By The Associated PressMon Sep 11, 8:00 PM ET

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 12, the 255th day of 2006. There are 110 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 12, 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson sailed into the river that now bears his name.

On this date:

In 1880, author and journalist H.L. Mencken was born in Baltimore.

In 1914, during World War I, the First Battle of the Marne ended in an Allied victory against Germany.

In 1938, Adolf Hitler demanded self-determination for the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia.

In 1943, German paratroopers took Benito Mussolini from the hotel where he was being held by the Italian government.

In 1944, the second Quebec Conference opened with President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in attendance.

In 1953, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, R.I.

In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy addressed the issue of his Roman Catholicism, telling a Protestant group in Houston, "I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me."

In 1966, "The Monkees" debuted on NBC TV; the situation comedy "Family Affair" premiered on CBS.

In 1977, South African black student leader Steven Biko died while in police custody, triggering an international outcry.

In 1986, Joseph Cicippio, the acting comptroller at the American University in Beirut, was kidnapped; he was released in December 1991.

Ten years ago: Last-minute intervention by Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole led to Senate postponement of action on a treaty designed to eliminate chemical weapons. President Clinton said the agreement was threatened by "a bitter partisan debate."

Five years ago: Stunned rescue workers continued to search for bodies in the World Trade Center's smoking rubble a day after a terrorist attack that shut down the financial capital, badly damaged the Pentagon and left thousands dead. President Bush, branding the attacks in New York and Washington "acts of war," said "this will be a monumental struggle of good versus evil" and that "good will prevail."

One year ago: Officials in New Orleans reported the bodies of more than 40 mostly elderly patients were found in a flooded-out hospital. Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown resigned, three days after losing his onsite command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. At the start of his confirmation hearing, Supreme Court nominee John Roberts pledged to judge with humility and "without fear or favor" if approved as the nation's 17th chief justice.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Irene Dailey is 86. Actor Dickie Moore ("Our Gang") is 81. Actor Freddie Jones is 79. Country singer George Jones is 75. Actor Ian Holm is 75. Actress Linda Gray is 66. Singer Maria Muldaur is 63. Actor Joe Pantoliano is 55. Singer-musician Gerry Beckley (America) is 54. Rock musician Neil Peart (Rush) is 54. Actor Peter Scolari is 52. Actress Rachel Ward is 49. Actress Amy Yasbeck is 44. Rock musician Norwood Fisher (Fishbone) is 41. Actor Darren E. Burrows is 40. Rock singer-musician Ben Folds (Ben Folds Five) is 40. Rock musician Larry LaLonde (Primus) is 38. Rock singer Liam Gallagher (Oasis) is 34. Actor Paul Walker is 33. Country singer Jennifer Nettles (Sugarland) is 32. Actor Benjamin McKenzie is 28. Singer Ruben Studdard ("American Idol") is 28. Singer Jennifer Hudson ("American Idol") is 25. Actress Emmy Rossum is 20.

Thought for Today: "We must be willing to pay a price for freedom, for no price that is ever asked for it is half the cost of doing without it." — H.L. Mencken, American author and journalist (1880-1956).