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On this day in 2023

On this day in 2022

• EVENTS
• US House Democrats elect Hakeem Jeffries as the first Black House Minority leader, replacing Nancy Pelosi.
• Artificial intelligence Chatbot ChatGPT prototype released by A.I. lab OpenAI, able to answer complex questions, write poetry and mimic some human emotions.
• DEATHS
• Christiane Horbiger, Stage Actor.
• Jiang Zemin, World Leader.
• TV SERIES
• Willow: Season 1 is released. Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis) leads a disparate group of heroes to help save the world in this television sequel series to George Lucas's 1988 film "Willow."
• GAMING: PC
• Warhammer 40,000: Darktide for PC is released. Fight together with your friends against hordes of enemies in this new Warhammer 40,000 experience. From the developers of the best-selling and award-winning co-op action franchise Vermintide, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a visceral 4-player co-op action game set in the hive city of Tertium. In the depths of the hive, the seeds of corruption threaten an overwhelming tide of darkness. A heretical cult known as the Admonition seeks to seize control of the planet Atoma Prime and lay waste to its inhabitants. It is up to you and your allies in the Inquisition to root out the enemy before the city succumbs to Chaos.
• GAMING: SWITCH
• Front Mission 1st Remake for Switch is released. In the year 2090, the world's conflicts are fought using giant war machines called Wanzers. Huffman Island, the only place where the Oceania Cooperative Union (O.C.U.) and the Unified Continental States (U.C.S.) share a land border is a hotbed of conflict.An O.C.U. reconnaissance platoon led by Captain Royd Clive is assigned to investigate a U.C.S. munitions plant. They are ambushed by U.C.S. Wanzers, triggering a series of events that plunges the whole island into war. Royd's fiancée, Lieutenant Karen Meure, goes missing in action.Discharged from the military, Royd sets out to investigate what happened to Karen. His quest leads him closer and closer to the conspiracy behind the incident and the powers that orchestrated it.With dozens of characters to meet, its mature story, and non-Manichean protagonists, Front Mission is the classic of a tactical Japanese RPG genre, finally available worldwide.
• SPORTS
• Harry Styles single "As It Was" is the most streamed song globally for Spotify in 2022 with Bad Bunny their most listened-to artist.
• John Hadl, American College Football HOF quarterback (Uni of Kansas; 4 x AFL All-Star; Pro Bowl 1972,73; First Team All Pro 1973; AFL C'ship 1963; SD Chargers; LA Rams), who died at 82.

On this day in 2021

• EVENTS
• Josephine Baker becomes the first black woman to be honored at Paris’ Panthéon, France's highest honor.
• El Chapo's wife Emma Coronel Aispuro sentenced to three years in the US for helping run her husband's drug cartel and aid his escape from prison.
• 15 year old student shoots four death and injures seven at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan.
• DEATHS
• Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, Indian poet and film and theater lyricist (" Vidhata Thalapuna"), who died of lung cancer at 66.
• Erwin Wilczek, Polish soccer midfielder, forward (16 caps; Górnik Zabrze), who died at 81.
• (Chembolu) Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, Indian poet and film and theater lyricist (" Vidhata Thalapuna"), who died of lung cancer at 66.
• C. Herbert Oliver, American clergyman and civil rights activist (Inter-Citizens Committee), who died at 96.
• John Sillett, English soccer defender (Chelsea, Coventry City, Plymouth Argyle) and manager (Coventry City FA Cup 1987), who died at 85.
• Pamela Helen Stephen, British Mezzo-soprano, who died at 57.
• Ray Kennedy, English soccer midfielder, forward (17 caps; Arsenal, Liverpool), who died from Parkinson's disease at 70.
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION 5
• MXGP 2021 - The Official Motocross Videogame for PlayStation 5 is released. All the tracks, all the riders, all the official bikes to fully experience the true emotions of this season. All of them, from the last corner to the first position. Your race to become number 1 is even more realistic and exciting. A renovated career path where your every decision will be crucial. Relive the emotions of Ottobiano, Ernée, Leon and Agueda: 4 of the most celebrated tracks of past editions. History is ready to be rewritten… and become legend.
• Evil Genius 2: World Domination for PlayStation 5 is released. Evil Genius 2 is a satirical spy-fi lair builder, where players take control of an Evil Genius and set their plans for world domination in motion. When it feels this good to be bad, the Forces of Justice don't stand a chance. Build your own unique evil lair and cover operation, train a force of criminal minions, defend your lair from the Forces of Justice, and dominate the world with a doomsday device in this direct sequel to the 2004 cult classic!
• SPORTS
• Phil Dwyer, Welsh soccer defender (10 caps; Cardiff City 471 games), who died at 68.

