Ten years ago: President George W. Bush promoted free trade as a salve to Latin America's woes as he spoke out against poverty during a visit to Guatemala; the president then traveled to Mexico. Masked Palestinians kidnapped BBC reporter Alan Johnston at gunpoint in Gaza City. (He was released several months later.) R.E.M. and Van Halen were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Five years ago: A day after the massacre of 16 Afghan civilians by a U.S. soldier, President Barack Obama called the episode "absolutely tragic and heartbreaking," while Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called it "inexplicable." Greece implemented the biggest debt write-down in history, swapping the bulk of its privately-held bonds with new ones worth less than half their original value.
One year ago: Ted Cruz won most of the delegates at stake in Republican county conventions in Wyoming; Marco Rubio won the GOP presidential caucuses in Washington, D.C. A 26-year-old man was taken into custody on suspicion of crashing his snowmobile into two Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race teams, killing one dog and injuring at least three others; Arnold Demoski later pleaded guilty to assault, reckless endangerment and driving under the influence.
