Today's Highlight in History:
On December 23rd, 1893, the Engelbert Humperdinck opera "Haensel und Gretel" was first performed, in Weimar, Germany.

On this date:
In 1783, George Washington resigned辞职 as commander-in-chief of the Army and retired¹ to his home at Mount Vernon, Virginia.

In 1823, the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement² C. Moore was published in the "Troy (New York) Sentinel."

In 1928, the National Broadcasting Company set up a permanent, coast-to-coast network.

In 1941, during World War Two, American forces on Wake Island surrendered to the Japanese.

In 1948, former Japanese premier第一的，最初的 Hideki Tojo东条英机 (hee-day-kee toh-joh) and six other Japanese war leaders were executed in Tokyo.

In 1968, 82 crew members of the US intelligence ship "Pueblo⁴" were released by North Korea, eleven months after they had been captured.

In 1980, a state funeral was held in Moscow for former Premier³ Alexei N. Kosygin, who had died December 18th at age 76.

In 1986, the experimental airplane "Voyager," piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, completed the first non-stop, round-the-world flight without refueling as it landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 1995, a fire in Dabwali, India, killed 540 people, including 170 children, during a year-end party being held near the children's school.

In 1997, a jury in Denver convicted Terry Nichols of involuntary manslaughter过失杀人罪 and conspiracy⁵ for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing, declining to拒绝 find him guilty of murder.

Ten years ago: Ousted⁶ Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were captured as they were attempting to flee their country.

Five years ago: Bosnian Serbs and the Muslim-led government agreed to a weeklong truce休战，停战 beginning the next day as they worked on details of a four-month cease-fire. Baseball owners imposed a salary cap that was fiercely opposed by players.

One year ago: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat freed Hamas哈马斯 spiritual leader精神领袖 Sheik Ahmed Yassin from house arrest软禁, a move denounced by Israel. Lebanese黎巴嫩 guerrillas attacked Israel's northern border with rockets, in retaliation⁸报复，反击 for an Israeli air raid a day earlier.