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Almanac for Oct. 13, 2026

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 13, the 286th day of 2026. There are 79 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 13, 2010, 33 men were rescued from a collapsed Chilean mine after being lifted one by one in capsules 69 days after they were trapped 2,300 feet (700 meters) underground. Also on this date: 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 1932, President Herbert Hoover and Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes laid the cornerstone for the U.S. Supreme ...

Stop the Hysteria Over Flock Cameras

In the bad old crime days of New York City, I spent a Christmas Eve waiting outside an emergency room. Our foursome had been violently robbed in a subway station, and I was eager for the doctor's report on one member who'd suffered a concussion fighting off a mugger. Because someone got hurt, ...

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 ...