Milestones

DIED

Deacon Jones, 74, Hall of Fame NFL defensive end. One of the Fearsome Foursome of the late-1960s Los Angeles Rams, Jones is considered one of the best pass rushers in the league’s history.

RETIRED

Point guard Jason Kidd, after 19 seasons; he ranks third all-time in three-point baskets with 1,988, and he led the Dallas Mavericks to an NBA title in 2011.

SCRAPPED

A plan by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to allow small knives on airplanes; flight attendants and many in the public feared lighter restrictions would increase danger.

DIED

Tim Samaras, 55, veteran meteorologist and storm chaser; his son Paul, 24; and colleague Carl Young, 45, while studying a tornado near El Reno, Okla. They were among 18 people killed in the storm.

PASSED

By the general assembly in Illinois, the last state to approve such a measure, a bill allowing the carrying of concealed weapons; the governor has 30 days to sign the legislation into law.

DIED

Jack Vance, 96, author of dozens of fantastical novels over a six-decade career, including the four-volume Dying Earth series, written from 1950 to 1984, about a distant future dominated by magic.