Today is Thursday, Feb. 5, the 36th day of 2026. There are 329 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Feb. 5, 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, granting eligible workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family or medical reasons.
Also on this date:
In 1917, the U.S. Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto; the law severely curtailed Asian immigration and imposed literacy tests for immigrants.
In 1918, more than 200 people were killed during World War I when the Cunard liner SS Tuscania, carrying over 2,000 American troops to Europe, was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland.
In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the moon’s surface in the first of two lunar excursions.
In 1973, services were held at Arlington National Cemetery for U.S. Army Col. William B. Nolde, the last official American combat casualty in the Vietnam War before a ceasefire took effect.
In 1994, white separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Mississippi, of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963 and was sentenced to life in prison.
In 2008, an outbreak of 87 tornadoes swept across nine states, killing 57 people in Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama during about 12 hours. One Arkansas twister left a 122-mile path of damage.
In 2017, Tom Brady led one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, including a spectacular Julian Edelman catch, as the New England Patriots overcame a 25-point deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in the first Super Bowl to go into overtime.
In 2020, the Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial; only one Republican, Mitt Romney of Utah, voted to convict. In 2021, the Senate acquitted Trump in a second impeachment trial over the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
In 2023, Beyoncé won her 32nd Grammy, becoming the most decorated artist in Grammy history.
Today’s birthdays: Tony-winning playwright John Guare is 88. Football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach is 84. Film director Michael Mann is 83. Racing Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip is 79. Actor Barbara Hershey is 78. Actor-comedian Tim Meadows is 65. Actor Jennifer Jason Leigh is 64. Rock musician Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses) is 62. Golf Hall of Famer Jose Maria Olazabal is 60. Actor-comedian Chris Parnell is 59. Actor Michael Sheen is 57. Country singer Sara Evans is 55. Actor-singer Darren Criss is 39. Actor Henry Golding is 39. Soccer star Neymar is 34.
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