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From today's featured article

Chicago police officer using a phone

Illinois Public Access Opinion 16-006 is a binding opinion of the Illinois Attorney General pursuant to the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Issued in 2016 in the aftermath of the police murder of Laquan McDonald on October 20, 2014, the opinion addressed a public records request from CNN for private emails by officers of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) related to the incident. After the CPD denied CNN's request, the Attorney General's office, led by Lisa Madigan, ruled that the police officers' private emails about McDonald's murder were subject to public disclosure, even though those emails were communicated on accounts outside of the police department's email servers. The Attorney General found that the police officers were acting on behalf of the police department, making their messages public records. Nonetheless, CNN never received the emails that it had requested, even after it went to court to enforce the Attorney General's opinion. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Mecodema howittii

... that the ground beetle Mecodema howittii (pictured), only known to be found on Banks Peninsula in New Zealand, is in decline?
... that prior to becoming prime minister of Canada, Paul Martin frequently searched the basement of Devonshire Lodge for a bootlegging tunnel?
... that the world's longest continuous rock climbing route is a horizontal 4,500-metre (14,800 ft) traverse on El Capitan, according to Guinness World Records?
... that Olympic wrestler Robert Diouf twice defeated an opponent who was nearly 20 kilograms (44 lb) heavier than him?
... that Byrnihat was ranked by an air technology company as the world's most polluted city in 2024?
... that the 2013 murder of Mark Carson, a hate crime involving the killing of an openly gay man, took place less than a quarter-mile (400 m) from the Stonewall Inn?
... that Fort Duvernette played a role in saving the survivors of a 1795 Carib attack on a British supply convoy?
... that a plane crash was watched in real time by a bedridden woman through her mirror?
... that the Prince of Ning decided to rebel against the emperor right after his birthday party?

In the news

Galerie d'Apollon

Part of the French Crown Jewels are stolen during a robbery of the Louvre (Galerie d'Apollon pictured).
Michael Randrianirina becomes President of Madagascar after Andry Rajoelina flees the country following mass protests and a military coup.
Dallin H. Oaks becomes the 18th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt are awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for their research on the impacts of technology on economic growth.

On this day

October 20

Mahamat Déby

1936 – British woman Mabel Freer was refused entry to Australia after failing a dictation test given in Italian, leading to a debate over Australia's immigration policy.
1944 – World War II: Fulfilling a promise he made two years previously, General Douglas MacArthur landed on Leyte to begin the recapture of the Philippines.
1973 – Watergate scandal: Attorney General Elliot Richardson and his deputy William Ruckelshaus resigned after refusing to obey President Richard Nixon's order to have Archibald Cox fired.
2022 – Protests broke out across Chad after President Mahamat Déby (pictured) declared his intentions to extend his rule by another two years.
2024 – Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka were sworn in as president and vice president of Indonesia, becoming the oldest and the youngest person to assume respective offices.

Ralph d'Escures (d. 1122)
Janet Jagan (b. 1920)
Jerry Orbach (b. 1935)
Michael Newman (d. 2024)

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From today's featured list

Cabinet of Alexander Frick in 1949

There have been 36 cabinets of Liechtenstein from 1861 to 2025. The government of Liechtenstein is the country's national cabinet and executive body. It is chaired by the prime minister of Liechtenstein and consists of four government councillors, all of whom are also heads of specific government ministries. The seat of government is located in the Government Building in Vaduz. Under the 1921 constitution, one government councillor is also appointed as the deputy prime minister. Initially, governments only had two councillors and the deputy prime minister was not considered a full member of government. A constitutional amendment passed in 1965 increased the number of councillors to four and made the deputy prime minister a full member of government with voting rights. Since 10 April 2025, the incumbent government has been the Brigitte Haas cabinet, a coalition government led by the Patriotic Union with the Progressive Citizens' Party. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The crescent-faced antpitta (Grallaricula lineifrons) is a species of bird in the antpitta family, Grallariidae. It is found in scattered locations in the Andes, from southern Ecuador through to Colombia's Quindío Department. It inhabits the undergrowth of humid forest, both cloudforest and elfin forest near but not past the treeline. Recent studies show that its range is almost entirely above 2,900 metres (9,500 ft) in altitude and it reaches at least 3,700 metres (12,100 ft) in places. It is 11 to 12 centimetres (4.3 to 4.7 in) long with a mass between 17 and 22 grams (0.60 and 0.78 oz). Both sexes have the same plumage, with adults featuring the eponymous white crescent from the crown through the lores and almost to the throat and a small white spot behind the eye. The crescent-faced antpitta's crown and nape are dark sooty gray, its face is black, its upperparts are brownish olive and the wings and tail a browner shade. It forages singly or in pairs as well as eating regularly from artificial feeding stations at viewing points, its diet consisting of earthworms, insects, spiders, and other arthropods. This crescent-faced antpitta was photographed at Hacienda El Bosque near Manizales, Colombia.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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