Today in history: Feb. 18
On this day in 2012: A star-studded funeral service was held for pop singer Whitney Houston at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, a week after her death at age 48.
1885: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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In 1885, Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was published in the U.S. for the first time (after being published in Britain and Canada).
1970: Chicago Seven
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In 1970, the “Chicago Seven” defendants were found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic national convention; five were convicted of violating the Anti-Riot Act of 1968 (those convictions were later reversed).
1988: Anthony M. Kennedy
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In 1988, Anthony M. Kennedy was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
1994: Dan Jansen
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In 1994, at the Winter Olympic Games in Norway, U.S. speedskater Dan Jansen finally won a gold medal, breaking the world record in the 1,000 meters.
2001: Dale Earnhardt
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On Feb. 18, 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash at the Daytona 500; he was 49.
2003: South Korea
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In 2003, an arson attack involving two South Korean subway trains in the city of Daegu claimed 198 lives. (The arsonist was sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 2004.)
2012: Whitney Houston
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A star-studded funeral service was held for pop singer Whitney Houston at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, a week after her death at age 48.
2016: Pope Francis
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In 2016, in what was seen as a criticism of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Pope Francis said that a person who advocated building walls was “not Christian”; Trump quickly retorted it was “disgraceful” to question a person’s faith.
2017: Norma McCorvey
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Norma McCorvey, whose legal challenge under the pseudonym “Jane Roe” led to the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision that legalized abortion but who later became an outspoken opponent of the procedure, died in Katy, Texas, at age 69.
2017: Omar Abdel-Rahman
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Omar Abdel-Rahman, the so-called “Blind Sheik” convicted of plotting terror attacks in the United States in the 1990s, died at a federal prison in North Carolina where he was serving a life sentence; he was 78.
2020: Gov. Rod Blagojevich
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In 2020, President Donald Trump commuted the 14-year prison sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich for political corruption; Blagojevich left prison hours later and returned home to Chicago.
2021: Naomi Osaka
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Naomi Osaka stopped Serena Williams’ latest bid for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title in the Australian Open semifinals.
2021: Ted Cruz
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Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who had flown with his family to a vacation in Mexico as his state dealt with a deadly winter storm that crippled the power grid, returned home a day later and described the trip as “obviously a mistake.”
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