by tyler | Jan 8, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of retired professional golfer Jack Nicklaus.
Birth date: January 21, 1940
Birth place: Columbus, Ohio
Birth name: Jack William Nicklaus
Father: Louis Charles Nicklaus Jr., a pharmacist
Mother: Helen (Schoener) Nicklaus
Marriage: Barbara Jean (Bash) Nicklaus (July 23, 1960-present)
Children: Michael, July 24, 1973; Gary, January 15, 1969; Nancy, May 5, 1965; Steve, April 11,1963; Jack II, September 23, 1961
Education: Attended The Ohio State University, 1957-1961
Nicknamed “Golden Bear.”
Began playing golf at age 10.
Has won 18 professional major championships: six Masters, five PGA Championships, four US Opens and three British Opens. Additionally, Nicklaus has won two US Amateur Championships.
Founded and formerly served as chairman and CEO of Nicklaus Companies, which includes a successful golf course design business.
1956 – Wins the Ohio State Open golf tournament at age 16.
1959 and 1961 – Wins the US Amateur Championship.
January 1962 – First professional start at the Los Angeles Open.
June 1962 – First professional win, defeating Arnold Palmer at the US Open.
1962, 1967, 1972 and 1980 – Wins the US Open.
1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975 and 1986 – Wins the Masters.
1963, 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1980 – Wins the PGA Championship.
1966, 1970 and 1978 – Wins the British Open.
1967, 1972, 1973, 1975 and 1976 – Named PGA Player of the Year.
1974 – Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
1991 and 1993 – Wins the US Senior Open.
1997 – “Jack Nicklaus: My Story,” written with Ken Bowden, is published.
1999 – Named Sports Illustrated’s best individual male athlete of the 20th century.
2001 – Is awarded the ESPY Lifetime Achievement Award.
2002 – The Jack Nicklaus Museum opens on the campus of The Ohio State University.
2004 – The Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation is formed.
2005 – Retires from tournament competition.
2005 – Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
2006 – Is inducted into the PGA Professional Hall of Fame.
March 24, 2015 – Honored with the Congressional Gold Medal.
December 2015 – Nicklaus receives Sports Illustrated’s Muhammad Ali Legacy Award.
February 18, 2016 – Undergoes experimental stem cell therapy to help with debilitating back pain.
July 19, 2020 – Nicklaus reveals that he and his wife both tested positive for the Covid-19 virus on March 13 and stayed at their home in North Palm Beach, Florida, until they recovered on April 20.
May 13, 2022 – Nicklaus and GBI Investors Inc., of which he is a principle, are sued by Nicklaus Companies in New York Supreme Court. The lawsuit alleges breach of contract, tortious interference and breach of fiduciary duty.
April 21, 2023 – Nicklaus, in an attempt to reclaim control of his name, image and likeness, files a lawsuit against his former partner Howard Milstein. In August, a judge rules against Nicklaus and dismisses the case.
by tyler | Jan 5, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday that falls on the third Monday in January.
January 15, 2024 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
King’s actual birthday was on January 15.
April 8, 1968 – Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduces legislation for a federal holiday to commemorate King, just four days after his assassination.
January 15, 1969 – The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in Atlanta sponsors and observes the first annual celebration of King’s birthday.
April 1971 – The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) presents to Congress petitions containing three million signatures in support of the holiday. Congress does not act.
1973 – Illinois is the first state to adopt Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday.
November 4, 1978 – The National Council of Churches urges Congress to enact the holiday.
1979 – Coretta Scott King speaks before Congress and joint hearings of Congress in a campaign to pass a holiday bill. A petition for the bill receives 300,000 signatures, and President Jimmy Carter supports passage of a bill.
November 1979 – The House fails to pass Conyers’ King Holiday bill by five votes.
1982 – Coretta Scott King and Stevie Wonder bring the speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, petitions with more than six million signatures in favor of a holiday.
1983 – Congress passes and President Ronald Reagan signs legislation creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday. Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Gordon Humphrey (R-NH) attempt to block the bill’s passing.
January 20, 1986 – First national celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday takes place.
January 16, 1989 – The King holiday is legal in 44 states.
1994 – Coretta Scott King goes before Congress and quotes King from his 1968 sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct,” in which he said, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” She requests that the holiday be an official national day of humanitarian service.
1994 – Congress designates the holiday as a national day of service through the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday and Service Act.
1999 – New Hampshire becomes the last state to adopt a holiday honoring King.
