Today in News History

On July 7, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1798, As a result of the XYZ Affair, the US Congress rescinds the Treaty of Alliance with France sparking the "Quasi-War". In 1918, Jing Shuping, Chinese businessman (died 2009) was born. In 1937, The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (Lugou Bridge) provides the Imperial Japanese Army with a pretext for starting the Second Sino-Japanese War (China-Japan War). In 1937, Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong businessman and politician, 1st Chief Executive of Hong Kong was born. In 1963, Buddhist crisis: Police commanded by Ngô Đình Nhu, brother and chief political adviser of South Vietnam President Ngo Dinh Diem, attacked a group of American journalists who were covering a protest. In 1979, Ibrahim Sulayman Muhammad Arbaysh, Saudi Arabian terrorist (died 2015) was born. In 1982, Asia O'Hara, American drag performer was born. In 1983, Cold War: Samantha Smith, a US schoolgirl, flies to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Secretary General Yuri Andropov. In 2003, NASA Opportunity rover, MER-B or Mars Exploration Rover-B, was launched into space aboard a Delta II rocket. In 2016, Ex-US Army soldier Micah Xavier Johnson shoots fourteen policemen during an anti-police protest in downtown Dallas, Texas, killing five of them. He is subsequently killed by a robot-delivered bomb. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.