"On the outskirts of every agony sits some observant fellow who points."

-- Virginia Woolf, English author and critic (1882-1941).

Former first lady Nancy Reagan is 88. Singer-actress Della Reese is 78.

Actor Ned Beatty is 72.

Singer Gene Chandler is 69.

Actor Burt Ward is 64.

Former President George W. Bush is 63. Actor-director Sylvester Stallone is 63.

Actor Geoffrey Rush is 58.

Actor Grant Goodeve is 57.

Country singer Nanci Griffith is 56.

Jazz musician Rick Braun is 54.

Actor Brian Posehn is 43.

Rapper 50 Cent is 33.

Actresses Tamera and Tia Mowry are 31.

Actress Eva Green is 29.

Actor Gregory Smith is 26.

On July 6, 1944, an estimated 168 people died in a fire that broke out during a performance in the main tent of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in Hartford, Conn. (Among the survivors was future actor Charles Nelson Reilly, then age 13.)

In 1945, President Harry S. Truman signed an executive order establishing the Medal of Freedom.

In 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon singles title.

In 1999, Ehud Barak took office as prime minister of Israel, pledging to seek peace with neighboring Arab countries.

In 2004, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry chose former rival John Edwards to be his running mate.

In 2008, the U.S. launched an airstrike at combatants in Afghanistan's Nuristan province; the Afghan government later said 47 civilians died.