Today is Palm Sunday, April 4, the 95th day of 2004. There are 271 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn.

On this date:

In 1818, Congress decided the flag of the United States would consist of 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars, with a new star to be added for every new state of the Union.

In 1841, President William Henry Harrison succumbed to pneumonia one month after his inaugural, becoming the first U.S. chief executive to die in office.

In 1850, the city of Los Angeles was incorporated.

In 1887, Susanna Medora Salter became the first woman elected mayor of an American community – Argonia, Kan.

In 1902, British financier Cecil Rhodes left $10 million in his will to provide scholarships for Americans at Oxford University.

In 1945, during World War II, U.S. forces liberated the Nazi death camp Ohrdruf in Germany.

In 1949, 12 nations, including the United States, signed the North Atlantic Treaty.

In 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves tied Babe Ruth’s home-run record by hitting his 714th round-tripper in Cincinnati.

In 1975, more than 130 people, most of them children, were killed when a U.S. Air Force transport plane evacuating Vietnamese orphans crashed shortly after take-off from Saigon.

In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger roared into orbit on its maiden voyage.

Ten years ago: On Wall Street, stocks plummeted in violent spasms of selling that sent the Dow industrial down more than 40 points to a six-month low. The University of Arkansas won the NCAA basketball championship, defeating Duke 76-72.

Five years ago: NATO warplanes and missiles attacked an army headquarters, oil refineries and other targets in and around Belgrade. The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 8-2 in baseball’s first season opener held in Mexico.

One year ago: U.S. forces seized Saddam International Airport outside Baghdad. Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs became the 18th player to hit 500 career homers, connecting for a solo shot in a 10-9 loss to Cincinnati.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer-actress Frances Langford is 90. Composer Elmer Bernstein is 82. Actress Elizabeth Wilson is 79. Author-poet Maya Angelou is 76. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Richard Lugar, R-Ind., is 72. Recording executive Clive Davis is 72. Actor Michael Parks is 66. Bandleader Hugh Masekela is 65. Author Kitty Kelley is 62. Actor Craig T. Nelson is 60. Actor Walter Charles is 59. Actress Caroline McWilliams is 59. Actress Christine Lahti is 54. Country singer Steve Gatlin (The Gatlin Brothers) is 53. Writer-producer David E. Kelley is 48. Actor Phil Morris is 45. Actress Lorraine Toussaint is 44. Actor Hugo Weaving is 44. Rock musician Craig Adams (The Cult) is 42. Actor Robert Downey Jr. is 39. Actress Nancy McKeon is 38. Actor Barry Pepper is 34. Country singer Clay Davidson is 33. Singer Jill Scott is 32. Rock musician Magnus Sveningsson (The Cardigans) is 32. Magician David Blaine is 31. Singer Kelly Price is 31. Rhythm and blues singer Andre Dalyrimple (Soul For Real) is 30. Actor Heath Ledger is 25. Actress Natasha Lyonne is 25.

Thought for Today: “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.” – Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968).