On July 10, the Wild Boars soccer team was rescued from a Thai cave, J. Paul Getty III was kidnapped in Rome, and Furnace Creek set the world heat record at 134°F.
July 10 in History
90 divers, 18 days: last Wild Boars pulled from Thai cave
The final members of a junior football team and their coach were rescued from Tham Luang Nang Non on Tuesday, ending an ordeal that gripped the world.
Ninety divers — 50 of them foreigners — threaded through narrow, flooded passages over three days to extract all 12 boys and their coach alive from a cave in northern Thailand.
The last members of the Wild Boars junior football team emerged from Tham Luang Nang Non on Tuesday. The rescue began Sunday and finished just ahead of expected monsoon rains that would have sealed the cave until October.
British divers John Volanthen and Rick Stanton found the group huddled on an elevated rock about 2 km from the entrance on July 2, nine days after they vanished. The boys, aged 11 to 16, and assistant coach Ekkaphon Kanthawong, 25, had been trapped when monsoon floodwaters blocked their exit.
The operation claimed one life: Saman Kunan, a 37-year-old former Royal Thai Navy SEAL, died of asphyxiation on July 6 while delivering diving cylinders.
Three boys and the assistant coach are stateless. Thailand granted them citizenship in September. Thai authorities said all rescued from the cave remain in stable condition at a Chiang Rai hospital. The rescue team fed the boys a high-protein liquid diet during their hospital stay. Officials said psychological support would continue for at least a month. The cave has been closed indefinitely to tourists.
J. Paul Getty III kidnapped in Rome; kidnappers demand $17 million
The 16-year-old grandson of the American oil magnate was seized from Piazza Farnese at 3 a.m.
Piazza Farnese in Rome, where John Paul Getty III was kidnapped at 3 a.m. on — Umberto Pizzi
John Paul Getty III, 16-year-old grandson of American oil billionaire J. Paul Getty, was kidnapped from Piazza Farnese in Rome at 3 a.m. today.
Kidnappers are demanding a $17 million ransom, equivalent to roughly $123 million today. The youth was seized near a fountain in the quiet Roman square.
In November, a newspaper received a lock of hair and a human ear with a threat to mutilate the boy further unless $3.2 million was paid.
134°F at Furnace Creek sets world heat record
Greenland Ranch hits the highest air temperature ever measured on Earth.
Furnace Creek, site of the world's highest recorded air temperature of 134 degrees Fahrenheit — Tobias1983
The mercury at Greenland Ranch in California's Death Valley touched 134 degrees Fahrenheit — 56.7 Celsius — this afternoon.
The reading, taken at the U.S. Weather Bureau station, is recognized as the highest air temperature ever recorded on the planet.
U.S. women win World Cup, set ratings records
America's third FIFA Women's World Cup title draws 17.9 million viewers and 90,000 fans to the Rose Bowl.
The United States women's national team did more than win a championship Sunday — they changed the audience for women's sports.
Before 90,185 fans at the Rose Bowl and a television audience averaging 17.9 million viewers — peaking at 40 million — the Americans defeated China 5-4 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw through extra time. The Fox broadcast drew higher ratings than the men's final or any previous World Cup match on U.S. English-language television.
News of the World Shuts Down After Scandal
The 168-year-old British tabloid published its final edition today amid a phone-hacking scandal.
It was an ignominious end for a newspaper that once sold 8.4 million copies a week. The last edition of the News of the World, a British tabloid first published on 1 October 1843, was printed today, forced to close by allegations that its operatives hacked the voicemails of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, victims of the 7/7 attacks, and relatives of fallen soldiers. The closure will cost about 200 staffers their jobs. Parent company News International said it would cooperate fully with continuing police investigations.
Indian Mystic Meher Baba Begins Lifelong Vow of Silence
Meher Baba, a spiritual leader, has stopped speaking indefinitely, communicating only through an alphabet board.
Meher Baba, the Indian mystic and spiritual master, today began a silence that he vows to maintain until his death. Communicating only by means of an alphabet board or unique hand gestures, the 31-year-old leader has entered a new phase of his teaching. He wrote his last message on 1 December 1926, after which he will rely solely on the board. The board, which he points to letters on, allows him to convey lengthy discourses to followers.
Prince Naka no Oe Assassinates Soga no Iruka, Igniting the Isshi Incident
A single blow has toppled the powerful Soga clan's dominance in the Japanese court.
One stroke ended the Soga clan's grip on power. Prince Naka no Oe today assassinated Soga no Iruka, a powerful courtier, in a plot to eliminate the Soga clan. The attack, known as the Isshi incident, began a chain of events that will reshape the Japanese imperial court. Emperor Kōtoku will soon ascend the throne, backed by Naka no Oe and his ally, Nakatomi no Kamatari. The Soga clan's influence crumbles. The coup marked the end of the Soga clan's dominance, ushering a period of reform.
King Leads Chicago Freedom Rally at Soldier Field
Thousands gather to support the ambitious northern civil rights campaign.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a rally today in support of the Chicago Freedom Movement, drawing about 35,000 persons to Soldier Field. King called for open housing laws and an end to slum conditions. The crowd, largely peaceful, roared approval at his demand for justice now. A symbolic march to all-white neighborhoods on the city's Southwest Side is planned for tomorrow.
Lady Jane Grey Proclaimed Queen of England
The great-granddaughter of Henry VII is named successor to King Edward VI.
At the Tower of London, the Lady Jane Grey was this day proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland. The 16-year-old great-granddaughter of Henry VII assumed the throne following the death of Edward VI earlier this week. Northumberland, her father-in-law, orchestrated the succession, bypassing Mary and Elizabeth Tudor.
Parliament's New Model Army Smashes Royalists at Langport
Fairfax and Cromwell destroy the last Royalist field army, securing the west for Parliament.
For the King's cause, the Battle of Langport this day delivers a fatal blow. The Parliamentarian New Model Army, under Sir Thomas Fairfax with Oliver Cromwell as his lieutenant-general, has utterly broken the last Royalist field army in the west, thereby giving Parliament full control of that region. The Royalist horse were driven from the field at Langport in Somerset, their footmen scattered or slain.
