The first U.S. ballistic missile submarine, the nuclear-powered U.S.S. George Washington, was commissioned. The 380-ft-long ship had 16 vertical missile launch tubes, able to fire Polaris missiles even while the vessel was underwater. Building it began on 7 Nov 1967 at Groton, Connecticut, at a cost of about $110 million. It was launched 9 Jun 1959. The following July, it successfully tested the launch of two Polaris missile while submerged. On its first duty patrol (15 Nov 1960 - 21 Jan 1961) the ship spent 67 days travelling underwater. Two complete crews, of 130 men each, rotated after each 60-day period (after a 30-day resupply and refit period) to get the maximum use of the submarine on extended patrols.

Saddam Hussein has been hanged in northern Baghdad for crimes against humanity. Iraqi state TV showed images of him going to the gallows before dawn in a building that his intelligence services once used for executions. The moment of his execution was not shown, although pictures of his body wrapped in a shroud were later broadcast on TV.