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Today in History: January 9

1776
Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense, a scathing attack on King George III's reign over the colonies and a call for complete independence.

1861
Southern shellfire stops the Union supply ship Star of the West from entering Charleston Harbor on her way to Fort Sumter.

1861
Mississippi secedes from the Union.

1912
Colonel Theodore Roosevelt announces that he will run for president if asked.

1924
Ford Motor Co. stock is valued at nearly $1 billion.

1943
Soviet planes drop leaflets on the surrounded Germans in Stalingrad requesting their surrender with humane terms. The Germans refuse.

1945
U.S. troops land on Luzon, in the Philippines, 107 miles from Manila.

1964
U.S. forces kill six Panamanian students protesting in the canal zone.

1980
63 beheaded in Mecca, Saudi Arabia

2007
Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, unveils the first iPhone.

2021 China places two cities, Shijiazhuang and Xingtai, under lockdown after over 130 cases of COVID-19 reported

2023
College Football, National Championship, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California: #1 Georgia beats #3 TCU, 65-7; 58-point victory most lopsided win Championship Game history

Born on January 9

1941
Joan Baez, American folk singer and activist.

1944
Jimmy Page, musician, songwriter, producer; member of The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin and other bands.

1982
Kate Middleton
(41st Birthday) Princess of Wales, English wife of Crown Prince William, born in Reading, Berkshire

JOTD
An eighty-five year old couple, married for almost sixty years, died in a car crash and went to the Pearly Gates.

They had been in good health for the last ten years, mainly as a result of the wife's interest in healthy diets and exercise.
St. Peter welcomed them into Heaven and took them to their small palace in heaven- complete with a large bedroom, Jacuzzi, full kitchen, and billiards table. "How much will this cost us?" asked the husband. "Nothing," St. Peter responded. "This is Heaven- everything is free!"
Next, he took them to the Championship golf course just minutes away from their mansion. They would have golfing privileges whenever they wanted, an angel as a caddy on command, and the course even changed daily to represent the most elite courses on Earth. "This is... stupendous," the wife asked. "What are the green fees?" Again, St. Peter said "Nothing. This is Heaven- everything is taken care of."
Next, he took them to the equivalence of a five-star restaurant next to the course. Wagyu beef, prime rib, lobster, veal, salmon, rare vegetables and spices- all one could eat.
"How much-"
"Again, free," St. Peter responded to the wife. "This is Heaven."
The husband paused. "Well... this is all nice, but... do you have any low cholesterol, low-fat options...?"
St. Peter chuckled. "In Heaven, you don't have to worry about Earthly problems. You will never get fat and you will never get sick."
Suddenly, the husband grew angry, and screamed toward the sky. St. Peter and the man's wife tried calming him down, but he kept getting angrier.
"What's the matter???" the wife asked. "Why aren't you happy here???"
The man responded, "This is all YOUR fault!!! If it weren't for your fricking 'bran muffins' and 'paleo chicken' recipes, we would have been here 10 years ago!!!"