SEPTEMBER 27TH

Today is Saturday, Sept. 27, the 271st day of 2008.
There are 95 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Sept. 27, 1964, the government publicly released the report of the Warren Commission, which found that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President Kennedy.

On this date:

• In 1779, John Adams was named to negotiate the Revolutionary War's peace terms with Britain.
• In 1825, the first locomotive to haul a passenger train was operated by George Stephenson in England.
• In 1854, the first great disaster involving an Atlantic Ocean liner occurred when the steamship Arctic sank with 300 people aboard.
• In 1928, the United States said it was recognizing the Nationalist Chinese government.
• In 1939, Warsaw, Poland, surrendered after weeks of resistance to invading forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.
• In 1942, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra performed together for the last time, at the Central Theater in Passaic, N.J., prior to Miller's entry into the Army.
• In 1954, "Tonight!" hosted by Steve Allen, made its network debut on NBC-TV.
• In 1979, Congress gave final approval to forming the Department of Education, the 13th Cabinet agency in U.S. history.
• In 1988, three days after placing first in the men's 100-meter dash at the Seoul Summer Olympics, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson left for home in disgrace, stripped of his gold medal by officials who said Johnson had used anabolic steroids.
• In 1991, President George H.W. Bush announced in a nationally broadcast address that he was eliminating all U.S. battlefield nuclear weapons, and called on the Soviet Union to match the gesture.

Ten years ago:

• Gerhard Schroeder and his Social Democrats won national elections in Germany, following 16 years of conservative rule under Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
• St. Louis Cardinal Mark McGwire's record-breaking season ended with his 69th and 70th homers.

Five years ago:

• President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin urged Iran and North Korea to abandon suspected nuclear-weapons programs, but disagreed over how to deal with both countries; Putin also declined at the end of a two-day summit at Camp David to pledge any postwar help for Iraq.
• Entertainer Donald O'Connor died in Calabasas, Calif., at age 78.

One year ago:

• Soldiers fired into crowds of anti-government demonstrators in Yangon, Myanmar, killing at least nine people.
• President Bush promised to take steps to reduce air traffic congestion and long delays that were leaving travelers grounded.

Today's Birthdays:

• Former Illinois Sen. Charles Percy is 89.
• Actress Jayne Meadows is 88.
• Movie director Arthur Penn is 86.
• Actress Sada Thompson is 79.
• Actress Kathleen Nolan is 75.
• Actor Wilford Brimley is 74.
• Actor Claude Jarman Jr. is 74.
• Author Barbara Howar is 74.
• Producer Don Cornelius ("Soul Train") is 72.
• Singer-musician Randy Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is 65.
• Actress Liz Torres is 61.
• Actor A Martinez is 60.
• Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is 58.
• Rock singer Meat Loaf is 57.
• Rock musician Greg Ham (Men At Work) is 55.
• Singer Shaun Cassidy is 50.
• Rock singer Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind) is 44.
• Actor Patrick Muldoon is 40.
• Singer Mark Calderon is 38.
• Actress Amanda Detmer is 37.
• Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is 36.
• Rock singer Brad Arnold (3 Doors Down) is 30.
• Rapper Lil' Wayne is 26.
• Singer Avril Lavigne is 24.

Thought for Today:

"Sanity is a madness put to good uses."
George Santayana, Spanish-American philosopher (1863-1952).

"Let's all be careful out there!"