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more events on January 12
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2010
An earthquake in Haiti kills an estimated 316,000 people.
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1998
Nineteen European nations agree to prohibit human cloning.
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1991
The U.S. Congress gives the green light to military action against Iraq in the Persian Gulf Crisis.
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1982
Peking protests the sale of U.S. planes to Taiwan.
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1975
The Khmer Rouge launches its newest assault in its five-year war in Phnom Penh. The war in Cambodia would go on until the spring of 1975.
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1973
Yassar Arafat is re-elected as head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
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1968
Heather Mills, model, charity campaigner; continued modeling with a prosthetic limb after a leg amputation due to a traffic accident and founded Heather Mills Health Trust to assist amputees; married to former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney (2003–2008).
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1962
The United States resumes aid to the Laotian regime.
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1954
Howard Stern, radio personality, author, TV show host; noted as a “shock jock” for his controversial comments on air.
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1952
The Viet Minh cut the supply lines to the French forces in Hoa Binh, Vietnam.
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1951
Rush Limbaugh, conservative radio talk show host, political commentator and author; a leading voice in the US neo-conservative movement.
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Kirstie Alley, actress; won Emmy and Golden Globe as the leading actress in the TV series Cheers.
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1949
Michael W. Vannier, radiologist; played important role in advancing three-dimensional imaging and surgical planning.
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1946
Cynthia Robinson, musician, vocalist with the psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone.
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1943
Soviet forces raise the siege of Leningrad.