Today in History

Today is Sunday, Sept. 27, the 271st day of 2020. There are 95 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On September 27, 1964, the government publicly released the report of the Warren Commission, which concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy.

On this date:

In 1779, John Adams was named by Congress to negotiate the Revolutionary War's peace terms with Britain.

In 1825, the first locomotive to haul a passenger train was operated by George Stephenson in England.

In 1917, French sculptor and painter Edgar Degas died in Paris at age 83.

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

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

In 1979, Congress gave its final approval to forming the U.S. Department of Education.

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. The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked, 7-7, on the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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.

In 1996, 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.

In 1999, Sen. John McCain of Arizona officially opened his campaign for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination, the same day former Vice President Dan Quayle dropped his White House bid.

In 2004, NBC announced that "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno would be succeeded by "Late Night" host Conan O'Brien in 2009 (however, O'Brien's stint on "The Tonight Show" lasted just over seven months).

In 2016, scientists announced the first baby born from a controversial new technique that combined DNA from three people -- the mother, the father and an egg donor. (The goal was to prevent the child from inheriting a fatal genetic disease from his mother.)

Ten years ago: Southwest Airlines announced the $1.4 billion purchase of AirTran. Temperatures reached 113 degrees in downtown Los Angeles, the highest in records kept since 1877.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama committed the U.S. to a new blueprint to eliminate poverty and hunger around the world as he addressed a global summit at the United Nations. Pope Francis urged hundreds of thousands of faithful gathered in Philadelphia for the biggest event of his U.S. visit to be open to the "miracles of love," closing out a six-day trip with a message of hope for families and consolation for victims of child sexual abuse.

One year ago: House Democrats took their first concrete steps in the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump, issuing subpoenas demanding documents from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and scheduling depositions for other State Department officials. A federal judge blocked new Trump administration rules that would allow the government to keep immigrant children in detention facilities with their parents indefinitely.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Kathleen Nolan is 87. Actor Claude Jarman Jr. is 86. Author Barbara Howar is 86. World Golf Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth is 81. Singer-musician Randy Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is 77. Rock singer Meat Loaf is 73. Actor Liz Torres is 73. Actor A Martinez is 72. Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt is 71. Actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is 70. Actor/opera singer Anthony Laciura is 69. Singer Shaun Cassidy is 62. Comedian Marc Maron is 57. Rock singer Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind) is 56. Former Democratic National Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is 54. Actor Patrick Muldoon is 52. Singer Mark Calderon is 50. Actor Amanda Detmer is 49. Actor Gwyneth Paltrow is 48. Rock singer Brad Arnold (3 Doors Down) is 42. Christian rock musician Grant Brandell (Underoath) is 39. Actor Anna Camp is 38. Rapper Lil' Wayne is 38. Singer Avril Lavigne is 36. Bluegrass singer/musician Sierra Hull is 29. Actor Sam Lerner is 28. Actor Ames McNamara is 13.