Friday Headlines: January 9, 2026

Here's a quick overview of our top stories for Friday, Jan. 9, 2026:

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TOP HEADLINES:

Flu cases surge in Gallatin County as H3N2 variant spreads among children

Son charged with attempted deliberate homicide after reportedly stabbing father at Bozeman hotel

Butte's forgotten ski resort: Beef Trail brought winter sports to the Mining City

Man arrested after bomb threat forces evacuation of Bozeman Public Library

THAT’S INTERESTING:

🏛️ Major Historical Events for January 9th

Ancient & Medieval Times:

• 1349 - The Basel Massacre: 700 Jews were burned to death in a specially constructed building, accused of poisoning communities during the Black Death plague
• 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno was forced to flee Constantinople
• 1317 - Philip V "the Tall" was crowned King of France

Age of Exploration & Early Modern Era:

• 1793 - First hot-air balloon flight in the United States took off from Philadelphia, piloted by French aeronaut Jean-Pierre Blanchard, landing 15 miles away in New Jersey
• 1799 - British Prime Minister William Pitt introduced income tax to fund the war against Napoleon
• 1861 - Mississippi seceded from the Union during the American Civil War
• 1861 - The Star of the West was fired upon while trying to deliver supplies to Fort Sumter - considered the first shots of the Civil War

20th Century Milestones:

• 1909 - Explorer Ernest Shackleton reached a record southern latitude of 88°23' South during the Nimrod Expedition
• 1945 - U.S. forces led by General MacArthur invaded Luzon, Philippines, during World War II
• 1959 - Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro arrived in Havana after capturing the capital
• 1960 - Construction of Egypt's Aswan High Dam began
• 1969 - First test flight of the Concorde supersonic jetliner in Bristol, England

Modern Technology:

• 2001 - Apple announced iTunes at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco
• 2007 - Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the iPhone at Macworld

👑 Notable Births

Political Leaders:

• 1913 - Richard Nixon, 37th U.S. President and Vice President under Eisenhower
• 1982 - Catherine Middleton, who became the Duchess of Cambridge after marrying Prince William

Entertainment & Arts:

• 1898 - Gracie Fields, English music hall performer and actress
• 1908 - Simone de Beauvoir, French writer and feminist author of "The Second Sex"
• 1944 - Jimmy Page, legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist
• 1951 - Crystal Gayle, American country music singer ("Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue")
• 1967 - Dave Matthews, musician and leader of the Dave Matthews Band

Sports:

• 1934 - Bart Starr, Hall of Fame NFL quarterback (Green Bay Packers)
• 1959 - Mark Martin, NASCAR racing driver
• 1965 - Muggsy Bogues, shortest player in NBA history at 5'3"

Science & Innovation:

• 1890 - Karel Čapek, Czech writer who coined the word "robot"
• 1944 - Jimmy Page was born
• 1922 - Har Gobind Khorana, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist

⚰️ Notable Deaths

• 1324 - Marco Polo, Venetian explorer (though the exact date is disputed)
• 1873 - Napoleon III, former Emperor of France
• 2014 - Amiri Baraka, American poet and playwright

🎭 Cultural & Scientific Achievements

• 1839 - Louis Daguerre demonstrated his photographic process to the French Academy of Sciences
• 1839 - Thomas Henderson measured the first stellar parallax (Alpha Centauri)
• 1954 - "Dear Abby" advice column by Abigail Van Buren first appeared in newspapers
• 1972 - The luxury liner Queen Elizabeth was destroyed by fire in Hong Kong harbor

⚡ Fascinating Facts

• January 9th is known as Apricot Day
• The 1972 Los Angeles Lakers' 33-game winning streak (longest in major league sports history) was ended by the Milwaukee Bucks on this date
• In 1980, K-Mart pulled Steve Martin's comedy album "Let's Get Small" for being in "bad taste"
• The date has seen remarkable technological announcements, from the first balloon flight in America to the iPhone reveal over 200 years later

Parts of this story were adapted for this platform with AI assistance. Our editorial team verifies all reporting across all platforms for fairness and accuracy.