Fri, Aug 18
1996—The U.S. prison population hits 1,600,000, double what it had been just 10 years earlier. 1988—Accepting the GOP nomination, George H.[H.]W. Bush solemnly vows, “Read my lips: no new taxes!” 1960—Kindly old Ike tells the CIA to assassinate Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. 1959—Sailors aboard the U.S.S. Wasp bring a severe fire under control, barely averting the need to flood the ship’s nuclear weapons storage space. 1950—A climbing party at the summit of the Matterhorn (14,692 feet) encounters a ten-month-old black and white kitten from the Hotel Belvedere, situated at 10,820 feet. 1933—Germany introduces the Volksempfänger, or Peoples’ Radio. Built to Joseph Goebbels’ specifications, it …