TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 8, the 220th day of 2018. There are 145 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On August 8, 1974, President Richard Nixon, facing damaging new revelations in the Watergate scandal, announced he would resign the following day.

On this date:

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena to spend the remainder of his days in exile.

In 1942, during World War II, six Nazi saboteurs who were captured after landing in the U.S. were executed in Washington, D.C.; two others who cooperated with authorities were spared.

In 1953, the United States and South Korea initialed a mutual security pact.

Ten years ago: China opened the Summer Olympic Games with an extravaganza of fireworks and pageantry.

Five years ago: The U.S. sharply escalated its drone war in Yemen, with military officials in the Arab country reporting three strikes that left a dozen dead.

One year ago: President

Donald Trump said continued North Korean threats aimed at the United States would cause the U.S. to respond with “fire and fury like the world has never seen.”

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Nita Talbot is 88. Actor Dustin Hoffman is 81. Actress Connie Stevens is 80. Country singer Phil Balsley (The Statler Brothers) is 79. Actor Larry Wilcox is 71. Actor Keith Carradine is 69. Movie director Martin Brest is 67. Actor Donny Most is 65. TV personality Deborah Norville is 60. Actor-singer Harry Crosby is

60. Rock musician The Edge (U2) is 57. Middle distance runner Suzy Favor Hamilton is 50. Actress Countess Vaughn is 40. Tennis player Roger Federer is

37. Actress Jackie Cruz (TV: “Orange is the New Black”) is

34. Britain’s Princess Beatrice of York is 30. Pop singer Shawn Mendes is 20.

Thought for Today: “Man adjusts to what he should not; he is unable to adjust to what he should.”—Jean Toomer, African-American author-poet (1894-1967).