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Local history on this date: September 9

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50 years ago: Fiore Furniture, Frank Fiore owner, on the corner of Beale Avenue and 24th Street for many years, was moving to West Plank Road (Cayuga Ave.), to a former A&P grocery store that was being remodeled. All the furniture from Beale Avenue was on sale as all-new furniture would be delivered to the new location.

25 years ago: Former U.S. Rep. Bud Shuster, who retired from Congress after 28 years, began a teaching career at Saint Francis College in Loretto. He held a Ph.D. in business and economics from the American University in Washington, D.C.

10 years ago: Jeff Long, developer of the local Graystone chain, purchased the Mercy Hospital building, Eighth Avenue and 25th Street, for $1 from the Altoona-Blair County Development Corp. to turn it into senior housing.

-- Compiled by Tim Doyle

World history

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 9, the 252nd day of 2026. There are 113 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Sept. 9, 1971, prisoners seized control of the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York, taking 42 staff members hostage and demanding improvements to inmate treatment and living conditions.

On this date:

– In 1776, the second Continental Congress formally adopted the name "United States of America," replacing the "United Colonies of North America."

– In 1850, California was admitted as the 31st U.S. state.

– In 1919, about 1,100 members of Boston's 1,500-member police force went on strike. The strike was broken by Gov. Calvin Coolidge with replacement officers.

– In 1948, the People's Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) was declared.

– In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the first civil rights bill to pass Congress since Reconstruction, a measure primarily concerned with protecting voting rights. It also established a Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Justice.

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