Today in History: January 29, Bush warns of ‘axis of evil’
Today is Thursday, Jan. 29, the 29th day of 2026. There are 336 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Jan. 29, 2002, in his first State of the Union address, President George W. Bush said terrorists were still threatening America — and warned of “an axis of evil” consisting of North Korea, Iran and Iraq.
Also on this date:
In 1891, following the death of her brother Kalākaua, Lili‘uokalani was sworn in as the first and only queen of the Hawaiian Kingdom. (Her reign would end two years later when the Hawaiian monarchy was abolished following a U.S. military-supported coup d’état.)
In 1936, the first five inductees of baseball’s Hall of Fame — Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson — were elected in Cooperstown, New York.
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter formally welcomed Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping (dung shah-oh-ping) to the White House, following the establishment of full diplomatic relations.
In 1995, the San Francisco 49ers became the first team in NFL history to win five Super Bowl titles, beating the San Diego Chargers, 49-26, in Super Bowl XXIX.
In 1998, a bomb rocked an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, killing a security guard and critically injuring a nurse. (The bomber, Eric Rudolph, also admitted to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and other attacks and is serving multiple life sentences.)
In 2013, the Justice Department ended its criminal probe of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and Gulf of Mexico oil spill, with a U.S. judge agreeing to let London-based oil giant BP PLC plead guilty to manslaughter charges for the deaths of 11 rig workers and pay a record $4 billion in penalties.
In 2017, six people were killed in a shooting at a Quebec City mosque during evening prayers. (Alexandre Bissonnette, who was arrested nearby, pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder charges and drew a life prison sentence.)
In 2025, a midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet killed all 67 people aboard both aircraft as the jet was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy Potomac River.
Today’s birthdays: Feminist author Germaine Greer is 87. Actor Katharine Ross is 86. Actor Tom Selleck is 81. R&B singer Charlie Wilson is 73. TV host and media mogul Oprah Winfrey is 72. Olympic diving gold medalist Greg Louganis is 66. Football Hall of Famer Andre Reed is 62. Hockey Hall of Famer Dominik Hašek is 61. Actor-director Edward Burns is 58. Actor Sara Gilbert is 51. Pop-rock singer Adam Lambert is 44. Actor Jakob Davies is 23.