On this date in history:

In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state admitted to the union.

In 1933, the United States established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union.

In 1990, the Soviet Union indicated its approval of the use of military force to oust Iraq from Kuwait.

In 2001, U.S. officials said a bomb had killed Muhammad Atef, one of Osama bin Laden's closest strategists who was believed to have helped plan the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

In 2007, the United Nations warned global warming would lead to a rise in sea levels that would swallow up island nations, decimate one-quarter or more of the world's species, cause famine in Africa and spark increasingly violent hurricanes.

In 2008, after nearly a year of negotiations with the United States, the Iraqi Cabinet agreed to withdrawal of U.S. combat troops by Dec. 31, 2011.

In 2011, Jerry Sandusky, a former Penn State assistant football coach facing 40 counts of sexually abusing young boys, said in an interview he had showered with boys and horsed around but maintained there was no sexual abuse. (Sandusky was sentenced in 2012 to 30-to-60 years in prison.)

In 2012, a Gallup-USA Today poll indicated that 54 percent of Americans were upbeat about the country's prospects during the next four years. Forty-one percent said they thought the country could be in a worse condition.

In 2013, a suicide bomber blew up an explosives-packed car near the Kabul, Afghanistan, site where hundreds of tribal elders were to vote (five days later) on a long-term security agreement with the United States, killing at least seven people, wounding more than 20 and heavily damaging nearby shops and vehicles.

Copyright 2014 by United Press International