Sat, July 13
1999—Sen. Bob Smith [R-N.H.] drops out of the GOP Presidential primary—and the GOP, to boot. Delusional, he runs as an Independent. 1987—Senator Warren B. Rudman [R-N.H] sets Ollie North straight during the Iran-Contra hearings: “The American people have the constitutional right to be wrong.” 1977—During a heat wave and a financial crisis, with Son of Sam on the loose, lightning strikes cause a blackout in New York City. Chaos ensues. 1959—A sodium-cooled nuclear reactor in Simi Valley, Calif. has a partial meltdown, releasing 300 times more radiation than Three Mile Island—a fact kept secret for 20 years. 1950—A B-50 Superfortress crashes in Lebanon, Ohio, killing …