Today’s Highlights

On May 12, 2008, a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China’s Sichuan province left more than 87,000 people dead or missing.

On this date

1846: The pioneers of the Donner Party left Independence, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail, beginning their ill-fated attempt to migrate to California.

1932: The body of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, was found in a wooded area near Hopewell, New Jersey.

1933: The Franklin D. Roosevelt administration established both the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which provided federal funding to states for relief programs, and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, which provided economic support to farmers through agricultural surplus reductions.

1982: In Fatima, Portugal, security guards overpowered a Spanish priest armed with a bayonet who attacked Pope John Paul II. (In 2008, the pope’s longtime private secretary revealed that the pontiff was slightly wounded in the assault.)

Today’s birthdays

Hockey Hall of Famer Johnny Bucyk is 90. Musician Steve Winwood is 77. Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 75. Actor Gabriel Byrne is 75. Singer Billy Squier is 75. Basketball Hall of Fame coach George Karl is 74. Country musician Kix Brooks is 70. Actor Ving Rhames is 66. Actor-filmmaker Emilio Estevez is 63. Chef/TV personality Carla Hall is 61. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 59. Skateboarder Tony Hawk is 57. Actor Kim Fields is 56.