By The Associated PressTue Sep 12, 8:01 PM ET

Today is Wednesday, Sept. 13, the 256th day of 2006. There are 109 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 13, 1788, the Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election, and declared New York City the temporary national capital.

On this date:

In 1759, during the final French and Indian War, the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham overlooking Quebec City.

In 1803, Commodore John Barry, considered by many the father of the American Navy, died in Philadelphia.

In 1851, American medical pioneer Walter Reed was born in Gloucester County, Va.

In 1922, the highest shade temperature on the earth's surface was recorded in El Azizia, Libya, which reached 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

In 1948, Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.

In 1971, a four-day inmates' rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York ended as police and guards stormed the prison; the ordeal and final assault claimed 43 lives.

In 1977, conductor Leopold Stokowski died in Hampshire, England, at age 95.

In 1989, Fay Vincent was named commissioner of Major League Baseball, succeeding the late A. Bartlett Giamatti.

In 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy.

In 1998, former Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace died at age 79.

Ten years ago: Rapper Tupac Shakur died at a Las Vegas hospital six days after he was wounded in a drive-by shooting; he was 25.

Five years ago: Actress Dorothy McGuire died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 85.

One year ago: President Bush for the first time took responsibility for federal government mistakes in dealing with Hurricane Katrina and suggested the calamity raised broader questions about the government's ability to handle both natural disasters and terror attacks. President Bush sought China's help to stop nuclear weapons programs in North Korea and Iran and won a pledge from President Hu Jintao to step up pressure on Pyongyang.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Eileen Fulton ("As the World Turns") is 73. TV producer Fred Silverman is 69. Former White House spokesman Larry Speakes is 67. Actor Richard Kiel is 67. Rock singer David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears) is 65. Actress Jacqueline Bisset is 62. Singer Peter Cetera is 62. Singer Randy Jones (The Village People) is 54. Record producer Don Was is 54. Actress Jean Smart is 47. Country singer Bobbie Cryner is 45. Rock singer-musician Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) is 45. Radio-TV personality Tavis Smiley is 42. Rock musician Zak Starkey is 41. Actor Louis Mandylor is 40. Olympic gold medal runner Michael Johnson is 39. Rock musician Steve Perkins is 39. Actor-writer-director-producer Tyler Perry is 37. Actress Louise Lombard ("CSI") is 36. Tennis player Goran Ivanisevic is 35. Country singer Aaron Benward (Blue County) is 33. Country musician Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flats) is 31. Actor Scott Vickaryous is 31. Singer Fiona Apple is 29. Actor Ben Savage is 26. Actor Mitch Holleman ("Reba") is 11.

Thought for Today: "Revolt and terror pay a price. Order and law have a cost." — Carl Sandburg, American poet and author (1878-1967).