Today is Wednesday, Aug. 29, the 242nd day of 2012. There are 124 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 29, 1952, 4'33" ("Four Minutes, Thirty-three Seconds"), a three-movement composition by avant-garde composer John Cage, had its premiere in Woodstock, N.Y., as pianist David Tudor sat at a piano and, for a total of four minutes and 33 seconds, played... nothing. (According to Cage, the "music" consisted of the setting's background noises, including the sounds of the increasingly restive audience.)

On this date:

In 1533, the last Incan King of Peru, Atahualpa (ah-tuh-WAHL'-puh), was executed on orders of Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro.

In 1862, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing began operations at the United States Treasury.

In 1877, the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Brigham Young, died in Salt Lake City, Utah, at age 76.

In 1943, responding to a clampdown by Nazi occupiers, Denmark managed to scuttle most of its naval ships.

In 1944, 15,000 American troops marched down the Champs Elysees (shahms ay-lee-ZAY') in Paris as the French capital continued to celebrate its liberation from the Nazis.

In 1957, the Senate gave final congressional approval to a Civil Rights Act after South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond (then a Democrat) ended a filibuster that had lasted 24 hours.

In 1958, pop superstar Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Ind.

In 1962, Malvin R. Goode began covering the United Nations for ABC-TV, becoming network television's first black reporter.

In 1972, swimmer Mark Spitz of the United States won the third of his seven gold medals at the Munich Olympics, finishing first in the 200-meter freestyle.

In 1982, Academy Award-winning actress Ingrid Bergman died in London on her 67th birthday.

In 1987, Academy Award-winning actor Lee Marvin died in Tucson, Ariz., at age 63.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast near Buras, La., bringing floods that devastated New Orleans. More than 1,800 people in the region died.

Ten years ago: A judge in Norwalk, Conn., sentenced Michael Skakel to 20 years to life in prison for bludgeoning his teenage neighbor, Martha Moxley, with a golf club in 1975 after hearing the Kennedy cousin tearfully proclaim his innocence.

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