Today’s Highlight in History:<br>
On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany launched Operation Barbarossa, a massive invasion of the Soviet Union.
On this date:
In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated for a second time as Emperor of the French.
In 1870, the United States Department of Justice was created.
In 1937, Joe Louis began his reign as world heavyweight boxing champion by knocking out Jim Braddock in the eighth round of their fight in Chicago. (A year later on this date, Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in the first round of their rematch at Yankee Stadium.)
In 1940, during World War II, Adolf Hitler gained a stunning victory as France was forced to sign an armistice eight days after German forces overran Paris.
In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, more popularly known as the “GI Bill of Rights.”
In 1945, the World War II battle for Okinawa ended with an Allied victory.
In 1965, movie producer David O. Selznick (“Gone with the Wind”) died in Los Angeles at age 63.
In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that lowered the minimum voting age to 18.
In 1977, John N. Mitchell became the first former U.S. Attorney General to go to prison as he began serving a sentence for his role in the Watergate cover-up. (He was released 19 months later.)
In 1981, Mark David Chapman pleaded guilty to killing rock star John Lennon. Abolhassan Bani-Sadr was deposed as president of Iran.
In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court, in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, unanimously ruled that “hate crime” laws that banned cross burning and similar expressions of racial bias violated free-speech rights.
In 1999, in a major upset at Wimbledon, top-ranked Martina Hingis lost 6-2, 6-0 in the opening round to Jelena Dokic (yeh-LAY’-nuh DAH’-kich), a 16-year-old qualifier ranked 129th.
In 2012, ex-Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted by a jury in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, on 45 counts of sexually assaulting 10 boys over 15 years. (Sandusky is serving a 30- to 60-year state prison sentence.)
In 2017, an online conspiracy theory dubbed “pizzagate” ended with real-world consequences as a North Carolina man was sentenced to four years in prison for firing an assault rifle inside Comet Ping Pong, a Washington, D.C. pizza restaurant. California officials denied parole for convicted killer Patricia Krenwinkel, a follower of cult leader Charles Manson, for the 1969 slayings of pregnant actor Sharon Tate and four other people. The Philadelphia 76ers selected guard Markelle Fultz with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
In 2021, a government watchdog reported that deaths among Medicare patients in nursing homes had soared by 32% in 2020; it was the most comprehensive look yet at the ravages of COVID-19 among its most vulnerable victims. Kobe Bryant’s widow agreed to settle a lawsuit against the pilot and owners of the helicopter that crashed in January 2020, killing the NBA star, their daughter, Gianna, and seven others; terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. After finishing with the second-worst record in the NBA, the Detroit Pistons won the NBA draft lottery, securing the No. 1 pick. (The Pistons would select Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham.)
In 2022, a powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan, flattening stone and mud-brick homes and killing at least 1,000 people. A bloodhound named Trumpet won the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, marking the first time the breed has ever snared U.S. dogdom’s most coveted best in show prize. Tony Siragusa, the charismatic defensive tackle who helped lead a stout Baltimore defense to a Super Bowl title, died at age 55.
Celebrity Birthdays:
Singer-actor Kris Kristofferson is 87. Actor Klaus Maria Brandauer is 80. Journalist Brit Hume is 80. Singer Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon is 79. Singer Howard “Eddie” Kaylan of The Turtles is 76. Singer Todd Rundgren is 75. Singer Alan Osmond of The Osmonds is 74. Actor Meryl Streep is 74. Actor Lindsay Wagner (“The Bionic Woman”) is 74. Actor Graham Greene (“Dances With Wolves”) is 71. Singer Cyndi Lauper is 70. Actor Chris Lemmon is 69. Bassist Derek Forbes (Simple Minds) is 67. Bassist Garry Beers of INXS is 66. Bassist Alan Anton of Cowboy Junkies is 64. Actor Tracy Pollan (“Family Ties”) is 63. Keyboardist Jimmy Sommerville (Bronski Beat) is 62. Singer Mike Edwards of Jesus Jones is 59. Actor Amy Brenneman is 59. Singer Steven Page (Barenaked Ladies) is 53. Actor Michael Trucco (“How I Met Your Mother,” “Battlestar Gallactica”) is 53. Actor Mary Lynn Rajskub (“24″) is 52. TV personality Carson Daly is 50. Guitarist Chris Traynor (Helmet) is 50. Actor Donald Faison (“Scrubs”) is 49. Actor Lecy Goranson (“The Connors,” “Roseanne”) is 49. Comedian Mike O’Brien (“Saturday Night Live”) is 47. TV personality Jai Rodriguez (“Queer Eye For The Straight Guy”) is 44. Actor Lindsay Ridgeway (“Boy Meets World”) is 38. Singer Dinah Jane (Fifth Harmony) is 26.