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This Week in History for Oct. 24-30

By The Associated Press - | Oct 23, 2021

With Halloween approaching, an unusual sight was seen in the skies over Bowie, Md., Oct. 28, 1966. Close checking revealed that Marleen Luckman, 17, was playing the part of a witch riding a broomstick. She was caught in mid-air, leaping from a trampoline, on a double exposed film. (AP Photo/William A. Smith)

Today is Sunday, Oct. 24, the 297th day of 2021. There are 68 days left in the year.

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Today’s Highlight in History

On Oct. 24, 1940, the 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

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An unemployed man watches as his shack goes up in flames along the banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pa., in a section known as "The Jungle," Oct. 27, 1932. The men who live in these shacks undertook the burning after receiving vacate orders from park guards, and will now go to the Philadelphia Shelter for the Homeless to spend the winter. (AP Photo)

On this date

In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia (west-FAY’-lee-uh) ended the Thirty Years War and effectively destroyed the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph message was sent by Chief Justice Stephen J. Field of California from San Francisco to President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C., over a line built by the Western Union Telegraph Co.

In 1931, the George Washington Bridge, connecting New York and New Jersey, was officially dedicated (it opened to traffic the next day).

In 1945, the United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect.

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, centre, places a crown upon his head during the Coronation ceremony in the Throne Room in Golestan Palace, in Tehran, Iran, Oct. 26, 1967. Empress Farah, left, and Crown Prince Ciro Ali, right, watch the Shah. (AP Photo)

In 1962, a naval quarantine of Cuba ordered by President John F. Kennedy went into effect during the missile crisis.

In 1972, Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, who’d broken Major League Baseball’s modern-era color barrier in 1947, died in Stamford, Connecticut, at age 53.

In 1989, former television evangelist Jim Bakker (BAY’-kur) was sentenced by a judge in Charlotte, N.C., to 45 years in prison for fraud and conspiracy. (The sentence was later reduced to eight years; it was further reduced to four for good behavior.)

In 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays became the first non-U.S. team to win the World Series as they defeated the Atlanta Braves, 4-3, in Game 6.

In 1996, TyRon Lewis, 18, a Black motorist, was shot to death by police during a traffic stop in St. Petersburg, Florida; the incident sparked rioting. (Officer James Knight, who said that Lewis had lurched his car at him several times, knocking him onto the hood, was cleared by a grand jury and the Justice Department.)

Butch, an English bulldog, obviously would like to be a dispatch rider but can't join the active duty list, so his mistress enlisted him as a Marine sergeant, shown Oct 24, 1994. His owner, Mrs. S.L. Sauve, of New York, described him as "really sweet," but Butch looks tough enough to be a Marine. (AP Photo)

In 2002, authorities apprehended John Allen Muhammad and teenager Lee Boyd Malvo near Myersville, Maryland, in the Washington-area sniper attacks. (Malvo was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but Maryland’s highest court has agreed to reconsider that sentence in 2022; Muhammad was sentenced to death and executed in 2009.)

In 2005, civil rights icon Rosa Parks died in Detroit at age 92.

In 2007, rapidly rising Internet star Facebook Inc. sold a 1.6 percent stake to Microsoft Corp. for $240 million, spurning a competing offer from online search leader Google Inc.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama offered mortgage relief to hundreds of thousands of Americans during a visit to Las Vegas. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, visiting Yokota Air Base in Japan, lashed out at North Korea for “reckless and provocative” acts and criticized China for a secretive expansion of its military power.

Five years ago: Campaigning in battleground Florida, a defiant Donald Trump blamed his campaign struggles on “phony polls” from the “disgusting” media. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Elizabeth Warren pounded Trump, accusing him of disrespecting women and denigrating U.S. troops assisting Iraqis in their push to retake the city of Mosul. Pop idol Bobby Vee, 73, died in Rogers, Minnesota.

One year ago: A North Carolina health official ordered a large church to close its doors temporarily because of concerns it was helping spread the coronavirus by disregarding social distancing measures. Despite surging cases around the country and more infections at the White House, President Donald Trump assured supporters packed shoulder to shoulder at a trio of rallies that “we’re rounding the turn” on the coronavirus; he mocked challenger Joe Biden for raising alarms about the pandemic. Heavily protected crews in Washington state worked to destroy the first nest of so-called murder hornets discovered in the United States.

Today’s Birthdays: Rock musician Bill Wyman is 85. Actor F. Murray Abraham is 82. Movie director-screenwriter David S. Ward is 76. Actor Kevin Kline is 74. Congressman and former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume (kwah-EE’-see oom-FOO’-may) is 73. Actor Doug Davidson is 67. Actor B.D. Wong is 61. Actor Zahn McClarnon is 55. Singer Michael Trent (Americana duo Shovels & Rope) is 44. Rock musician Ben Gillies (Silverchair) is 42. Singer-actor Monica Arnold is 41. Actor-comedian Casey Wilson is 41. R&B singer, actor and “The Real” co-host Adrienne Bailon Houghton is 38. Actor Tim Pocock is 36. R&B singer-rapper-actor Drake is 35. Actor Shenae Grimes is 32. Actor Eliza Taylor is 32. Actor Ashton Sanders (Film: “Moonlight”) is 26. Olympic gold medal gymnast Kyla Ross is 25. Actor Hudson Yang is 18.

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OCTOBER 25

On Oct. 25, 1983, a U.S.-led force invaded Grenada (greh-NAY’-duh) at the order of President Ronald Reagan, who said the action was needed to protect U.S. citizens there.

In 1760, Britain’s King George III succeeded his late grandfather, George II.

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OCTOBER 26

On October 26th, 2001, President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act, giving authorities unprecedented ability to search, seize, detain or eavesdrop in their pursuit of possible terrorists.

In 1774, the First Continental Congress adjourned in Philadelphia.

In 1825, the Erie Canal opened in upstate New York, connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson River.

In 1861, the legendary Pony Express officially ceased operations, giving way to the transcontinental telegraph. (The last run of the Pony Express was completed the following month.)

In 1881, the “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” took place in Tombstone, Arizona, as Wyatt Earp, his two brothers and “Doc” Holliday confronted Ike Clanton’s gang. Three members of Clanton’s gang were killed; Earp’s brothers and Holliday were wounded.

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OCTOBER 27

On Oct. 27, 1978, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (men-AH’-kem BAY’-gihn) were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for their progress toward achieving a Middle East accord.

In 1858, the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, was born in New York City.

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OCTOBER 28

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.

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.

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OCTOBER 29

On Oct. 29, 2018, a new-generation Boeing jet operated by the Indonesian budget airline Lion Air crashed in the Java Sea minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board; it was the first of two deadly crashes involving the 737 Max, causing the plane to be grounded around the world for nearly two years as Boeing worked on software changes to a flight-control system.

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OCTOBER 30

On Oct. 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of a 15-round bout in Kinshasa, Zaire (zah-EER’), known as the “Rumble in the Jungle,” to regain his world heavyweight title.

In 1921, the silent film classic “The Sheik,” starring Rudolph Valentino, premiered in Los Angeles.

In 1938, the radio play “The War of the Worlds,” starring Orson Welles, aired on CBS.

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