Today in History: June 20, Muhammad Ali convicted of draft evasion

ByThe Associated PressJune 2, 2026, 12:05 PMToday is Saturday, June 20, the 171st day of 2026. There are 194 days left in the year. Today in history: On June 20, 1967, boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted and was sentenced to five years in prison. (Ali’s conviction would ultimately be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court). Also on this date: In 1782, the Continental Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States, featuring the emblem of the bald eagle. In 1837, Queen Victoria acceded to the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV. In 1893, a jury in New Bedford, Massachusetts, found Lizzie Borden not guilty of the ax murders of her father and stepmother. In 1943, race-related rioting erupted in Detroit; federal troops were sent in by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to quell the violence that resulted in more than 30 deaths. Popular ReadsIn 1947, gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was shot dead at the Beverly Hills, California, home of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, likely at the order of mob associates. In 1972, three days after the arrest of the Watergate burglars, President Richard Nixon met at the White House with his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman; the secretly made tape recording of this meeting ended up with a notorious 18 1/2-minute gap. In 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that executing people with intellectual disabilities qualified as cruel and unusual punishment and was therefore in violation of the Eighth Amendment.In 2025, a powerful tornado tore across southeastern North Dakota with winds topping 200 mph (322 kph) and an EF5 category, the strongest classification for a tornado and the first of that strength confirmed on U.S. soil in a dozen years. The tornado killed three people and heavily damaged a regional airport. Today’s Birthdays: Filmmaker Stephen Frears is 85. Singer Anne Murray is 81. TV personality Bob Vila is 80. Musician Lionel Richie is 77. Actor John Goodman is 74. Rock bassist Michael Anthony (Van Halen) is 72. Rock bassist John Taylor (Duran Duran) is 66. Actor Nicole Kidman is 59. Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez is 58. Actor Josh Lucas is 55. Actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse is 37. Actor Kayla Maisonet is 27. Actor David Iacono is 24.

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