On October 5, 1947, President Harry S. Truman delivered the first televised White House address as he spoke on the world food crisis.

Ten years ago

Defying the White House, senators voted 90-9 to approve an amendment sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that would prohibit the use of “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” against anyone in U.S. government custody. (A reluctant President George W. Bush later signed off on the amendment.)

Five years ago

Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani immigrant who’d tried to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, accepted a life sentence from a federal judge in New York with a smirk and warned that Americans could expect more bloodshed at the hands of Muslims. President Barack Obama convened the first-ever White House summit on community colleges, calling them the “unsung heroes of America’s education system.”

One year ago

A suicide bomber blew himself up in Grozny, killing five policemen and wounding 12 others as the Chechen capital celebrated the birthday of its pro-Russian leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. Geoffrey Holder, a Tony Award-winning director, actor, painter, dancer and choreographer, died in New York at age 84.

— By The Associated Press