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which he ended up doing.
• In 1974, President Richard Nixon announced his resignation, effective the next day, following damaging new revelations in the Watergate scandal.
• In 1978, the U.S. launched Pioneer Venus 2, which carried scientific probes to study the atmosphere of Venus.
• In 1993, in Somalia, four U.S. soldiers were killed when a land mine was detonated underneath their vehicle, prompting President Bill Clinton to order Army Rangers to try to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid.
• In 2007, space shuttle Endeavour roared into orbit with teacher-astronaut Barbara Morgan on board.
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• Ten years ago: The Boston Roman Catholic archdiocese offered $55 million to settle more than 500 lawsuits stemming from alleged sex abuse by priests. (The archdiocese later settled for $85 million.)
• Five years ago: China opened the Summer Olympic Games with an extravaganza of fireworks and pageantry. A charter bus crashed near Sherman, Texas, killing 17 members of a Vietnamese-American Catholic group en route to Missouri. Former Democratic presidential candidate and vice-presidential nominee John Edwards admitted having an extramarital affair. Russia sent an armored column into the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia after Georgia launched an offensive to crush separatists there.
• One year ago: Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi fired his intelligence chief for failing to act on an Israeli warning of an imminent attack days before militants stormed a border post in the Sinai Peninsula and killed 16 soldiers. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings of the United States became the first three-time gold medalists in Olympic beach volleyball history, beating Jennifer Kessy and April Ross 21-16, 21-16 in the all-American final.
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• Today's Birthdays: Actor Richard Anderson is 87. Joan Mondale, wife of former Vice President Walter F. Mondale, is 83. Actress Nita Talbot is 83. Singer Mel Tillis is 81. Actor Dustin Hoffman is 76. Actress Connie Stevens is 75. Country singer Phil Balsley (The Statler Brothers) is 74. Actor Larry Wilcox is 66. Actor Keith Carradine is 64. Rhythm-and-blues singer Airrion Love (The Stylistics) is 64. Country singer Jamie O'Hara is 63. Movie director Martin Brest is 62. Radio-TV personality Robin Quivers is 61. Percussionist Anton Fig (TV: "Late Show With David Letterman") is 60. Actor Donny Most is 60. Rock musician Dennis Drew (10,000 Maniacs) is 56. TV personality Deborah Norville is 55. Actor-singer Harry Crosby is 55. Rock musician

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