Seventy years ago Friday, the “Peanuts” comic strip by then-obscure St. Paul, Minnesota, cartoonist Charles M. Schulz made its debut in just seven newspapers around the world.

Forty years ago today, “Cosmos: A Personal Journey” – a 13-art miniseries dealing with science, physics, the creation of the universe and the possibility of life among the stars – debuted on PBS. The writer and host was Cornell University astronomer and NASA consultant Carl Sagan, whose insight and ability to simplify complex scientific concepts made the show the most widely-watched PBS series until Ken Burns’ “The Civil War,” a decade later. Here’s a look at Sagan’s career:

Pop music is an interesting business. Some bands are painfully authentic. Others are incredibly fake. And some are intentionally fake – like the ones that wind up in movies or TV shows.

Presidential debates offer candidates a chance to match wits in real time in front of a live TV audience. Unfortunately, it’s the wit – rather than command of the facts or their stances on the issues of the day – most viewers remember.

On this date 25 years ago, the feature film “Showgirls” was inflicted upon the American moviegoing audience. It was a truly wretched film containing a wretched plot and wretched performances all around. But was it the all-time worst film ever made? Perhaps. Perhaps not ...

With 42 days left until Election Day, most election experts expect two typically blue states that voted for Donald Trump in 2016 – Michigan and Pennsylvania – to swing back blue again. Even so, a lot will depend on seven states judged too close to call, along with their 105 electoral votes.

The 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote, was ratified a century ago last month. However, before 1920, women had already won the right to vote in 15 states, including Idaho, Washington and Montana.

One hundred years ago today, what would become the National Football League was formed in a car dealership in Canton, Ohio.

The Batman has lived through – some might say suffered through – a number of incarnations since his creation by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in 1939. Here’s a look at some of the most iconic:

Twenty-five years ago Friday, the Japanese animated character Sailor Moon and her team of guardians of the solar system made their debut on American TV. The character was already a hit among tween-aged girls in Japan on TV, manga comic magazines and supplemental art books.

On this date 25 years ago, Sony’s first PlayStation game console went on sale in North America.

Not many football coaches are a household name even among non football fans, but Vince Lombardi – who died 50 years ago today – is one of them. His name is synonymous with winning, and his quotes about hard work and perseverance decorate the walls of offices and boardrooms.

Beer goes back a long, long way – after humans learned how to plant, grow and harvest grains, it didn’t take them long to stumble on the fermentation process that would create beer and other alcoholic delights. Here’s a look at the history of and the numbers behind the suds:

Sixty years ago this week, U.S. boxer Cassius Clay won a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Rome. Clay would go on to change his name to Muhammad Ali, win the world heavyweight boxing title three times and become one of the most respected – and most controversial – athletes of the 20th century.

On this date 30 years ago, 40-year-old baseball great Ken Griffey and his 20-year-old son, Ken Jr., took the field for the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome. It was the first time a father-son duo had played together in a major-league baseball game.

While not all occupants of the White House have been dog lovers – two examples: Harry Truman and our current president – many have been. Here’s a look at some of the notable pooches who have lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Launched 43 years ago, the two Voyager space probes have left our solar system and are now traveling in interstellar space. Both probes should continue to communicate with us for another five years.

Aug. 16 is National Roller Coaster Day. Here’s a look at the popular amusement park rides:

Thirty years ago this week, the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil – at the time – was found in the Black Hills of South Dakota by Sue Hendrickson. The fossil would be named for her, but that name would prove to have a second meaning as well.

Back in the golden days of Top 40 radio, most of the songs you heard had some kind of hook that made you want to hear it again or even buy the 45 rpm vinyl single: a great dance beat or a terrific vocalization.

Count Dracula and his brothers in spirit – Edward Cullen, Lestat de Lioncourt, Angel and Spike, Stefan and Damon Salvatore and others – are based on a real-life historical figure. Was the real Count Dracula as bloodthirsty as his fictional counterparts? The answer: Kinda-sorta-maybe.

Ninety years ago Sunday, the cartoon character of Betty Boop made her debut with the release of the Fleischer Studios animated short “Dizzy Dishes.”

America’s voyage to the moon started on this date 60 years ago, when NASA officials announced the launch of what they called Project Apollo. Over the next few months, NASA would open a Project Apollo office and begin taking bids for feasibility studies on the types of spacecraft that might be required for a trip to the moon. Here’s a look at every Apollo mission – both crewed and uncrewed – starting with the first test flight of the Apollo spacecraft in early 1966:

A U.S. Army Air Force B-25 bomber, attempting to maneuver over New York City in a heavy fog, flew into the side of the Empire State Building on this date 75 years ago. All three aboard the plane and 11 in the building itself were killed.

On this date 25 years ago, the Korean War Veterans Memorial was opened on the Mall in Washington, D.C. That date was, in turn, the 42nd anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.

Thirty years ago Saturday, comedian and TV sitcom star Roseanne Barr attempted to sing the national anthem before a San Diego Padres game at Jack Murphy Stadium. The result – with wildly off-key notes, screeching, occasional giggles and a crotch-grabbing coda, was widely criticized. But for some celebrities, behavior like that is just another day at the park.

It's not too difficult keeping social distance in the great outdoors, especially when Spokane's outdoor population has a million and one places for choosing. Here are five highlights so you can select the most convenient.

Last week, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced more health issues, causing political observers to speculate whether or not she might be able to continue on the bench through the November election. Here's a look at every Supreme Court Justice and the political affiliation of the presidents who appointed them.

