AToday in History

Today is Saturday, Oct. 1, the 274th day of 2022. There are 91 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire from a room at the Mandalay Bay casino hotel in Las Vegas on a crowd of 22,000 country music fans at a concert below, leaving 58 people dead and more than 800 injured in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history; the gunman, 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock, killed himself before officers arrived.

On this date:

In 1908, Henry Ford introduced his Model T automobile to the market.

In 1910, the offices of the Los Angeles Times were destroyed by a bomb explosion and fire; 21 Times employees were killed.

In 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China during a ceremony in Beijing. A 42-day strike by the United Steelworkers of America began over the issue of retirement benefits.

In 1955, the situation comedy "The Honeymooners," starring Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph, premiered on CBS-TV.

In 1957, the motto "In God We Trust" began appearing on U.S. paper currency.

In 1964, the Free Speech Movement began at the University of California, Berkeley.

In 1971, Walt Disney World opened near Orlando, Florida.

In 1987, eight people were killed when an earthquake measuring magnitude 5.9 struck the Los Angeles area.

In 1994, National Hockey League team owners began a 103-day lockout of their players.

In 1996, a federal grand jury indicted Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski in the 1994 mail bomb slaying of advertising executive Thomas Mosser. (Kaczynski was later sentenced to four life terms plus 30 years.) The federal minimum wage rose 50 cents to four dollars, 75 cents an hour.

In 2015, a gunman opened fire at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, killing nine people and then himself. Officials in Michigan declared a public health emergency over the city of Flint's water in response to tests that showed children with elevated levels of lead.

In 2019, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was diagnosed with a heart attack at a Las Vegas hospital, where he'd been taken after experiencing chest discomfort at a campaign event; doctors inserted two stents to open up a blocked artery.

Ten years ago: Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, addressing the U.N. General Assembly, accused the U.S. and its allies of stoking "terrorism" in his country.

Five years ago: O.J. Simpson was released from a prison in Nevada a few minutes after midnight, after serving nine years for a botched hotel-room heist in Las Vegas. Germany celebrated its first same-sex weddings, after a law took effect putting gay and lesbian couples on an equal legal footing with heterosexual couples.

One year ago: New Defense Department guidance said all civilian workers had to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 by Nov. 22. The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000, with 100,000 people dying over the preceding past three months even as vaccines were available to any American over age 12. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied an emergency appeal from a group of teachers to block New York City's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for public school teachers and other staff from going into effect. The Christian Broadcasting Network said Pat Robertson was stepping down as host of the long-running daily television show the "700 Club"; the 91-year-old televangelist said his son, Gordon, was taking over as full-time host.

Today's Birthdays: Former President Jimmy Carter is 98. Actor-singer Julie Andrews is 87. Actor Stella Stevens is 84. Rock musician Jerry Martini (Sly and the Family Stone) is 79. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Rod Carew is 77. Jazz musician Dave Holland is 76. Actor Yvette Freeman is 72. Actor Randy Quaid is 72. R&B singer Howard Hewett is 67. Former British Prime Minister Theresa May is 66. Alt-country-rock musician Tim O'Reagan (The Jayhawks) is 64. Singer Youssou N'Dour is 63. Actor Esai Morales is 60. Retired MLB All-Star Mark McGwire is 59. Actor Christopher Titus is 58. Actor-model Cindy Margolis is 57. Producer John Ridley is 57. Rock singer-musician Kevin Griffin (Better Than Ezra) is 54. Actor Zach Galifianakis is 53. Singer Keith Duffy is 48. Actor Sherri Saum is 48. Actor Katie Aselton is 44. Actor Sarah Drew is 42. Actor Carly Hughes is 40. Actor-comedian Beck Bennett is 38. Actor Jurnee Smollett is 36. Actor Brie Larson is 33. Boston Red Sox infielder Xander Bogaerts is 30. Singer/songwriter Jade Bird is 25. Actor Priah Ferguson is 16. Actor Jack Stanton is 14.