Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 7, the 250th day of 2021. There are 115 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 7, 1977, the Panama Canal treaties, calling for the U.S. to eventually turn over control of the waterway to Panama, were signed in Washington by President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos (toh-REE'-hohs).

On this date:

In 1812, the Battle of Borodino took place as French troops clashed with Russian forces outside Moscow. (The battle, ultimately won by Russia, was commemorated by composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky with his "1812 Overture.")

In 1936, rock-and-roll legend Buddy Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock, Texas.

In 1940, Nazi Germany began its eight-month blitz of Britain during World War II with the first air attack on London.

In 1972, the International Olympic Committee banned Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett of the U.S. from further competition for talking to each other on the victory stand in Munich during the playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner" after winning the gold and silver medals in the 400-meter run.

In 1986, Desmond Tutu was installed as the first Black clergyman to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa.

In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was shot and mortally wounded on the Las Vegas Strip; he died six days later.

In 2005, police and soldiers went house to house in New Orleans to try to coax the last stubborn holdouts into leaving the city shattered by Hurricane Katrina.

In 2007, Osama bin Laden appeared in a video for the first time in three years, telling Americans they should convert to Islam if they wanted the war in Iraq to end.

In 2008, troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed in government conservatorship.

In 2015, Hillary Clinton, interviewed by The Associated Press during a campaign swing through Iowa, said she did not need to apologize for using a private email account and server while at the State Department because "what I did was allowed."

In 2017, one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in Mexico struck off the country's southern coast, toppling hundreds of buildings and killing at least 90 people. (A deadlier quake would strike central Mexico nearly two weeks later.)

In 2019, President Donald Trump said he had canceled a secret weekend meeting at Camp David with Taliban and Afghan leaders, just days before the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, after a bombing in Kabul that killed 12 people, including an American soldier.

Ten years ago: The latest in a series of Republican presidential debates brought together Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum in Simi Valley, California. A private Russian jet carrying a top ice hockey team slammed into a riverbank moments after takeoff from the airport near the western city of Yaroslavl, killing 44 people. (Investigators blamed pilot error.)

Five years ago: In back-to-back appearances, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton confronted their perceived weaknesses during a national security forum in New York, with Clinton, who went first, arguing that her email practices did not expose questionable judgment while Trump defended his preparedness to be commander in chief. President Barack Obama, during a visit to Laos, pledged to help to clear away the 80 million unexploded bombs the U.S. dropped on the Southeast Asian country decades earlier.

One year ago: Many big Labor Day gatherings were canceled across the U.S. as health authorities pleaded with people to keep their distance from others so as not to cause another surge in coronavirus cases like the one that followed Memorial Day. The mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, announced that Yvette Gentry would serve as interim police chief; she was the first Black woman to lead the department, which had been heavily criticized since officers fatally shot Breonna Taylor in March. India's increasing coronavirus caseload made the Asian giant the world's second-worst-hit country behind the United States. About 80% of the small eastern Washington farming town of Malden was leveled by flames from a fast-moving wildfire.

Today's Birthdays: Jazz musician Sonny Rollins is 91. Singer Gloria Gaynor is 78. Singer Alfa Anderson (Chic) is 75. Actor Susan Blakely is 73. Rock musician Dennis Thompson (MC5) is 73. Actor Julie Kavner is 71. Rock singer Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) is 70. Rock musician Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 68. Actor Corbin Bernsen is 67. Actor Michael Emerson is 67. Pianist Michael Feinstein is 65. Singer/songwriter Diane Warren is 65. Singer Margot Chapman is 64. Actor J. Smith-Cameron is 64. Actor W. Earl Brown is 58. Actor Toby Jones is 55. Actor-comedian Leslie Jones (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 54. Model-actor Angie Everhart is 52. Actor Diane Farr is 52. Country singer Butter (Trailer Choir) is 51. Actor Monique Gabriela Curnen is 51. Actor Tom Everett Scott is 51. Rock musician Chad Sexton (311) is 51. Actor Shannon Elizabeth is 48. Actor Oliver Hudson is 45. Actor Devon Sawa is 43. Actor JD Pardo is 42. Actor Benjamin Hollingsworth (TV: "Code Black") is 37. Actor Alyssa Diaz (TV: "Ray Donovan"; "Zoo") is 36. Singer-musician Wes Willis (Rush of Fools) is 35. Actor Evan Rachel Wood is 34. Actor Jonathan Majors is 32. Actor Ian Chen (TV: "Fresh Off the Boat") is 15.