Today in History

Today in History Today is Sunday, June 6, the 157th day of 2021. There are 208 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On June 6, 1944, during World War II, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, on ‘œD-Day’� as they began the liberation of German-occupied Western Europe. On this date: In 1816, a snowstorm struck the northeastern U.S., heralding what would become known as the ‘œYear Without a Summer.’� In 1918, U.S. Marines suffered heavy casualties as they launched their eventually successful counteroffensive against German troops in the World War I Battle of Belleau Wood in France. In 1934, the Securities and Exchange Commission was established. In 1939, the first Little League game was played as Lundy Lumber defeated Lycoming Dairy 23-8 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. In 1966, Black activist James Meredith was shot and wounded as he walked along a Mississippi highway to encourage Black voter registration. In 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, 25 1/2 hours after he was shot by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan. In 1977, a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law imposing an automatic death sentence on defendants convicted of the first-degree murder of a police officer. In 1978, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13, a primary ballot initiative calling for major cuts in property taxes. In 1982, Israeli forces invaded Lebanon to drive Palestine Liberation Organization fighters out of the country. (The Israelis withdrew in June 1985.) In 1989, burial services were held for Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Washington state Democrat Tom Foley succeeded Jim Wright as House speaker. In 2001, Democrats formally assumed control of the U.S. Senate after the decision of Vermont Republican James Jeffords to become an independent. In 2005, the Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, that people who smoked marijuana because their doctors recommended it to ease pain could be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws. Ten years ago: After days of denials, New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner confessed that he had tweeted a photo of his bulging underpants to a woman and admitted to ‘œinappropriate’� exchanges with six women before and after getting married; Weiner apologized for lying but said he would not resign (which he ended up doing). The Bowl Championship Series stripped Southern California of its 2004 title after the Trojans were hit with heavy NCAA sanctions for rules violations committed during the 2004 and ’05 seasons. Five years ago: A jury in Los Angeles returned a death sentence for Lonnie Franklin Jr., the serial killer known as the ‘œGrim Sleeper’� who murdered nine women and a teenage girl over several decades. Theresa Saldana, the ‘œRaging Bull’� actor who survived a stalker’s brutal attack to become a crime victims’ advocate and reclaimed her acting career with ‘œThe Commish’� and other TV shows, died in Los Angeles at 61.