Today is Sunday, Aug. 29, the 241st day of 2021.
There are 124 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast near Buras, Louisiana, bringing floods that devastated New Orleans. More than 1,800 people in the region died.
On this date:
In 1862, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing began operations at the United States Treasury.
In 1864, the Democratic National Convention, which nominated Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan for president, opened in Chicago.
In 1943, responding to a clampdown by Nazi occupiers during World War II, Denmark managed to scuttle most of its naval ships.
In 1944, 15,000 American troops of the 28th Infantry Division marched down the Champs Elysees (shahms ay-lee-ZAY’) in Paris as the French capital continued to celebrate its liberation from the Nazis.
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 1962, Malvin R. Goode began covering the United Nations for ABC-TV, becoming network television’s first Black reporter.
In 1966, the Beatles concluded their fourth American tour with their last public concert, held at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
In 2008, Republican presidential nominee John McCain picked Sarah Palin, a maverick conservative who had been governor of Alaska for less than two years, to be his running mate.
In 2009, funeral services were held in Boston for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who was eulogized by President Barack Obama; hours later, Kennedy’s remains were buried at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington.
In 2013, in a sweeping new policy statement, the Justice Department said it would not stand in the way of states that wanted to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana as long as there were effective controls to keep marijuana away from kids, the black market and federal property.
In 2018, Sen. John McCain was remembered as a “true American hero” at a crowded service at the North Phoenix Baptist Church after a motorcade carried McCain’s body from the state Capitol. Kanye West apologized on a Chicago radio station (WGCI) for calling slavery a “choice.”
In 2019, President Donald Trump said the United States planned to withdraw more than 5,000 troops from Afghanistan, and would then determine future drawdowns.
