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Almanac for Oct. 10, 2026

Today is Saturday, Oct. 10, the 283rd day of 2026. There are 82 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 10, 1973, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, accused of accepting bribes, resigned his office and pleaded no contest to one count of federal income tax evasion. President Richard Nixon later tapped congressman Gerald Ford to replace Agnew. Nixon resigned in 1974 amid the Watergate scandal and Ford succeeded him. Also on this date: In 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy was established in Annapolis, Maryland, with an inaugural class of 50 students. In 1911, Chinese ...

Trillionaires

How much money should any one person have? When Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire, people got mad. "He will own everything!" claims a popular YouTuber. "He will own your house ... your country ... your government." Comedian Bill Maher, lately a voice of reason, asked, "Would ...

Almanac for Oct. 9, 2026

Today is Friday, Oct. 9, the 282nd day of 2026. There are 83 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 9, 2009, President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for what the Norwegian Nobel Committee called "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." Also on this date: In 1910, a coal dust explosion at the Starkville Mine in Colorado killed 56 miners. In 1962, Uganda won independence from British rule. In 1963, a mega-tsunami triggered by a huge landslide at Vajont Dam in northern Italy destroyed villages and ...

The system worked in the Cornell 7 case

We've heard it from politicians, celebrities and influencers -- the system failed the accuser in the Cornell 7 case. This near-universal view is advanced with great certainty and a sense of outraged righteousness, but mistaken nonetheless. Based on the information available to them at the ...

Almanac for Oct. 8, 2026

Today is Thursday, Oct. 8, the 281st day of 2026. There are 84 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire began; more than 300 people died and more than 17,000 structures were destroyed during the three-day blaze. Also on this date: In 1862, Union forces beat back a Confederate offensive in the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky's biggest and bloodiest engagement of the Civil War, leading to hundreds of casualties but ensuring the state would remain under Northern control. In 1956, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series as ...

The tsunami of campaign ads

You can’t escape them unless you turn off the TV. One after another with barely enough time for commercials hawking adult diapers and a cure for toe fungus they come. They are repetitious and annoying. One candidate promises to lower gas and grocery prices and criticizes the incumbent for ...