Today's Highlight in History:
On December 17th, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright went on the first successful manned powered-airplane flights, near Kitty Hawk小鹰号, North Carolina.

On this date:
In 1777, France recognized American independence.

In 1830, South American patriot²爱国者 Simon Bolivar died in Colombia.

In 1925, Colonel William "Billy" Mitchell was convicted at his court-martial of insubordination反抗，不服从.

In 1939, the German pocket battleship袖珍主力舰 "Graf Spee" was scuttled逃避，急促地跑 by its crew, ending the World War Two Battle of the River Plate off Uruguay乌拉圭.

In 1944, the US Army announced it was ending its policy of excluding除外，排除 Japanese-Americans from the West Coast.

In 1957, the United States successfully test-fired the "Atlas⁴" intercontinental洲际的 ballistic missile弹道导弹 for the first time.

In 1969, the US Air Force closed its Project "Blue Book" by concluding there was no evidence of extraterrestrial地球外的 spaceships behind thousands of UFO sightings.

In 1969, an estimated 50 million TV viewers watched singer Tiny Tim marry his fiancee, Miss Vicky, on NBC's "Tonight Show."

In 1975, Lynette Fromme was sentenced in federal court in Sacramento, California, to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Ford⁵.

In 1979, in a case that aggravated⁶加重，刺激 racial tensions, Arthur McDuffie, a black insurance executive, was fatally beaten after a police chase in Miami. (Four white police officers were later acquitted⁷ of charges stemming from起源于 McDuffie's death.)

Ten years ago: More than 100,000 Soviet⁸ citizens turned out to honor the late human rights advocate提倡，主张 Andrei D. Sakharov, a day before he was buried in Moscow.

Five years ago: North Korea shot down a US Army helicopter which had strayed失散，闲荡 north of the demilitarized zone非武装地带 -- the co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer David Hilemon, was killed; the pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Bobby Hall, was captured and held for nearly two weeks. Six shots were fired at the White House by an unidentified gunman.

One year ago: The United States hit Iraq with a second wave of punishing airstrikes. Republicans advanced the impeachment弹劾，控告 case against President Clinton to the House floor for a debate the following day. House Speaker-designate Bob Livingston shocked fellow Republicans by admitting he'd had extramarital affairs.