Today’s highlight

On Jan. 7, 2015: masked gunmen stormed the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French newspaper that had caricatured the Prophet Muhammad, methodically killing 12 people, including the editor, before escaping. (Two suspects were killed two days later.)

Also on this date:

In 1955: singer Marian Anderson became the first Black American to sing with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera.”

In 1979: Vietnamese forces captured the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, overthrowing the Khmer Rouge government.

In 2022: three white men who chased and killed Ahmaud Arbery were sentenced to life in prison; a judge in Georgia denied any chance of parole for the father and son who armed themselves and initiated the deadly pursuit of the 25-year-old Black man after spotting him running in their neighborhood.

In 2023: Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on a historic post-midnight 15th ballot, overcoming holdouts from his own ranks after a chaotic week that tested the new GOP majority’s ability to govern.

Today’s Birthdays: Musician Kenny Loggins is 77. Actor David Caruso is 69. TV journalist Katie Couric is 68. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., is 64. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is 62. Actor Nicolas Cage is 61. Actor Jeremy Renner is 54. Country singer-musician John Rich is 51. Racing driver Lewis Hamilton is 40. NFL quarterback Lamar Jackson is 28. Actor Marcus Scribner is 25. Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter is 13.