Today is Wednesday, Oct. 18, the 291st day of 2023. There are 74 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 18, 1867, the United States took formal possession of Alaska from Russia.
On this date:
In 1892, the first long-distance telephone line between New York and Chicago was officially opened.
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In 1954, Texas Instruments unveiled the Regency TR-1, the first commercially produced transistor radio.
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In 1969, the federal government banned artificial sweeteners known as cyclamates because of evidence they caused cancer in laboratory rats.
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In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, overriding President Richard Nixon’s veto.
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In 2012, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that a federal law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman was unconstitutional. (The following June, the Supreme Court would use that case to strike down provisions keeping legally-married same-sex couples from receiving federal benefits that were otherwise available to married couples.)
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In 2018, President Donald Trump threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico if authorities could not stop a caravan of migrants making their way from Central America.