January 17, 2011 – Marks the 25th anniversary of the holiday.
December 15, 2021 – The family of King calls for “no celebration” of MLK Day without the passage of voting rights legislation.
by tyler | Jan 5, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of Michelle Obama, wife of 44th US President Barack Obama.
Birth date: January 17, 1964
Birth place: Chicago, Illinois
Birth name: Michelle LaVaughn Robinson
Father: Fraser Robinson, water filtration worker
Mother: Marian (Shields) Robinson
Marriage: Barack Obama (October 3, 1992-present)
Children: Sasha, Malia
Education: Princeton University, B.A., 1985; Harvard University, J.D., 1988
Religion: Christian
Graduated magna cum laude with a sociology degree from Princeton.
Met Barack Obama when she was assigned to be his mentor at Sidley & Austin, a Chicago law firm.
Her father suffered from and eventually died of multiple sclerosis.
Has won a Grammy Award.
Nominated for one Primetime Emmy Award.
1988-1991 – Associate attorney at Sidley & Austin in Chicago.
1991-1992 – Assistant to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.
1992-1993 – Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development.
1993-1996 – Founding executive director of Public Allies Chicago.
1996-2002 – Associate Dean of Student Services for the University of Chicago and director of the University Community Service Center.
2002-2005 – Executive Director for Community Affairs for University of Chicago Hospitals.
2005-2007 – Member of the board of Tree House Foods, a food supplier for Walmart stores.
2005-January 2009 – Vice President of Community and External Affairs for University of Chicago Hospitals.
January 20, 2009 – Becomes the first lady of the United States.
April 2009 – “Michelle Obama: In Her Own Words” is published.
February 2009 – Appears on the March cover of Vogue magazine.
February 9, 2010 – Launches the national campaign, “Let’s Move!,” to reduce childhood obesity.
April 2011 – Launches the national veterans’ campaign, “Joining Forces,” with Jill Biden.
June 20, 2011 – Travels to Africa for a week to focus on youth leadership, education, health and wellness.
June 21, 2011 – Visits former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela at his home.
May 29, 2012 – “American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America” is published.
February 24, 2013 – Presents the Academy Award for best picture.
March 13, 2013 – Along with other high profile celebrities and politicians, Obama’s financial information is hacked and posted online. Her student loan information and credit report are posted.
March 14, 2013 – Is on the cover of April’s edition of Vogue. This is the second time she has appeared on the cover.
May 2014 – Launches the national campaign, “Reach Higher,” a higher education initiative.
March 2015 – Launches the national campaign, “Let Girls Learn,” a global focus on girls’ education.
July 2015 – Guest edits “More” magazine. Obama is the magazine’s first guest editor as well as the first, first lady to guest edit an entire issue of “More.”
November 10, 2016 – Obama hosts the soon-to-be first lady, Melania Trump, for tea and a tour of the White House residence, Press Secretary Josh Earnest says in a White House briefing.
November 11, 2016 – Is on the cover of December’s edition of Vogue. This is the third time she has appeared on the cover.
January 13, 2017 – Gives her final White House remarks thanking her supporters and saying, “being your first lady has been the greatest honor of my life and I hope I’ve made you proud.”
September 27, 2017 – Remarks that “any woman who voted against Hillary Clinton voted against their own voice” during an appearance at the Inbound 2017 conference in Boston.
May 21, 2018 – Netflix announces the Obamas have signed a multi-year production deal that in which the two will work both in front of and behind the camera.
November 13, 2018 – Obama’s memoir “Becoming” is published, shooting to No. 1 on the Amazon Best Sellers list.
December 27, 2018 – Is voted the woman most admired by Americans this year, knocking Hillary Clinton from the top spot for the first time in 17 years, according to Gallup’s annual survey.
November 20, 2019 – Is nominated for a Grammy for best spoken word album for the audio version of “Becoming.”
December 30, 2019 – For the second year in a row, a Gallup survey lists Obama as the woman most admired by Americans.
January 26, 2020 – Wins a Grammy for best spoken word album for the audio version of “Becoming.”
July 16, 2020 – Announces that she is launching “The Michelle Obama Podcast” on Spotify.
March 10, 2021 – Obama speaks candidly, in an interview with People magazine about her struggles with low-grade depression during the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges of 2020. “Depression is understandable in these circumstances, during these times,” she said in the interview. “To think that somehow that we can just continue to rise above all the shock and the trauma and the upheaval that we have been experiencing without feeling it in that way is just unrealistic.”
