Today is Friday, Oct. 9, the 282nd day of 2026. There are 83 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 9, 2009, President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for what the Norwegian Nobel Committee called “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

Also on this date:

In 1910, a coal dust explosion at the Starkville Mine in Colorado killed 56 miners.

In 1962, Uganda won independence from British rule.

In 1963, a mega-tsunami triggered by a huge landslide at Vajont Dam in northern Italy destroyed villages and caused approximately 2,000 deaths.

In 1967, Marxist revolutionary guerrilla leader Che Guevara, 39, was executed by the Bolivian army a day after his capture.

In 1985, Strawberry Fields in New York’s Central Park, a memorial to former Beatle John Lennon, was dedicated.

In 1992, the highly visible Peekskill Meteorite streaked through Earth's atmosphere for hundreds of miles over the U.S. Northeast before a small chunk of it crashed into the trunk of a parked car in Peekskill, New York. The bright red 1980 Chevrolet Malibu later was displayed at museums worldwide.

In 2010, a drill broke through into an underground chamber where 33 Chilean miners had been trapped for more than two months, opening the way to begin rescue operations days later.

In 2012, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to 30 to 60 years in prison following his conviction on 45 counts of sexual abuse of boys.

In 2017, wildfires whipped by powerful winds swept through California wine country, killing more than 40 people, destroying thousands of homes and businesses and sending thousands fleeing flames that raged through high-end resorts and tree-lined neighborhoods.

In 2019, Turkey launched airstrikes and fired artillery aimed at crushing Kurdish fighters in northern Syria after U.S. troops pulled back from the area, paving the way for an assault on forces long allied with the United States.

In 2024, Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 storm, causing at least 24 deaths, widespread flooding and billions of dollars in damages.

Today’s Birthdays: Musician Nona Hendryx is 82. Musician Jackson Browne is 78. Actor Robert Wuhl is 75. TV personality Sharon Osbourne is 74. Actor Tony Shalhoub is 73. Actor Scott Bakula is 72. Actor-TV host John O’Hurley is 72. Football Hall of Famer Mike Singletary is 68. Jazz musician Kenny Garrett is 66. Film director Guillermo del Toro is 62. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron is 60. Singer PJ Harvey is 57. Film director Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”) is 57. Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sörenstam is 56. Musician Sean Lennon is 51. Actor Chris O'Dowd is 47. Actor Brandon Routh is 47. World boxing champion Amanda Serrano is 38. Actor Tyler James Williams is 34. NFL tight end George Kittle is 33. Country singer Scotty McCreery (TV: “American Idol”) is 33. Model Bella Hadid is 30. Actor Jharrel Jerome is 29. Tennis player Ben Shelton is 24.