HISTORY, Aug. 29: Hurricane Katrina slams Gulf Coast in 2005
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 29, the 241st day of 2018. There are 124 days left in the year.
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.
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 1877, the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Brigham Young, died in Salt Lake City, Utah, at age 76.
In 1910, Korean Emperor Sunjong abdicated as the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty went into effect.
In 1944, 15,000 American troops of the 28th Infantry Division marched down the Champs Elysees 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 1958, pop superstar Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana.
In 1962, Malvin R. Goode began covering the United Nations for ABC-TV, becoming network television's first black reporter.
In 1964, Roy Orbison's single "Oh, Pretty Woman" was released on the Monument label.
In 1965, Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles "Pete" Conrad, splashed down in the Atlantic after 8 days in space.
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.
Birthdays: Actress Betty Lynn (Thelma Lou on "The Andy Griffith Show") is 92. Director William Friedkin is 83. Actor Elliott Gould is 80. Director Joel Schumacher is 79. Actress Rebecca DeMornay is 59. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is 51. Singer Me'Shell NdegeOcello is 50. Actress Charlotte Ritchie is 29. Actress Nicole Gale Anderson is 28. Rock singer Liam Payne (One Direction) is 25.
Thought for Today: "People are very open-minded about new things — as long as they're exactly like the old ones." -- Charles F. Kettering, American inventor (1876-1958).