On Aug. 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon announced his resignation, effective the next day, following damaging new revelations in the Watergate scandal.

Ten years ago

Sen. Joe Lieberman lost the Connecticut Democratic primary to political newcomer Ned Lamont (however, Lieberman ended up winning re-election to the Senate by running as an independent). The Federal Reserve left a benchmark interest rate unchanged after 17 consecutive rate hikes over more than two years. Roger Goodell was chosen as the NFL’s next commissioner.

Five years ago

Eager to calm a nervous nation, President Barack Obama dismissed an unprecedented downgrade by Standard & Poor’s of the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA-plus, declaring: “No matter what some agency may say, we’ve always been and always will be a triple-A country.”

One year ago

Several rivals of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized his treatment of a debate moderator; the real estate mogul and reality television star remained unbowed, refusing to apologize for saying on CNN that Megyn Kelly, who had aggressively questioned him during the primary debate on Fox News, had “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever” when she asked him about his incendiary comments toward women. A family of six children and two parents were handcuffed and fatally shot in the head at a Houston home; David Conley, who authorities said had previously been in a relationship with the mother and had a dispute with her, was charged with capital murder.

— By The Associated Press