Today is Friday, Oct. 31, the 304th day of 2025. There are 61 days left in the year. This is Halloween.

Today in history:

On Oct. 31, 1950, Earl Lloyd of the Washington Capitols became the first African-American to play in an NBA game; Lloyd would go on to play for nine seasons, winning an NBA championship in 1955 with the Syracuse Nationals.

Also on this date:

In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation making Nevada the 36th state, eight days before the presidential election.

In 1913, the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile highway across the United States, was dedicated.

In 1941, work was completed on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, begun in 1927.

In 1961, the body of Josef Stalin was removed from Lenin’s Tomb as part of the Soviet Union’s “de

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