On this day in 2020

• EVENTS
• Joe Biden announces he is nominating Janet Yellen for US treasury secretary.
• Newly discovered rock art announced found in the Serranía La Lindosa, Colombian Amazon, dated 12,600 and 11,800 years ago with thousands of paintings of now extinct Ice Age animals.
• Los Angeles County begins three-week stay at home order for 10 million people to combat COVID-19 pandemic surge.
• Australia condemns doctored photo of Australian soldier threatening Afghan child with knife on Chinese official's Twitter, marking new low in the two countries relationship.
• Alphafold's DeepMind AI program announces it has achieved scientific breakthrough by being able to predict how proteins fold into 3D shapes.
• GAMING: XBOX SERIES X
• Football Manager 2021 for Xbox Series X is released. Football Manager 2021 Xbox Edition brings the depth, detail, and drama of the world’s favourite football management simulation series to Xbox.Experience the closest thing to being a real manager by taking charge of the world’s greatest football teams and playing the beautiful game your way. FM21 Xbox achieves football authenticity that other management games can only aspire to.Based on FM Touch, FM21 Xbox is fully optimised for victory with the Xbox Controller for Series X|S and Xbox One.

On this day in 2019

• EVENTS
• Gun battle between suspected cartel and security forces at Villa Unión city hall, northern Mexico, kills 21.
• On the way to 36 in 2nd Test v Pakistan, Australian cricket batsman Steve Smith overtakes Don Bradman’s run-tally of 6,996 Test runs; becomes fastest batsman to 7000, in terms of innings (126).
• 83rd Iron Bowl: #16 Auburn beats #5 Alabama,48-45.

