TODAY IN HISTORY

Sunday, December  11, 2011 AP Highlight in History:  On Dec. 11, 1961, A U.S. aircraft carrier carrying Army helicopters arrived in Saigon - the first direct American military support for South Vietnam's battle against Communist guerrillas.   AP Photo/Horst Faas
On this date in: 1816 Indiana became the 19th state. 1936 Britain's King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in order to marry American divorcee Wallis Warfield Simpson. King Edward VIII AP Photo 1941 Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, which responded in kind. 1946 UNICEF (the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) was established. 1972 Man landed on the moon for the last time during the Apollo 17 mission. 1981 The U.N. Security Council chose Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru to be its fifth secretary-general. 1994 Russian troops rolled into breakaway republic of Chechnya in a failed bid to restore Moscow's control over the region. 1997 More than 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to take steps to control greenhouse gas emissions. 1998 The House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton. 2000 Shortstop Alex Rodriguez agreed to a $252 million 10-year deal with the Texas Rangers, the most lucrative sports contract in history to date. 2002 A congressional report found that intelligence agencies before Sept. 11, 2001, were poorly organized, poorly equipped and slow to pursue clues that might have prevented that day's terrorist attacks. 2008 Financial manager Bernard Madoff was arrested, accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that destroyed thousands of people's life savings and wrecked charities. (Madoff later pleaded guilty and is serving150 years in federal prison.) 2009 Tiger Woods announced on his website that he was taking an indefinite leave from golf to try to save his marriage to Elin Nordegren. (The couple divorced in August 2010.)		Video Highlights of This Day in History Today's Birthdays: Actress-comedian Mo'Nique turns 44 years old today. AP Photo/Matt Sayles Name Profession Age Rita Moreno Actress 80 Tom Hayden Activist 72 Donna Mills Actress ("Knots Landing") 69 John Kerry U.S. senator, D-Mass. 68 Lynda Day George Actress 67 Brenda Lee Singer 67 Teri Garr Actress 64 Jermaine Jackson Singer (The Jackson 5) 57 Nikki Sixx Rock musician (Motley Crue) 53 Gary Dourdan Actor ("CSI") 45 Mos Def Rapper, actor 38 Hailee Steinfeld Actress 15 Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., turns 70 years old today. AP Photo/Cliff Owen