Comment on Today in History: November 3, Sputnik 2 carries first animal into space

CHIVA, Spain. — Three days after historic flash floods swept through towns in Spain and killed at least 205 people, the initial shock was giving way to anger, frustration and a wave of solidarity on Friday. Spanish emergency authorities raised the death toll to at least 205 victims, 202 of them in Valencia alone. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Many streets are still blocked by piled-up vehicles and debris, in some cases trapping residents in their homes.

More than eight decades after the Blitz, when Nazi Germany bombed Britain for nine months straight between 1940 and 1941, Oscar winner Steve McQueen’s film Blitz, in theaters Nov. 1 and on Apple TV+ on Nov. 22, aims to show viewers what it was like to live in the country during that tumultuous period. The film starts with a London factory worker and single mom Rita (Saoirse Ronan) making the difficult decision to send her son George (Elliott Heffernan) to the countryside so he can be safe from the bombing.

Recently my wife and I went to a performance by a band whose debut album came out in 1986. Every couple of years they produce yet another album of well-crafted, well-played, mid-tempo album of songs about life in all its mysteries and heartbreaks. More than 20 studio albums in these 38 years.

Jesse Eisenberg has “very strong opinions on Holocaust cinema.” “I just have a very kind of, let’s say—what’s the word—touchy reaction to the way the Holocaust is presented in films,” he tells me in a video interview. “It’s such an easy thing to evoke sympathy with a Holocaust setting that I feel, almost from a creative perspective, it’s so exploitative when they overdo it.” [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Eisenberg says this knowing very well he recently contributed to this canon—albeit in an atypical way.

Baby, it’s getting cold outside. And there’s plenty of new holiday programming on Netflix to curl up to at home, from Hot Frosty—about a snowman who comes to life, as a really hot man—and a holiday-themed edition of the baking competition series Is It Cake?, featuring edible ice skates, wreaths, and nutcrackers. For thrill-seekers, several films in the Fast & Furious franchise will be available to stream beginning Nov.

Today is Sunday, Nov. 3, the 308th day of 2024. There are 58 days left in the year. Daylight saving time ends today. Today in history: On Nov. 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the spacecraft Sputnik 2, carrying the first animal into orbit, a dog named Laika. Also on this date: In 1908, Republican William Howard Taft was elected president, outpolling Democrat William Jennings Bryan. Related Articles Today in History: November 1, Seabiscuit wins “Race of the Century” Today in History: October 31, Indira Gandhi assassinated Today in History: October 30, Muhammad Ali defeats George Foreman in the “Rumble in the Jungle” Today in History: October 29, Houston Texans take a knee Today in History: October 28, FBI announces investigation into Hillary Clinton days before the 2016 election In 1911, the Chevrolet Motor Car Co.