On this date in history:

In 1907, the first Christmas Seals to raise money to fight tuberculosis went on sale in the post office in Wilmington, Del.

In 1955, two weeks of bloody student uprisings against President Fulgencio Batista appeared to follow the pattern of the student riots that deposed Cuban Dictator Gerardo Machado 22 years ago. Batista would remain in power four more years before losing power to Fidel Castro.

In 1974, White House aide John Ehrlichman's Watergate trial began in which he testified that U.S. President Richard Nixon was responsible for a coverup.

In 1987, the First Palestinian Intifada against Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinians protested and rioted after an Israeli Defense Forces truck struck a civilian vehicle, killing four Palestinians.

In 1990, Lech Walesa won Poland's first direct presidential vote.

In 1992, British Prime Minister John Major announced the formal separation of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

In 1992, some 1,700 U.S. Marines landed in Somalia to secure the airfield, port and U.S. Embassy in Mogadishu and restore order to the conflict- and famine-stricken country.

In 2002, United Airlines, which said it was losing $22 million a day, filed for bankruptcy.

In 2008, federal agents arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on corruption charges in a scheme involving the sale of Illinois' open Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

In 2009, the U.S. government's bailout program for ailing major banks played a critical role in renewing the flow of credit and preventing a more acute crisis, the independent Congressional Oversight Panel said in a year-end report.

In 2014, a U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee report said the CIA's interrogation of terror suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were more brutal than it told the White House or public. The so-called CIA torture report called CIA tactics deeply flawed.

In 2016, South Korea's National Assembly voted to impeach President Park Geun-hye because her unofficial aid, Choi Soon-sil, sought donations from businesses and influenced Park politically. Park was permanently removed from power in March 2017.

In 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared that the country's forces completely liberated the nation from the Islamic State militant group.

Copyright 2018 by United Press International