On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 1996, the world population was approximately 5,842,055,734 people[†]
1996George Burns, American comedian, actor, and writer (born 1896)[†]
George Burns was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyebrow and cigar-smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three-quarters of a century. He and his wife Gracie Allen appeared on radio, television and film as the comedy duo Burns and Allen.
Stocks and bonds took their worst pummeling in years yesterday in a selloff caused by a surprise report that more jobs were created in February than in any month since September 1983. In its sharpest decline since November 1991, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged as much as 205 points before ending down 171.24, or 3.04 percent, at 5,470.45.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given New England's largest utility 30 days to show that two of the nuclear power plants it operates in Connecticut are properly equipped for emergencies or face having to shut them down. The commission said it feared there might be problems with the emergency safety systems at the Millstone 3 plant, on Long Island Sound near New London, and at the Connecticut Yankee plant in Haddam Neck.
Eight months ago, Don Nelson took over as coach of the Knicks with aspirations of healing his tarnished reputation and leading a group of playoff-hardened veterans back to prominence in the post-season. He never made it past the regular season because those same veterans never really accepted their new coach, from his scaled-down practice sessions to his headstrong attitudes regarding decisions on playing time.
A Palestinian in a New York jail who described himself as the political leader of Hamas said in an interview that while the Islamic group opposes violence, it cannot rein in the dozens of loosely allied militians in the West Bank and Gaza. Article, page 5.
In the face of yesterday's selloff of stocks and bonds, market analysts are counseling investors to remain focused on the long term, rather than on wild one-day swings. Many consider the surprising employment report that jolted the markets to be more of a fluke than an indicator of an overheating economy. Moreover, since stocks have pushed to dizzying heights in recent months, analysts say investors should have been prepared for just this sort of sharp pullback.
Gerald Greenwald slipped into his limousine near O'Hare Airport, leaned back and pondered a daring deal. It was last fall, and Mr. Greenwald had joined United Airlines as chairman a year earlier as a seasoned practitioner of management arts, including layoffs. He had been an architect of Chrysler's recovery, shedding 60,000 workers.
As Senator Bob Dole edges closer to the $37 million spending limit for the Presidential primaries, Republican strategists are exploring ways to maneuver around Federal election laws to keep his campaign afloat financially until the nominating convention in August. The Dole campaign will not say how much the Senator has spent on the 20 contests since Jan. 31, but the bills are expected to add significantly to the $25 million he had spent to that point. In January alone, he spent nearly $7 million, according to figures available through the end of January from the Federal Election Commission.
In advance of a summit meeting on terrorism, top Central Intelligence Agency officials will meet this weekend with the chiefs of the Palestinian and Israeli internal security forces to offer help and encourage the old enemies to cooperate against the suicide bombers of Hamas, American officials said today. The Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, George J. Tenet, and ranking C.I.A. counterterrorism experts were in Israel tonight and are to meet on Saturday with their opposite numbers in Israel's Shin Bet and the secret police of Yasir Arafat, leader of the Palestinian Authority. Official meetings between an American intelligence official of Mr. Tenet's rank and his Palestinian counterpart may be unprecedented, they said.
In the first half of the 1990's, new census figures show, enormous numbers of people left New York City for other parts of the United States, and were replaced mostly by people from abroad, trends that experts say continue to further vast changes in the culture and the economy of the region. Overall, the Census Bureau figures released yesterday show New York City's population down slightly, at 7,312,076 last July 1, compared to 7,322,564 on April 1, 1990, the date of the last census.
A movie review in Weekend yesterday about the Italian film "The Star Maker" referred incorrectly to the eligibility of two other Italian films for an Oscar nomination in the best foreign film category. "Lamerica" and "Il Postino" were eligible last year, not this year; "The Star Maker" is a nominee this year.
A front-page article and headline yesterday about the Clinton Adminstration's policy regarding Federal programs that set aside some contracts for companies owned by women or members of minorities misstated the extent of the policy change in some editions . The Administration is imposing a three-year moratorium on any new set-aside programs, not on existing programs.