Today is Sunday, Dec. 14, the 348th day of 2025. There are 17 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Dec. 14, 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court in Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States upheld Congress’s authority to apply the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to private businesses. The decision affirmed that Congress could prohibit racial discrimination by establishments like the Heart of Atlanta Motel, which had refused to accept Black guests.
Also on this date:
1799 — George Washington, the first president of the United States, died at his Mount Vernon, Virginia, home at age 67.
1819 — Alabama was admitted to the Union as the 22nd state.
1903 — Wilbur Wright made an early attempt to fly the Wright Flyer on North Carolina’s Outer Banks; the plane climbed steeply, stalled and plunged into the sand. Three days later, on Dec. 17, his brother Orville completed the first successful controlled, powered flight.
1911 — Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team became the first humans to reach the South Pole, arriving 33 days ahead of a rival British expedition led by Robert F. Scott.
1995 — The Dayton Accords were formally signed in Paris, bringing an end to the Bosnian war that had cost more than 200,000 lives and displaced roughly 2 million people over three years.
2012 — A gunman armed with a semiautomatic rifle killed 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and then died by suicide as police arrived. Authorities say the 20-year-old had also fatally shot his mother at their home earlier that day.
2020 — The largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history began as health workers received the first COVID-19 shots; the rollout coincided with the nation’s reported COVID-19 death toll reaching 300,000.
2021 — Stephen Curry set a new NBA career 3-point record, making his 2,974th long-range shot while the Golden State Warriors faced the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
2024 — South Korea’s parliament impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over a brief martial law decree, ending days of political paralysis and prompting jubilant public demonstrations in favor of democracy.
Today’s birthdays:
Tennis Hall of Famer Stan Smith is 79. Actor Dee Wallace is 77. Rock musician Cliff Williams (AC/DC) is 76. Baseball Hall of Famer Craig Biggio is 60. Actor and comedian Miranda Hart is 53. Actor Natascha McElhone is 54. Actor Jackson Rathbone is 41. Actor Vanessa Hudgens is 37. Rapper Offset is 34. Singer Tori Kelly is 33. NFL wide receiver DK Metcalf is 28.
