On July 15, 1976, a 36-hour kidnap ordeal began for 26 schoolchildren and their bus driver as they were abducted near Chowchilla, California, by three gunmen and imprisoned in an underground cell. (The captives escaped unharmed; the kidnappers were caught.)

Ten years ago

The U.N. Security Council condemned North Korea’s missile tests and imposed limited sanctions; a defiant North said it would launch more missiles. In a chilly prelude to a Group of Eight summit in St. Petersburg, President George W. Bush blocked Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization. The space shuttle Discovery undocked from the international space station.

Five years ago

Rupert Murdoch accepted the resignation of The Wall Street Journal’s publisher, Les Hinton, and the chief of his British operations, Rebekah Brooks, as the once-defiant media mogul struggled to control an escalating phone hacking scandal. The Atlanta Braves earned their 10,000th win in franchise history with an 11-1 rout of the Washington Nationals.

One year ago

Vigorously challenging his critics, President Barack Obama launched an aggressive and detailed defense of a landmark Iranian nuclear accord during a White House press conference, rejecting the idea that the agreement left Tehran on the brink of a bomb and arguing the only alternative to the diplomatic deal was war.

— By The Associated Press