June 21, 2022 – Audible, Amazon’s audiobook and podcast service, announces that Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground, signed an exclusive multi-year first-look production deal with Audible.
by tyler | Jan 5, 2024 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos.
Birth date: January 12, 1964
Birth place: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Birth name: Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen
Father: Ted Jorgensen
Mother: Jackie (Gise) Bezos
Marriage: MacKenzie (Tuttle) Bezos (1993-2019, divorced)
Children: A daughter adopted from China, and three sons
Education: Princeton University, B.S. in electrical engineering and computer science, 1986
He was adopted at a young age by his stepfather, Miguel “Mike” Bezos, an engineer at Exxon.
1994 – Leaves D. E. Shaw & Co. in order to develop Amazon.
1999 – Is named Time magazine’s Person of the Year.
2000 – Founds Blue Origin, LLC, an aerospace company to provide low-cost access to private space travel.
2011 – Bezos and his wife donate $15 million to create the Bezos Center for Neural Circuit Dynamics at Princeton University.
November 2012 – Fortune Magazine names Bezos 2012 Businessperson of the Year.
March 2012-2013 – Leads the privately funded Apollo 11 F-1 Engine Recovery project team that, in March 2013, recovers parts of two rocket engines from the Atlantic seafloor. The rockets from the 1969 Apollo 11 mission remain property of NASA.
August 5, 2013 – It is announced that Bezos is purchasing The Washington Post. Bezos officially becomes the owner on October 1.
January 1, 2014 – Bezos is evacuated on an Ecuadorian navy helicopter from the Galapagos Islands after he develops kidney stones. An Amazon spokesman later says no surgery was required.
November 24, 2015 – Bezos’ company Blue Origin successfully lands a rocket back on Earth after a space flight. In the past, rockets were disposed of after launching space crafts. Reusable rockets would substantially reduce the cost of space flight.
July 18, 2016 – Amazon confirms Bezos has a cameo role as an alien in the movie “Star Trek Beyond.”
December 14, 2016 – Along with other tech executives, Bezos meets with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower to discuss issues such as education, trade and immigration.
September 5, 2018 – Bezos contributes $10 million to With Honor, a nonpartisan organization and super PAC that aims to increase the number of veterans in politics.
September 13, 2018 – Bezos announces via Twitter that he and his wife will commit $2 billion to a fund called “Bezos Day One Fund.” The fund will support nonprofits that help homeless families and create a network of preschools in low-income communities.
January 9, 2019 – In a joint statement, Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, announce they are divorcing after 25 years of marriage.
February 7, 2019 – In a blog post, Bezos accuses AMI, the publisher of the National Enquirer, of trying to extort him, alleging that AMI threatened to release compromising photos of him.
READ MORE: Jeff Bezos and the National Enquirer: A timeline of events.
March 6, 2019 – Haven, the name of the venture created by Bezos, Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon to improve the health care system, is unveiled.
March 30, 2019 – An investigator working for Bezos to find out how evidence of his extramarital relationship was provided to the National Enquirer claims that Saudi Arabia had access to information before the photos and texts were leaked. In an opinion article for the Daily Beast, Gavin de Becker says that Saudi leadership wanted to harm Bezos because of the Washington Post’s coverage of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.
April 4, 2019 – Bezos and his wife announce that they have agreed to divorce terms, with MacKenzie set to keep 25% of the couple’s Amazon stock, which would give her a 4% stake in the company. Bezos will retain voting control over all MacKenzie’s shares and will also maintain all his interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin.
May 9, 2019 – Bezos unveils Blue Origin’s new rocket engine and a mockup of the lunar lander it wants to use to shuttle cargo or people to the moon. The lunar lander’s first mission is slated for 2024.
February 17, 2020 – Bezos commits $10 billion to the Bezos Earth Fund, a new initiative to back scientists, activists and organizations working to mitigate the impact of climate change.
July 29, 2020 – Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, CEO of Google’s parent company Sundar Pichai and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg all testify before a House subcommittee on anti-trust to address concerns that their businesses may be harming competition.
October 19, 2020 – The Bezos Academy, the first location of a network of tuition-free preschools serving children in underserved communities, opens in Des Moines, Washington.
November 16, 2020 – Bezos announces that he will give $791 million in grants as part of his Bezos Earth Fund to 16 organizations that are working to protect the environment.
