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backed terrorists (he was later slain by his captors).
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• Ten years ago: John Kerry won the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary, with John Edwards placing second and Howard Dean coming in a distant third. Cingular Wireless agreed to pay nearly $41 billion in cash to buy AT&T Wireless Services. Former Mexican president Jose Lopez Portillo died in Mexico City at age 83.
• Five years ago: President Barack Obama signed a mammoth, $787 billion economic stimulus package into law in Denver; he also approved adding some 17,000 U.S. troops for the war in Afghanistan.
• One year ago: Danica Patrick won the Daytona 500 pole, becoming the first woman to secure the top spot for any Sprint Cup race. (Patrick covered the 2½-mile Superspeedway in 45.817 seconds, averaging 196.434 mph.) The Western Conference beat the East 143-138 in the NBA All-Star game. Mindy McCready, 37, who'd hit the top of U.S. country music charts before personal problems sidetracked her career, died by her own hand in Heber Springs, Ark.
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• Today's Birthdays: Actor Hal Holbrook is 89. Mystery writer Ruth Rendell is 84. Singer Bobby Lewis is 81. Actor-comedian Barry Humphries (aka "Dame Edna") is 80. Country singer-songwriter Johnny Bush is 79. Actress Christina Pickles is 79. Football Hall-of-Famer Jim Brown is 78. Actress Mary Ann Mobley is 77. Actress Brenda Fricker is 69. Actress Rene Russo is 60. Actor Richard Karn is 58. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 52. Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is 51. Actor-comedian Larry, the Cable Guy is 51. TV personality Rene Syler is 51. Movie director Michael Bay is 50. Singer Chante Moore is 47. Rock musician Timothy J. Mahoney (311) is 44. Actor Dominic Purcell is 44. Olympic gold and silver medal skier Tommy Moe is 44. Actress Denise Richards is 43. Rock singer-musician Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) is 42. Actor Jerry O'Connell is 40. Country singer Bryan White is 40. Actress Kelly Carlson is 38. Actor Ashton Holmes is 36. Actor Jason Ritter is 34. TV personality Paris Hilton is 33. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 33. TV host Daphne Oz (TV: "The Chew") is 28. Actor Chord Overstreet (TV: "Glee") is 25. Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is 23. Actress Meaghan Martin is 22.
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• Thought for Today: "Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life." - George Sand, French author (1804-1876).
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