Today in History

August 13, 2026

On Aug. 13, 1961, on what would become known as Barbed Wire Sunday, East Germany sealed the border between Berlin’s eastern and western sectors before building a wall that would divide the city for the next 28 years. Also on this date: In 1521, Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez captured Tenochtitlan (teh-natch-teet-LAHN’), present-day Mexico City, from the Aztecs. In 1792, French revolutionaries arrested and imprisoned King Louis XVI; he would be executed by guillotine the following January. In 1889, William Gray of Hartford, Connecticut, received a patent for the first ...

ICE’s plan to give officers electric shock gloves draws outrage and fears of misuse

August 13, 2026

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s plan to give officers gloves that deliver painful electric shocks faced criticism Wednesday from Democratic elected officials and civil rights advocates, who called it unnecessary and cruel. ICE plans to spend between $10 million and $20 million to ...

Photo of the Day: Hollywood sign 1978

August 12, 2026

AP Photo/Wally Fong Workmen prepare to take down the letter “D” in the famed “Hollywood” sign, the last one to be removed from the sign that stood in the Hollywood Hills overlooking Los Angeles for 55 years, on Aug. 12, 1978. The old sign, made from telephone poles and plywood, had ...

Two ex-Chinese military personnel arrested in South Korea for alleged espionage

August 12, 2026

SEOUL, South Korea — Two former Chinese military servicemembers were arrested in South Korea for alleged espionage, accused of acts including intercepting communications between fighter jets and ground control and collecting information on movements of U.S. armaments, police said Tuesday. Police said that one of the suspects, a Chinese national in his 60s, set up an interception device consisting of a software-defined radio receiver, an antenna and a laptop at a hotel near an air base jointly used by South Korean and U.S. air forces in southern South Korea. Police said the man ...

Key Amazon cases reach Brazil’s Supreme Court following Lula’s defeats in Congress

August 12, 2026

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s Supreme Court is set to weigh a series of cases in the coming days that could reshape protections for the Amazon rainforest and the Indigenous communities that depend on it. The cases span from Indigenous land rights, recent rollbacks on environmental safeguards ...

Heading off to college? Here are some tips for managing your finances

August 12, 2026

NEW YORK — Heading off to college is exciting, but it also involves new adult responsibilities. That makes it a great time to start getting comfortable with credit, building healthy spending habits and learning how to manage money. It’s important for all students to build a solid ...