By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Monday, Aug. 24, the 237th day of 2020. There are 129 days left in the year.

Todayís Highlight in History:

On August 24 in A.D. 79, long-dormant Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash; an estimated 20,000 people died.

On this date:

In A.D. 410, Rome was overrun by the Visigoths, a major event in the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

In 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces invaded Washington, D.C., setting fire to the Capitol (which was still under construction) and the White House, as well as other public buildings.

In 1932, Amelia Earhart embarked on a 19-hour flight from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, making her the first woman to fly solo, non-stop, from coast to coast.

In 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty came into force.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Communist Control Act, outlawing the Communist Party in the United States.

In 1968, France became the worldís fifth thermonuclear power as it exploded a hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific.

In 1981, Mark David Chapman was sentenced in New York to 20 years to life in prison for murdering John Lennon. (Chapman remains imprisoned.)

In 1989, the Voyager 2 space probe flew by Neptune, sending back striking photographs.

In 2003, the Justice Department reported the U.S. crime rate in 2002 was the lowest since studies began in 1973.

In 2007, the NFL indefinitely suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick without pay after he acknowledged in court papers that he had, indeed, bankrolled gambling on dogfighting and helped kill some dogs not worthy of the pit.

In 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency wiped out 14 years of Lance Armstrongís cycling career — including his record seven Tour de France titles — and barred him for life from the sport after concluding heíd used banned substances.

In 2018, the family of Arizona Sen. John McCain announced that he had discontinued medical treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer; McCain died the following day.