Today’s Highlight

On Jan. 17, 1920, prohibition of alcohol began in the United States as the Volstead Act went into effect in support of the 18th Amendment.

On this date

1950: The Great Brink’s Robbery took place as seven masked men held up the Brink’s Building in Boston, stealing $1.2 million in cash and $1.5 million in checks and money orders.

1961: President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address in which he warned against “the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.”

1977: Convicted murderer Gary Gilmore, 36, was killed by a firing squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in a decade.

1990: The Four Seasons, The Four Tops, The Kinks, The Platters, Simon and Garfunkel and The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1994: The Northridge earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area; the magnitude 6.7 quake was responsible for 57 deaths and an estimated $25 billion in damages.

2022: As Russian troops stationed near Ukraine’s border launched drills, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov angrily rejected U.S. allegations that Moscow was preparing a pretext to invade Ukraine.

Today’s birthdays

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is 71. Singer Paul Young is 69. Actor-comedian Steve Harvey is 68. Actor-comedian Jim Carrey is 63. Former first lady Michelle Obama is 61. Musician Kid Rock is 54. Actor-singer Zooey Deschanel is 45. Boxer-actor Jake Paul is 28.