On Aug. 23, 1926, legendary silent film star Rudolph Valentino died in New York at age 31.

Ten years ago

A previously unknown militant group released the first video of two Fox News journalists who’d been kidnapped in Gaza. (Reporter Steve Centanni and cameraman Olaf Wiig were later freed.) The Citadel released the results of a survey in which almost 20 percent of female cadets reported being sexually assaulted since enrolling at the South Carolina military college.

Five years ago

A pair of judges in New York put an end to the sensational sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss- Kahn, setting him free after prosecutors questioned the credibility of the hotel housekeeper who’d accused the French diplomat. A magnitude 5.8 earthquake centered near Mineral, Virginia, the strongest on the East Coast since 1944, caused cracks in the Washington Monument and damaged Washington National Cathedral.

One year ago

Islamic State militants destroyed a temple at ancient ruins of Palmyra in Syria, realizing the worst fears of archaeologists had for the fate of the 2,000-yearold Roman-era city after the extremists seized it and beheaded a local scholar. Roger Federer remained perfect in Cincinnati finals, winning an unprecedented seventh championship, 7-6 (1), 6-3, while denying Novak Djokovic the one title that had always eluded him.

— By The Associated Press