May third

Today's Highlight in History:
On May third, 1999, tornadoes roared across Oklahoma and Kansas, killing at least four dozen people and injuring hundreds.

On this date:
In 1654, a bridge in Rowley, Massachusetts, was permitted to charge a toll for animals, while people crossed for free.

In 1916, Irish nationalist Padraic Pearse and two others were executed by the British for their roles in the Easter Rising.

In 1921, West Virginia imposed the first state sales tax.

In 1944, US wartime rationing of most grades of meats ended.

In 1945, Indian forces captured Rangoon, Burma, from the Japanese.

In 1948, the Supreme Court ruled that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks or members of other racial groups were legally unenforceable.

In 1971, anti-war protesters began four days of demonstrations in Washington DC aimed at shutting down the nation's capital.

In 1978, "Sun Day" fell on a Wednesday as thousands of people extolling the virtues of solar energy held events across the country.

In 1979, Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher was chosen to become Britain's first female prime minister as the Tories ousted the incumbent Labor government in parliamentary elections.

In 1986, in NASA's first post-Challenger launch, an unmanned Delta rocket lost power in its main engine shortly after liftoff, forcing safety officers to destroy it by remote control.

Ten years ago: The federal government formally approved the use of the drug AZT to treat children infected with the AIDS virus.

Five years ago: The government reported that its Index of Leading Economic Indicators dropped half a percentage point in March 1995, its biggest tumble in two years.

One year ago: The Dow Jones industrial average closed above eleven-thousand, just 24 trading days after passing 10,000. Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi met with President Clinton at the White House during the first official US visit by a Japanese premier in 12 years.

"Nostalgia isn't what it used to be."

-- Peter De Vries, American author.