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In 1954, the Japanese monster movie "Godzilla" was released by Toho Co.

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In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, the second manmade satellite, into orbit; on board was a dog named Laika (LY'-kah) who was sacrificed in the experiment.

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In 1960, the Meredith Willson musical "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" opened on Broadway with Tammy Grimes in the title role.

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In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson soundly defeated Republican Barry Goldwater to win a White House term in his own right.

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In 1970, Salvador Allende (ah-YEN'-day) was inaugurated as president of Chile.

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In 1979, five Communist Workers Party members were killed in a clash with heavily armed Ku Klux Klansmen and neo-Nazis during an anti-Klan protest in Greensboro, North Carolina.

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In 1986, the Iran-Contra affair began to come to light as Ash-Shiraa, a pro-Syrian Lebanese magazine, first broke the story of U.S. arms sales to Iran.

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In 1994, Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina, was arrested for drowning her two young sons, Michael and Alex, nine days after claiming the children had been abducted by a black carjacker.

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Ten years ago: Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, pleaded not guilty to a five-count felony indictment in the CIA leak case. (Libby was later convicted, but had his 30-month prison sentence commuted by President George W. Bush.) Merck and Co. won its first court battle over its Vioxx painkiller when a New Jersey state jury found the drugmaker had properly warned consumers about the risks of the medication.

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Five years ago: President Barack Obama acknowledged that Democrats had taken "a shellacking" in midterm elections. The Federal Reserve announced a plan to buy $600 billion in Treasury bonds over the next eight months in an attempt to boost lending and stimulate the economy. Former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin died in Moscow at age 72.

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One year ago: Thirteen years after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the resurrected World Trade Center opened for business, marking an emotional milestone for both New Yorkers and the nation. Tom Magliozzi, 77, one half of the brother duo who had hosted National Public Radio's "Car Talk," died near Boston.

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Today's Birthdays: Actress Peggy McCay is 88. Actress Lois Smith is 85. Actress Monica Vitti is 84. Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis is 82. Actor-dancer Ken Berry is 82. Actor Shadoe Stevens is 69. Singer Lulu is 67. Comedian-actress Roseanne Barr is 63. Actress Kate Capshaw is 62. Comedian Dennis Miller is 62. Actress Kathy Kinney is 62. Singer Adam Ant is 61. Actor Dolph Lundgren is 58. Rock musician C.J. Pierce (Drowning Pool) is 43. Olympic gold medal figure skater Evgeni Plushenko is 33. Actress Julie Berman (TV: "General Hospital") is 32.

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Thought for Today: "Love is never merely an amiable tolerance of whatever form human frailty and folly may take." — Josiah Royce, American philosopher (1855-1916).

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Lawyers Are Full Of Bull
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A big-city lawyer was representing the railroad in a lawsuit filed by an old rancher. The rancher's prize bull was missing from the section through which the railroad passed. The rancher claimed that the bull must have been hit by the train, and wanted to be paid the fair value of the bull.
The case was scheduled to be tried before the justice of the peace in the back room of the general store.

As soon as the rancher showed up, the attorney for the railroad pulled him aside and tried to get him to settle out of court. The lawyer did his best selling job, and finally the rancher agreed to take half of what he was asking.

After the rancher had signed the release and took the check, the young lawyer couldn't resist gloating a little over his success, telling the rancher, "You know, I hate to tell you this, old man, but I put one over on you in there. I couldn't have won the case. The engineer was asleep and the fireman was in the caboose when the train went through your ranch that morning. I didn't have one witness to put on the stand. I bluffed you!"

The old rancher replied, "Well, I'll tell you, young feller, I was a little worried about winning that case myself, because that darned bull came home this morning."

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Time to hit the road for work, enjoy your day guys.