Today in History for October 2

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 2, the 275th day of 2013. There are 90 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 2, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court as the court opened its new term.

On this date:

In 1780, British spy John Andre was hanged in Tappan, N.Y., during the Revolutionary War.

In 1835, the first battle of the Texas Revolution took place as American settlers fought Mexican soldiers near the Guadalupe River; the Mexicans ended up withdrawing.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a serious stroke at the White House that left him paralyzed on his left side.

In 1941, during World War II, German armies launched an all-out drive against Moscow.

In 1944, Nazi troops crushed the two-month-old Warsaw Uprising, during which a quarter of a million people were killed.

In 1950, the comic strip "Peanuts," created by Charles M. Schulz, was syndicated to seven newspapers.

In 1958, the former French colony of Guinea in West Africa proclaimed its independence.

In 1970, one of two chartered twin-engine planes flying the Wichita State University football team to Utah crashed into a mountain near Silver Plume, Colo., killing 31 of the 40 people on board.

In 1971, the music program "Soul Train" made its debut in national syndication.

In 1985, actor Rock Hudson died at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 59 after battling AIDS.

In 2001, NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said the United States had provided "clear and conclusive" evidence of Osama bin Laden's involvement in the attacks on New York and Washington.

In 2002, the Washington, D.C. area sniper attacks began as a resident of Silver Spring, Md., was shot and killed in a store parking lot in Wheaton; the next day, five people were shot dead, setting off a frantic manhunt lasting three weeks.

In 2006, an armed milk truck driver took a group of girls hostage in an Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pa., killing five of them and wounding five others before committing suicide.

Ten years ago: The Los Angeles Times published allegations that California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger had sexually harassed six women in the past; the actor acknowledged "bad behavior" on his part, and apologized. The House voted 281-142 to prohibit doctors from carrying out what abortion opponents called partial birth abortion. South African J.M. Coetzee won the 2003 Nobel Prize for literature. Former Labor Secretary John Dunlop died at age 89.

Five years ago: Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joe Biden sparred over taxes, energy policy and the Iraq war in a high-profile vice-presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, in which Palin sought to reclaim her identity as a feisty reformer and Biden tried to undercut the maverick image of GOP presidential hopeful John McCain. More than a year after millionaire adventure Steve Fossett vanished on a solo flight over California's rugged Sierra Nevada, searchers found the wreckage of his plane but no body inside. (Fossett's remains were discovered in late Oct. 2008.)

One year ago: Vice President Joe Biden said the middle class had been "buried" during the last four years, a statement that Republicans immediately seized upon as an unwitting indictment of the Obama administration. A judge in Pennsylvania ruled that the state's tough new voter identification requirement could not be enforced in the upcoming presidential election.

Today's Birthdays: Country singer-musician Leon Rausch (Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys) is 86. Retired MLB All-Star Maury Wills is 81. Movie critic Rex Reed is 75. Singer-songwriter Don McLean is 68. Cajun/country singer Jo-el Sonnier is 67. Actor Avery Brooks is 65. Fashion designer Donna Karan is 65. Photographer Annie Leibovitz is 64. Rock musician Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike & the Mechanics) is 63. Singer-actor Sting is 62. Actress Lorraine Bracco is 59. Country musician Greg Jennings (Restless Heart) is 59. Rock singer Phil Oakey (The Human League) is 58. Rhythm-and-blues singer Freddie Jackson is 55. Singer-producer Robbie Nevil is 55. Retro-soul singer James Hunter is 51. Rock musician Bud Gaugh (Sublime, Eyes Adrift) is 46. Folk-country singer Gillian Welch is 46. Country singer Kelly Willis is 45. Actor Joey Slotnick is 45. Rhythm-and-blues singer Dion Allen (Az Yet) is 43. Actress-talk show host Kelly Ripa (TV: "Live with Kelly and Michael") is 43. Singer Tiffany is 42. Rock singer Lene Nystrom is 40. Actor Efren Ramirez is 40. Rhythm-and-blues singer LaTocha Scott (Xscape) is 40. Gospel singer Mandisa (TV: "American Idol") is 37. Actress Brianna Brown is 34. Rock musician Mike Rodden (Hinder) is 31. Rock singer Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes) is 25. Actress Samantha Barks is 23.

Thought for Today: "There's one way to find out if a man is honest — ask him. If he says 'yes,' you know he is crooked." — Groucho Marx (born this date in 1890, died in 1977).

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