Good morning, it’s Saturday, August 2, the 215th day of 2008. There are
151 days left in the year.

On August 2, 1876, James Butler Hickok, better known as “Wild Bill” Hickok, was gunned down by Jack McCall, a desperado from Texas, in a Dakota Territory saloon. Hickok, who was playing poker at the time of the shooting, had his back to the door.

McCall shot Wild Bill in the back, and was hanged for the shooting, never revealing his motive.

The poker hand Hickok was holding when he died consisted of a pair of black aces and a pair of black eights. This combination later became known as the dead man's hand.

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This month’s photo:

A spectacular sunrise from a farm near Crawford. The photo was taken by Mark Chapman and was selected for the 2008 News 10 Weather Authority Calendar.**information about the 2008 News 10 Weather Authority Calendar.

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Today's Highlight in Local History:
On August 2, 1870, Gatesville was incorporated as a city.

Today's Highlight in History:
On August 2, 1776, members of the Continental Congress began attaching their signatures to the Declaration of Independence.

On This Date:
In 1790, the enumeration for the first United States census began; the final total was 3,929,214.
In 1873, inventor Andrew S. Hallidie successfully tested a cable car he had designed for the city of San Francisco.
In 1876, frontiersman "Wild Bill" Hickok was shot and killed while playing poker at a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory.
In 1923, the 29th president of the United States, Warren G. Harding, died in San Francisco.
In 1927, four years after becoming president, Calvin Coolidge issued a written statement to reporters: "I do not choose to run for President in nineteen twenty-eight."
In 1934, German President Paul von Hindenburg died, paving the way for Adolf Hitler's complete takeover.
In 1939, Albert Einstein signed a letter to President Roosevelt urging creation of an atomic weapons research program.
In 1943, during World War II, Navy boat PT-109, commanded by Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, sank after being rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri off the Solomon Islands.
In 1964, the destroyer USS Maddox suffered light damage from North Vietnamese patrol torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin.
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, seizing control of the oil-rich emirate. (The Iraqis were later driven out in Operation Desert
Storm.)

Ten years ago:
Cyclist Marco Pantani of Italy won the Tour de France, which had been marred by a doping scandal. Ventriloquist Shari Lewis died in Los Angeles at age 65.

Five years ago:
Saddam Hussein's two elder sons and a grandson were buried as martyrs near the deposed Iraqi leader's hometown of Tikrit, where insurgents afterward attacked U.S. troops with three remote-controlled bombs. Liberian President Charles Taylor agreed to cede power.

One year ago:
Mattel apologized to customers as it recalled nearly a million Chinese-made toys from its Fisher-Price division that were found to have excessive amounts of lead. A Marine Corps squad leader was convicted at Camp Pendleton, California, of murdering an Iraqi man during a frustrated search for an insurgent. (Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III was sentenced to 15 years in prison.) Two small Russian submarines completed a voyage below the North Pole where they planted the country's flag on the Arctic Ocean floor.

Today's Birthdays:
Former Senator Paul Laxalt (Republican, Nevada) is 86. Actor Peter O'Toole is 76. Country singer Hank Cochran is 73. Rock musician Garth Hudson (The Band) is 71. Movie director Wes Craven is 69. Singer Kathy Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 65. Actor Max Wright is 65. Actress Joanna Cassidy is 63. Actress Kathryn Harrold is 58. Singer Andrew Gold is 57. Actor Butch Patrick ("The Munsters") is 55. Singer Mojo Nixon is 51. Actress Victoria Jackson is 49. Actress Apollonia is 49. Actress Cynthia Stevenson is 46. Actress Mary-Louise Parker is 44. Rock musician John Stanier is 40. Writer-actor-director Kevin Smith is 38. Actor Edward Furlong is 31. Rock musician Devon Glenn is 28. Actress Hallie Eisenberg is 16.

Thought for Today:
"A man who does not lose his reason over certain things has none to lose." -- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German dramatist (1729-1781).

(Source: Associated Press)