Today in History

Today is Thursday, June 25, the 176th day of 2009. There are 189 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On June 25, 1950, war broke out in Korea as forces from the communist North invaded the South.

On this date:

In 1788, Virginia ratified the U.S. Constitution.

In 1868, Congress passed an Omnibus Act allowing for the readmission of Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina to the Union.

In 1876, Lt. Col. George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.

In 1906, architect Stanford White was shot to death atop New York's Madison Square Garden, which he had designed, by millionaire Harry K. Thaw, the jealous husband of Evelyn Nesbit. (Thaw was acquitted of murder by reason of insanity.)

In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 was enacted.

In 1942, some 1,000 British Royal Air Force bombers raided Bremen, Germany, during World War II.

In 1959, spree killer Charles Starkweather, 20, was put to death in Nebraska's electric chair. Eamon de Valera was inaugurated as president of Ireland.

In 1962, the Supreme Court, in Engel v. Vitale, ruled that recital of a state-sponsored prayer in New York State public schools was unconstitutional.

In 1973, former White House Counsel John W. Dean began testifying before the Senate Watergate Committee.

In 1996, a truck bomb killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds at a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia.

Ten years ago: During a news conference, President Bill Clinton said the people of Serbia had to "get out of denial" about the atrocities blamed on Slobodan Milosevic and decide if he was fit to remain president of Yugoslavia. The San Antonio Spurs won their first title as they defeated the New York Knicks 78-77 in Game 5 of the NBA finals.

Five years ago: Republican Jack Ryan withdrew from the U.S. Senate race in Illinois after allegations of sex-club visits with his then-wife, actress Jeri Ryan. President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, opened a European trip as they arrived in Ireland. Taliban fighters killed up to 16 men after learning they had registered for Afghanistan's U.S.-backed national elections.

One year ago: A divided Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law that allowed capital punishment for people convicted of raping children under 12; the ruling also invalidated laws in five other states that allowed executions for child rape that did not result in the death of the victim. A jury in Woburn, Mass., convicted Neil Entwistle of first-degree murder in the deaths of his wife, Rachel, 27, and their 9-month-old baby, Lillian Rose. (Entwistle was sentenced the next day to two life prison terms without possibility of parole.) Wesley N. Higdon, 25, shot and killed five workers and himself at a western Kentucky plastics plant; a sixth victim survived.

Today's Birthdays: Movie director Sidney Lumet is 85. Actress June Lockhart is 84. R&B singer Eddie Floyd is 72. Actress Barbara Montgomery is 70. Basketball Hall of Famer Willis Reed is 67. Writer-producer-director Gary David Goldberg is 65. Singer Carly Simon is 64. Rock musician Allen Lanier (Blue Oyster Cult) is 63. Rock musician Ian McDonald (Foreigner; King Crimson) is 63. Actor-comedian Jimmie Walker is 62. Actor-director Michael Lembeck is 61. TV personality Phyllis George is 60. Rock singer Tim Finn is 57. Rock musician David Paich (Toto) is 55. Actor Michael Sabatino is 54. Actor-writer-director Ricky Gervais is 48. Actor John Benjamin Hickey is 46. Rock singer George Michael is 46. Actress Erica Gimpel is 45. Recently retired Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo is 43. Rapper-producer Richie Rich is 42. Rapper Candyman is 41. Contemporary Christian musician Sean Kelly (Sixpence None the Richer) is 38. Actress Angela Kinsey ("The Office") is 38. Rock musician Mike Kroeger (Nickelback) is 37. Rock musician Mario Calire is 35. Actress Linda Cardellini is 34. Actress Busy Philipps is 30.

Thought for Today: "The press, like fire, is an excellent servant, but a terrible master." - James Fenimore Cooper, American author (1789-1851).