Today is Tuesday, March 9, the 68th day of 2010. There are 297 days left in the year.

On this date

In 1916, Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, N.M., killing 18 Americans. Germany declared war on Portugal on the grounds that Portugal had seized German ships in its harbours.

In 1945, US B-29 bombers launched incendiary bomb attacks against Japan, resulting in an estimated 100,000 deaths.

In 1977, about a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims invaded three buildings in Washington, D.C., killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The siege ended two days later.

Thought for Today

"Delay is the deadliest form of denial." — C. Northcote Parkinson, British author (1909-1993).