Today in History (1862) - The U.S. government forbids all Union army officers from returning fugitive slaves, thus effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation. On the same day in 1865, the Confederate Congress voted to enlist 300,000 black troops, granting them freedom with the consent of their owners. Lee surrendered a few weeks later.
Why Californians can't drive in bad weather (First, we have Januarys that look like this, and second drivers tend to take photos instead of concentrating on that other task). Note: Photo of Hwy 68 en route to PCH and Monterey Peninsula.