On this date 60 years ago, the first test missiles were successfully launched from a submerged submarine. The newly commissioned nuclear-powered U.S.S. George Washington fired two Polaris missiles from a depth of about 50 to 60 feet, 30 miles off Cape Canaveral, Florida. The successful test kicked off a new age of ballistic missile submarines.

On this date 75 years ago, the world’s first atomic weapon was detonated in a test in New Mexico. The intent was to prove that the bomb – the product of an $1.89 trillion project – would work. Three weeks later, two atomic bombs would be dropped on Japan, at great cost of civilian lives but ending World War II without a potentially even more costly invasion of that country.

July is National Ice Cream Month, so enjoy these facts about your favorite frozen treat.

Five years ago today, NASA’s New Horizons probe made its closest approach to Pluto and its moons. It was just another social call in the neighborhood.

Two decades ago Tuesday, the first big Marvel superhero comic book movie, “X-Men,” went into wide release in the U.S. Here’s a look at all 77 feature-length Marvel comics feature films:

Coronavirus is forcing Major League Baseball teams to play in empty stadiums. What will the fans think? Fans in some cities – like Baltimore, for example – will probably think they’ve seen this happen before.

Do you feel old yet? Actor, director and musician Kevin Bacon – the kid who couldn’t be stopped dancing in “Footloose,” the man who got “Apollo 13” home from space and who was so deliciously evil in “X-Men: First Class” – turns 62 today. It’ll take more than six degrees to get your head around his major Hollywood credits, though:

Indian nicknames have been a source of controversy for decades in American pro and college sports teams, including the Washington Redskins. But the truth is, the controversy over that nickname is a direct descendant of the racist history of the team’s original owner.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “Hamilton,” about one of America’s more interesting founding fathers, has been a huge hit everywhere it’s played: Off Broadway, on Broadway, a series of national tours and, now, on Disney+. But how closely does the storyline of the show you watched this weekend match up with historical fact? In places: Not very closely.

One hundred and ten years ago Saturday, Black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson took on former white heavyweight champion James Jeffries. The result sent shock waves throughout the sport and throughout the country.

On this date 120 years ago, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin of Germany succeeded in getting his first rigid airship off the ground. This would begin a golden age for the aircraft that would carry Zeppelin’s name.

One hundred and twenty-five years ago, Wellesley College English professor Katharine Lee Bates published a poem inspired by a cross-country railroad trip and a climb to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado. That poem would later be set to music to become “America the Beautiful.”

Perhaps 55 cents to mail a typical letter seems like a lot of money to you. Perhaps it doesn’t. Either way, when you adjust for inflation, the price of a first-class stamp hasn’t really changed that much over the past half-century.

For more than 15 years, Mir floated 200 miles above the Earth, making 86,331 orbits and providing a laboratory where 105 astronauts and cosmonauts – including 82 non-Russians – learned how to work and live in space.

The opening of a new state-of-the-art printing facility in Spokane Valley is the culmination of 581 years of printing technology, going back to Johannes Gutenberg, who developed the first real printing press in Mainz, Germany.

Campaign promises are often made in the heat of the moment. They’re sound bytes, aimed at gaining positive media coverage. Perhaps it’d be wise if all American voters added a virtual asterisk to every campaign pledge they hear or read.

Will the Republicans retain control of the Senate after Election Day in November? Or will Democrats wrestle it away from them and run both chambers on Capitol Hill? It’s way too early to say. Here’s how control of the House and Senate have shifted over the past 120 years:

More than one billion monthly users have uploaded 50 billion photos to Instagram – and chances are, you’re one of them. With Social Media Day coming up next week, let’s take a look at the history of the popular photo sharing and networking app and site.

On June 24, 1947 – 73 years ago Wednesday – automatic firefighting system company owner and licensed pilot Kenneth Arnold of Boise, flying from Chehalis to Yakima, spotted nine large metallic-looking objects flying rapidly near Mount Rainier. It would be the first of many reports of “flying saucers” or unidentified flying objects from around the world.

On June 23, 1980 – 40 years ago tomorrow – English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee of CERN, a physics lab in Switzerland, began working on a project he called ENQUIRE. This work would eventually evolve into hypertext, HTML and the World Wide Web.

On this date 110 years ago, Spokane’s churches and businesses took time to celebrate their fathers. Here’s how a Spokane daughter sold area residents on the idea and then took Father’s Day national:

While America celebrates its birthday on July 4, African-Americans celebrate another Independence Day on June 19 – today – the day in 1865 that slavery ended forever in the United States.

Author, essayist, comedian, radio commentator, (deep breath) musician and performance artist Sandra Tsing Loh just published her sixth book of edgy, modern-woman essays — seven, if you count her 1996 novel. Here’s a look at her unusual and remarkable career:

The most powerful person in the world? Never mind that. All too often, the man in the Oval Office seems at the mercy of approval ratings. Here’s a look at 75 years of presidential job approval ratings as measured by Gallup Inc.

In 1944, German rocket scientists developed the world’s first guided missiles and used them against Belgium, France and England. After the war ended, the U.S. Army brought those scientists on board and set them to work developing missiles for our side. Their work would eventually help put America on the moon.

In honor of Flag Day, here are eight facts you might not have known about Old Glory:

A quarter-century ago Friday, Canadian pop singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette released her third album which veered away sharply from her previous outings, more into grunge and angst-rock. It would go on to sell 33 million copies in the U.S., win five Grammy Awards and define a generation of independent female musicians.