On this day in 2018

• EVENTS
• 7.0 magnitude earthquake near Anchorage, Alaska.
• Marriot Hotels reveal massive data breach - 500 million guests affected in one of largest-ever company hacks.
• DEATHS
• George H.W. Bush, US President.
• MOVIES: NOT RATED
• Ghostbox Cowboy is released. Texan Jimmy Van Horn (David Zellner) arrives in China brimming with optimism, only to realize that acquiring a share of the country’s rapidly growing riches is not as easy as it appeared from back home. Armed with an absurd product pitch and short on the charisma or quick thinking needed to convince local businessmen of his sincerity, Jimmy soon finds himself out of funds, leaving him at the mercy of those who promise to help him stay in the place he’s gambled away his entire livelihood to be. As it turns out, there’s a lot of unpleasant work in China for guys who look like Jimmy Van Horn.
• Happy as Lazzaro is released. This is the tale of a meeting between Lazzaro, a young peasant so good that he is often mistaken for simple-minded, and Tancredi, a young nobleman cursed by his imagination. Life in their isolated pastoral village Inviolata is dominated by the terrible Marchesa Alfonsina de Luna, the queen of cigarettes. A loyal bond is sealed when Tancredi asks Lazzaro to help him orchestrate his own kidnapping. This strange and improbable alliance is a revelation for Lazzaro. A friendship so precious that it will travel in time and transport Lazzaro in search of Tancredi. His first time in the big city, Lazzaro is like a fragment of the past lost in the modern world.
• Sicilian Ghost Story is released. In a little Sicilian village at the edge of a forest, Giuseppe, a boy of 13, vanishes. Luna, his classmate who loves him, refuses to accept his mysterious disappearance. She rebels against the code of silence and collusion that surrounds her, and to find him she descends into the dark world which has swallowed him up and which has a lake as its mysterious entrance. Only their indestructible love will be able to bring her back along.
• People's Republic of Desire is released. In a digital universe where live streamers earn as much as $200K a month, can virtual relationships replace real-life human connection? People's Republic of Desire tells the stories of two such online stars who've risen from isolation to fame and fortune in China. The film takes us on a vérité journey through their live streaming showrooms, which have become virtual gathering places for hundreds of millions - from the super rich who lavish performers with digital gifts, to poor migrant workers who worship them. The characters are brought together in a series of bizarre online idol competitions, where they discover that happiness in their virtual world may be as elusive as in the real one.
• The Mercy is released. Yachtsman Donald Crowhurst's disastrous attempt to win the 1968 Golden Globe Race ends up with him creating an outrageous account of traveling the world alone by sea.
• MOVIES: PG
• Mirai is released. Kun, a little boy, enjoys a happy childhood until the arrival of his baby sister, Mirai. As the new baby becomes the center of his parents' attention, he becomes increasingly jealous. Little by little, he withdraws into himself. In the backyard where he likes to take refuge, grows a magical family tree. Kun finds himself suddenly catapulted into a fantastic world where the past and the present mingle. One after another, he meets his relatives at different ages: his mother, as a little girl; his great-grandfather, as an energetic young man; and his little sister, as a teenager. Through these adventures, Kun is able to discover his own story. [Gkids]
• MOVIES: PG13
• Bathtubs Over Broadway is released. A late night comedy writer stumbles upon a hilarious, hidden world of entertainment and finds an unexpected connection to his fellow man.
• MOVIES: R
• Anna and the Apocalypse is released. A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven - at Christmas - forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world, and with civilization falling apart around them, the only people they can truly rely on are each other. [Orion Pictures]
• The Possession of Hannah Grace is released. A shocking exorcism spirals out of control, claiming the life of a young woman. Months later, Megan Reed (Shay Mitchell) is working the graveyard shift in the morgue when she takes delivery of a disfigured cadaver. Locked alone inside the basement corridors, Megan begins to experience horrifying visions and starts to suspect that the body may be possessed by a ruthless demonic force.
• MOVIES: TVMA
• The World Is Yours is released. François is a small time drug dealer who wants to call it quits. His dream is to become the official distributor of the Mr Freeze popsicle brand in the Maghreb. This ideal life, which he yearns for, vanishes when he learns that Danny, his mother, has spent all his life’s savings. Putin, the local boss, talks about an interesting deal in Spain, which François can’t refuse if he wants to get the money back. Lamya his childhood crush, Henry a former father-in-law just out of prison, the two young Mohamed and his mother who’s the head of a gang of women pickpockets, all get involved and nothing will happen as planned!
• ALBUMS
• Warm was released by Jeff Tweedy. The second full-length solo release for the Wilco frontman was self-produced and recorded.
• The Pains of Growing was released by Alessia Cara. The second full-length release for the Canadian R&B-pop singer-songwriter was co-produced with No I.D., Rick Nowels, Pop & Oak, and Ricky Reed.
• Some Rap Songs was released by Earl Sweatshirt. The third full-length studio release for the Los Angeles-based rapper features guest appearances by Navy Blue and Standing On The Corner as well as vocal samples of his parents: Cheryl Harris and (the late) Keorapetse Kgositsile.
• A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships was released by The 1975. The third full-length release for the British rock band was produced by the band's own Matthew Healy and George Daniel.
• Championships was released by Meek Mill. The fourth full-length studio release for the rapper features guest appearances from 21 Savage, Anuel AA, Cardi B, Drake, Ella Mai, Fabolous, Future, Jay Z, Jeremih, Kodak Black, Melii, PnB Rock, Rick Ross, Roddy Ricch and Young Thug.
• Foxwarren was released by Foxwarren. This is the debut full-length release for the Andy Shauf band that includes Dallas Bryson, Darryl and Avery Kissick.
• GAMING: PC
• X4: Foundations for PC is released. X4: FOUNDATIONS, the long awaited sequel in the successful X series, brings our most sophisticated universe SIMULATION ever. Fly every ship, EXPLORE space or manage an empire; TRADE, FIGHT, BUILD and THINK carefully, while you embark on an epic journey.
• GAMING: PLAYSTATION 4
• RIDE 3 for PlayStation 4 is released. Experience what the creators promise to be the most complete racing ever with RIDE 3. Race on different tracks all over the world, put your favourite vehicles' speed to the test and have fun by customising them with the new Livery Editor.
• GAMING: SWITCH
• OkunoKA for Switch is released.
• Coffee Crisis for Switch is released. Coffee Crisis is an arcade-style beat 'em up that pays homage to the 90's era of classic arcade and 16-bit brawlers. The Smurglian race has come to Earth and they're not leaving until they steal our most prized commodities: our metal music, the best coffee, and all of the WiFi. Get in the shoes of the only baristas on Earth with enough heavy metal in their veins to fend off this alien assault.
• ARK: Survival Evolved for Switch is released. As a man or woman stranded naked, freezing and starving on the shores of a mysterious island called ARK, you must hunt, harvest resources, craft items, grow crops, research technologies and build shelters to withstand the harsh elements. Use your cunning and resources to kill or tame & breed the leviathan dinosaurs and other primeval creatures roaming the land, and team up with or prey on hundreds of other players to survive, dominateand escape!FEATURES:* Use cunning strategy and tactics to tame, train, ride and breed the 100+ dinosaurs and other primeval creatures roaming the dynamic, persistent ecosystems across land, sea, air, and even underground.* Build your character's strengths and gain items, skills, and pet creatures using in-depth role-playing systems.* Start a tribe with hundreds of other players to survive and dominate competing tribes...and ultimately discover ARK's true purpose.* Build a fire or shelter, then craft customizable clothing & armors to help protect against damage and extreme temperatures on your way to unlocking advanced technologies and equipment.* Chop down trees and mine metal and other precious resources to build massive multi-leveled structures composed of complex snap-linked parts.
• POLITICS
• George H. W. Bush,41st US President (R,1989-93) and 43rd US Vice President (R,1981-89), who died at 94.

