CNN had broken the mold of TV news when it was launched in June 1980. It was the first 24-hour news channel in the world, at that time broadcasting to the U.S. market.
On Thursday, November 20, 1980, the Diamond Crystal Salt Company salt mine under the lake filled with water. An oil rig contracted by Texaco was doing exploratory drilling above the mine at the time. The drilling likely started a chain of events that turned the shallow lake from fresh to brackish water, with a deep hole
Since the first cases of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were reported in 1981, infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has grown to pandemic proportions, resulting in an estimated 65 million infections and 25 million deaths
During Li’s term, China undertook major reforms in foreign policy began opening to the outside world. Li, who took on an important role in the ouster of the Gang of Four, became the first President of the People’s Republic to visit the United States. He was also the first state president to visit North Korea. In 1984, Li met with U.S. President Ronald Reagan during Reagan’s visit to China, notably discussing the status of Taiwan with the President. After leaving office as President, Li was then named Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC.
On April 26, 1986, a sudden surge of power during a reactor systems test destroyed Unit 4 of the nuclear power station at Chernobyl, Ukraine, in the former Soviet Union.
An elder from the party’s revolutionary days, Yang was a political survivor of the Cultural Revolution. During his presidency, Yang promoted economic reform but opposed political liberalization. Yang reached the height of his political career after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, but his organized opposition to Jiang Zemin’s leadership led Deng to force Yang to retire. Yang served as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission between 1983 and 1993.
Taking advantage of Warner Communications’s financial situation, the neighboring company of Time Inc. announced on March 4, 1989, that the two companies were to merge.
The Berlin Wall came tumbling down on November 9, 1989, reuniting East and West Germany, and foreshadowing the fall of the Soviet Union. It stood for 28 years to separate the two sides of Berlin and the two sides of Germany.