Today’s Highlights

Today in history:

On June 18, 1812, the War of 1812 began as the United States Congress approved, and President James Madison signed, a declaration of war against Britain.

Also on this date:

1778: American forces entered Philadelphia as the British withdrew during the Revolutionary War.

1815: Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo as British and Prussian troops defeated the French Imperial Army in Belgium.

1979: President Jimmy Carter and Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev signed the SALT II strategic arms limitation treaty in Vienna.

1983: Astronaut Sally Ride became America’s first woman in space as she and four other NASA astronauts blasted off aboard the space shuttle Challenger on a six-day mission.

1986: 25 people were killed when a twin-engine plane and helicopter carrying sightseers collided over the Grand Canyon.

1992: The U.S. Supreme Court, in Georgia v. McCollum, ruled that criminal defendants could not use race as a basis for excluding potential jurors from their trials.

2018: President Donald Trump announced he was directing the Pentagon to create the Space Force as an independent branch of the United States armed forces.

Today’s birthdays

Musician Paul McCartney is 83. Actor Carol Kane is 73. Actor Isabella Rossellini is 73. Singer Alison Moyet is 64. Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith is 62. Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis is 50. Actor Alana de la Garza is 49.