Today in History: May 15, police kill two students during Jackson State protests

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Today is Thursday, May 15, the 135th day of 2025. There are 230 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On May 15, 1970, less than two weeks after the shooting at Kent State University, two Black students at Jackson State College in Mississippi were killed and 12 were injured when police opened fire during student demonstrations.

Also on this date:

In 1800, President John Adams ordered government offices to relocate from Philadelphia to the newly-constructed city of Washington, in the federal District of Columbia.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act establishing the Department of Agriculture.

In 1928, the Walt Disney cartoon character Mickey Mouse appeared for the first time in front of a public audience in a test screening of the short “Plane Crazy.” (Mickey made his formal screen debut with the release of “Steamboat Willie” six months later.)

In 1940, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald’s fast-food restaurant, in San Bernardino, California.

In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its In re Gault decision, ruled that juveniles accused of crimes were entitled to the same due process afforded adults.

In 1972, Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot and left paralyzed while campaigning for president in Laurel, Maryland, by Arthur H. Bremer, who would serve 35 years in prison for the attempted murder.

In 2015, a jury sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (joh-HAHR’ tsahr-NEYE’-ehv) to death for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and left more than 260 wounded.

In 2020, President Donald Trump formally unveiled a coronavirus vaccine program called “Operation Warp Speed,” to speed development of COVID-19 vaccines and quickly distribute them around the country.

Today’s Birthdays: Artist Jasper Johns is 95. Counterculture icon Wavy Gravy is 89. Actor-singer Lainie Kazan is 85. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson is 85. Musician Brian Eno is 77. Actor Chazz Palminteri is 73. Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett is 72. Rapper Melle Mel is 64. Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz is 58. Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith is 56. Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis is 50. Actor Jamie-Lynn Sigler is 44. Tennis player Andy Murray is 38.