[goofywife]

1998: Nichols sentenced for bombing
Terry Nichols, accomplice to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, was sentenced to life in prison today after he was convicted of manslaughter for the 1995 terrorist attack., which killed 168 people on April 19, 1995.

"The jury deadlocked over whether to give him the death penalty on the conspiracy conviction, so sentencing fell to [Judge] Matsch, who under law could impose no more than the sentence he did," reported the Syracuse Herald Journal on June 5, 1998. "The judge didn't just impose a sentence. As Nichols sat without visible emotion, Matsch called him an 'enemy of the Constitution' and ridiculed the bombing plot as a vain attempt to throw the nation into chaos."

NOTE: Six years after his federal sentencing, Nichols was also found guilty of 161 counts of first-degree murder by the state of Oklahoma. He received 161 consecutive life terms without parole for these crimes.

2003: Martha Stewart is indicted
Claiming her innocence and promising to fight to "clear my name," 61-year-old Martha Stewart and her stockbroker Peter Bacanovic were indicted on nine criminal counts today, including obstruction of justice, securities fraud, and conspiracy in relation to the ImClone stock scandal. Just hours later, Stewart announced her resignation. "The queen of home décor resigned late Wednesday as chairwoman and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, the company she used to stamp her style on everything from magazines and TV screens to bed linens and bath towels," informed The Valley Independent on June 5, 2003. NOTE: Stewart spent five months in prison after being convicted on March 5, 2004.

1989: Tiananmen Square Massacre
The student protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, were brought to a violent halt this morning by the Chinese military. Martial law was originally declared on May 20, but the sheer number of protesters halted the army’s entry into Beijing. Soldiers and tanks were finally ordered to take the city, moving in late at night on June 3 and early on June 4. Soldiers arriving on armored personnel carriers began the attack, firing into crowds and clearing the square with fixed bayonets. Tiananmen Square was emptied by 6:00 a.m., after the death of hundreds of protesters. NOTE: The true number of dead is not known; the Chinese government reported between 200 and 300, while the Chinese Red Cross reported the loss of 2,000 to 3,000.

1984: Springsteen releases best-selling album
Bruce Springsteen released Born in the U.S.A. today, his seventh studio album. Just one month after its release, the album reached number one on Billboard's 200 Chart. Although it would become Springsteen's best-selling album, newspaper reviews were mixed. "Springsteen's great talents as a storyteller and wordsmith are not evident in his new songs; what he says he has said before – and better – on previous albums," explained one review in The Post-Standard on June 22, 1984. NOTE: The album went on to sell more than 15 million copies in the United States alone.

1944: Rome falls to Allies
The Allied forces captured their first Axis capital, Rome, today. “American troops entered the city limits of Rome yesterday while the whole civilized world waited to see whether the Germans would seriously defend it and so make a battleground of the venerated capital,” reported the London Stars and Stripes on June 5, 1944. NOTE: The Germans declared Rome an “open city,” meaning that it would not be defended. Allied forces marched through the city and pursued the Axis forces north.

1919: U.S. Congress approves 19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was approved by Congress today. "With the passage by the Senate of the resolution proposing the Susan B. Anthony suffrage amendment to the Constitution, the 40 years' fight for universal suffrage is brought to an end, so far as Congress is concerned," reported The Washington Post on June 6, 1919. "The final decision now rests with the States, and it is confidently predicted that the legislatures of the necessary three-fourths of the States will ratify the amendment within a comparatively short time." NOTE: The amendment was ratified just over one year later, on August 18, 1920.