TODAY IN HISTORY

Sunday, February  16, 2014 AP Highlight in History:  On Feb. 16, 1959, Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba a month after the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista.   AP Photo/William J. Smith
On this date in: 1804 Lt. Stephen Decatur led a successful raid into Tripoli harbor to burn the U.S. Navy frigate Philadelphia, which had fallen into the hands of pirates. 1868 The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized in New York City. 1918 Lithuania proclaimed its independence. 1923 The burial chamber of King Tutankhamen's recently unearthed tomb was unsealed in Egypt. 1937 Wallace H. Carothers, a research chemist for Du Pont, received a patent for nylon. 1945 American troops landed on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines during World War II. 1948 NBC-TV aired the first nightly newscast, "The Camel Newsreel Theatre," which consisted of Fox Movietone newsreels. 1968 The nation's first 911 emergency telephone system was inaugurated in Haleyville, Ala. 2005 The Kyoto global warming pact, which the U.S. never ratified, went into effect. 2005 The NHL canceled what was left of its season after a round of last-gasp negotiations failed to resolve differences over a salary cap. 2011 Bookstore chain Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. 2012 A federal judge in Detroit ordered life in prison for Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian man who'd tried to blow up a packed Northwest jetliner with a bomb concealed in his underwear.		Video HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS DAY IN HISTORY Today's Birthdays: Actor-rapper Ice-T ("Law and Order: Special Victims Unit") turns 56 years old today. AP Photo/Jessica Rinaldi Name Profession Age James Ingram R&B singer 62 LeVar Burton Actor 57 John McEnroe Tennis Hall of Famer 55 Andy Taylor Rock musician (Duran Duran) 53 Sarah Clarke Actress ("Twilight," "24") 43 Actress Elizabeth Olsen ("Martha Marcy May Marlene") turns 25 years old today. AP Photo/Evan Agostini