On this day in 2017

• EVENTS
• Def Jam founder Russell Simmons steps down from his companies after allegations of sexual misconduct.
• Disney announces it has cast Chinese actress Liu Yifei to play Mulan in up-coming live action film.
• World's longest recorded rainbow - 8 hrs 58 min in Taipei's Yangmingshan mountain range.
• DEATHS
• Surin Pitsuwan, Politician.
• Marina Popovich, Soviet Air Force colonel, engineer and test pilot (102 world records), who died at 86.
• Jim Nabors, American comedian, actor (The Andy Griffith Show; Gomer Pyle, USMC), and singer (" Back Home Again in Indiana"), who died from health complications at 87.
• GAMING: PC
• Injustice 2 for PC is released. Every battle defines you.Power up and build the ultimate version of your favorite DC legends in INJUSTICE 2. With a massive selection of DC Super Heroes and Super-Villains, INJUSTICE 2 allows you to equip every iconic character with unique and powerful gear earned throughout the game. Experience an unprecedented level of control over how your favorite characters look, how they fight, and how they develop across a huge variety of game modes. This is your super Hero. Your Journey. Your Injustice.
• DOOM VFR for PC is released. Available for PlayStation VR and VIVE platforms, this DOOM adventure will bathe you in virtual carnage. Developed by id Software, the studio that pioneered the first-person shooter genre and modern VR, DOOM VFR brings the fast-paced, brutal gameplay fans of the series love to virtual reality. Immerse yourself in the UAC facility on Mars and the depths of Hell, as your skills are put to the test through intense combat and challenging puzzle-solving. Play as a cybernetic survivor who is activated by the UAC to fight the demon invasion, maintain order, and prevent catastrophic failure at the Mars facility. Lay waste to an army of demonic foes as you explore and interact with the outlandish world of DOOM from an entirely new perspective.
• Total War: Rome II - Empire Divided for PC is released. The year is 270 AD. A string of inept emperors and usurpers vying for power has led the Roman Empire into near-total economic collapse. This is its gravest crisis yet. Eager to capitalise on Rome’s instability, barbarian tribes gather like a storm on the borders, to plunder the riches of civilisation. To the east, the Sassanids set out on a grand conquest that culminates with an assault against Roman lands. They are held back only by a staunch defence led by Palmyra. Queen Zenobia holds fast – but for how long?

