Today in history: Jan. 26
In 2005, a man parked his SUV on railroad tracks in Glendale, California, setting off a crash of two commuter trains, and more events that happened on this day in history.
1915: Rocky Mountain National Park
In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Rocky Mountain National Park Act, which created America’s 10th national park.
1992: Bill Clinton
In 1992, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton, appearing with his wife, Hillary, on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” acknowledged “causing pain in my marriage,” but said past problems were not relevant to the campaign.
1993: Vaclav Havel
In 1993, Vaclav Havel was elected president of the newly formed Czech Republic.
2005: Train Crash
In 2005, a man parked his SUV on railroad tracks in Glendale, California, setting off a crash of two commuter trains that killed 11 people. (The SUV’s driver, Juan Alvarez, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 11 consecutive life terms.)
2009: Nadya Suleman
In 2009, Nadya Suleman gave birth at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center in California to six boys and two girls; criticism came after the public learned that the unemployed, single mother had gotten pregnant with the octuplets and six elder children through in vitro fertilization.
2012: Penn State
Ten years ago: Capping three days of mourning, some 12,000 people — including Penn State students, fans and football stars — paid tribute to the late Joe Paterno in a campus memorial service that exposed a strong undercurrent of anger over his firing.
2012: The Pentagon
Ten years ago: The Pentagon outlined a plan for slowing the growth of military spending, including cutting the size of the Army and Marine Corps, retiring older planes and trimming war costs.
2017: Donald Trump
Five years ago: Tensions flared between President Donald Trump and Mexico, with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto (PAYN’-yuh nee-EH’-toh) scrapping a planned visit to Washington and the White House threatening a 20 percent tax on imports to pay for Trump’s proposed wall along the southern border.
2020: Coronavirus
In 2020, the U.S. consulate in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic, said it would evacuate its personnel and some private citizens aboard a charter flight. Five cases of the new coronavirus were now confirmed in the United States, including new cases in California and Arizona; all involved people who had traveled to Wuhan.
2021: Joe Biden
One year ago: President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held their first phone conversation as counterparts; Biden raised concerns about the arrest of opposition figure Alexei Navalny and other issues. The Biden administration said it was restoring relations with the Palestinians and renewing aid to Palestinian refugees, a reversal of the Trump administration’s cutoff.
2022: Amy Schneider
One year ago: After 40 consecutive wins and nearly $1.4 million in prize money, the winning streak of “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider came to an end.
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