Today’s highlight

On Aug. 4, 2020, nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored for years in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, exploded, killing more than 200 people, injuring more than 7,000 and devastating nearby neighborhoods; it was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded.

On this date

1916: The United States reached agreement with Denmark to purchase the Danish Virgin Islands for $25 million in gold.

1936: Jesse Owens of the United States won the second of his four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as he prevailed in the long jump over German Luz Long, who was the first to congratulate him.

1944: 15-year-old diarist Anne Frank was arrested with her sister, parents and four others by the Gestapo after hiding for two years inside a building in Amsterdam.

1977: President Jimmy Carter signed a measure establishing the Department of Energy.

1987: The Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to abolish the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio and television stations to present balanced coverage of controversial issues.

Today’s birthdays

Football Hall of Famer John Riggins is 75. Actor-screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton is 69. Actor Kym Karath (Film: “The Sound of Music”) is 66. Hall of Fame track star Mary Decker Slaney is 66. Former President Barack Obama is 63. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Roger Clemens is 62. Former race car driver Jeff Gordon is 53. Britain’s Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, is 43. Actor/director Greta Gerwig is 41.