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on American soil for the first time, arriving for a Washington summit with President Ronald Reagan.
• In 1988, a major earthquake in the Soviet Union devastated northern Armenia; official estimates put the death toll at 25,000.
• In 1993, gunman Colin Ferguson opened fire on a Long Island Rail Road commuter train, killing six people and wounding 19. (Ferguson was later sentenced to a minimum of 200 years in prison.)
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• Ten years ago: Allies of President Vladimir Putin won a sweeping victory in Russia's parliamentary elections. Zimbabwe withdrew from the Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies, which had suspended it for alleged abuses of civil liberties.
• Five years ago: President-elect Barack Obama introduced retired Gen. Eric Shinseki (shin-SEHK'-ee) as his choice to head the Veterans Affairs Department. Actress-singer Barbra Streisand, actor Morgan Freeman, country singer George Jones, dancer and choreographer Twyla Tharp and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who received Kennedy Center Honors.
• One year ago: The Supreme Court agreed to consider California's ban on same-sex marriage and a separate dispute about federal benefits for legally-married gay couples. A hospital nurse in London was found dead in an apparent suicide; days earlier, the nurse had been a victim of a prank telephone call from Australian radio disc jockeys impersonating Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.
• Today's Birthdays: Actor Eli Wallach is 98. Linguist and political philosopher Noam Chomsky is 85. Bluegrass singer Bobby Osborne is 82. Actress Ellen Burstyn is 81. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., is 76. Broadcast journalist Carole Simpson is 73. Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench is 66. Actor-director-producer James Keach is 66. Country singer Gary Morris is 65. Singer-songwriter Tom Waits is 64. Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, is 61. Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird is 57. Actress Priscilla Barnes is 56. Former "Tonight Show" announcer Edd (cq) Hall is 55. Rock musician Tim Butler (The Psychedelic Furs) is 55. Actor Patrick Fabian is 49. Actor Jeffrey Wright is 48. Actor C. Thomas Howell is 47. Producer-director Jason Winer is 41. NFL player Terrell Owens is 40. Rapper-producer Kon Artis is 39. Pop singer Nicole Appleton (All Saints) is 38. Latin singer Frankie J is 37. Country singer Sunny Sweeney is 37. Actress Shiri Appleby is 35. Pop-rock singer/celebrity judge Sara Bareilles (bah-REHL'-es) (TV: "The Sing-off") is 34. Singer Aaron Carter is 26.
• Thought for Today: "War is the unfolding of miscalculations." - Barbara Tuchman, American historian (1912-1989).
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