Today is Saturday, Oct. 31, the 305th day of 2020. There are 61 days left in the year. This is Halloween.
Today’s highlight in history
On Oct. 31, 1941, work was completed on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, begun in 1927.
On this date
In 1795, English poet John Keats was born in London.
In 1860, Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, was born in Savannah, Ga.
In 1926, magician Harry Houdini died in Detroit of peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix.
In 1941, the Navy destroyer USS Reuben James was torpedoed by a German U-boat off Iceland with the loss of some 100 lives, even though the United States had not yet entered World War II.
In 1961, the body of Josef Stalin was removed from Lenin’s Tomb as part of the Soviet Union’s “de-Stalinization” drive.
In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a halt to all U.S. bombing of North Vietnam, saying he hoped for fruitful peace negotiations.
In 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh (seek) security guards.
In 1994, a Chicago-bound American Eagle ATR-72 crashed in northern Indiana, killing all 68 people aboard.
In 1998, a genetic study was released suggesting President Thomas Jefferson did in fact father at least one child by his slave Sally Hemings.
In 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990, bound from New York to Cairo, crashed off the Massachusetts coast, killing all 217 people aboard.
In 2001, New York hospital worker Kathy T. Nguyen (nwen) died of inhalation anthrax, the fourth person to perish in a spreading wave of bioterrorism.
In 2005, President George W. Bush nominated Judge Samuel Alito (ahl-EE’-toh) to the Supreme Court. Civil rights icon Rosa Parks was honored during a memorial service in Washington, D.C.
Ten years ago: A former teenage al-Qaida fighter, Omar Khadr, was sentenced by a military judge at Guantanamo to eight more years in custody under the terms of a plea agreement. Theodore C. Sorensen, President John F. Kennedy’s aide and speechwriter, died in New York at age 82. Kim Clijsters beat top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki to win the season-ending WTA Championships in Qatar, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Tiger Woods lost golf’s No. 1 ranking after 281 consecutive weeks to England’s Lee Westwood.
Five years ago: A Russian passenger airliner crashed in a remote part of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula 23 minutes after taking off from a popular Red Sea resort, killing all 224 people on board. Four people were killed, including the gunman, following a shooting rampage in Colorado Springs that ended in a gun battle between police and the shooter.
One year ago: The Democratic-controlled House voted 232-196 to pass a resolution setting procedures for the impeachment inquiry as Democrats tried to counter the Trump administration’s criticism of the probe; two Democrats voted against the resolution, joining all of the House’s Republicans. Tim Morrison, who had stepped down from his post at the National Security Council a day earlier, confirmed that military aid to Ukraine had been held up by President Donald Trump’s demand for Ukraine to investigate Democrats and Joe Biden, but he testified that in his view, there was nothing illegal about the quid-pro-quo at the center of the impeachment inquiry. Trump announced that he would be making Palm Beach, Florida, his permanent residence after leaving the White House rather than returning to Trump Tower in New York.
Today’s birthdays: Actor Lee Grant is 95. Former astronaut Michael Collins is 90. Former CBS anchorman Dan Rather is 89. Folk singer Tom Paxton is 83. Actor Ron Rifkin is 82. Actor Sally Kirkland is 79. Actor Brian Doyle-Murray is 75. Actor Stephen Rea is 74. Olympic gold medal long-distance runner Frank Shorter is 73. Actor Deidre Hall is 73. TV show host Jane Pauley is 70. Actor Brian Stokes Mitchell is 63. Movie director Peter Jackson is 59. Rock musician Larry Mullen is 59. Actor Dermot Mulroney is 57. Rock musician Mikkey Dee is 57. Rock singer-musician Johnny Marr is 57. Actor Rob Schneider is 57. Country singer Darryl Worley is 56. Actor-comedian Mike O’Malley is 55. Rap musician Adrock is 54. Rap performer Vanilla Ice (aka Rob Van Winkle) is 53. Rock musician Rogers Stevens (Blind Melon) is 51. Rock singer Linn Berggren (Ace of Base) is 50. Reality TV host Troy Hartman is 49. Gospel singer Smokie Norful is 47. Actor Piper Perabo (PEER’-uh-boh) is 44. Actor Brian Hallisay is 42. Actor Samaire (SAH’-mee-rah) Armstrong is 40. Folk-rock musician Tay Strathairn (Dawes) is 40. Actor Eddie Kaye Thomas is 40. Rock musician Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance) is 39. Actor Justin Chatwin is 38. Actor Scott Clifton is 36. Actor Vanessa Marano is 28. Actor Holly Taylor is 23. Actor Danielle Rose Russell is 21. Actor-singer Willow Smith is 20.
— Associated Press
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.