Today is Friday, Sept. 12, the 255th day of 2025
with 110 to follow.
The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mercury, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus. Evening stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune and Saturn.
On this date in history:
In 1609, Henry Hudson discovered what is now known as the Hudson River.
In 1940, near Montignac, France, the prehistoric Lascaux cave paintings, believed to be 15,000-17,000 years old, were discovered by four teenagers who stumbled upon the ancient artwork after following their dog down a narrow entrance into a cavern.
In 1953, U.S. Sen. John Fitzgerald Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier at St. Mary's Church in Newport, R.I.
In 1958, Little Rock High School in Arkansas was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to admit Black students.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation establishing Canyonlands National Park in Utah.
In 1974, military officers deposed Emperor Haile Selassie from the Ethiopian throne he had occupied for more than half a century. The government formally abolished the monarchy in March 1975, and military officers killed Selassie in August 1975.
In 1977, Steven Biko, leader of South Africa's Black Consciousness Movement, died of severe head trauma on the stone floor of a prison cell in Pretoria. His death became symbolic of police abuses during apartheid as six days earlier, he suffered a major blow to his skull during a police interrogation.
In 1988, Hurricane Gilbert made landfall in Jamaica before eventually moving over Mexico and Texas, killing more than 300 people.
In 1992, Mae Jemison became the first Black American woman to fly in space, and Jan Davis and Mark Lee became the first married couple to go into space together aboard the Endeavor.
In 1994, a pilot crashed his small plane on the White House lawn, killing himself and creating an alarm about presidential security.
In 2001, after meeting with his national security team, U.S. President George W. Bush said at a news conference: "The deliberate and deadly attacks which were carried out yesterday against our country were more than acts of terror. They were acts of war. .... The American people need to know that we're facing a different enemy than we have ever faced. This enemy hides in shadows. ...This enemy attacked not just our people, but all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world. ... This will be a monumental struggle of good versus evil. But good will prevail."
In 2004, Iran announced it planned to start processing 37 tons of uranium yellowcake, which Western intelligence officials estimated could be used to build five nuclear bombs.
In 2005, the last of Israeli troops left the Gaza Strip, as planned, and the Palestinians immediately reclaimed the area Israel had controlled since the 1967 war. Despite the disengagement and evacuation of Israel settlements, Israel continued to exert control over the region.
In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI, in his first papal trip to his native Bavaria, in Germany, angered Muslims in a speech with a 14th century quote criticizing Islam, leading to church bombings and other protests. The pope apologized for any offense caused, saying the words didn't reflect his own views.
In 2013, officials in Britain announced that Prince William, 31, had left the armed forces after more than 7 1/2 years of service -- first in the army, then as a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue helicopter pilot -- "to focus on royal duties and charity work."
In 2018, the European Parliament took unprecedented action against Hungary, voting to censure the country's government for violating European Union values and spurring concerns about the health of its democracy. The vote was in response to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who disparaged independent media, academics, the courts, minorities and refugees.
In 2023, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced plans to order an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden related to an investigation of his son, Hunter Biden. In August 2024, the impeachment panel released a report saying it found "impeachable conduct" by the president, but didn't recommend bringing formal articles of impeachment against him.
