SEPTEMBER 18TH

Today is Thursday, Sept. 18, the 262nd day of 2008.
There are 104 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On Sept. 18, 1793, President Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.

On this date:

• In 1759, the French formally surrendered Quebec to the British.
• In 1810, Chile made its initial declaration of independence from Spain.
• In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which created a force of federal commissioners charged with returning escaped slaves to their owners.
• In 1851, the first edition of The New York Times was published.
• In 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas held the fourth of their senatorial debates, this one in Charleston, Ill.
• In 1927, the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System (later CBS) made its on-air debut with a basic network of 16 radio stations.
• In 1947, the National Security Act, which created a National Military Establishment, went into effect.
• In 1961, United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold was killed in a plane crash in northern Rhodesia.
• In 1970, rock star Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27.
• In 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

Ten years ago:

• Over Democratic objections, the House Judiciary Committee voted to release President Clinton's videotaped grand jury testimony as well as 2,800 pages of sometimes graphic evidence compiled by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr.
• The ferry Princess of the Orient sank off the Philippines during a storm, leaving at least 70 people dead and 80 others missing.
• Mark McGwire hit his 64th home run of the season, pulling out of a tie with Sammy Sosa.

Five years ago:

• Hurricane Isabel plowed into North Carolina's Outer Banks with 100 mile-an-hour winds and pushed its way up the Eastern Seaboard; the storm was later blamed for 30 deaths.

One year ago:

• President Bush, cheered on by Iraq war veterans and their families on the White House's South Lawn, urged lawmakers to back his plan to withdraw some troops from Iraq but keep at least 130,000 through the summer of 2008 or longer.
• O.J. Simpson was charged with seven felonies, including kidnapping, in the alleged armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors in a Las Vegas casino-hotel room.

Today's Birthdays:

• Singer Jimmie Rodgers is 75.
• Actor Robert Blake is 75.
• Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah) is 75.
• Actor Fred Willard is 69.
• Singer Frankie Avalon is 68.
• Rock musician Kerry Livgren is 59.
• Actress Anna Deavere Smith is 58.
• Movie director Mark Romanek is 49.
• Actor James Gandolfini is 47.
• Singer Joanne Catherall (Human League) is 46.
• Actress Holly Robinson Peete is 44.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer Ricky Bell (Bell Biv Devoe and New Edition) is 41.
• Actress Aisha Tyler is 38.
• Racing cyclist Lance Armstrong is 37.
• Actress Jada Pinkett Smith is 37.
• Actor James Marsden is 35.
• Rapper Xzibit is 34.
• Actress Alison Lohman is 29.
• Actors Taylor and Brandon Porter are 15.
• Actor C.J. Sanders ("Ray") is 12.

Thought for Today:

"I seem to be the only person in the world who doesn't mind being pitied. If you love me, pity me."
Jessamyn West, American author (1902-1984).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-262

"Let's all be careful out there!"