Today in News History

On June 29, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1870, The US Congress establishes the first federal holidays (New Year Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas). In 1895, The United States Court of Private Land Claims rules James Reavis's claim to Barony of Arizona is "wholly fictitious and fraudulent.". In 1896, An explosion in the Newton Coal Company's Twin Shaft Mine in Pittston, Pennsylvania results in a massive cave-in that kills 58 miners. In 1928, Harold Evans, English-American historian and journalist (died 2020) was born. In 1981, A powerful bomb explodes in Tehran, killing 73 officials of the Islamic Republican Party. In 1982, Aeroflot Flight 8641 crashes in Mazyr, Belarus, killing 132 people. In 1987, For the first time in military history, a civilian population is targeted for chemical attack when Iraqi warplanes bombed the Iranian town of Sardasht. In 2009, Honduran president Manuel Zelaya is ousted by a local military coup following a failed request to hold a referendum to rewrite the Honduran Constitution. This was the start of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis. In 2012, The United States Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. In 2016, A terrorist attack in Turkey's Istanbul Atatürk Airport kills 42 people and injures more than 230 others. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.