Today’s highlight

On Feb. 24, 1942, the SS Struma, a charter ship attempting to carry nearly 800 Jewish refugees from Romania to British-mandated Palestine, was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in the Black Sea; all but one of the refugees perished.

On this date

1988: In a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $150,000 award that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and its publisher, Larry Flynt.

1989: A state funeral was held in Japan for Emperor Hirohito, who had died the month before at age 87.

1993: Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney resigned after more than eight years in office.

2002: The Salt Lake City Olympics came to a close, the same day Canada won its first hockey gold in 50 years (the U.S. won silver) and three cross-country skiers were thrown out of the games for using a performance-enhancing drug.

2008: Cuba’s parliament named Raul Castro president, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel.

2011: Discovery, the world’s most traveled spaceship, thundered into orbit for the final time, heading toward the International Space Station on a journey marking the beginning of the end of the shuttle era. .

Today’s birthdays

Actor-singer Dominic Chianese is 92. Opera singer-director Renata Scotto is 89. Singer Joanie Sommers is 82. Actor Jenny O’Hara is 81. Former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., is 81.