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Today is Thursday, April 18, the 108th day of 2002. There are 257 days left in the year. 

Highlight in History: 

On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere began his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Mass., warning American colonists that the British were coming. 

On this date: 

In 1906, a devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by raging fires. About 700 people died. 

In 1921, Junior Achievement, created to encourage business skills in young people, was incorporated. 

In 1942, an air squadron from the USS Hornet led by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities. 

In 1942, the first World War II edition of Stars and Stripes was published as a weekly newspaper for U.S. troops in Northern Ireland. 

In 1945, famed American war correspondent Ernie Pyle, 44, was killed by Japanese gunfire on the Pacific island of Ie Shima, off Okinawa. 

In 1946, the League of Nations went out of business. 

In 1949, the Irish republic was proclaimed. 

In 1955, physicist Albert Einstein died in Princeton, N.J. 

In 1978, the U.S. Senate voted 68-to-32 to turn the Panama Canal over to Panamanian control on Dec. 31, 1999. 

In 1994, former President Nixon suffered a stroke at his home in Park Ridge, N.J.; he died four days later at a New York hospital. 

Ten years ago: 

Serbia issued a protest to the United States, accusing Washington of siding with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia in the Yugoslav crisis. Democrat Jerry Brown met with black leaders in Philadelphia while front-runner Bill Clinton visited a Phillies-Pirates ballgame as the two courted Pennsylvania primary voters. 

Five years ago: 

President Clinton held a news conference in which he warned Republicans that a balanced-budget deal might not come quickly, while reassuring nervous Democrats that he would not abandon the party’s prized social programs. 

One year ago: 

U.S. and Chinese diplomats began two days of talks over the April 1 collision involving a U.S. spy plane after Beijing and Washington staked out opposing positions on who was to blame for the incident. 

Today’s Birthdays: 

Actress Barbara Hale is 81. Blues singer Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown is 78. Actor Clive Revill is 72. Actor James Drury is 68. Actor Robert Hooks is 65. Actress Hayley Mills is 56. Actor James Woods is 55. Actress-director Dorothy Lyman is 55. Actress Cindy Pickett is 55. Country musician Walt Richmond (The Tractors) is 55. Actor Rick Moranis is 48. Actress Melody Thomas Scott is 46. Actor Eric Roberts is 46. Actor John James is 46. Rock musician Les Pattinson (Echo and the Bunnymen) is 44. Talk show host Conan O’Brien is 39. Actress Jane Leeves is 39. Actor Eric McCormack is 39. Actress Maria Bello is 35. Rock musician Greg Eklund (Everclear) is 32. Rhythm-and-blues singer Trina (Trina and Tamara) is 28. Actress Melissa Joan Hart is 26. Actor Sean Maguire is 26. Actress Alia Shawkat is 13.