Today in history: Feb. 9
In 1964, the Beatles made their first live American television appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” and more events that happened on this day in history.
1942: Joint Chiefs of Staff
In 1942, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate military strategy during World War II.
1943: Battle of Guadalcanal
In 1943, the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces.
1950: Joseph McCarthy
In 1950, in a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin charged that the State Department was riddled with Communists.
1962: Jamaica
In 1962, an agreement was signed to make Jamaica an independent nation within the British Commonwealth later in the year.
1964: The Beatles
In 1964, the Beatles made their first live American television appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” broadcast from New York on CBS.
1971: Earthquake
In 1971, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in California’s San Fernando Valley claimed 65 lives.
1984: Yuri V. Andropov
In 1984, Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov, 69, died 15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was followed by Konstantin U. Chernenko.
1986: Halley's Comet
In 1986, Halley’s Comet visited the solar system for the first time since 1910. (Its next return will be in 2061).
2002: Princess Margaret
In 2002, Britain’s Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died in London at age 71.
2009: Alex Rodriguez
In 2009, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs, telling ESPN he’d used banned substances while with the Texas Rangers for three years.
2020: Parasite
In 2020, “Parasite,” from South Korea, won the best picture Oscar, becoming the first foreign-language film to take home the biggest honor in film.
2021: Impeachment
In 2021, the Senate moved ahead with a second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, rejecting arguments that the chamber could not proceed because Trump was no longer in office.
2022: Kamila Valieva
In 2022, it was revealed that Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian figure skating superstar who had just led her team to an Olympic gold medal, tested positive for a banned heart medication before the Beijing Games.
The Supreme Court seems poised to reject attempts to kick former President Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot. The justices could act quickly, possibly by Super Tuesday on March 5, when Colorado, Maine and 13 other states will hold primaries.
Today's other top stories include how how the Biden and Trump classified documents investigations came to different endings and a recap of the Supreme Court arguments in Trump's ballot case.
The families of a few Israeli hostages don't want a deal to bring them home. They want Hamas crushed
A small group of families of Israelis who are hostages of Hamas believes that only continued Israeli military pressure on the militant group, rather than a deal, will free the captives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said he ordered the military to prepare a plan to "evacuate" civilians from Rafah ahead of an expected Israeli invasion of the densely populated southern Gaza city.