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Today is Tuesday, April 30, the 120th day of 2002. There are 245 days left in the year. 

Highlight: 

On April 30, 1945, as Russian troops approached his Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler committed suicide along with his wife of one day, Eva Braun. 

On this date: 

In 1789, George Washington took office in New York as the first president of the United States. 

In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. 

In 1812, Louisiana became the 18th state of the Union. 

In 1900, Hawaii was organized as a U.S. territory. 

In 1939, the New York World’s Fair officially opened. 

In 1970, President Nixon announced the United States was sending troops into Cambodia, an action that sparked widespread protest. 

In 1973, President Nixon announced the resignations of top aides H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, along with Attorney General Richard G. Kleindienst and White House counsel John Dean. 

In 1975, Communist forces captured the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon. 

In 1991, an estimated 125,000 people died as a cyclone struck the South Asian country of Bangladesh. 

Ten years ago:  

As rioting in Los Angeles entered its second day, President Bush condemned the violence, and said the Justice Department would intensify its investigation of police conduct in the beating of Rodney King. 

Five years ago:  

The Senate approved the nomination of Alexis Herman to be labor secretary. ABC TV aired the “coming out” episode of the situation comedy “Ellen” in which the title character, played by Ellen DeGeneres, acknowledges her homosexuality. President Clinton reopened the newly renovated Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. 

One year ago:  

California businessman Dennis Tito arrived at the international space station aboard a Russian spacecraft. Intern Chandra Levy was last seen at a health club near her apartment in Washington, D.C., before vanishing (her disappearance remains a mystery). 

Today’s Birthdays:  

Princess Juliana, the Queen Mother of the Netherlands, is 93. Actress Cloris Leachman is 76. Singer Willie Nelson is 69. Actor Burt Young is 62. Actress Jill Clayburgh is 58. Movie director Allan Arkush is 54. Movie director Jane Campion is 48. Basketball coach Isiah Thomas is 41. Rock singer J.R. Richards (Dishwalla) is 30. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jeff Timmons (98 Degrees) is 29. Actress Kirsten Dunst is 20. Country singer Tyler Wilkinson (The Wilkinsons) is 18.