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.

• 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.