Today is Sunday, May 11, the 132nd day of 2008. There are 234 days left in the year. This is Mother’s Day.

Today’s Highlight in History

On May 11, 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state of the Union.

On this date

In 1502, Christopher Columbus left Cadiz, Spain, on his fourth and final trip to the Western Hemisphere.

In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant arrived in New Amsterdam to become governor of New Netherland.

In 1888, songwriter Irving Berlin was born Israel Baline in Temun, Russia.

In 1910, Glacier National Park in Montana was established.

In 1944, Allied forces launched a major offensive against German lines in Italy.

In 1946, the first CARE packages arrived in Europe, at Le Havre, France.

In 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg for his role in the “Pentagon Papers” case were dismissed by Judge William Byrne, who cited government misconduct.

In 1985, 56 people died when a flash fire swept a jam-packed soccer stadium in Bradford, England.

In 1988, master spy Harold “Kim” Philby, the notorious “Third Man” of a British espionage ring, died in the Soviet Union at age 76.

In 1996, an Atlanta-bound ValuJet DC-9 caught fire shortly after takeoff from Miami and crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board.

Ten years ago

India set off three underground atomic blasts, its first nuclear tests in 24 years. Attorney General Janet Reno requested an independent counsel to investigate Labor Secretary Alexis Herman for alleged influence-peddling and solicitation of illegal campaign contributions. Herman was later cleared. A French mint produced the first coins of Europe’s single currency, the euro.

Five years ago

The United States declared Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party dead. Lithuania became the first ex-Soviet republic to approve entry into the European Union as voters completed a weekend referendum. Canada beat Sweden 3-2 in Finland to win its first hockey world championship in six years.

One year ago

Speaking aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Persian Gulf, Vice President Dick Cheney warned Iran that the U.S. and its allies would keep it from restricting sea traffic as well as from developing nuclear weapons. North and South Korea adopted a military agreement, enabling the first train crossing of their border in more than half a century.

Today’s Birthdays

Comedian Mort Sahl is 81. Rock singer Eric Burdon (The Animals; War) is 67. Actress Shohreh Aghdashloo is 56. Actress Frances Fisher is 56. Actor Boyd Gaines is 55. Country musician Mark Herndon (Alabama) is 53. Actress Martha Quinn is 49. Actress Natasha Richardson is 45. Country singer-musician Tim Raybon (The Raybon Brothers) is 45. Country musician Keith West (Heartland) is 40. Actor Coby Bell is 33. Actor Jonathan Jackson is 26.

Thought for Today

“A mother never realizes that her children are no longer children.” — Holbrook Jackson,

British critic and historian (1874-1948)