By the Associated Press
Today is Friday, Nov. 1, the 305th day of 2019. There are 60 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Nov. 1, 1936, in a speech in Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini described the alliance between his country and Nazi Germany as an “axis” running between Rome and Berlin.
On this date:
Ten years ago: Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from an upcoming runoff election, effectively handing Karzai a victory. Lender CIT Group filed one of the biggest Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings in U.S. corporate history. (CIT Group emerged from bankruptcy protection the following month.) Meb Keflezighi (keh-FLEZ’-gee) became the first U.S. man in 27 years to win the New York City Marathon, in a time of 2:09:15; Ethiopian runner Derartu Tulu won the women’s title in 2:28:52.
Five years ago: The national average price of gasoline fell to $2.995, according to AAA, marking the first time in four years that gas was cheaper than $3 a gallon. The United Nations’ expert panel on climate science, meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, finished a report on global warming that the agency said offered “conclusive evidence” that humans were altering Earth’s climate system. Bayern won the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by a nose, surviving a stewards’ inquiry prompted by multiple horses bumping near the start.
One year ago: Robert Bowers pleaded not guilty to federal charges in the shooting that left 11 people dead at a Pittsburgh synagogue; funerals for the victims of the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history continued for a third day. Edmund Zagorski became the first man executed in Tennessee’s electric chair since 2007; his last words were “Let’s rock,” before he was executed for shooting two men and slitting their throats during a drug deal. Thousands of Google employees around the world briefly walked off the job to protest what they said was the company’s mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations against executives.