Today is Wednesday, Aug. 12, the 225th day of 2020. There are 141 days left in the year.
Today in history
On Aug. 12, 2017, a car plowed into a crowd of people peacefully protesting a white nationalist rally in the Virginia college town of Charlottesville, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and hurting more than a dozen others. (The attacker, James Alex Fields, was sentenced to life in prison on 29 federal hate crime charges, and life plus 419 years on state charges.) President Donald Trump condemned what he called an “egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides.”
Also on this date:
In 1867, President Andrew Johnson sparked a move to impeach him as he defied Congress by suspending Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, with whom he had clashed over Reconstruction policies. (Johnson was acquitted by the Senate.)
In 1902, International Harvester Co. was formed by a merger of McCormick Harvesting Machine Co., Deering Harvester Co. and several other manufacturers.
In 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home to the Indianapolis 500, first opened.
In 1939, the MGM movie musical “The Wizard of Oz,” starring Judy Garland, had its world premiere at the Strand Theater in Oconomowoc, Wis., three days before opening in Hollywood.
In 1944, during World War II, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., eldest son of Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, was killed with his co-pilot when their explosives-laden Navy plane blew up over England.
In 1953, the Soviet Union conducted a secret test of its first hydrogen bomb.
Fun fact
During an average lift off, a commercial jet takes off at 160-180 miles per hour.
That’s punny
I used to be indecisive. But now, I’m not so sure.
Trending words
“Grubstake:” verb; (GRUB-stayk). Definition: To provide with material assistance (such as a loan) for launching an enterprise or for a person in difficult circumstances.
— Merriam-Webster
Today’s birthdays
Actor George Hamilton is 81. Actor Dana Ivey is 79. Actor Jennifer Warren is 79. Rock singer-musician Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) is 71. Actor Jim Beaver is 70. Singer Kid Creole is 70. Jazz musician Pat Metheny is 66. Actor Sam J. Jones is 66. Actor Bruce Greenwood is 64. Rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot is 57. Actor Peter Krause is 55. Actor Brent Sexton is 53. International Tennis Hall of Famer Pete Sampras is 49. Actor-comedian Michael Ian Black is 49. Actor Yvette Nicole Brown is 49. Actor Rebecca Gayheart is 49. Actor Casey Affleck is 45. Actor Maggie Lawson is 40. Actor Dominique Swain is 40. Actor Lakeith Stanfield is 29. NBA All-Star Khris Middleton is 29. Actor Cara Delevingne is 28. Actor Imani Hakim is 27.
The Edge is compiled by Dallas Marshall. She can be contacted at dmarshall@lmtribune.com.
