Today is Tuesday, Aug. 4, the 217th day of 2020. There are 149 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On August 4, 1944, 15-year-old diarist Anne Frank was arrested with her sister, parents and four others by the Gestapo after hiding for two years inside a building in Amsterdam. (Anne and her sister, Margot, died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.)
On this date:
- In 1792, English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was born at Field Place near Horsham, England.
- In 1914, Britain declared war on Germany for invading Belgium; the United States proclaimed its neutrality in the mushrooming world conflict.
- In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a measure establishing the Department of Energy.
- In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to abolish the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio and television stations to present balanced coverage of controversial issues.
Ten years ago: BP PLC reported the broken well head at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico was plugged up with mud; President Barack Obama said the battle to contain one of the world's worst oil spills was "finally close to coming to an end."
Five years ago: President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made dueling appeals to the American Jewish community as they sought to rally support for their opposing positions on the Iranian nuclear deal.
One year ago: A masked gunman fired on revelers enjoying summer nightlife in a popular entertainment district of Dayton, Ohio, leaving nine people dead and 27 wounded.
Today's Birthdays: Actor-singer Tina Cole is 77. Actor-comedian Richard Belzer is 76. Football Hall of Famer John Riggins is 71. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is 65. Actor-screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton is 65. Actor Kym Karath (Film: "The Sound of Music") is 62. Hall of Fame track star Mary Decker Slaney is 62. Former President Barack Obama is 59. Author Dennis Lehane is 55. Country singer Jon Nicholson is 47. Rhythm-and-blues singer-actor Marques Houston is 39. Britain's Duchess of Sussex, the former actor Meghan Markle, is 39. Actor Abigail Spencer is 39. Rock singer Tom Parker (The Wanted) is 32. Actors Dylan and Cole Sprouse are 28.
-- The Associated Press