TODAY IN HISTORY-THURSDAY MARCH 31, 2011

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Today is Thursday, March 31, the 90th day of 2011. There are 275 days left in the year.

Today in History:  AP Highlight in History:  On March 31, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson made a surprise announcement that he would not run for re-election. President Lyndon B. Johnson   AP Photo
On this date in: 1492 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain issued an edict expelling Jews unwilling to convert to Christianity. 1889 French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel unfurled the French tricolor from atop the Eiffel Tower to mark its completion. 1917 The United States took possession of the Virgin Islands from Denmark. 1943 The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!" opened on Broadway. AP Photo 1945 "The Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams opened on Broadway. 1976 The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that coma patient Karen Anne Quinlan could be disconnected from her respirator. (Quinlan remained comatose and died in 1985.) 1992 The U.N. Security Council voted to ban flights and arms sales to Libya, branding it a terrorist state for shielding six men accused of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 and a French airliner. 1995 Singer Selena, 23, was shot to death in Corpus Christi, Texas, by the founder of her fan club. 1995 Baseball players agreed to end a 232-day strike after a judge granted a preliminary injunction against club owners. 1999 Four New York City police officers were charged with murder for killing Amadou Diallo, an unarmed African immigrant, in a hail of bullets. (They were acquited in 2000.) 2004 Four American civilian contractors were killed in Fallujah, Iraq; frenzied crowds dragged their burned, mutilated bodies and strung two of them from a bridge. 2005 Terri Schiavo died at a hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., 13 days after her feeding tube was removed in a right-to-die dispute that engulfed the courts, Congress and the White House.		Today's Birthdays: Rep. Barney Fagg, D-Mass., turns 71 years old today. AP Photo/Charles Dharapak Name Profession Age Gordie Howe Hockey Hall of Famer 83 Richard Chamberlain Actor 77 Shirley Jones Actress ("The Partridge Family") 77 Herb Alpert Musician 76 Patrick Leahy U.S. senator, D-Vt. 71 Christopher Walken Actor 68 Gabe Kaplan Actor, comedian ("Welcome Back Kotter") 66 Al Gore Former vice president, Nobel Peace Prize winner 63 Rhea Perlman Actress ("Cheers") 63 Ed Marinaro Actor ("Hill Street Blues") 61 Angus Young Rock musician (AC/DC) 56 Christian Scott Jazz trumpeter 28 Actor Ewan McGregor turns 40 years old today. AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

Thought for Today: 

"The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries." — Rene Descartes, French philosopher and mathematician (born this date in 1596, died in 1650).

“A Prayer For Those Who Extend Mercy”

Daily prayer: Father, one of the most merciful acts we can carry out  is that of forgiving one who has intentionally harmed us. It’s as much for their benefit as it is ours, since it keeps the root of bitterness from growing weeds in our heart.  There are so many opportunities you give us to reach out in mercy to those who have less, those who lack abilities that we take for granted, those whose spirit is broken and we are called to be part of that mending. Merciful Father, show us a way that we can be Your hand extended to those most especially needing it today.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen