Today is Sunday, September 28th, the 272nd day of 2008. There are 94 days left in the year.


Today's Highlight in History:

On September 28th, 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the English throne.

On this date:

In 1542, Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived at present-day San Diego.

In 1781, American forces in the Revolutionary War, backed by a French fleet, began their successful siege of Yorktown, Virginia.

In 1787, Congress voted to send the just-completed Constitution of the United States to state legislatures for their approval.

In 1850, flogging was abolished as a form of punishment in the US Navy.

In 1924, two US Army planes landed in Seattle, Washington, having completed the first round-the-world flight in 175 days.

In 1939, during World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union agreed on a plan to partition Poland.

In 1958, voters in the African country of Guinea overwhelmingly favored independence from France.

In 1967, Walter E. Washington was sworn in as the first mayor-commissioner of the District of Columbia (he'd been appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson).

In 1974, first lady Betty Ford underwent a mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland, following discovery of a cancerous lump in her breast.

In 1987, US Representative Patricia Schroeder (Democrat, Colorado) announced in Denver that she would not run for the Democratic presidential nomination.


Ten years ago: Hurricane Georges plowed into the Gulf Coast, weakening to a tropical storm but pouring rain at an inch-an-hour pace; President Clinton declared an emergency late in the day.

Five years ago: A massive blackout struck almost all of Italy, leaving millions of people without power. Pope John Paul II appointed 31 cardinals. A bomb exploded outside an upscale nightclub in southwestern Colombia, killing at least 13 people. Movie director Elia Kazan died in New York at age 94. Tennis champion Althea Gibson died in East Orange, New Jersey, at age 76.

One year ago: Traveler Carol Anne Gotbaum of New York died in a holding cell at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix; authorities say Gotbaum accidentally asphyxiated herself after being chained to a bench. The United States announced it would spend up to 25 million dollars to pay for 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil for North Korea as part of an agreement to dismantle the North's nuclear program. The International Monetary Fund chose France's Dominique Strauss-Kahn as its new leader.

Today's Birthdays: Actor William Windom is 85. Actor Arnold Stang is 83. Blues singer Koko Taylor is 80. Actress Brigitte Bardot is 74. Singer Ben E. King is 70. Actor Joel Higgins is 65. Singer Helen Shapiro is 62. Actor Jeffrey Jones is 62. Movie writer-director-actor John Sayles is 58. Actress Sylvia Kristel is 56. Rock musician George Lynch is 54. Zydeco singer-musician C.J. Chenier is 51. Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 44. Country singer Matt King is 42. Actress Mira Sorvino is 41. TV personality Moon Zappa is 41. Actress-model Carre Otis is 40. Actress Naomi Watts is 40. Country musician Chuck Crawford is 35. Country singer Mandy Barnett is 33. Rapper Young Jeezy is 31. Actress Hilary Duff is 21. Actress Skye McCole Bartusiak is 16.

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Source: Associated Press