Today in History: Feb. 7

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 7, the 38th day of 2024. There are 328 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 7, 1962, President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba. On this date: In 1857, a French court acquitted author Gustave Flaubert of obscenity for his serialized novel "Madame Bovary." In 1943, the government abruptly announced that wartime rationing of shoes made of leather would go into effect in two days, limiting consumers to buying three pairs per person per year. (Rationing was lifted in October 1945.) In 1948, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as U.S. Army chief of staff; he was succeeded by Gen. Omar Bradley. In 1964, the Beatles arrived to screaming fans at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to begin their first American tour. In 1971, women in Switzerland gained the right to vote through a national referendum, 12 years after a previous attempt failed. In 1984, space shuttle Challenger astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered spacewalk, which lasted nearly six hours. In 1985, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara, Mexico, by drug traffickers who tortured and murdered him. In 1991, Jean-Bertrand Aristide (zhahn behr-TRAHN' ahr-ihs-TEED') was inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of Haiti (he was overthrown by the military the following September). In 1999, Jordan's King Hussein died of cancer at age 63; he was succeeded by his eldest son, Abdullah (ab-DUH'-luh). In 2009, a miles-wide section of ice in Lake Erie broke away from the Ohio shoreline, trapping about 135 fishermen, some for as long as four hours before they could be rescued (one man fell into the water and later died of an apparent heart attack). In 2014, the Sochi Olympics opened with a celebration of Russia's past greatness and hopes for future glory. In 2018, biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong struck a $500 million deal to buy the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune and other publications. In 2020, two days after his acquittal in his first Senate impeachment trial, President Donald Trump took retribution against two officials who had delivered damaging testimony; he ousted Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a national security aide, and Gordon Sondland, his ambassador to the European Union. In 2021, after moving south to a new team and conference, Tom Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 31-9 Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on the Buccaneers' home field. Today's birthdays: Author Gay Talese is 92. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., is 72. Comedy writer Robert Smigel is 64. Actor James Spader is 64. Country singer Garth Brooks is 62. Rock musician David Bryan (Bon Jovi) is 62. Actor-comedian Eddie Izzard is 62. Actor-comedian Chris Rock is 59. Actor Jason Gedrick is 57. Actor Essence Atkins is 51. Rock singer-musician Wes Borland is 49. Rock musician Tom Blankenship (My Morning Jacket) is 46. Actor Ashton Kutcher is 46. Actor Tina Majorino is 39. Actor Deborah Ann Woll is 39. Former NBA player Isaiah Thomas is 35. NHL center Steven Stamkos is 34.