Aug. 29, 2008 - Today In History

The Associated Press

Today is Friday, Aug. 29, the 242nd day of 2008. There are 124 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 29, 1944, 15,000 American troops marched down the Champs Elysees in Paris

as the French capital continued to celebrate its liberation from the Nazis.

On this date:

In 1533, the last Incan King of Peru, Atahualpa, was executed on orders of Spanish
conqueror Francisco Pizarro.

In 1632, English philosopher John Locke was born in Somerset.

In 1708, French Canadian and Indian forces attacked the village of Haverhill, Mass., killing 16 settlers.

In 1877, the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Brigham Young,
died in Salt Lake City at age 76.

In 1943, responding to a clampdown by Nazi occupiers, Denmark managed to scuttle most of its
naval ships.

In 1957, the Senate gave final congressional approval to a Civil Rights Act after South Carolina
Sen. Strom Thurmond (then a Democrat) ended a filibuster that had lasted 24 hours.

In 1965, Gemini V, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles "Pete" Conrad, splashed down
in the Atlantic after eight days in space.

In 1968, Maine Sen. Edmund Muskie was chosen to be the Democratic nominee for vice president
at the party's convention in Chicago.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast near Buras, La.; the resulting floods devastated the
city of New Orleans. More than 1,800 people in the region died.

Ten years ago:

A Cuban airliner crashed during takeoff from Quito's international airport in Ecuador, killing 80 people. Northwest Airlines pilots went on a two-week strike after their union rejected a last-minute company offer.

Five years ago:

A bombing at the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, killed at least 85 people, including Shiite leader Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim.

Six nations trying to defuse a standoff over North Korea's nuclear program ended their talks in Beijing with an agreement to keep talking.

South Dakota congressman Bill Janklow was charged with felony manslaughter in a car accident that claimed the life of motorcyclist Randolph E. Scott. (Janklow was later convicted and served 100 days
in jail.)

One year ago:

Fellow Republicans called on Idaho Sen. Larry Craig to resign and party leaders pushed him from senior committee posts as fallout continued over his arrest at a Minneapolis airport restroom and guilty plea to disorderly conduct.

Prayers, protests and a lingering disgust with the government's response to Hurricane Katrina marked the disaster's second anniversary in New Orleans.

Taliban militants in Afghanistan released 12 South Korean captives, part of a deal with Seoul to free all 19 hostages.

Richard Jewell, the former security guard who was wrongly linked to the 1996 Olympic bombing, was found dead in his west Georgia home; he was 44.

Today's Birthdays:

Actor-director Lord Richard Attenborough is 85.

Movie director William Friedkin is 73.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is 72.

Actor Elliott Gould is 70.

Movie director Joel Schumacher is 69.

TV personality Robin Leach is 67.

Actor G.W. Bailey is 64.

Actor Ray Wise is 61.

Actress Deborah Van Valkenburgh is 56.

Dancer-choreographer Mark Morris is 52.

Country musician Dan Truman (Diamond Rio) is 52.

Singer Michael Jackson is 50.

Actor-comedian Lenny Henry is 50.

Actress Rebecca DeMornay is 46.

Singer Me'Shell NdegeOcello is 39.

Rhythm-and-blues singer Carl Martin (Shai) is 38.

Actress Carla Gugino is 37.

Rock musician Kyle Cook (Matchbox Twenty) is 33.

Actor John Hensley is 31.

Rock musician David Desrosiers (Simple Plan) is 28.

Rapper A+ is 26.

Actress Jennifer Landon is 25.

Actor Jeffrey Licon is 23.

Thought for Today:

"Whom the gods wish to destroy they first call promising." —

Cyril Connolly,

British journalist-writer
(1903-1974).