One year ago: The director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Keith Alexander, vigorously defended once-secret surveillance programs before the Senate Intelligence Committee, saying that collecting Americans' phone records and tapping into their Internet activity had disrupted dozens of terrorist attacks. Ariel Castro, accused of holding three women captive in his Cleveland home for about a decade, pleaded not guilty to hundreds of rape and kidnapping charges. (Castro was later sentenced to life plus 1,000 years and soon after committed suicide in prison.) NASCAR driver Jason Leffler, 37, died after an accident at a dirt car event at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey.
Today's Birthdays: Banker/philanthropist David Rockefeller is 99. Former President George H.W. Bush is 90. Singer Vic Damone is 86. Songwriter Richard Sherman is 86. Actor-singer Jim Nabors is 84. Jazz musician Chick Corea is 73. Sportscaster Marv Albert is 73. Singer Roy Harper is 73. Pop singer Len Barry is 72. Rock singer-musician John Wetton (Asia, King Crimson) is 65. Rock musician Bun E. Carlos (Cheap Trick) is 63. Country singer-musician Junior Brown is 62. Singer-songwriter Rocky Burnette is 61. Actor Timothy Busfield is 57. Singer Meredith Brooks is 56. Actress Jenilee Harrison is 56. Rock musician John Linnell (They Might Be Giants) is 55. Rapper Grandmaster Dee (Whodini) is 52. Actor Paul Schulze (TV: "Nurse Jackie") is 52. Actress Paula Marshall is 50. Actress Frances O'Connor is 47. Actor Rick Hoffman is 44. Actor Jason Mewes is 40. Actor Michael Muhney is 39. Blues musician Kenny Wayne Shepherd is 37. Actor Wil Horneff is 35. Singer Robyn is 35. Actor Dave Franco is 29. Country singer Chris Young is 29. Rap group MC Jay Are is 25. Actor Ryan Malgarini is 22.
Thought for Today: "A man without ambition is dead. A man with ambition but no love is dead. A man with ambition and love for his blessings here on earth is ever so alive." — Pearl Bailey, American entertainer (1918-1990).
(Above Advance for Use Thursday, June 12)
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