Today in News History

On July 4, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1054, A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula. In 1818, US Flag Act of 1818 goes into effect creating a 13 stripe flag with a star for each state. New stars would be added on July 4 after a new state had been admitted. In 1892, Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, causing Monday (July 4) to occur twice, resulting in a leap year with 367 days. In 1918, Eppie Lederer, American journalist and radio host (died 2002) was born. In 1960, Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Acts (United States)). In 1974, La'Roi Glover, American football player and sportscaster was born. In 2001, Vladivostok Air Flight 352 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Airport killing all 145 people on board. In 2006, Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station. The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program's history to occur on the United States' Independence Day. In 2008, A bomb explodes at a concert in Minsk's Independence Square, injuring 50 people. In 2012, The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.