Are you missing movies yet? So far this year, we should have been enjoying “Mulan,” the 007 flick “No Time to Die”and “Black Widow” with Scarlett Johansson and we should be getting ready to go see “Wonder Woman 1984” with Gal Gadot. Instead, we’re all binge-watching TV and wishing microwave popcorn was as good as theater popcorn.

Stephan Pastis chucked a nine-year career practicing law in California to draw a pun-filled comic strip starring a pig, a rat and a goat and, more recently, to launch a series of successful “illustrated middle-grade” children’s books. Here’s a look at the master of daily comic strip puns:

Thirty years ago today, a female pop trio placed its first single at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It would be the first of four consecutive Top 10 hits for the three daughters of 1960s pop music icons.

See the quote above, inscribed in the side of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, when it opened in Washington, D.C. in 2011? One little problem: He didn’t really say it that way.

Change doesn’t come without sweat and tears. And all too often, change comes incredibly slowly and only after people bind together – or march together or sit together or boycott together – to show they support that change.

On this date 100 years ago, Congress passed the National Defense Act, making the U.S. Army Air Service an autonomous part of the regular Army. This would be a huge step in the evolution of what is today’s Air Force.

Your favorite newspaper won a bunch of nice journalism awards this year.

The horrific death of a Black man in police custody in Minneapolis ­– and the slow rate at which the wheels of justice seemed to turn afterward – ignited a firestorm of protests around the country this weekend. Here’s a look at some of the major happenings:

Once upon a time, you could watch TV news in the mornings (think NBC’s “Today” show), in the evenings and maybe again at night. The rest of the time, you relied on radio or newspapers. All that changed 40 years ago today with “the 24-hour news cycle” brought on by the creation of CNN.

In the 60 years since the American Heart Association found much higher death rates from heart attacks among heavy smokers than among nonsmokers – and the 56 years since the surgeon general’s office issued its first report on the harmful effects of smoking – Americans are lighting up less frequently.

The world is in the grip of a pandemic. Folks are working at home, being furloughed. Unemployment offices are swamped with record numbers of applicants.

Forty years ago Sunday, “Funkytown” by Lipps Inc. hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, becoming the final big hit of the disco era. Here’s a look at 53 essential No. 1 disco hits to help you remember how to shake, shake, shake your booty.

Eighty years ago today, Britain began an enormous rush to pull its troops out of France. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill feared this would become known as the greatest military disaster Britain had ever seen. Instead, it would be one of its most heroic moments.

When Elon Musk’s SpaceX launches two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on Wednesday, it will be the first crewed space launch from the United States since the space shuttle was retired in 2011.

Forty years ago today, the video game Pac-Man was released in arcades in Japan. It would come to the U.S. later that year and when it did, it would inspire a generation of gamers.

In the drama business, sometimes art imitates life. Often that’s intentional (think biopics and historical dramas). Sometimes, it’s not. But even more strangely, sometimes LIFE imitates ART. Now, THAT can be an opportunity to get awfully freaked out.

When a TV series ends, does it go out with a typical episode? With a “clip show,” revisiting moments over the life of the series? Or does it take the premise of the series a step further and make a creative leap that leaves fans aching for more?

On this date 110 years ago, the Earth passed through the tail of Halley’s comet. A French astronomer noticed that a spectroanalysis of the comet suggested the presence of cyanogen, a toxic gas. So, naturally, he announced the gas would “impregnate the atmosphere and possibly snuff out all life on the planet.”

Sorry, Darth Vader, but our spacegoing heroes will not be wearing long, flowing black capes and scary breathing masks. Instead, they’ll wear pretty much what they’ve always worn: Practical suits designed to keep them alive and safe, far above the Earth.

At 8:32 a.m. on May 18, 1980, all the rumblings, the trembling, the minor earthquakes, the bulges in the mountain and the occasional venting of steam led to an enormous eruption that generated the thermal energy equal to 26 megatons of TNT, hurled ash 15 miles into the air, killed 57 people and caused more than $1 billion in damage.

On this date 80 years ago, the first McDonald’s restaurant opened in San Bernardino, California. Before long, the U.S. would be stuffed from sea to shining sea with fast food franchise restaurants.

There was a moment in the 1983 movie about the early history of NASA, “The Right Stuff,” when an astronaut comments: “No bucks, no Buck Rogers.” Space travel is expensive.

Playwright, chicken farmer and children’s book author L. Frank Baum published “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” 120 years ago Sunday. The book would sell out its first run of 10,000 copies in eight months and go on to sell a total of 3 million copies before it fell into the public domain in 1956.

In the 231 years and two months that the U.S. Constitution has been operating, congress and the various states have updated that constitution 27 times. Here’s a closer look at our constitutional amendments – plus a few that didn’t pass.

On this date 110 years ago, Glacier National Park was created in Montana, becoming the nation’s 10th national park.

Forty years ago today, the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated from the face of the Earth.

Don Shula – who died Monday at age 90 – won more games than any other NFL coach and was the only NFL coach who led a team to a perfect Super Bowl-winning season. Shula had just two losing seasons over 33 seasons as coach of the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins. Here’s a look at Shula’s remarkable career:

Nurses – surely the unsung heroes of today’s coronaviral world – come in all varieties. They have different levels of training, different specialties and different acronyms to describe their profession. One thing they all have in common: They aim to make life a little better for patients and their families.

