MIKE GRACIA

On this day in 2001, the U.S. and Great Britain began airstrikes in Afghanistan in response to that state’s support of terrorism and
Osama bin Laden. The act was the first military action taken in
response to the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on September 11,
2001.

A cross marked the fence where 21-year-old Matthew Shepard
was robbed, beaten and left to die on this day in 1998. He was
lured by two men pretending to also be gay. Shepard was taken
to a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he died six days
later from severe head injuries. The fence has since been torn
down.

Matthew Wayne "Matt" Shepard
(December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998)

Shepard’s death inspired the play The Laramie Project, later
turned into a television movie, countless songs, a foundation
devoted to his memory along with a political lobbying effort
that pressed for, and eventually obtained, a new federal hate
crimes statute named after him. 

From left: Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney
were charged with the murder of Matthew Shepard
and are both serving long prison terms.

John J Mellencamp (previously known as John Cougar Mellencamp)
is 67 years old today.

Singer-songwriter John Mellencamp is best known for his #1 hit song, "Jack
& Diane." He has been nominated for more than ten Grammy Awards and
was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

Scott Wilson (William Delano Wilson)  
(March 29, 1942 – October 6, 2018)

Scott Wilson, the actor known as Hershel on The Walking Dead, has died.

The news was confirmed by The Walking Dead‘s official Twitter on Saturday,
who sent their condolences to the actor’s family and friends.

From left: Robert Blake and Scott Wilson in the 1968 film In Cold
Blood.

MIKE GRACIA

In a debate between candidates for vice president of the United States,  
Democratic Lloyd Bentsen (left) told Republican Dan Quayle (right),
"You’re no Jack Kennedy."

The Los Angeles Dodgers were winning 2-1 and Barry Bonds had
four-hundred ninety-nine career home runs. Then in the bottom of
the eighth inning, Bonds (above) hit a 2-0 fastball from reliever
Terry Adams into McCovey Cove giving the Giants a 3-2 lead, an
eventual victory, and a spectacular five-hundredth career home
run.

Barry Lamar Bonds turned 54 July 24.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

On this day in 1919,  President Woodrow Wilson suffered a massive
stroke that left him partially paralyzed.  
            

Final report on President Wilson’s condition written by Dr. Dercum.

It was on this day in 1985.

"Peanuts," the comic strip created by Charles M. Schulz, appeared 
for the first time in seven newspapers on this day in 1950.

Charles Monroe Schulz  (November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000)

Sting (Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner) is 67 years old today.

Multi-instrumentalist and singer for The Police, Sting is known for such
hits as "Don’t Stand So Close to Me" and "Message in a Bottle." He also
became a successful solo artist, releasing his first album The Dream of
the Blue Turtles in 1985, followed by ten more albums within the next
two decades. 

Sting (left) with other members of The Police.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

The space shuttle Discovery took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida 
on this day in 1988. It was the first manned space flight since the Challenger disaster.

Jerry Lee Lewis is 83 years old today.

Rock ‘n’ roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis is known for the hit "Great Balls of Fire"
and his marriage to his thirteen year old first cousin once removed, Myra Gale Brown. He became the last living member of the Sun Records Million Dollar
Quartet (below) and hence was nicknamed The Killer.

On September 29, 1954, Willie Mays, centerfielder for the New York Giants, makes an amazing over-the-shoulder catch of a fly ball hit
by Cleveland Indians first baseman Vic Wertz to rob Wertz of extra
bases in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.