Today is Saturday, Oct. 10, the 284th day of 2020. There are 82 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Oct. 10, 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy was established in Annapolis, Maryland.

On this date:

In 1913, the Panama Canal was effectively completed as President Woodrow Wilson sent a signal from the White House by telegraph, setting off explosives that destroyed a section of the Gamboa dike.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy, responding to the Thalidomide birth defects crisis, signed an amendment to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requiring pharmaceutical companies to prove that their products were safe and effective prior to marketing.

In 1973, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, accused of accepting bribes, pleaded no contest to one count of federal income tax evasion, and resigned his office.

In 2001, U.S. jets pounded the Afghan capital of Kabul. President George W. Bush unveiled a list of 22 most-wanted terrorists, including Osama bin Laden

In 2004, Christopher Reeve, the “Superman” of celluloid who became a quadriplegic after a May 1995 horse riding accident, died in Mount Kisco, New York, at age 52.

In 2016, amid controversy over Donald Trump’s past sexual comments about women, House Speaker Paul Ryan effectively abandoned his party’s nominee, telling anxious fellow lawmakers he would not campaign for or defend Trump in the election’s closing weeks; pro-Trump members rebelled in anger, accusing Ryan of conceding the election to Hillary Clinton.

Today’s Birthdays: Former Illinois Sen. Adlai Stevenson III is 90. Entertainer Ben Vereen is 74. Rock singer David Lee Roth is 66.Country singer Tanya Tucker is 62. Actor Julia Sweeney is 61.Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre is 51. Actor/TV host Mario Lopez is 47. Retired race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 46.