Today in history: Oct. 24
In 1945, the United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect, and more events that happened on this day in history.
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1931: The George Washington Bridge
In 1931, the George Washington Bridge, connecting New York and New Jersey, was officially dedicated (it opened to traffic the next day).
1945: The United Nations
In 1945, the United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect.
1962: Cuba
In 1962, a naval quarantine of Cuba ordered by President John F. Kennedy went into effect during the missile crisis.
1972: Jackie Robinson
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.
1989: Jim Bakker
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.)
1992: The Toronto Blue Jays
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.
2002: John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo
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.)
2005: Rosa Parks
In 2005, civil rights icon Rosa Parks died in Detroit at age 92.
2007: Facebook
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.
2011: Barack Obama
Ten years ago: President Barack Obama offered mortgage relief to hundreds of thousands of Americans during a visit to Las Vegas.
2011: Leon Panetta
Ten years ago: 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.
2016: Bobby Vee
Five years ago: Pop idol Bobby Vee, 73, died in Rogers, Minnesota.
2016: Donald Trump
Five years ago: Campaigning in battleground Florida, a defiant Donald Trump blamed his campaign struggles on “phony polls” from the “disgusting” media.
2016: Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren
Five years ago: 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.
2020: Donald Trump
In 2020, 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.
2020: Murder Hornets
In 2020, heavily protected crews in Washington state worked to destroy the first nest of so-called murder hornets discovered in the United States.