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British journalist Alan Johnston appeared in a videotape posted on an Islamic Web, the first time he was seen since being abducted nearly three months earlier in Gaza. (Johnston was freed July 4, 2007.) Assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian walked out of a Michigan prison, where he'd spent eight years for ending the life of a man suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease.
• One year ago: In a face-to-face meeting, GOP leaders complained to President Barack Obama that he had not produced a detailed plan of spending cuts and accused him of playing politics over Medicare; the White House said Obama had in fact led on the issue, and accused Republicans of trying to destroy the popular health care program for seniors. Space shuttle Endeavour and its six astronauts returned to Earth, closing out the next-to-last mission in NASA's 30-year program.
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• Today's Birthdays: Actor Richard Erdman is 87. Actor Andy Griffith is 86. Singer Pat Boone is 78. Actor-writer-director Peter Masterson is 78. Actor Morgan Freeman is 75. Actor Rene Auberjonois is 72. Opera singer Frederica von Stade is 67. Actor Brian Cox is 66. Rock musician Ronnie Wood is 65. Actor Jonathan Pryce is 65. Actor Powers Boothe is 64. Actress Gemma Craven is 62. Blues-rock musician Tom Principato is 60. Country singer Ronnie Dunn is 59. Actress Lisa Hartman Black is 56. Singer-musician Alan Wilder is 53. Rock musician Simon Gallup (The Cure) is 52. Country musician Richard Comeaux (River Road) is 51. Actor-comedian Mark Curry is 51. Actor-singer Jason Donovan is 44. Actress Teri Polo is 43. Basketball player-turned-coach Tony Bennett is 43. Actor Rick Gomez is 40. Model-actress Heidi Klum is 39. Singer Alanis Morissette is 38. Actress Sarah Wayne Callies is 35. TV personality Damien Fahey is 32. Pop singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile is 31. Tennis player Justine Henin is 30. Actor Taylor Handley is 28.
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• Thought for Today: "When a thing ceases to be a subject of controversy, it ceases to be a subject of interest." -- William Hazlitt, British essayist (1778-1830).
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