When the U.S. Forest Service needed a symbol to draw the nation’s attention to the danger of wildfires, Uncle Sam just wouldn’t do. Bambi, despite his success in a popular Disney movie, wouldn’t do either. Only Smokey Bear – a little bear cub who was found after a forest fire 70 years ago Saturday – could do the job.

Just when you don’t need gas – because there’s nowhere to go – gas prices have hit their lowest point in 12 years.

On this date 50 years ago, National Guard troops fired on unarmed student protesters at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four and wounding nine. The incident would become a key point in the turning of American public opinion against the Vietnam War. Here’s how the tragedy unfolded:

Sixty years ago today, the Soviet Union shot down a U.S. spy plane and took its pilot prisoner. What came to be called “the U-2 incident” would derail peace talks and set back international diplomacy for years. Here’s how it all went down:

On April 15, North Korea celebrated the Day of the Sun: The birthday of the founder of the country, Kim Il Sung. A notable no-show for the annual celebration: Kim’s grandson and current head of state, Kim Jong Un. This has led to several questions: Where is the 36-year-old Kim, why has he not been seen in public and what might that mean to the balance of power on the Korean peninsula? Here’s a look at the Kim dynasty:

Seventy-five years ago this week and next, the European phase of World War II finally came to an end as Allied troops neutralized German defenses, liberated captured cities and prison camps and overran most of Germany itself.

Nancy Drew – sometimes a supersmart sleuth, sometimes a hardworking amateur who gets lucky at solving mysteries, but perpetually a teenager – turns 90 today.

Today is National Babe Ruth Day, in honor of one of the greatest baseball players ever. Ruth played 22 seasons, setting records for most years leading the league in home runs, most total bases in a season, highest slugging percentage in a season and most career home runs – the latter mark would stand for 39 years.

When it comes to what they hate, sports fans have a number of things in common: inflated ticket and concession prices; star athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs; Skip Bayless. Also high on that list would be strikes and lockouts.

On this date 15 years ago, the first video was uploaded to YouTube. A year later, the video-sharing platform would sell itself to Google for $1.65 billion, and today it brings in an estimated revenue of $15 billion a year. Here’s a look at the origins of YouTube and some other popular websites.

Earth Day is the day to celebrate our home planet, to make ourselves more aware of environmental issues that affect it and to do what we can to make our little corner of it healthier and safer. Today is also the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day.

How did we go from the trustworthiness of “Uncle Walter” and “Chet and David” of the 1960s to today, when so many Americans say they neither trust nor like the news media? It has less to do with news reporting and editing and more to do with rapidly changing technology, nefarious manipulators and a public that often doesn’t take the time to stop and engage in critical thinking.

To help you understand why we’re not “fake news,” it might help if we explain how newspapers work and the divisions between news reporting and commentary.

On this date 90 years ago, Warner Bros. released its very first “Looney Tunes” animated short. Here’s a look at the animation studio’s cartoon legacy.

155 years ago today, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by a famous actor who was angry in how the Civil War had turned out. He would be the first of four presidents to be killed in office.

On this date 50 years ago, NASA nearly lost three astronauts when an oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 exploded en route to the moon. Here’s how the mission unfolded:

During the COVID-19 quarantine, questions crop up every day: Can I apply for unemployment? How can I feed my kids? Where can I go with help for the rent? Here is a list of resources to help Spokane-area residents navigate life during coronavirus.

Fifty-five years ago this fall, the Pillsbury Dough Boy made his debut in advertisements and quickly became a part of American pop culture. Here are 34 iconic ad mascots from the past 133 years.

Mary Mallon was an Irish-born cook who immigrated to New York City in the 1880s. She carried the bacteria that causes typhus but was apparently immune to it herself. City officials finally traced sporatic cases of typhus to Mallon. In 1907, “Typhoid Mary” was placed in quarantine at North Brother Island in the East River, near Rikers Island and what is now LaGuardia Airport.

Fifteen years ago today, a British TV series returned to American audiences after a lengthy absence. It’s been a favorite of sci-fi geeks ever since.

While the rest of the world was busy dealing with the coronavirus, Tom Brady shook up the NFL by leaving New England — his home for the past 20 years — for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But Brady won’t be the first professional player to change teams near the end of his career:

On this date 30 years ago, Miami Sound Machine singer Gloria Estefan nearly lost her life when a semi truck crashed into her tour bus. Estefan isn’t the only famous musician, actor or writer to nearly be killed. Here’s a dozen examples — some of which you might remember:

What do we really know about this little bug that’s turned our lives upside-down? Quite a bit, actually.

While the stock market may have reached new heights over the past few months, the simple fact is: Not much of that prosperity has trickeled down to the middle class. For the middle class, income is stagnant, buying power is reduced and hope for the future is diminished. A look at the numbers:

Your children are home from school for the next several weeks. Their teachers are sending work for them to do. That’s keeping them occupied for — what? — maybe 45 minutes a day? That still leaves an awful lot of free time for kids to become awfully bored. And for parents to become awfully frustrated. And desperate.Fear not: We have suggestions.

Next Tuesday, put on your finest green shirt, pin a shamrock to your chest, buy a corned beef sandwich for lunch and drink a Guinness. Or two. For Tuesday will be St. Patrick’s Day, the day to celebrate all things Irish. Here’s how some of the more common traditions began

Primary presidential elections in Washington and Idaho. For Republicans, the choice will be easy: President Donald Trump is running unopposed. Democratic voters will find 13 names on their ballots, but several — Pete Butigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Michael Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren — have dropped out of the race. Here’s a look at the last eight presidential election cycles in Washington and Idaho:

It’s become clear — as more people in Washington state and across the nation are diagnosed with the coronavirus — that COVID-19 has been with us for weeks. Why wasn’t it detected earlier? It all comes down to testing: Officials simply weren’t able to test earlier.

