Ten years ago: Seemingly taunting Osama bin Laden, President George W. Bush's homeland security adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend, said in Sunday talk-show appearances that the fugitive al-Qaida leader was "virtually impotent" beyond his ability to hide away and spread anti-American propaganda. Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 to win his fourth straight U.S. Open championship. Britney Spears performed her new single "Gimme More" in a much-criticized comeback attempt at the MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas.
Five years ago: Iraq sentenced fugitive Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi to death on charges he masterminded death squads against rivals in a trial that fueled sectarian tensions in the country. Two points from defeat, Serena Williams regained her composure and her game to come back to beat Victoria Azarenka, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, for her fourth U.S. Open championship. Shannon Eastin became the first woman to officiate an NFL regular-season game, serving as a line judge in the St. Louis Rams-Detroit Lions game. (Detroit beat St. Louis 27-23.)
One year ago: Defying the White House, Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation giving the families of victims of the September 11 attacks the right to sue Saudi Arabia. (Obama vetoed the bill, but Congress overrode his veto.) Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, speaking at an LGBT fundraiser in New York City, described half of Republican Donald Trump's supporters as "a basket of deplorables," a characterization she ended up expressing regret over. Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson were inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, along with international star Yao Ming, WNBA great Sheryl Swoopes, coach Tom Izzo, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf, an architect in the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls championship teams of the 1990s.
