Today in history
Today is Saturday, Oct. 13, the 286th day of 2018. There are 79 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 13, 1999, the Senate rejected the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, with 48 senators voting in favor and 51 against, far short of the 67 needed for ratification.
On this date:
In A.D. 54, Roman Emperor Claudius I died, poisoned apparently at the behest of his wife, Agrippina (ag-rih-PEE’-nuh).
In 1775, the United States Navy had its origins as the Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet.
In 1792, the cornerstone of the executive mansion, later known as the White House, was laid by President George Washington during a ceremony in the District of Columbia.
In 1845, Texas voters ratified a state constitution.
In 1932, President Herbert Hoover and Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes laid the cornerstone for the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington.
In 1943, Italy declared war on Germany, its one-time Axis partner.
In 1944, during World War II, American troops entered Aachen, Germany.
In 1962, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” by Edward Albee, opened on Broadway.
In 1972, a Uruguayan chartered flight carrying 45 people crashed in the Andes; survivors resorted to feeding offthe remains of some of the dead in order to stay alive until they were rescued more than two months later.
In 1981, voters in Egypt participated in a referendum to elect Vice President Hosni Mubarak (HAHS’-nee moo-BAH’-rahk) the new president, one week after the assassination of Anwar Sadat.
In 1999, in Boulder, Colorado, the JonBenet Ramsey grand jury was dismissed after 13 months of work with prosecutors saying there wasn’t enough evidence to charge anyone in the 6-yearold beauty queen’s 1996 slaying.
In 2010, rescuers in Chile using a missile-like escape capsule pulled 33 men one by one to fresh air and freedom 69 days after they were trapped in a collapsed mine a half-mile underground.
Ten years ago: On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average gained a shocking 936 points after eight days of losses. American Paul Krugman won the Nobel prize in economics for his work on international trade patterns. Las Vegas gaming executive Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, who inspired the film “Casino,” died in Miami Beach at age 79.
Five years ago: Gunmen abducted six Red Cross workers and a Syrian Red Crescent volunteer after stopping their convoy in northwestern Syria. (Four of the seven were released by the next day.) The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 6-5 to even the AL championship series at 1-all. Dennis Kimetto broke the course mark in capturing the Chicago Marathon in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 45 seconds, leading a 1-2-3 finish for Kenyan men.
One year ago: President Donald Trump accused Iran of violating the 2015 nuclear accord, but did not pull the U.S. out of the deal or reimpose nuclear sanctions. (Trump would pull the U.S. out of the deal the following May and restore harsh sanctions.) Attorneys general in nearly 20 states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the decision to end a federal subsidy under the Affordable Care Act that lowered outof-pocket medical costs for consumers with modest incomes. Speaking to Christian conservatives in Washington, President Donald Trump promised a return to traditional American values and vowed to return “Merry Christmas” to the national discourse.