After smaller primaries and caucuses in a handful of states, a whopping 1,357 delegates are up for grabs in Super Tuesday primaries across 14 states and territories. Just to make things more interesting, two candidates — Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar — have dropped out of the race.

Last spring, the White House directed NASA to put astronauts on the moon by 2024. That would require an enormous increase in the agency’s budget — and at a time when D.C. politics aren’t favorable to more big-ticket items or more requests from the Trump administration. Meanwhile, NASA is recruiting more astronauts to fly its projected Artemis missions and is moving forward on getting a real lunar landing vehicle built.

The average American will spend $196.31 on Valentine’s Day candy, cards, jewelry or other items. But how did Valentine’s Day get its start as a day to treat your sweetie?

Curling has been around since 16th-Century Scotland — although many Americans weren’t familiar with it until it reappeared in the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. The 2020 USA Curling Nationals will be held beginning Saturday at Eastern Washington University.

Puzzles are a relatively recent addition to daily newspapers. The first crossword puzzle appeared in Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World only 106 years ago. Here’s a look at how your favorite pastime developed over the years:

It might seem like the 2020 campaign has been under- way for months, now. In fact, Republicans in Hawaii assigned their convention delegates in December. Here’s what you need to know about primary season:

Sometimes, the Super Bowl is super. Other times, not quite so much. Here’s a look at victory margins over the game’s 53-year history.

The first and most important thing to know: “impeachment” is like an indictment. It’s a finding that a crime may have been committed. After an official has been impeached, he or she faces a trial in the Senate. Only a two-thirds vote in the Senate will remove that official from office.

3-D printing — also called additive manufacturing — is a process in which a solid object is created by laying down successive layers of material such as plastic or polymer, among other materials.

The Great Fire of 1910 — better known in these parts as The Big Burn — came to life on Aug. 20, 1910, when gale-force winds caused a number of smaller wildfires throughout northern Idaho and Northwestern Montana to grow and combine into much larger blazes.

NBA great Klay Thompson — part of three NBA championship teams with the Golden State Warriors and half of the famed Splash Brothers duo — returns Pullman today to have his college hoops jersey retired by Washington State University.

Over the last quarter-century, Steve Gleason went from being a student at Gonzaga Prep to a standout football star at Washington State, a professional football player for the New Orleans Saints, a symbol of that city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina and, now, a beacon for patients with ALS. A look at the life of Gleason, who received a Congressional Gold Medal in Washington, D.C., Wednesday.

Next week, Spokane’s Steve Gleason will join an elite group of military heroes, explorers, civil rights figures and scientific figures who have received the Congressional Gold Medal.

Writer/director/actor/comic and movie geek Kevin Smith comes to Spokane Wednesday, showing the latest installment of his “View Askewniverse” film series and taking questions from the audience.

Once upon at time, playing in a bowl game meant something. It meant your team was one of the best of the best — good enough to merit a bonus game during the holidays ... preferably, in a warm climate.

David Condon's improbable election comeback in 2011 sparked a major shift in Spokane’s government. In his eight years as mayor, Condon pushed for major changes in nearly all departments.

What would it take for Gonzaga to join the elite men’s college basketball programs? Name recognition would help — you can’t buy publicity like the program received from Jimmy Kimmel’s ribbing last season. And more wins to dive deeper into the bracket each year would help, of course.

An online outline of all the 2019 - 2020 College Bowls.

Washington State’s College of Nursing is celebrating its 50th birthday this year. The program has grown from a class of 37 in 1969 to more than 650 undergraduates on six campuses across the state.

In the midst of this gorgeous natural paradise we call the Inland Empire is a ticking time bomb — a radioactive Superfund site that has possibly poisoned hundreds of local residents and won’t be cleared of danger — to the federal government’s standards, at least — for another half-decade.

Already the leading single-season yardage passing leader in Washington State history, quarterback Anthony Gordon is likely to join the 5,000-yard club during today’s game against Washington.

Hollywood actor Eric “Big Ed” Edelstein will make a return appearance to Spokane on Monday when he co-hosts an event to help kick off Gonzaga’s 2019-2020 basketball season and to commemorate how the school’s international recruiting efforts have been instrumental in building the Zags into one of college basketball’s elite programs.

Why does anyone even try to blow the whistle on wrongdoers? They risk their jobs, alienation from their friends and colleagues and even persecution from their government. And for what? The knowledge that they stood up and did the right thing?

The Spokesman-Review asked Ben Stuckart and Nadine Woodward, Spokane’s candidates for mayor, a series of questions to learn their positions on important issues that may not make it to a debate stage or candidate profile. Their answers have been edited and paraphrased for brevity. Quotes are directly from their responses.

The Watergate break-in led to a sequence of events: A coverup, an investigation, Congressional hearings, indictments and convictions and, eventually, the resignation of a president.

One of the most highly respected journalists of our time, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, will appear at the Spokane Convention Center on Friday as part of the Whitworth University President’s Leadership Forum.

It’s that time of year again: The increasing crispness of the fall air, the marching bands, cheerleaders and the renewal of football rivalries. All too often, however, this is also the time of year a lot of young people begin suffering from traumatic head injuries due to collisions on the field — especially a football field. Here’s what you need to know about high schoolers and sports head injuries.

A timeline history of 125 years of WSU football.

