TODAY IN HISTORY

DECEMBER 12

1917:Father Edward Flanagan establishes Boys Town in a rundown Victorian mansion in Omaha, Neb.

1925: Arthur Heineman opens the first motel—short for motor hotel—in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Rooms go for less than $3 a night.

2000: The U.S. Supreme Court rules, 5-4, to stop Florida’s manual recount of ballots in the presidential election. Combined with a 7-2 ruling reversing the state Supreme Court’s recount order, the decision means George W. Bush