Today in News History

On July 4, several notable moments in the history of News stand out. In 1778, American Revolutionary War: U.S. forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign. In 1941, Nazi crimes against the Polish nation: Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv. In 1943, World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world's largest tank battle, begins in the village of Prokhorovka. In 1976, Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists. In 1977, The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit. In 1997, NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars. In 2001, Vladivostok Air Flight 352 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Airport killing all 145 people on board. In 2002, A Boeing 707 crashes near Bangui M'Poko International Airport in Bangui, Central African Republic, killing 28. In 2005, The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1. In 2008, A bomb explodes at a concert in Minsk's Independence Square, injuring 50 people. Together, these milestones provide historical context for today's news news and ongoing narratives.