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Today in history: September 27

Celebrity birthdays, highlights in history, plus more facts about this day
/ Source: The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 27, the 270th day of 2006. There are 95 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:
On Sept. 27, 1964, the Warren Commission issued a report concluding that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President Kennedy.

On this date:
In 1779, John Adams was named to negotiate the Revolutionary War’s peace terms with Britain.

In 1854, the first great disaster involving an Atlantic Ocean liner occurred when the steamship Arctic sank with 300 people aboard.

In 1928, the United States said it was recognizing the Nationalist Chinese government.

In 1939, Warsaw, Poland, surrendered after weeks of resistance to invading forces from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.

In 1942, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra performed together for the last time, at the Central Theater in Passaic, N.J. prior to Miller’s entry into the Army.

In 1943, Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters and the Vic Schoen Orchestra recorded “Pistol Packin’ Mama” and “Jingle Bells” for Decca Records.

In 1954, “Tonight!” hosted by Steve Allen, made its debut on NBC TV.

In 1956, Olympic track and field gold medalist and Hall of Fame golfer Babe Didrikson Zaharias died in Galveston, Texas, at age 45.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush announced in a nationally broadcast address that he was eliminating all U.S. battlefield nuclear weapons, and called on the Soviet Union to match the gesture.

In 1994, more than 350 Republican congressional candidates gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to sign the “Contract with America,” a 10-point platform they pledged to enact if voters sent a GOP majority to the House.

Ten years ago: In Afghanistan, the Taliban, a band of former seminary students, drove the government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani out of Kabul, captured the capital and executed former leader Najibullah.

Five years ago: An armed man went on a shooting rampage in the local parliament of Zug, Switzerland, killing 14 people before taking his own life. President Bush asked the nation’s governors to post National Guard troops at airports as a first step toward federal control of airline security.

One year ago: Former FEMA director Michael Brown angrily blamed the Louisiana governor, the New Orleans mayor and even the Bush White House that appointed him for the dismal response to Hurricane Katrina in a fiery appearance before Congress; in response, lawmakers alternately lambasted and mocked the former official. New Orleans Police Superintendent Eddie Compass stepped down from his post four weeks after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city. Army reservist Lynndie England was sentenced to three years behind bars for her role in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

Today’s Birthdays: Former Illinois Sen. Charles Percy is 87. Actress Jayne Meadows is 86. Movie director Arthur Penn is 84. Actress Sada Thompson is 77. Actress Kathleen Nolan is 73. Actor Wilford Brimley is 72. Actor Claude Jarman Jr. is 72. Author Barbara Howar is 72. Producer Don Cornelius (“Soul Train”) is 70. Singer-musician Randy Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is 63. Actress Liz Torres is 59. Actor A Martinez is 58. Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is 56. Rock singer Meat Loaf is 55. Rock musician Greg Ham (Men At Work) is 53. Singer Shaun Cassidy is 48. Rock singer Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind) is 42. Actor Patrick Muldoon is 38. Singer Mark Calderon is 36. Actress Amanda Detmer is 35. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is 34. Country musician Patrick Bourque (Emerson Drive) is 29. Rock singer Brad Arnold (3 Doors Down) is 28. Rapper Lil’ Wayne is 24. Singer Avril Lavigne is 22.

Thought for Today: “The more you practice, the better. But in any case, practice more than you play.” — Babe Didrikson Zaharias, American athlete (1911-1946).