There are 108 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
- On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key was inspired to write his poem "The Star-Spangled Banner" after witnessing how Fort McHenry in Maryland had endured British bombardment during the War of 1812.
- In 1812, the Russians set fire to Moscow in the face of an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte's troops.
- In 1847, U.S. forces under Gen. Winfield Scott took control of Mexico City.
- In 1901, President William McKinley died in Buffalo, N.Y., of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him.
- In 1927, modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan died in Nice, France, when her scarf became entangled in a wheel of the sports car she was riding in.
- In 1948, a groundbreaking ceremony took place in New York at the site of the United Nations' world headquarters.
- In 1959, the Soviet space probe Luna 2 became the first manmade object to reach the moon as it crashed onto the lunar surface.
- In 1964, Pope Paul VI opened the third session of the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, also known as Vatican II. (The session closed two months later.)
- In 1975, Pope Paul VI declared Mother Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton the first U.S.-born saint.
- In 1982, Princess Grace of Monaco, formerly actress Grace Kelly, died at age 52 of injuries from a car crash the day before; Lebanon's president-elect, Bashir Gemayel was killed by a bomb.
- In 1988, Hurricane Gilbert slammed into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula after forcing thousands of residents to flee.
- President Clinton, struggling to regain his footing from the Monica Lewinsky scandal, pledged during a speech in New York to work with America's allies to deal with the "biggest financial challenge facing the world in a half-century."
- Swedes rejected adopting the European common currency in a referendum overshadowed by the killing of Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, an ardent euro supporter.
- World Trade Organization talks designed to change global trade collapsed in Cancun, Mexico, amid differences between rich and poor nations.
- An older half-sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, Yetunde Price, was shot to death in Compton, Calif.
- Defense Secretary Robert Gates raised the possibility of cutting U.S. troop levels in Iraq to 100,000 by the end of 2008, well beyond the cuts President Bush had approved.
- In Iraq, some 1,500 mourners called for revenge as they buried the leader of the Sunni revolt against al-Qaida, Adbul-Sattar Abu Risha, who had been assassinated by a bomb claimed by an al-Qaida front.
- Actress Zoe Caldwell is 75.
- Actor Harve Presnell is 75.
- Feminist author Kate Millett is 74.
- Actor Walter Koenig is 72.
- Actor Nicol Williamson is 70.
- Singer-actress Joey Heatherton is 64.
- Actor Sam Neill is 61.
- Singer Jon "Bowser" Bauman (Sha Na Na) is 61.
- Rock musician Ed King is 59.
- Rock musician Steve Berlin (Los Lobos) is 53.
- Country singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman is 52.
- Actress Mary Crosby is 49.
- Singer Morten Harket (a-ha) is 49.
- Country singer John Berry is 49.
- Actress Melissa Leo is 48.
- Actress Faith Ford is 44.
- Actress Michelle Stafford is 43.
- Rock musician Mike Cooley (Drive-By Truckers) is 42.
- Actor Dan Cortese is 40.
- Contemporary Christian singer Mark Hall is 39.
- Rock musician Craig Montoya (Tri Polar) is 38.
- Actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley is 37.
- Rapper Nas is 35.
- Country singer Danielle Peck is 30.
- Pop singer Ayo is 28.
- Singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse is 25.
- Actor Adam Lamberg is 24.
"I venture to suggest that patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."
Adlai E. Stevenson, American statesman (1900-1965).
"Let's all be careful out there!"