February 2, 2021 – In its fourth-quarter 2020 earnings report, Amazon announces that Bezos will step down from his role as chief executive in the third quarter of 2021. He will transition to the role of executive chair. Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy will become chief executive officer at that time.
May 26, 2021 – During the company’s annual shareholder meeting, Bezos announces that he will officially step down from his role as chief executive officer on July 5. That is the anniversary of the date Amazon was incorporated in 1994.
July 15, 2021 – The Smithsonian announces that Bezos will donate $200 million to the museum, the largest gift the institution has received since its founding in 1846.
July 20, 2021 – Bezos travels to space and back on an 11-minute ride aboard the rocket and capsule system developed by his space company, Blue Origin. During his post-flight news conference, he announces a new philanthropic initiative that gives recipients $100 million to give to charities and nonprofits of their choice. The first two winners are Van Jones and José Andrés.
November 14, 2022 – In an exclusive interview, Bezos tells CNN he will devote the bulk of his wealth to fighting climate change and supporting people who can unify humanity in the face of deep social and political divisions.
by tyler | Jan 5, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of Michael Skakel, the nephew of Ethel Kennedy. Skakel was convicted in 2002 of the 1975 murder of his neighbor, Martha Moxley. Skakel’s conviction was vacated by the Connecticut Supreme Court in 2018. In October 2020, the Connecticut State’s Attorney announced they will not retry Skakel.
Birth date: September 19, 1960
Birth place: Greenwich, Connecticut
Birth name: Michael Skakel
Father: Rushton Skakel Sr.
Mother: Anne Skakel
Marriage: Margot Sheridan (1991-2001, divorced)
Children: George, 1999
Education: Curry College, Milton, Massachusetts, B.A., 1993
Both Skakel and victim Martha Moxley were 15 years old at the time, and lived near each other in Greenwich, Connecticut.
His older brother, Tommy, and their live-in tutor, Kenneth Littleton, were also suspects.
Prosecutors claimed Skakel killed Moxley in a jealous rage.
Dominick Dunne’s bestselling 1993 novel “A Season in Purgatory” is based on the case.
October 30, 1975 – Martha Moxley fails to return home after her evening out concludes with a stop at the Skakel home to visit Tommy and Michael Skakel, Kennedy nephews by marriage.
October 31, 1975 – Martha’s body is discovered. She is believed to have been beaten to death with a golf club, which is found near her body. Tommy Skakel is questioned by the police.
1978 – Michael Skakel is charged with drunken driving. To sidestep a prosecution, Skakel family attorneys work out a deal with police: Skakel will go to the Elan School in Poland Spring, Maine, to be treated for alcohol addiction and the state will not pursue the charges.
1994 – Skakel works as an aide to Sen. Edward Kennedy’s reelection campaign.
1998 – Two books based on the crime are published – “Greentown,” by Timothy Dumas, and “Murder in Greenwich,” by Mark Fuhrman.
June 1998 – Superior Court Judge George Thim begins an 18-month one-person grand jury review of information gathered by investigators.
January 19, 2000 – An arrest warrant for an unnamed individual is issued in the Moxley murder. Later the same day, Skakel surrenders to police and is released on $500,000 bond.
June 21, 2000 – At a pre-trial hearing, two of Skakel’s former classmates at the Elan School in Maine testify that he had confessed to them back in the 1970s, “I’m gonna get away with murder. I’m a Kennedy.”
May 7, 2002 – Testimony begins in the case.
June 7, 2002 – Skakel is convicted.
August 29, 2002 – Skakel is sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
November 24, 2003 – Attorneys file an appeal, seeking to overturn his murder conviction.
January 13, 2006 – The conviction is upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court.
November 13, 2006 – The US Supreme Court declines to hear Skakel’s appeal, meaning his conviction stands.
April 17, 2007 – Skakel’s petition for a new trial is filed. Former high school classmate Gitano “Tony” Bryant says two of his friends were involved in the murder, not Skakel.
October 25, 2007 – The petition for new trial is denied as the judge finds statements not credible that Bryant and his two friends, all African American, could go unnoticed in the mostly white neighborhood.
November 6, 2007 – Skakel’s lawyers file a writ of habeas corpus and petition for a new trial in federal district court.
September 27, 2010 – Skakel’s lawyers file a new appeal claiming that his trial attorney, Mickey Sherman, was incompetent in that he failed to obtain evidence from prosecuting attorneys pointing to other suspects, and that Sherman’s own financial problems drew his focus away from the case. Sherman had pleaded guilty in June to failing to pay $400,000 in federal income taxes.