Momentous events. Artistic or technical achievements. Cultural touchstones. Moments of pain or delight. Call them what you will, the Summer of 1969 — in fact, the whole year — was full of them.

Civilizations come and go. Politicians come and go. Poets and authors and TV actors come and go. Comic strips come and go, too. The biggest difference between them and the others, perhaps: Comic strips are fondly remembered.

“Non Sequitur” returns — by popular demand, no less — to the pages of your Spokesman-Review Sunday. And Monday, the creator of the comic strip, Wiley Miller, will appear at Spokane’s Bing Theater for a town hall-type session with SR editor Rob Curley. Here’s a brief look at Wiley’s cartooning career:

The first newspaper comic strips developed about 124 years ago — give or take a couple of voice balloons — but why? Not to make readers smile — although that’s a good reason to have them. Not to sell plush animals and calendars and paperback book reprints. Not to give artists something to do. No, newspapers created comic strips in the 1890s for one main purpose: To sell newspapers, of course. They’ve done a pretty good job of that for more than a century.

On this date a half-century ago, two NASA astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first Earthlings to set foot on the moon while an estimated 530 million people back home watched on live TV. There was no one-hour photo-developing service on the moon in July of 1969 and Instagram wasn’t quite up and running just yet. So Neil and Buzz would be forced to bring their film back to Earth before they could see their pictures.

On this date 110 years ago, the Looff Carrousel began operating at Spokane’s Natatorium Park. Since then an estimated 25 million riders have climbed aboard the original hand-carved, hand-painted and regularly-restored horses for a three-and-a-half minute merry-go-round ride through history.

On this date 50 years ago, NASA launched three astronauts into space. Four days later, two of them would make history by becoming the first Earthlings to set foot on the moon. What may be one of mankind’s greatest technical achievements was a technological marvel that came to be called the Saturn V rocket.

Astronaut Anne McClain, who recently returned from six months on the International Space Station, subscribed to The Spokesman-Review’s daily e-edition during her time in orbit. We hope she enjoyed reading her hometown paper. But this brings up an interesting question: If we had to, just how could we deliver a printed copy of The Spokesman-Review to McClain in orbit?

Before you dive into your barbecue and hot dogs(or your barbecued hot dogs), check out these 13 things about our nation’s birthday that you might not know.

It was a fairly routine police raid on a mafia-owned bar that catered to Greenwich Village’s carefully-closeted gay and lesbian clientele. But this raid, in the wee hours of the morning 50 years ago today, would lead to a week of skirmishes with police, rioting, protests ... and the birth of the Gay Pride movement.

One hundred and five years ago tomorrow, a Serbian nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, setting into motion a dizzying series of international events that led to the start of what would become World War I. One hundred years ago tomorrow, world leaders signed a treaty in Versailles, France, aimed at bringing peace to all of Europe forever, at the expense of Germany.

Today will be the longest day of 2019 in and around Spokane. Daylight hours today will last just 23 seconds shy of 16 hours — which will be 7 hours and 34 minutes longer than the shortest day of the year, our winter solstice on Dec. 21.

Three-quarters of a century ago, Americans rose to the challenge of World War II by filling the skies with fearsome – yet beautiful – birds of steel.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson and his office have filed or joined in 39 lawsuits against the federal government since Donald Trump took office as president on Jan. 20, 2017. Ferguson will appear at a town hall June 12, 2019 at Spokane’s Montvale Event Center, in a conversation with Spokesman-Review Olympia Bureau Chief Jim Camden.

The tide of World War II had already begun to turn for Germany. The Axis’ march into Eastern Europe was halted by the Soviet Union. Germany was pushed out of North Africa. Rome fell to the Allies on June 4. But France had spent four long years under German occupation. Months in planning, the Allies’ Operation Overlord launched from the coast of England with nearly 7,000 vessels and more than 100,000 troops — the largest amphibious invasion in history.

Thirty years ago this week, Spokane’s Tom Foley was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. Foley served 15 terms in the House, representing Washington’s 5th Congressional District, chaired the House Agriculture Committee and served as U.S. ambassador to Japan. Here’s a look at Foley’s political career:

Each tiny star making up this U.S. flag represents a serviceperson from Washington or Idaho who became a casualty of war in order to protect our freedom.

Tariffs are essentially a tax on imports. Last year, the U.S. expected to take in about $40.4 billion in customs duties and fees on imported goods. You’re hearing a lot of partisan talk these days about increases in tariffs — especially goods from China. But the truth is, this kind of talk is nothing new. Tariffs in the U.S. have always been politicized. They’re often protectionist or retaliatory. And while it’s easy to argue that higher tariffs often backfire — like during the Great Depression — one can also argue that they’ve been effective at times in protecting U.S. business interests.

On this day 45 years ago, Spokane’s own Tom Sneva drove in his first Indianapolis 500 race. He’d go on to run 18 Indy 500s, win once, finish second three times and qualify to start in first place three times. Here’s a look at Sneva’s history in the Indy 500:

The movie and TV actor, author, singer, documentary maker and one of the most visible icons from 1960s pop culture — as Capt. James T. Kirk on “Star Trek” — appeared Friday, May 17, at the FICA. Here's a look at his career.

The world has made progress in the fight against polio, but it still has a ways to go before the disease is eradicated completely. Here’s a look at polio and its status in the world today.

Coming soon, to your pocket: Quarters with a tiny “W” on them. This denotes they were created at the U.S. Mint facility in West Point, N.Y. The Mint says these new “W” coins are a limited edition — only 10 million will be made. This is about 1% of the quarters made this year.

