TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, Sept. 18, the 262nd day of 2020. There are 104 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History: On Sept. 18, 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which created a force of federal commissioners charged with returning escaped slaves to their owners.

On this date:

In 1927, the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System (later CBS) made its on-air debut with a basic network of 16 radio stations.

In 1959, during his U.S. tour, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited Wall Street, the Empire State Building and the grave of President Franklin D. Roosevelt; in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Khrushchev called on all countries to disarm.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Jimmie Rodgers is 87. Actor Robert Blake is 87. Singer Frankie Avalon is 80. Actor Anna Deavere Smith is 70. The U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, is 69. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino is 68. College Football Hall of Famer and retired NFL player Billy Sims is 65. Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is 61. Actor Aisha Tyler is 50. Former racing cyclist Lance Armstrong is 49. Actor Jada Pinkett Smith is 49. Actor James Marsden is 47. Comedian-actor Jason Sudeikis is 45. Actor/comedian Billy Eichner is 42. Actor Alison Lohman is 41. Designer Brandon Maxwell is 36. Congressman and former NFL player Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, is 36. Actors Brandon and Taylor Porter are 27. Actor Patrick Schwarzenegger is 27. Actor C.J. Sanders is 24.