Today is Sunday, Sept. 2, the 245th day of 2018. There are 120 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, ending World War II.

On this date:

In 1789, the United States Treasury Department was established.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s forces occupied Atlanta.

In 1930, the first nonstop airplane flight from Europe to the U.S. was completed in 37 hours as Capt. Dieudonne Costes and Maurice Bellonte of France arrived in Valley Stream, New York, aboard their Breguet 19 biplane, which bore the symbol of a large question mark.

In 1944, during World War II, Navy pilot Lt. (jg) George Herbert Walker Bush was shot down by Japanese forces as he completed a bombing run over the Bonin Islands. (Bush was rescued by the crew of the submarine USS Finback; his two crew members, however, died.)

In 1960, Wilma Rudolph of the United States won the first of her three gold medals at the Rome Summer Olympics as she finished the 100-meter dash in 11 seconds.

In 1963, Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace prevented the integration of Tuskegee High School by encircling the building with state troopers. “The CBS Evening News” with Walter Cronkite was lengthened from 15 to 30 minutes, becoming network television’s first half-hour nightly newscast.

Today’s Birthdays: Dancer-actress Marge Champion is 99. Former Sen. Alan K. Simpson, R-Wyo., is 87. Former United States Olympic Committee Chairman Peter Ueberroth is 81. Actor Derek Fowlds (TV: “Yes, Minister”; “Yes, Prime Minister”) is 81.

In 1969, in what some regard as the birth of the Internet, two connected computers at the University of California, Los Angeles, passed test data through a 15-foot cable. The first automatic teller machine (ATM) to utilize magnetic-striped cards was opened to the public at Chemical Bank in New York. (Called a “Docuteller,” it was developed by Donald C. Wetzel.)

In 1996, Muslim rebels and the Philippine government signed a pact formally ending a 26-year insurgency that killed more than 120-thousand people.

In 1998, a Swissair MD-11 jetliner crashed off Nova Scotia, killing all 229 people aboard.

In 2004, President George W. Bush pledged “a safer world and a more hopeful America” as he accepted his party’s nomination for a second term at the Republican National Convention in New York.

In 2005, A National Guard convoy packed with food, water and medicine rolled into New Orleans four days after Hurricane Katrina. Scorched by criticism about sluggish federal help, President George W. Bush toured the Gulf Coast and met with state and local officials, including New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin; at one point, Bush praised FEMA Director Michael Brown, telling him, “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”

Ten years ago: Republicans assailed Barack Obama as the most liberal, least experienced White House nominee in history at their convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, and enthusiastically extolled their own man, John McCain, as ready to lead the nation. President George W. Bush briefly addressed the convention by satellite from the White House. A gunman in Skagit County, Washington, killed six people and injured four others; a suspect, Isaac Zamora, later pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to two murders and guilty to the remaining four, and is being held in a mental hospital. Jaguars offensive tackle Richard Collier was left paralyzed in a shooting outside an apartment building in Jacksonville, Florida; a suspect, Tyrone Hartsfield, was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Five years ago: France released an intelligence report alleging chemical weapons use by Syria that dovetailed with similar U.S. claims, as President Bashar Assad warned that any military strike against his country would spark an uncontrollable regional war. On her fifth try, U.S. endurance swimmer Diana Nyad became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without the help of a shark cage.

One year ago: President Donald Trump visited with survivors of Hurricane Harvey, touring a Houston shelter housing hundreds of displaced people and meeting with emergency responders in Lake Charles, Louisiana; it was Trump’s second visit to the region in the wake of the storm. Astronaut Peggy Whitson returned to Earth after 288 days on the International Space Station; the trip gave Whitson a total of 665 days in space, a record for any American and any woman worldwide.

Singer Jimmy Clanton is 80. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sam Gooden (The Impressions) is 79. Rhythm-and-blues singer Rosalind Ashford (Martha & the Vandellas) is 75. Singer Joe Simon is 75. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw is 70. Basketball Hall of Famer Nate Archibald is 70. Actor Mark Harmon is 67. Former Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., is 67. International Tennis Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors is 66. Actress Linda Purl is 63. Rock musician Jerry Augustyniak (10,000 Maniacs) is 60. Country musician Paul Deakin (The Mavericks) is 59. Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson is 58. Actor Keanu Reeves is 54. International Boxing Hall of Famer Lennox Lewis is 53. Actress Salma Hayek is 52. Actor Tuc Watkins is 52. Actress Kristen Cloke is 50. Actress Cynthia Watros is 50. Rhythm-and-blues singer K-Ci is 49. Actor-comedian Katt Williams is 45. Actor Michael Lombardi is 44. Actress Tiffany Hines is 41. Rock musician Sam Rivers (Limp Bizkit) is 41. Actor Jonathan Kite is 39. Actress Allison Miller is 33. Rock musician Spencer Smith is 31. Electronic music DJ/producer Zedd is 29.

Thought for Today: “If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that.” — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (GU’-tuh), German poet, dramatist and author (1749-1832).

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press.