On this day in 2016

• EVENTS
• UNESCO adds Belgian beer to its Cultural Heritage List.
• DEATHS
• Aleksei Maslennikov, Russian tenor (Bolshoi Theater,1953-88), who died at 87.
• Alice Drummond, American actress (Awakenings), who died at 88.
• MOVIES: NOT RATED
• Bobby Sands: 66 Days is released. In the spring of 1981 Irish Republican Bobby Sands’ 66-day hunger strike brought the attention of the world to his cause. Drawing on an Irish Republican tradition of martyrdom, Sands’ emotive, non-violent protest to be classified as a political prisoner became a defining moment in 20th century Irish history. Sands’ death after 66 days marked a key turning point in the relationship between Britain and Ireland, and brought a global spotlight to the Northern Irish conflict which eventually triggered international efforts to resolve it.
• Old Stone is released. When a drunken passenger causes Lao Shi (Chen Gang) to swerve and hit a motorcyclist, the driver stops to help the injured man. When no police or ambulance arrive he drives the victim to the hospital, checks him in and finds himself liable for the man’s medical bills. The repercussions of Shi’s selfless act expose a society rife with bone-chilling callousness and bureaucratic indifference. On the verge of losing his cab, his job and his family, Lao Shi has to resort to desperate measures to survive.
• TV SERIES
• Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love is released. Alyvia Alyn Lind as a young Dolly returns in this sequel to 2015's Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors.
• Incorporated: Season 1 is released. In a future where corporations run the world, Ben Larson (Sean Teale) created a new identity and life at the SPIGA Biotech to locate and save Elena (Denyse Tontz), the woman he loves, who sold herself to servitude to pay for her family's debts.

On this day in 2015

• EVENTS
• Former New Order bassist Peter Hook was suing his ex-bandmates for £2.3m, ($3.5m). Hook accused Bernard Sumner and Stephen and Gillian Morris of "pillaging" the pop group's assets after the three other band members set up a company without him to handle the band's income in 2011..
• Sinead O’Connor was receiving medical treatment after a message about her taking an overdose was posted on her Facebook page. "I have taken an overdose. There is no other way to get respect, "the post read. The Irish singer was found safely in Dublin by Police..
• Pope Francis urges peace while visiting controversial mosque in Bangui's PK5 district in Central African Republic.
• NBA star Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers) announces his intention to retire at the end of the season.
• 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or COP21 begins in Paris.
• DEATHS
• Shigeru Mizuki, Cartoonist.
• Yus Bin Edoo, Movie Actor.
• Marcus Klingburg, Israeli soviet spy and epidemiologist, who died at 97.
• Eldar Ryazanov, Russian film director and screenwriter (Carnival Night), who died at 88.
• TV SERIES
• Superstore: Season 1 is released. The workplace comedy from The Office producer Justin Spitzer features America Ferrera, Ben Feldman, Mark McKinney, Lauren Ash, Colton Dunn, Nichole Bloom and Nico Santos as workers at a big-box superstore.
• GAMING: PC
• Just Cause 3 for PC is released. Set in the bucolic Mediterranean island republic of Medici, a land crumbling under the brutal rule of General Di Ravello, you assume control of franchise's hero Rico Rodriguez, a man on a mission to liberate his homeland and the people of Medici...by any means necessary. With over four hundred square miles of utter freedom from sky to seabed and a massive arsenal of weaponry, gadgets and vehicles, prepare to unleash chaos in the most creative and explosive ways you can dream up.

On this day in 2014

• DEATHS
• Go Seigen [Wu Qingyuan], Chinese-born Japanese Go master considered the greatest Go player in the 20th century, who died of natural causes at 100.
• POLITICS
• Fred Catherwood, British politician, Vice President of the European Parliament (1989-1992), who died at 89.
• Tabaré Vázquez is re-elected President of Uruguay.

On this day in 2013

• EVENTS
• 14th Rugby League World Cup: Australia beats New Zealand 34-2.
• DEATHS
• Tabu Ley Rochereau [Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu], African musician (Orchestre Afrisa International), who died at 76.
• John Zochonis, British industrialist (PZ Cussons) and philanthropist, who died at 84.
• Jean Kent [Joan Summerfield], British actress (Caravan, Bond Street), who died from complications from a fall at 92.
• Roger Rodas, Business Executive.
• Paul Crouch, American televangelist (Trinity Broadcasting Network), who died at 79.
• Paul Walker, American actor (The Fast and the Furious), who died in a car accident at 40.
• GAMING: XBOX 360
• Painkiller: Hell & Damnation for Xbox 360 is released. Powered by Epic's world-renowned and highly-respected Unreal Engine 3, Painkiller Hell & Damnation recreates the sensations and hardcore gameplay of the original Painkiller. Released in 2004, Painkiller won high praise and many accolades and fans for its fast and unique gameplay. Keeping true to the old-school FPS ideology, lightning-fast movement enables skillful players to get into the heart of the fast-paced gameplay, topped off with stunning enormo-boss fights requiring sneaky tactics.