1978: NOAA announces gender-neutral hurricane naming system
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In the second day of a standoff at Randy Weaver’s remote northern Idaho cabin atop Ruby Ridge, FBI sharpshooter Lon Horiuchi wounded Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris, and then killed Weaver’s wife, Vicki. An alleged white supremacist, Randy Weaver had been targeted by the federal government for selling two illegal sawed-off shotguns to an undercover informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at a meeting of Aryan Nations. He was offered the chance to become an informant for the FBI in exchange for having the charges dropped, but refused. He then failed to appear for his trial date after pretrial services incorrectly sent his notice with the wrong date. On Aug. 21, 1992, after a period of surveillance, U.S. marshals came upon Harris, Weaver, Weaver’s 14-year-old son Sammy and the family dog on a road near the Weaver property to arrest Weaver. A marshal shot and killed the dog, prompting Sammy to fire at the marshal. In the ensuing gun battle, Sammy and U.S. Marshal Michael Degan were shot and killed. A tense standoff ensued, and the next day the FBI joined the marshals besieging Ruby Ridge. The controversial standoff spawned a nationwide debate on the use of force by federal law enforcement agencies, and a U.S. Senate panel accused the federal agencies involved of “substantial failures” in their handling of the Ruby Ridge operation. It also inspired anti-government extremists including Timothy McVeigh, who carried out the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995.
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