Today is Thursday, Oct. 8, the 282nd day of 2020. There are 84 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire erupted; fires also broke out in Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and in several communities in Michigan.
On this date:
In 1890, American aviation hero Eddie Rickenbacker was born in Columbus, Ohio.
In 1934, Bruno Hauptmann was indicted by a grand jury in New Jersey for murder in the death of the kidnapped son of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.
In 1945, President Harry S. Truman told a press conference in Tiptonville, Tennessee, that the secret scientific knowledge behind the atomic bomb would be shared only with Britain and Canada.
In 1997, Scientists reported the Mars Pathfinder had yielded what could be the strongest evidence yet that Mars might once have been hospitable to life.
In 1998, the House triggered an open-ended impeachment inquiry against President Bill Clinton in a momentous 258-176 vote; 31 Democrats joined majority Republicans in opening the way for nationally televised impeachment hearings.
In 2005, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake flattened villages on the Pakistan-India border, killing an estimated 86,000 people.
In 2017, Harvey Weinstein was fired from The Weinstein Company amid allegations that he was responsible for decades of sexual harassment. Vice President Mike Pence left the 49ers-Colts game in Indianapolis after about a dozen San Francisco players took a knee during the national anthem.
In 2018, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees became the NFL’s all-time leader in yards passing during a 43-19 win over Washington.
Today’s Birthdays: Entertainment reporter Rona Barrett is 84. Actor Paul Hogan is 81. Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson is 79. Comedian Chevy Chase is 77. Author R.L. Stine is 77. Actor Sigourney Weaver is 71. Rhythm-and-blues singer Robert “Kool” Bell (Kool & the Gang) is 70. Comedian Darrell Hammond is 65. Actor Stephanie Zimbalist is 64. Rock musician Mitch Marine is 59. Actor Kim Wayans is 59. Gospel/rhythm-and-blues singer CeCe Winans is 56. Actor Emily Procter is 52. Actor Dylan Neal is 51. Actor-screenwriter Matt Damon is 50.
