FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2000 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. George W. Bush prepares to make a statement from the governor's mansion in Austin, Texas, concerning the Florida vote count. The mere mention of the 2000 election unsettles people in Palm Beach County. The county’s poorly designed “butterfly ballot” confused thousands of voters, arguably costing Democrat Al Gore the state, and thereby the presidency. Gore won the national popular vote by more than a half-million ballots. But George W. Bush became president after the Supreme Court decided, 5-4, to halt further Florida recounts, more than a month after Election Day. Bush carried the state by 537 votes, enough for an Electoral College edge, and the White House. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

By The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, Dec. 12, the 347th day of 2024. There are 19 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 12, 2000, George W. Bush became president-elect as a divided U.S. Supreme Court reversed a state court recount decision in Florida’s tightly contested presidential election.

Also on this date:

In 1870, Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina became the first Black lawmaker sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 1985, 248 American soldiers and eight crew members were killed when an Arrow Air charter crashed after takeoff from Gander, Newfoundland.

In 2010, the inflatable roof of the Minneapolis Metrodome collapsed following a snowstorm that had dumped 17 inches (43 centimeters) on the city. (The NFL was forced to shift an already rescheduled game between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants to Detroit’s Ford Field.)

In 2015, nearly 200 nations meeting in Paris adopted the first global pact to fight climate change, calling on the world to collectively cut greenhouse gas emissions but imposing no sanctions on countries that didn’t do so.

In 2018, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s one-time fixer, was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes that included arranging the payment of hush money to conceal Trump’s alleged sexual affairs.

In 2020, thousands of Trump supporters gathered in Washington for rallies to back his efforts to subvert the election he lost to Joe Biden.

Today’s Birthdays: Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Pettit is 92. Singer Connie Francis is 87. Singer Dionne Warwick is 84. Hall of Fame race car driver Emerson Fittipaldi is 78. Actor Bill Nighy is 75. Gymnast-actor Cathy Rigby is 72. Singer-musician Sheila E. is 67. Actor Sheree J. Wilson is 66. Tennis Hall of Famer Tracy Austin is 62. Football Hall of Famer John Randle is 57. Author Sophie Kinsella is 55. Actor Jennifer Connelly is 54. Actor Regina Hall is 54. Actor Mayim Bialik is 49. Actor Lucas Hedges is 28.