Today is Friday, July 15, the 197th day of 2016. There are 169 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On July 15, 1976, a 36-hour kidnap ordeal began for 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver as they were abducted near Chowchilla, California, by three gunmen and imprisoned in an underground cell. (The captives escaped unharmed; the kidnappers were caught.)
On this date:
In 1799, French soldiers in Egypt discovered the Rosetta Stone, which proved instrumental in deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
In 1870, Georgia became the last Confederate state to be readmitted to the Union. Manitoba entered confederation as the fifth Canadian province.
In 1916, Boeing Co., originally known as Pacific Aero Products Co., was founded in Seattle.
In 1932, President Herbert Hoover announced he was slashing his own salary by 20 percent, from $75,000 to $60,000 a year; he also cut Cabinet members' salaries by 15 percent, from $15,000 to $12,750 a year.
In 1948, President Harry S. Truman was nominated for another term of office by the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia.
In 1954, a prototype of the Boeing 707, the model 367-80, made its maiden flight from Renton Field south of Seattle.
In 1964, Sen. Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona was nominated for president by the Republican national convention in San Francisco.
In 1971, President Richard Nixon delivered a televised address in which he announced that he had accepted an invitation to visit the People's Republic of China.
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter delivered his "malaise" speech in which he lamented what he called a "crisis of confidence" in America.
In 1985, a visibly gaunt Rock Hudson appeared at a news conference with actress Doris Day (it was later revealed Hudson was suffering from AIDS).
In 1992, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton was nominated for president at the Democratic national convention in New York.
In 1996, MSNBC, a 24-hour all-news network, made its debut on cable and the Internet.
Ten years ago: The U.N. Security Council condemned North Korea's missile tests and imposed limited sanctions; a defiant North said it would launch more missiles. In a chilly prelude to a Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, President George W. Bush blocked Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization. Gunmen in Baghdad kidnapped the chairman of Iraq's Olympic committee, Ahmed al-Hijiya, and at least 30 others. (While some abductees were later released, al-Hijiya's and the others' whereabouts remain a mystery.) The space shuttle Discovery undocked from the international space station.
Five years ago: Rupert Murdoch accepted the resignation of The Wall Street Journal's publisher, Les Hinton, and the chief of his British operations, Rebekah Brooks, as the once-defiant media mogul struggled to control an escalating phone hacking scandal. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony announced they were breaking up after seven years of marriage. The Atlanta Braves earned their 10,000th win in franchise history with an 11-1 rout of the Washington Nationals.
One year ago: Vigorously challenging his critics, President Barack Obama launched an aggressive and detailed defense of a landmark Iranian nuclear accord during a White House press conference, rejecting the idea that the agreement left Tehran on the brink of a bomb and arguing the only alternative to the diplomatic deal was war.
