Milestones

  • REVERSED

    A policy withholding condolence letters signed by President Obama from families of troops who commit suicide; the change applies only to suicides while deployed.

    DIED

    George Ballas, 85, who invented the Weed Eater after trying to mow his tree-packed lawn; he created the prototype from a tin can and fishing wire.

    BANNED

    Shark fishing and the sale of shark products, by the Bahamas, effectively turning the country's 243,000 sq. mi. (629,000 sq km) of territorial waters into a shark sanctuary; sharks are at risk because of demand for their fins in Chinese cuisine.

    DIED

    Otto von Habsburg, 98, onetime heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire; he opposed the Nazis and later served in the European Parliament.

    AWARDED

    The 2018 Winter Olympics, to Pyeongchang, South Korea, over Munich and Annecy, France; the bid was the third by South Korea to host the Winter Games.

    DIED

    Robert Widmer, 95, aeronautical designer of the first supersonic bomber; Widmer later designed the F-16 Flying Falcon and the Tomahawk cruise missile.