By The Associated PressWed Sep 6, 8:00 PM ET

Today is Thursday, Sept. 7, the 250th day of 2006. There are 115 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 7, 1825, the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution, bade farewell to President John Quincy Adams at the White House.

On this date:

In 1822, Brazil declared its independence from Portugal.

In 1901, the Peace of Beijing ended the Boxer Rebellion in China.

In 1927, American television pioneer Philo T. Farnsworth, 21, succeeded in transmitting the image of a line through purely electronic means with a device called an "image dissector."

In 1936, rock legend Buddy Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock, Texas.

In 1940, Nazi Germany began its initial blitz on London during World War II.

In 1963, the National Professional Football Hall of Fame was dedicated in Canton, Ohio.

In 1969, Senate Republican leader Everett M. Dirksen died in Washington, D.C.

In 1977, the Panama Canal treaties, calling for the U.S. to eventually turn over control of the waterway to Panama, were signed in Washington.

In 1979, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) made its cable TV debut.

In 1986, Desmond Tutu was installed as the first black to lead the Anglican Church in southern Africa.

Ten years ago: Rapper Tupac Shakur was shot on the Las Vegas Strip; he died six days later. Isabel Correa became the 40th person known to have died in the presence of Dr. Jack Kevorkian, less than a day after police burst into a Michigan motel room, interrupting a meeting between Kevorkian and Correa.

Five years ago: The White House budget chief warned top congressional Republicans the Social Security surplus was on track to be tapped for other programs, prompting a hastily called meeting to discuss ways of avoiding that politically perilous scenario. Venus Williams and Serena Williams reached the finals of the U.S. Open, becoming the first sisters to play for a Grand Slam championship in more than 100 years.

One year ago: Police and soldiers went house to house in New Orleans to try to coax the last stubborn holdouts into leaving the storm-shattered city. President Bush led the nation in a final tribute to William H. Rehnquist, remembering the 16th chief justice as the Supreme Court's steady leader and a man of lifetime integrity. U.S. troops in Iraq rescued American Roy Hallums, held hostage 10 months.

Today's Birthdays: Heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey is 98. Pianist Arthur Ferrante is 85. Sen. Daniel Inouye (news, bio, voting record), D-Hawaii, is 82. Jazz musician Sonny Rollins is 76. Actor John Phillip Law is 69. Singer Alfa Anderson (Chic) is 60. Singer Gloria Gaynor is 57. Rock singer Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders) is 55. Actress Julie Kavner is 55. Actor Corbin Bernsen is 52. Rock musician Benmont Tench (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 52. Pianist Michael Feinstein is 50. Singer Margot Chapman is 49. Rock musician Leroi Moore (The Dave Matthews Band) is 45. Actor W. Earl Brown is 43. Model-actress Angie Everhart is 37. Actor Tom Everett Scott is 36. Rock musician Chad Sexton (311) is 36. Actress Diane Farr is 35. Actress Shannon Elizabeth is 33. Actor Oliver Hudson is 30. Actor Devon Sawa is 28. Actress Evan Rachel Wood is 19.

Thought for Today: "It is good to be without vices, but it is not good to be without temptation." — Walter Bagehot, English editor and economist (1826-1877).