Milestones

Ten years ago: The Senate gave final legislative approval to a record package of taxes and spending cuts, hours after the House passed the plan.

Five years ago: A sniper killed one soldier and wounded 18 others at Fort Bragg, N.C. (Paratrooper William J. Kreutzer was later convicted in the shootings, and condemned to death.) Thousands rallied in Montreal for national unity three days before a referendum on whether Quebec should secede.

One year ago: In the first debate of the Democratic presidential race, Al Gore sought to stem his decline in the polls by attacking rival Bill Bradley’s health care and spending plans. The U.S. federal budget surplus was put at $123 billion in 1998, marking the first back-to-back surpluses since the 1950s.