By The Associated Press

              - Today is Sunday, July 18, the 199th day of 1999. There are 166 days
                left in the year.

              - On July 18, 1969, a car driven by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.)
                plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha's
                Vineyard. His passenger, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, died.
              - In A.D. 64 the Great Fire of Rome began.
              - In 1792 American naval hero John Paul Jones died in Paris at age 45.
              - In 1872 Britain introduced the concept of voting by secret ballot.
              - In 1927 Ty Cobb hit safely for the 4,000th time in his career.
              - In 1932 the U.S. and Canada signed a treaty to develop the St.
                Lawrence Seaway.
              - In 1936 the Spanish Civil War began as Gen. Francisco Franco led an
                uprising of army troops based in Spanish North Africa.
              - In 1944 Hideki Tojo was removed as Japanese premier and war minister
                because of setbacks suffered by his country in World War II.
              - In 1947 President Truman signed the Presidential Succession Act,
                which placed the speaker of the House and the Senate president pro
                tempore next in the line of succession after the vice president.
              - In 1984 a gunman opened fire at a McDonald's in San Ysidro, Calif.,
                killing 21 people before being shot dead by police. Walter F.
                Mondale won the Democratic presidential nomination in San Francisco.

              - Ten years ago actress Rebecca Schaeffer, 21, was shot to death at
                her Los Angeles home by obsessed fan Robert Bardo, who was later
                sentenced to life in prison.
              - Five years ago a car bomb destroyed a Jewish community center in
                Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 95 people. Tutsi rebels declared
                an end to Rwanda's 14-week-old civil war.
              - One year ago residents along the northern coast of Papua New Guinea
                were left reeling after a 23-foot-high tidal wave hit the night
                before, killing an estimated 3,000.
 

              *Happy Birthday*
              ----------------
              - Actor Hume Cronyn is 88.
              - Former South African President Nelson Mandela is 81.
              - Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) is 78.
              - Skating champion and commentator Dick Button is 70.
              - Singer Screamin' Jay Hawkins is 70.
              - Author-journalist Hunter S. Thompson is 62.
              - Movie director Paul Verhoeven is 61.
              - Singer Brian Auger is 60.
              - Singer Dion DiMucci is 60.
              - Actor James Brolin is 59.
              - Singer Martha Reeves is 58.
              - Blues guitarist Lonnie Mack is 58.
              - Actor Kurt Mann is 52.
              - Singer Ricky Skaggs is 45.
              - Rock musician Nigel Twist (The Alarm) is 41.
              - Actress Audrey Landers is 40.
              - Actress Elizabeth McGovern is 38.
              - Rock musician John Hermann (Widespread Panic) is 37.
              - Rock musician Jack Irons (Pearl Jam) is 37.
              - Actor Vin Diesel ("Saving Private Ryan") is 32.
              - Actor Jason Weaver is 20.