Today is Saturday, March 4, the 63rd day of 2006. There are 302 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On March 4, 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into effect as the first Federal Congress met in New York. (The lawmakers then adjourned for lack of a quorum.)
On this date:
In 1837, the Illinois state legislature granted a city charter to Chicago.
In 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated president.
In 1906, John McAllister Schofield, a Union general in the Civil War and onetime commanding general of the army, died in St. Augustine at age 74.
In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated president, pledging to lead the country out of the Great Depression.
In 1981, a jury in Salt Lake City convicted Joseph Paul Franklin, an avowed racist, of violating the civil rights of two black men who had been shot to death.
Ten years ago: Comedian Minnie Pearl died in Nashville, Tenn., at age 83.
Five years ago: President Bush dedicated a $4 billion aircraft carrier in honor of former President Reagan.
Today's Birthdays: Folk singer Miriam Makeba is 74. Singer Bobby Womack is 62. Actress Catherine O'Hara is 52. Actress Patricia Heaton is 48. Jazz musician Jason Marsalis is 29.