On August 19, 1955, torrential rains caused by Hurricane Diane resulted in severe flooding in the northeastern U.S., claiming some 200 lives.

Ten years ago

A Texas jury found pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co. liable for the death of a man who’d taken the oncepopular painkiller Vioxx, awarding his widow $253.4 million in damages. (Texas caps on punitive damages reduced that figure to about $26 million; a Texas court overturned the verdict in May 2008, but the widow has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her case.)

Five years ago

The last American combat brigade exited Iraq, seven years and five months after the U.S.-led invasion began. A federal grand jury in Washington indicted seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens for allegedly lying to Congress about steroid use. (However, Clemens’ trial in 2011 ended in a mistrial when the jury was shown inadmissible evidence by prosecutors; Clemens was acquitted in a retrial in 2012.)

One year ago

A video released by Islamic State militants purported to show the beheading of American journalist James Foley as retribution for U.S. airstrikes in Iraq. The New York Islanders announced the team had been sold to a former Washington Capitals co-owner Jon Ledecky and Londonbased investor Scott Malkin.

— By The Associated Press