Newswomen Connie Chung; Actress Joan Allen; Weatherman Al Roker; and Composer Isaac Hayes
August 20th in History
Alaska discovered (1741); President Andrew Jackson formally announced the end of the Civil War (1866); first US radio station, Detroit's 8MK, began broadcasting (1920); President Lyndon Johnson signed the "anti-poverty" bill (1964); Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia (1968); US space probe Viking blasted off to Mars (1975); US launched Voyager 2 (1977); US Marines deployed to Lebanon (1982); President Clinton approved first federal minimum wage increase in five years, up 90 cents to $5.15/hour (1996).
August 20, 2004 News
Highlights: NASA hired two Hollywood helicopter stunt pilots for the tricky mid-air retrieval of a capsule full of stardust as it parachutes to Earth next month. Consumer groups and food industry officials pressured the Department of Agriculture to make its nutritional food pyramid more understandable.
Business:The dow closed at 10,110 up 69.32 points,: Gold was $415.50 an ounce.
Sports: At the Olympic Games, in Athens Greece, Carly Patterson had just won gold in all-around gymnastics competition and the US women's soccer team beat Japan to advance to the semifinals.
Top Books, Movies and Songs
Books: The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown; Skinny Dip, by Carl Hiaasen.
Movies: Alien vs. Predator and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.
Songs: "Lean Back," by Terror Squad; "Confessions," by Usher; and "Here For The Party," by Gretchen Wilson.
First Class stamp: $.37
Federal minimum wage: $5.14/hour
US population: 297,013,776
Number 1 TV show: Everybody Loves Raymond
Top movie rental: Hidalgo
The median family income: $45,329
Average Costs:
New home: $183,800
New car: $16,752
Half-gallon of milk: $1.49
Loaf of bread: $1.05
