This Day in History: June 8

On this day, June 8 …

1968: Authorities announce the capture in London of James Earl Ray, the suspected assassin of Martin Luther King Jr.

Also on this day:

• 1948: The "Texaco Star Theater" makes its debut on NBC-TV with Milton Berle guest hosting the first program. (Berle would later be named the show's permanent host.)
• 1966: A merger is announced between the National and American Football Leagues to take effect in 1970.
• 1967: During the six-day Middle East war, 34 American servicemen are killed when Israel attacks the USS Liberty, a Navy intelligence-gathering ship in the Mediterranean Sea. (Israel would later say the Liberty had been mistaken for an Egyptian vessel.)
• 1969: The New York Yankees retire Mickey Mantle’s No. 7 in front of 61,000 fans.
• 1978: A jury in Clark County, Nev., rules the so-called "Mormon will," purportedly written by the late billionaire Howard Hughes, is a forgery.
• 1998: The National Rifle Association elects actor Charlton Heston to be its president.

• 2017: In testimony before Congress, former FBI Director James Comey says President Trump fired him to interfere with his investigation of Russia's ties to the Trump campaign.

Robert Mueller, Paul Manafort (Getty and AP)

• 2018: Special counsel Robert Mueller brings new obstruction charges against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and a longtime associate, Konstantin Kilimnik, who prosecutors said had ties to Russian intelligence. 

• 2018: Celebrity chef, author and CNN host Anthony Bourdain is found dead in his hotel room in eastern France in what authorities would determine was a suicide.