The 43rd running of the annual Lilac Bloomsday Run, a 12-kilometer race through the streets of Spokane and the surrounding area.

Seventy-five years ago today, the movie “Going My Way” was released in theaters. The musical featured Spokane’s own Bing Crosby in a role that would win him an Academy Award and that featured him singing a song that would win an Oscar.

Edmund O. Schweitzer III, founder and chief technology officer of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories of Pullman, will be inducted Thursday into the Inventors Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C., for his invention of the SEL-21 multifunction digital relay. Here’s a look at his life and work.

The good news: The latest installment in the popular Marvel Comics Cinematic Universe opens today: “Avengers: Endgame.” The bad news: It’s long—very long. Which could pose a problem to those of us who do not have superpowered bladders.

Spokane is about 3,000 miles away from Broadway, the world-renowned theater district in the heart of Manhattan. But that hasn’t meant that local performers have found steady work and success on the “Great White Way.” Here are a few of the talented writers, producers and actors from throughout the Inland Northwest who have had their theater dreams come true.

More than 3.5 million Americans live with autism spectrum disorder — a developmental disability that has no blood test, no illness-causing virus, and no cure. Why are so many children diagnosed these days with the disorder and what can be done about it?

The Tiger Effect was a phenomenon first detected not long after Tiger Woods entered the world of pro golf. Any tournament — especially the majors — in which he contended saw a big TV ratings bump.

If you’re headed to Anaheim this week, take a moment to eat where the locals eat: A small(ish) Southern California-based burger chain called In-N-Out Burger.

Seventeen years ago today, upstart quarterback Tom Brady led New England on a crucial late drive to set up a winning 48-yard field goal. Today, the Patriots find themselves where their dynasty began: facing the Rams in the Super Bowl.

Advances in technology have unfortunately allowed illegal, seemingly local robocalls to be made from anywhere in the world and more cheaply and easily than ever before. That’s why it’s become more of a problem for consumers and a more difficult problem to solve.

At midnight on Oct. 8, the city orders all schools, churches, theaters, dance halls, poolrooms and other places where people would congregate closed. Public weddings and funerals were also banned ...

After it nearly happened in four of the past six seasons, today Eastern Washington finally has second-division behemoth North Dakota State in its sights for an FCS title game showdown for the ages. The burgeoning rivalry between two of the FCS’ top teams stems from EWU’s dramatic 38-31 overtime win at home in the 2010 quarterfinals.

The Cougars’ postseason results have been a split over past 15 seasons. WSU awaits its highest-profile bowl matchup since 2003 as it looks to clean up after back-to-back Holiday Bowl letdowns

Following more than four years of bitter fighting across Europe, an official cessation of hostilities between Allied and Central powers on the Western Front of World War I took effect at 11 o’clock in the morning on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. Many Allied nations followed France and Great Britain in declaring Nov. 11 a national holiday.

The two candidates seeking Eastern Washington’s seat in Congress have spent the past several months answering questions about health care, immigration, the environment and taxes. They spent Monday afternoon talking about condiments. Ahead of the Nov. 6 conclusion of the closely watched contest between Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Lisa Brown, both women agreed to field questions on the lighter side on Election Day eve.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and challenger Lisa Brown have set fundraising records in the race for Eastern Washington’s Congressional seat, a contest that will likely cost greater than $10 million when the dust settles later this month. That has included frenzied advertisement buys on TV, radio and the internet, fueled in large part by both political action committees and individual donors.

Despite a booming economy under Republican President Donald Trump and his populist administration, Democrats look to regain control of the House of Representatives for the first time since the 2010 midterms. Taking control of the Senate, however, will be a much tougher task this go round.

Cathy McMorris Rodgers has been firmly opposed to the Affordable Care Act since she cast her vote against it in 2010. She also was in favor of the Republicans’ replacement plan, the American Health Care Act, which barely failed a vote in the Senate last year. Her Democratic opponent, Lisa Brown, is more in line with Affordable Care Act, but supports significant upgrades, though she’s not advocating a Bernie Sanders’ Medicare-for-all system.

In the 5th District race for Congress, both candidates stress economics in their pitch to voters. The focus of incumbent Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers is last year’s tax cuts. Democrat Lisa Brown stresses what she sees as a Republican emphasis on tax cuts favoring big businesses and the wealthy while debt skyrockets, creating pressure to cut programs helping the poor and middle class.

Two decades ago, USW Local No. 338, at 2,000 strong, walked off from what was believed to be a lifetime job to fight for better wages and safer working conditions at Kaiser Aluminum.

Social Security is one of the key issues Democrat Lisa Brown is highlighting in her quest to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers in Congress. She has pledged to “fight any cuts to Social Security and Medicare” in one of her campaign ads now running on TV. McMorris Rodgers is stressing that no changes to Social Security are imminent, in large part because President Donald Trump doesn’t support major changes to the system.

Since Washington and Colorado voters approved the recreational use of marijuana in 2012, federal officials have struggled to decide how to enforce federal marijuana law, which considers the drug as harmful as heroin. U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers has opposed legalization, though some of her positions on the drug have softened in recent times. Her opponent in the November election, Lisa Brown, has been more open to legalization. Here are their positions on marijuana policies, the nation’s opioid crisis and a few other health issues:

In the race for Congress to represent Eastern Washington, two candidates mostly have differing views on the subject of abortion. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers has a long legislative record of supporting policies opposed to abortion. Her opponent, Lisa Brown, is a longtime supporter of abortion rights and has been endorsed by abortion rights groups.

