On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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Aetna agreed to buy Prudential Health Care from the Prudential Insurance Company for $1 billion, creating the nation's biggest managed care company.
HENRY HYDE'S PREDICAMENT -- As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, the Republican from Illinois finds his entire political career and public image distilled into a single act of stewardship. Page A30. THE WEIGHT OF IMPEACHMENT -- The formal debate in the Judiciary Committee sounded as if it were more a routine political dispute than a grave constitutional matter. Page A29.
US and Canadian authorities say they have broken up ring that smuggled Chinese immigrants into US, and ultimately to New York City, through Mohawk reservation along border; say ring, made up primarily of Chinese citizens and members of Mohawk tribe, transported over 3,600 Chinese immigrants across border along St Lawrence River and into upstate New York during last two years; officials say 47 people have been indicted for conspiracy to smuggle immigrants into US; 35 of those have been arrested; maps (M)
Aetna Inc agrees to buy Prudential Health Care from Prudential Insurance Co of America for $1 billion, creating nation's biggest managed-care company with 22.4 million customers, including 18.4 million in health maintenance organizations and other managed health plans; chart (M)
Egyptian gas pipeline originating in Nile Delta gas fields and paralleling Sinai's northern Mediterranean shore is laying groundwork for regional power network that could bind Israel closer to its Arab neighbors and radically change its energy and security strategy; by directly fueling electric power plants, Sinai pipeline would end Israel's dependence on sources a continent or more away for vital energy imports; Israeli officials agree that Egyptian connection would be easiest and cheapest way to satisfy spiraling domestic power demands; pipeline is being built by 50-50 partnership between state-owned Egyptian General Petroleum Corp and giant Italian conglomerate ENI, developer of Egypt's 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas; Egyptian Government has not yet made made formal offer for long-term supply deal; Israel says 'it is currently considering the option' of buying gas from Egypt; builders are banking on a deal; map; graph; photo (M)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 9, 1998, covering December 11, 1998.
Garth Brooks
Metallica
Celine Dion
Jewel
2Pac
1998André Lichnerowicz, French physicist and mathematician (born 1915)[†]
André Lichnerowicz was a French differential geometer and mathematical physicist. He is considered the founder of modern Poisson geometry.
1998Lynn Strait, American singer-songwriter (born 1968)[†]
James Lynn Strait was an American singer. He was the lead vocalist and lyricist for the nu metal band Snot.
1998Thai Airways Flight 261 crashes near Surat Thani Airport, killing 101. The pilot flying the Airbus A310-200 is thought to have suffered spatial disorientation.[†]
Thai Airways International Flight 261 (TG261/THA261) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport to Surat Thani International Airport in Surat Thani, Thailand. The flight was operated by Thai Airways International, the flag carrier of Thailand. On 11 December 1998, the aircraft, an Airbus A310-204 registered in Thailand as HS-TIA, stalled and crashed into a swamp during its landing attempt at Surat Thani Airport. A total of 101 people were killed in the crash.
In 1998, the world population was approximately 6,007,066,690 people[†]