It’s Friday, April 19, the 109th day of 2013. There are 256 days left in the year.

Ricin case — A court hearing is scheduled for today after charges were filed in the toxin-laced letters mailed to Capitol Hill and the White House. A5

Actor Hugh O’Brian is 88. Actress Elinor Donahue is 76. Actor Tim Curry is 67. Actor Tony Plana is 61. Former tennis player Sue Barker is 57. Former race car driver Al Unser Jr. is 51. Singer-songwriter Dar Williams is 46. Actress Ashley Judd is 45. Actress Jennifer Esposito is 41. Actress Jennifer Taylor is 41. Jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux is 39. Actor James Franco is 35. Actress Kate Hudson is 34. Actor Hayden Christensen is 32. Actor Courtland Mead is 26. Tennis player Maria Sharapova is 26.

— From wire reports

Highlights: In 1993, the 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ended as fire destroyed the structure after federal agents began smashing their way in; dozens of people, including sect leader David Koresh, were killed.

In 1775, the American Revolutionary War began with the battles of Lexington and Concord.

In 1861, a week after the Civil War began, President Abraham Lincoln authorized a blockade of Southern ports.

In 1912, a special subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee opened hearings into the Titanic disaster.

In 1933, the United States went off the gold standard.

In 1943, during World War II, tens of thousands of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto began a valiant but ultimately futile battle against Nazi forces.

In 1951, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, relieved of command by President Harry S. Truman, bade farewell in an address to Congress in which he quoted a line from a ballad: “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.”

In 1973, the science-fiction film “Soylent Green,” starring Charlton Heston, was released.

In 1982, astronauts Sally Ride and Guion Bluford became the first woman and first African-American, respectively, to be tapped for U.S. space missions.

In 1995, a truck bomb destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people.

In 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was elected Pope Benedict XVI.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush wrapped up two days of talks at Camp David with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

One year ago: Greg Ham, of the Australian band Men at Work, was found dead in his Melbourne home; he was 58.