On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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News of settlement between tobacco companies and antismoking forces stirs cautious reactions from many on Capitol Hill and outright skepticism from others; members of Congress on both sides of debate agree that any deal that eventually wins their approval will require mountain of legislative and bureaucratic changes (M)
And Russia Makes Eight Russia prominently joined the party of the leading industrial democracies now meeting in Denver. Page 6. Panel Wins Subpoena Power The House gave its chief investigator of campaign-finance abuses the power to summon witnesses and take sworn testimony. Page 11. Apartheid Leader Implicated For the first time, testimony from an official seeking amnesty directly links P. W. Botha, the South African President from 1978 to 1989, to an act of terror during apartheid. Page 3. Rent Law and Recrimination Gov. George E. Pataki signed New York's rent bill into law, but a fellow Republican chided him. Page 25. Prison for 3 in Fatal Prank Three friends were given 15-year terms for removing a stop sign and causing three youths to die. Page 7.
Family of Mir Amal Kansi discuss his capture by American agents in Pakistan for 1993 shooting rampage near Central Intelligence headquarters at Langley, Va; say they have no idea of what may have prompted Kansi to have carried out attack that killed two CIA employees and wounded three others; deny published reports that Kansi family may have worked with CIA in 1980's when their home town of Quetta was staging area for American-led effort to channel weapons to anti-Soviet guerrillas in Afghanistan; map (M)
News analysis on $368 bilion pact reached by tobacco companies, health groups, state attorneys general and lawyers for sick smokers; contends that while pact represents most determined effort in nation's history to reduce cigarette smoking, major question is whether tobacco companies will still find way to circumvent toughest warning labels and advertising restrictions ever, surviving and prospering as they have for decades (M)
Jesse K Timmendequas is sentenced to death for rape and murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka, his neighbor in Hamilton Township, NJ; jurors who arrived at sentence were never told of Timmendequas's other assaults against little girls, but many said during jury selection that they knew his case set off passage of so-called Megan's Laws across country, intended to notify communities of presence of sex offenders; jurors are unified in conclusion that whatever happened to Timmendequas in his youth, including sexual and physical abuse, did not justify what he did to Megan Kanka; photo (M)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of June 18, 1997, covering June 21, 1997.
Wu-Tang Clan
Tim McGraw
Spice Girls
Bob Carlisle
Hanson
1997Rebecca Black, American singer-songwriter[†]
Rebecca Renee Black is an American singer, songwriter, YouTuber, and DJ. She gained extensive media coverage when the music video for her 2011 debut single "Friday" went viral on YouTube and various social media sites. The song had a polarizing reaction as while it peaked at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was also panned by audiences and music critics, many of whom considered it "among the worst songs ever made". In 2013, Black released a follow up single "Saturday" to similar commercial success and marginally improved reception.
1997Derrius Guice, American football player[†]
Derrius Guice is an American former professional football running back. He played college football for the LSU Tigers, where he was the first player in Southeastern Conference (SEC) history with three career games of 250 or more rushing yards before being selected by the Washington Redskins in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft.
1997Shintaro Katsu, Japanese actor, singer, director, and producer (born 1931)[†]
Shintaro Katsu was a Japanese actor, singer, and filmmaker. He is known for starring in the Akumyo series, the Hoodlum Soldier series, and the Zatoichi series.
1997Fidel Velázquez Sánchez, Mexican trade union leader (born 1900)[†]
Fidel Velázquez Sánchez was the preeminent Mexican union leader of the 20th century. In 1936 he was one of the original founders, along with Vicente Lombardo Toledano, of the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), the national labor federation most closely associated with the ruling party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He replaced Lombardo as the leader of the CTM in 1941, then expelled him from it in 1948. He led the CTM, which grew increasingly corrupt and conservative, until his death in 1997.
In 1997, the world population was approximately 5,924,787,816 people[†]