled in for Greg Popovich after he was ejected during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
In 2021, the Marshall Fire started in Boulder County, Colo., killing two people and destroying more than 1,000 structures.
A thought for the day: “Show me someone who never gossips, and I’ll show you someone who isn’t interested in people.” — American journalist Barbara Walters
