| Year | Event
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| 1258 | FALL OF BAGHDAD AND END OF THE ABBASID CALIPHATE. The Mongols subjected Baghdad to plundering and widespread massacres.
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| 1844 | The Dominican Republic declares its independence from Haiti.
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| 1920 | The nationalized railroads are returned to their owners by the Esch-Cummins (Transportation) Act. But, the government retains control of the rates through the ICC.
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| 1922 | EGYPTIAN INDEPENDENCE unilaterally granted by Great Britain, which nevertheless retained control over Egyptian foreign affairs and defense, the Suez Canal, and the Sudan (which Egypt had ruled until the British occupation).
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| 1925 | The Corrupt Practices Act passed by Congress puts limits on contributions to those running for political office. Strangely, the law has been quite soundly ignored!
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| 1933 | President Hindenburg and Chancellor Hitler invoke Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution, which permits the suspension of civil liberties in time of national emergency. This Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State abrogates the following constitutional protections: Free expression of opinion, Freedom of the press, Right of assembly and association, Right to privacy of postal and electronic communications, Protection against unlawful searches and seizures, Individual property rights, States' right of self-government. A supplemental decree creates the SA (Storm Troops) and SS (Special Security) Federal police agencies.
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| 1986 | Swedish Prime Minister Assassinated: Olof Palme, Swedish Prime Minister, leader of the Social Democratic Party was gunned down on a Stockholm street home from a cinema with his wife, Lisbet. A man in an overcoat approached from behind, drew a Smith & Wesson revolver and shot the premier in his back. While there are theories about who could have been behind the murder, the identity of the culprit remains a mystery.
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| 1993 | The Branch Davidian fundamentalist religious cult led by fanatic David Koresh (Vernon Howell), 33, stockpiles an arsenal outside Waco, Texas, and comes under scrutiny of the Treasury Department's Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Unit (BATF) after reports of child abuse.Federal agents raid the compound this date. Four BATF agents, two or more Davidians die and Koresh is wounded in the gun battle; a 51-day standoff begins that ends in a major disaster. The FBI moves in with tear gas on April 19, and the compound goes up in flames, killing more than 80, including 24 children.
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| 1994 | President Clinton's (D) "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for gays becomes official military policy.
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| 1997 | New federal regulations go into effect mandating fines of $250 and up for stores that sell tobacco products to anyone under 18 or neglect to card anyone under 27. [To avoid possible prosecution for not carding someone under 27, must you card everyone?]
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