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Almanac for Oct. 5, 2026

Today is Monday, Oct. 5, the 278th day of 2026. There are 87 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 5, 2011, Steve Jobs, the Apple founder and former chief executive who invented and master-marketed ever-sleeker gadgets that transformed everyday technology, died in Palo Alto, California, at age 56. Also on this date: In 1892, the Dalton Gang, notorious for its train robberies, was practically wiped out while attempting to rob a pair of banks in Coffeyville, Kansas. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman delivered the first televised White House address as he spoke on the world ...

The tyranny of one man’s opinion

Thomas Cromwell was the Lord Chancellor of England for much of the reign of King Henry VIII. He engineered the convictions and executions of many whom Henry wanted out of the way, including his two predecessors in office — one of whom was St. Thomas More — and even the king's second wife, ...

Almanac for Oct. 3, 2026

Today is Saturday, Oct. 3, the 276th day of 2026. There are 89 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 3, 1990, West Germany and East Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a reunified country. Also on this date: In 1873, Modoc leader Kintpuash was hanged at Fort Klamath, Oregon, after being convicted of his role in the deaths of U.S. negotiators during the Modoc War, a conflict in which his people resisted relocation. Kintpuash was the only Native American leader charged and convicted of a war crime by the U.S.. In 1944, during World War II, ...

Cutting off a parent can be self-preservation, not cruelty

An in-law, age 95 and on her deathbed, was having some final conversations. She brought up a memory of her own mother, who had lost a 2-year-old daughter to a childhood disease. When she misbehaved as a child, the elderly woman recalled, "My mother would say, 'I wish you had died instead of ...

Almanac for Oct. 2, 2026

Today is Friday, Oct. 2, the 275th day of 2026. There are 90 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 2, 1967, Thurgood Marshall joined the U.S. Supreme Court as its first African American justice; he would serve on the bench for 24 years until his retirement in 1991. Also on this date: In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson had a serious stroke at the White House that left him paralyzed on his left side. In 1942, the RMS Queen Mary, an ocean liner carrying thousands of American soldiers as a converted troop ship during World War II, accidentally rammed and sank the escort ship ...

Always Watching

Do you worry that you're being watched? If you drive, you probably are. My new video covers the cameras that photograph the backs of millions of cars. A company called Flock has 80% of that market. Flock's CEO says the goal is to "eliminate crime." But lots of people hate the ...