2, the 62nd day of 2012. There are 304 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On March 2, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a game against the New York Knicks, an NBA record that still stands. (Philadelphia won, 169-147.)
On this date:
In 1793, the first president of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, was born near Lexington, Va.
In 1836, the Republic of Texas formally declared its independence from Mexico.
In 1861, the state of Texas, having seceded from the Union, was admitted to the Confederacy.
In 1877, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the 1876 presidential election over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, even though Tilden had won the popular vote.
In 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act.
In 1932, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which moved the date of the presidential inauguration from March 4 to Jan. 20, was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.
In 1939, Roman Catholic Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (puh-CHEL'-ee) was elected pope on his 63rd birthday; he took the name Pius XII.
In 1942, the original Stage Door Canteen, a wartime club for U.S. servicemen, officially opened its doors in New York's Broadway theater district.
In 1943, the World War II Battle of the Bismarck Sea began; U.S. and Australian warplanes were able to inflict heavy damage on a Japanese convoy.
In 1951, the East beat the West, 111-94, in the first NBA All-Star Game, which took place at Boston Garden.
In 1972, the United States launched the Pioneer 10 space probe, which flew past Jupiter in late 1973, sending back images and scientific data.
In 1989, representatives from the 12 European Community nations agreed to ban all production of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) by the end of the 20th century.
In 1992, actress Sandy Dennis died in Westport, Conn., at age 54.
Ten years ago: Eleven Israelis were killed in a Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox neighborhood. Rioting spread as the death toll in India's religious strife topped 400.
Five years ago: A charter bus carrying a college baseball team from Bluffton University in Ohio plunged off an Atlanta highway ramp and slammed into the pavement below, killing seven people. Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey resigned following a scandal over substandard conditions for wounded Iraq soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The bodies of 14 kidnapped policemen were found northeast of Baghdad. Anna Nicole Smith was buried in the Bahamas following a lavish memorial service.
One year ago: The Supreme Court ruled, 8-1, that a grieving father's pain over mocking protests at his Marine son's funeral had to yield to First Amendment protections for free speech in a decision favoring the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. A man armed with a handgun attacked a bus carrying U.S. Air Force troops at Frankfurt airport, killing two airmen before being taken into custody. (Arid Uka, an Islamic extremist, was later sentenced to life in prison.) Militants gunned down the only Christian in Pakistan's Cabinet outside his widowed mother's home.
(Stations: Rock musician Casey, one name, is correct)
Today's Birthdays: Actor John Cullum is 82. Author Tom Wolfe is 82. Former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev is 81. Actress Barbara Luna is 73. Actor Jon Finch is 71. Author John Irving is 70. Singer Lou Reed is 70. Actress Cassie Yates is 61. Actress Laraine Newman is 60. Former Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., is 59. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is 57. Singer Jay Osmond is 57. Pop musician John Cowsill (The Cowsills) is 56. Tennis player Kevin Curren is 54. Country singer Larry Stewart (Restless Heart) is 53. Rock singer Jon Bon Jovi is 50. Blues singer-musician Alvin Youngblood Hart is 49. Actor Daniel Craig is 44. Rock musician Casey (Jimmie's Chicken Shack) is 36. Rock singer Chris Martin (Coldplay) is 35. Actress Heather McComb is 35. Actress Bryce Dallas Howard is 31. NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is 30. Actor Robert Iler ("The 