February 8, 2011 – Skakel testifies in his appeal hearing, the fourth attempt at overturning his conviction.
March 6, 2012 – His appeal is denied by a three-judge panel of the Connecticut Supreme Court.
October 24, 2012 – Skakel is denied parole by the state parole board in Suffield, Connecticut.
October 23, 2013 – A Connecticut Appellate judge orders a new trial for Skakel, saying defense attorney Mickey Sherman’s representation of Skakel was “constitutionally deficient.”
November 21, 2013 – Skakel is released after his bail is posted. Superior Court Judge Gary White sets several conditions for the bail, including barring Skakel from leaving Connecticut without court approval, ordering him to wear a GPS tracking device and requiring that he report to a bail commissioner.
August 8, 2014 – Prosecutors file an appeal to reinstate Skakel’s conviction of killing Moxley in 1975. If the appeal fails, prosecutors state they will retry Skakel.
December 30, 2016 – The Connecticut Supreme Court reinstates Skakel’s 2002 murder conviction in a 4-3 decision, reversing the appellate court’s order for a new trial in 2013. The final version of the court’s decision is released on May 8, 2017.
January 6, 2017 – Skakel’s attorneys file a motion to reconsider the ruling of the Connecticut Supreme Court and requesting a seven-member court panel hear the motion to ensure a “full and fair determination.” The argument raises an unprecedented issue, as the judge who authored the majority decision retired from the court and cannot participate in any future decisions.
May 4, 2018 – The Connecticut Supreme Court vacates Skakel’s conviction. Prosecutors can choose to retry Skakel, but had no comment immediately following the decision.
August 8, 2018 – Connecticut files a petition with the US Supreme Court to review the decision by Connecticut’s high court to vacate Skakel’s conviction based on inadequate assistance of counsel. Skakel files a brief in response to Connecticut’s petition approximately three months later.
January 7, 2019 – The US Supreme Court denies Connecticut’s petition for review.
July 24, 2020 – Federal Judge Michael Shea rules that Connecticut officials cannot keep judicial records and court proceedings secret for cases involving teenagers charged with major felonies, a ruling that will reopen Skakel’s case to the public if he is retried.
October 30, 2020 – Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo Jr. announces that prosecutors for the state of Connecticut will not retry Skakel for the death of Moxley. Addressing the Stamford Superior Court, Colangelo confirms that after “Looking at the evidence, your honor, looking at the state of the case, it is my belief that the state cannot prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
January 3, 2024 – Skakel files lawsuits against the lead police investigator in the case and the town of Greenwich alleging malicious prosecution, violation of his constitutional rights and other claims.
by tyler | Jan 5, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday that falls on the third Monday in January.
January 15, 2024 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
King’s actual birthday was on January 15.
April 8, 1968 – Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduces legislation for a federal holiday to commemorate King, just four days after his assassination.
January 15, 1969 – The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in Atlanta sponsors and observes the first annual celebration of King’s birthday.
April 1971 – The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) presents to Congress petitions containing three million signatures in support of the holiday. Congress does not act.
1973 – Illinois is the first state to adopt Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a state holiday.
November 4, 1978 – The National Council of Churches urges Congress to enact the holiday.
1979 – Coretta Scott King speaks before Congress and joint hearings of Congress in a campaign to pass a holiday bill. A petition for the bill receives 300,000 signatures, and President Jimmy Carter supports passage of a bill.
November 1979 – The House fails to pass Conyers’ King Holiday bill by five votes.
1982 – Coretta Scott King and Stevie Wonder bring the speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, petitions with more than six million signatures in favor of a holiday.
1983 – Congress passes and President Ronald Reagan signs legislation creating Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national holiday. Senators Jesse Helms (R-NC) and Gordon Humphrey (R-NH) attempt to block the bill’s passing.
January 20, 1986 – First national celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday takes place.
January 16, 1989 – The King holiday is legal in 44 states.
1994 – Coretta Scott King goes before Congress and quotes King from his 1968 sermon, “The Drum Major Instinct,” in which he said, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” She requests that the holiday be an official national day of humanitarian service.
1994 – Congress designates the holiday as a national day of service through the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday and Service Act.
1999 – New Hampshire becomes the last state to adopt a holiday honoring King.
January 17, 2011 – Marks the 25th anniversary of the holiday.
December 15, 2021 – The family of King calls for “no celebration” of MLK Day without the passage of voting rights legislation.
