On Jan. 14, 1966, Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue in Manhattan were converted from two-way to one-way streets to improve traffic flow. (To this day, vehicles head south on Fifth, while traveling north on Madison.)

Ten years ago

The chief judge in Saddam Hussein’s trial (Rizgar Mohammed Amin) submitted his resignation (he was succeeded by Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman). Johnny Weir won his third straight title at the U.S. Figure Skating championships in St. Louis; Sasha Cohen won the women’s division; Michelle Kwan was given a berth on the U.S. Olympic figure skating team.

Five years ago

In an unprecedented popular uprising, Tunisian protesters enraged over soaring unemployment and corruption drove President Zine El Abdine Ben Ali from power after 23 years of iron-fisted rule. A funeral was held for U.S. District Judge John Roll, who was killed in the Tucson, Arizona, shooting rampage.

One year ago

The al-Qaida branch in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attack on the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris. Eight inmates and two corrections officers died when a prison bus skidded off an icy West Texas highway, slid down an embankment and collided with a passing freight train.

— By The Associated Press