Online retail giant Amazon's $181 million fulfillment center in west Spokane, with a footprint nearing 700,000 square feet, will begin hiring more than 1,500 full-time employees in 2019 to work alongside Amazon Robotics to pick, pack and ship items like games, housewares, school supplies and pet toys to the company’s ever-increasing customer base.

Heading into Washington’s Aug. 7 primary elections, seven-term incumbant U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, faces four challengers to her seat in Congress. We asked three of the candidates for the 5th District congressional seat where they stand on 15 environmental issues, ranging from climate change to wildlife.

Many factors influence housing prices, including the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, condition of the house and the school district. But consumers’ interest in particular neighborhoods, and the number of homes for sale there, are key to pricing.

John Barnes arrived in the Northwest to develop the Pacific Northwest League in 1890. He operated the Spokane franchise, which won the first pennant with a team featuring minor-league legends Piggy Ward, Abner Powell and George Borchers. Over the 127-plus years since then, the franchise has gone through ten notable eras, each with defining moments you can read about inside.

Since 1974, Inland Northwest Community Foundation has connected donors with what it sees as the region’s most pressing causes. Through donor generosity, it manages over 500 funds and its assets have grown to over $120 million and it has donated more than $70 million in grants to organizations in a 20-county area of our region to improve lives and communities.

For the longest time, the state of Washington had one major professional sports champion - the SuperSonics - who delighted Northwest fans for many of their 41 seasons in Seattle, assembling teams of indelible players and etching themselves into our collective memory bank with unforgettable winning seasons.

Have you had a 10,000 year-old glass of water? The water that’s pumped up from the Columbia Basin’s deepest irrigation wells (some as deep as 2,500 feet) has been there for at least that long. Unfortunately, this prehistoric glass of water wouldn’t taste very good. Because of high pressure, water that deep is hot, about 125 degrees or as hot as a latte.

Located on the northeastern rim of the seismically active Ring of Fire the West Coast of the United States serves as a hotbed for boundless volcanic activity. Many of the more sizable peaks in the Cascade Range, stretching from British Columbia in the north to California in the south, house volcanoes - considered dormant but very much alive - that have shaped our region for hundreds of thousands of years.

Whether you favor high country or the ocean, familiar landscapes or new experiences, you can see it all across the region’s four states and two Canadian provinces. All you need is a light packing job and a game plan, because two tanks of gas and a day’s drive can transport you farther from home than you think. Here are some spectacular Northwest destinations you can reach before dinnertime.

Through last year’s run, Bloomsday’s downtown finish lines have welcomed 1,678,943 who’ve completed the 12- or 13-kilometer course. Just over 1.8 million started a Bloomsday race, making for 91.6 percent of starters making it all the way to the end. Here's what you need to know before you lace them up for the start of this year's run.

From its debut just over four decades ago, Bloomsday has annually captured the imagination - and many of the streets - of the city of Spokane. The first 11 years of the race saw record turnout follow record turnout, while the image of downtown avenues teeming with runners graduated from phenomenon to celebration, and finally, city icon.

The modern religious landscape of the Inland Northwest, much like that of the United States as a whole continues to change, most notably driven by a decline in alignment with mainline Protestant churches in favor of evangelical and other nondenominational organizations.

While the Zags in their infancy may have started by walking before they could crawl in 1999, storming into the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight in just their second appearance and following that with consecutive Sweet 16 bids, Gonzaga fought through subsequent growing pains and arrived at the precipice of tournament adulthood in 2015.

The Olympic symbol, five interlocking rings representing the North/South American, European, Asian, African and Australian continents, was designed as a symbol of global representation of the Olympic movement. The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, mark the return of the winter games to the Asian continent after a 20-year absence.

Since the West Coast Conference moved its year-end tournament to Las Vegas in 2009, Gonzaga has owned the league's automatic NCAA tournament bid, winning eight men's titles and seven for the women. Some historic performances from other teams' players have dotted the headlines, but a quick look at the banners hanging from GU's rafters leaves no doubt as to who's top dog.

The Ponderosa Pine is native to our region and often cursed because it sheds large piles of needles and cones each year. But there are plenty of reasons to appreciate this giant. A mature ponderosa is not fire prone and though our area has seen many tumble in storms, the tree is considered "one of the most stable of trees," according to Spokane city arborist Jeff Perry.

The Olympic symbol, five interlocking rings representing the North/South American, European, Asian, African and Australian continents, was designed as a symbol of global representation of the Olympic movement. The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, mark the return of the winter games to the Asian continent after a 20-year absence.

Hank Melanson was 18 years old and had just landed near Khe Sanh in central Vietnam when he witnessed a fellow Marine shot and killed. The battle launched what came to be known as the Tet Offensive, the bloodiest period of a war that changed America forever.

Thirty minutes after firing braking rockets and beginning re-entry to Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, some temperature and tire pressure sensors went offline. Eleven minutes later, commander Rick Husband made a radio response just west of Houston that said "Roger . . . " and was then interrupted by static noise. Less than one minute later, 38 miles above Earth and traveling over 18 times the speed of sound, the vessel had disintegrated.

After a powerful undersea quake and a blast of cellphone alerts early on Jan. 23, 2018, Alaskans braced for a tsunami that was expected to smash into the state's southern coast and western Canada. The National Weather Service also issued lower-level watch advisories for Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. It stirred echoes of the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964, a massive 9.2 magnitude that claimed 139 lives.