Today in News History

On June 17, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1877, American Indian Wars: Battle of White Bird Canyon: The Nez Perce defeat the U.S. Cavalry at White Bird Canyon in the Idaho Territory. In 1932, Bonus Army: Around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits. In 1939, Eugen Weidmann, German criminal (born 1908) passed away. In 1960, The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of land undervalued at four cents/acre in the 1863 treaty. In 1967, Nuclear weapons testing: China announces a successful test of its first thermonuclear weapon. In 1971, U.S. President Richard Nixon in a televised press conference called drug abuse "America's public enemy number one", starting the War on drugs. In 1972, Watergate scandal: Five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee during an attempt by members of the administration of President Richard M. Nixon to illegally wiretap the political opposition as part of a broader campaign to subvert the democratic process. In 1984, Si Tianfeng, Chinese race walker was born. In 1992, A "joint understanding" agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II). In 2014, Éric Dewailly, Canadian epidemiologist and academic (born 1954) passed away. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.