Virginia

Jan. 2 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1788, Georgia ratified the Constitution, the fourth of the original 13 colonies to do so, and was admitted to the Union.

In 1811, Timothy Pickering, a Federalist from Massachusetts, became the first U.S. senator to be censured after being accused of publicly revealing secret presidential documents.

In 1935, Bruno Hauptmann, “The Most Hated Man in the World,” went on trial for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr., eldest son of famed aviator, Charles Lindbergh.

File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

In 1942, Japanese forces occupied Manila, forcing U.S. and Philippine forces under U.S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur to withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula.

In 1959, the Soviet Union launched Luna 1, the first unmanned spacecraft to travel to the moon.

In 1967, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as 33rd governor of California.

In 1974, U.S. President Richard Nixon signed a bill requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 mph or lose federal highway funds.

In 1981, police in Britain arrested the so-called “Yorkshire Ripper,” after five years on the run. Peter Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven more.

In 1990, Britain’s most-wanted terrorism suspect, Irish Republican Army gunman Patrick Sheehy, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Republic of Ireland.

In 2006, 12 men were killed in a methane gas explosion in a coal mine in West Virginia’s Upshur County. One man was found alive after 41 hours trapped underground.

File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

In 2011, Prince Harry, grandson of England’s Queen Elizabeth II, was sent home from military service in Afghanistan after a magazine revealed his presence in the war zone. He later returned to continue training as a gunship pilot.

In 2019, two Indian women entered the Hindu Sabarimala temple, the first to do so since the courts ended a longtime ban on women in 2018.

In 2024, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea’s main opposition party, was stabbed in the neck during an appearance in Busan. Lee survived and a real estate worker was arrested and confessed to attempting to assassinate the politician.

File Photo by Darryl Coote/UPI

An allegedly intoxicated driver who hit and killed high school tennis star Braun Levi in Manhattan Beach was charged with murder Tuesday, authorities said.

Jenia Resha Belt, 33, of Los Angeles also faces charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving with a suspended license, said Pamela Johnson, a spokesperson for the L.A. County district attorney’s office.

Around 12:46 a.m. on May 4, Belt struck Braun, who was walking near Sepulveda Boulevard and 2nd Street, authorities said.

Belt, who was arrested at the scene, had a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit and was driving on a suspended license from a prior DUI arrest, according to court records. Four passengers inside the car fled the area after the collision.

Belt was released in June and then apprehended again months later.

Braun’s parents, who lost their home in the Palisades fire and relocated to the South Bay, filed a $200-million wrongful death lawsuit against Belt in November.

Their son was a standout at Loyola High School and had been slated to play tennis at the University of Virginia. The Levis started the Live Like Braun Foundation in his memory.

Belt is in custody on $2 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday, Johnson said.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman and Jennifer Levi, Braun’s mother, plan to discuss the charges at a news conference Monday.

Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.