On this day in 1975, Paula Faris, journalist and TV personality for ABC News, was born in Jackson, Michigan. Faris co-anchored Good Morning America from 2014 to 2018 and was an Emmy-nominated panelist on The View. Also today in 1825, the Erie Canal officially opened, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River. Championed by New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, the canal's construction began in 1817, revolutionizing transportation across the Great Lakes.