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Almanac for Oct. 30, 2026

Today is Friday, Oct. 30, the 303rd day of 2026. There are 62 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali, 32, knocked out George Foreman, 25, in the eighth round of a scheduled 15-round bout known as the "Rumble in the Jungle," in Kinshasa, Congo (then Zaire), to regain his world heavyweight title. Also on this date: In 1912, Vice President James S. Sherman, running for a second term with Republican President William Howard Taft, died six days before Election Day. (Taft was defeated by Democrat Woodrow Wilson in the election). In 1938, the radio ...

The strange case of the two Sullivans

How many "Dan Sullivans" does an election need? One would seem plenty, but Alaska is going to the polls with two "Dan Sullivans" on the ballot -- one the sitting Republican U.S. senator in a nip-and-tuck battle to save his seat, and the other a random guy whose only discernible purpose in ...

Almanac for Oct. 29, 2026

Today is Thursday, Oct. 29, the 302nd day of 2026. There are 63 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 29, 1929, 'Black Tuesday' descended on the New York Stock Exchange. Stock prices collapsed amid panicked selling, $14 billion in value was lost, and thousands of investors were wiped out, triggering America's Great Depression. Also on this date: In 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh, the English courtier, military adventurer and poet, was executed in London for allegedly conspiring against King James I. In 1787, the opera "Don Giovanni" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had its world ...

Fill ’er up and pass the loan application

SAN FRANCISCO – If media interviews with voters are to be believed, some people – perhaps many – will cast their midterm votes based on the high price of gasoline. It’s one thing to read about high California gas prices, it’s another to fill up my 20-gallon rental car with regular ...

Almanac for Oct. 28, 2026

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 28, the 301st day of 2026. There are 64 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland. Also on this date: In 1636, the General Court of Massachusetts passed a legislative act establishing Harvard College. In 1858, Rowland Hussey Macy opened his first New York store at Sixth Avenue and 14th Street in Manhattan. In 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act, which provided the means for enforcement of a Prohibition-era ban on ...

The France riots are not what MAGA says they are

Polls being what they are, Republicans and their supporters must be feeling a bit like the condemned Frenchmen who rode to the guillotine during the Reign of Terror. It's fitting, then, that they are seizing on unrest in France as a desperate campaign gambit. "The Riots in France Are a Warning ...