Milley feared Trump might order China strike; Newsom survives GOP-led recall; remembering Norm Macdonald

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man of the Kiryat Sanz Hassidic sect prays on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea as they participate in a Tashlich ceremony, in Netanya, Israel, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Tashlich, which means "to cast away" in Hebrew, is the practice in which Jews go to a large flowing body of water and symbolically "throw away" their sins by throwing a piece of bread, or similar food, into the water before the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, which starts at sundown on Wednesday. 

FILE - Norm Macdonald hosts the Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto on March 13, 2016. Macdonald, a comedian and former cast member on "Saturday Night Live," died Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021, after a nine-year battle with cancer that he kept private. 

FILE - In this Sept. 1, 2021, file photo Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley speaks during a briefing with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon in Washington. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses reporters after beating back the recall attempt that aimed to remove him from office, at the John L. Burton California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. 

In 1857, William Howard Taft — who served as President of the United States and as U.S. chief justice — was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.

In 1959, Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States as he arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.

In 1963, four Black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. (Three Ku Klux Klansmen were eventually convicted for their roles in the blast.)

In 1981, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to approve the Supreme Court nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor.

In 2001, President George W. Bush ordered U.S. troops to get ready for war and braced Americans for a long, difficult assault against terrorists to avenge the Sept. 11 attack. Beleaguered Afghans streamed out of Kabul, fearing a U.S. military strike against Taliban rulers harboring Osama bin Laden.

In 2008, on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 504.48, or 4.42 percent, to 10,917.51 while oil closed below $100 a barrel for the first time in six months amid upheaval in the financial industry as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection and Merrill Lynch & Co. was sold to Bank of America.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama bestowed the Medal of Honor on Sgt. Dakota Meyer, a young and humble Marine who had defied orders and repeatedly barreled straight into a ferocious “killing zone” in Afghanistan to save 36 lives at extraordinary risk to himself.

In 2015, Hungary sealed off its border with Serbia with massive coils of barbed wire and began detaining migrants trying to use the country as a gateway to Western Europe. Harsh new measures left thousands of frustrated asylum-seekers piled up on the Serbian side of the border.

One year ago: Months after the police killing of Breonna Taylor thrust her name to the forefront of a national reckoning on race, the city of Louisville agreed to pay the Black woman’s family $12 million and reform police practices as part of a settlement.

One year ago: Israel signed diplomatic pacts with two Gulf Arab states – the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – at a White House ceremony that President Donald Trump said would mark the “dawn of a new Middle East.” In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian militants fired two rockets into Israel, apparently meant to coincide with the White House ceremony.

1973 — Three-year-old Secretariat wins the Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap in the then-world record time of 1:45 2-5 for 11/8 miles.

Triple Crown winner Secretariat, right, leads Riva Ridge on way to victory in the $250,000 Marlboro Cup event at Belmont Race Track in Elmont, New York on Sept. 15, 1973. Ron Turcotte is up on Secretariat and Riva Ridge is being guided into second place by jockey Eddie Maple. (AP Photo)

1973 — Archie Griffin of Ohio State starts his NCAA record string of 31 games of rushing for at least 100 yards, leading the Buckeyes to a 56-7 rout of Minnesota in Columbus.

Ohio State's Archie Griffin picks up some of his game-high 163 yards in 30 carries during the game with Michigan at Ann Arbor, Nov. 26, 1973. (AP Photo)

1978 — Muhammad Ali becomes the first three-time heavyweight champion with a unanimous 15-round decision over Leon Spinks at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Referee Lucien Joubert goes to break up a Clinch between Muhammad Ali, left, and Leon Spinks in their heavyweight title match at New Orleans? Superdome on Friday, Sept. 15, 1978. Ali defeated Spinks in a 15-round unanimous decision, becoming the first man to gain the heavyweight crown three times. (AP Photo)

2002 — Sam Hornish Jr. wins another incredible race at Texas Motor Speedway, and his second straight IRL title. Hornish side-by-side with Helio Castroneves for many of the last 25 laps in the season-ending Chevy 500, crosses the finish line 0.0096 seconds — only a few inches — ahead of the other driver in contention for the season championship. Hornish wins his IRL-record fifth race of the season and becomes the first driver to win two IRL championships.

In this Sept. 15, 2002, file photo, 2002 Indy Racing League Champion Sam Hornish Jr., holds up his fingers signifying his two consecutive IRL championships following his Chevy 500 win, Sunday Sept. 15, 2002, at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)

2012 — Ryan Blaney becomes the youngest winner in NASCAR Trucks history at 18 years, 8 months, taking the caution-filled race at Iowa Speedway in his third series start. Blaney, the son of Sprint Cup driver Dave Blaney, breaks the age record of 20 years, 18 days set by Kyle Busch in 2005 at Charlotte.

Ryan Blaney smiles as he answers questions during a news conference after practice for a NASCAR Truck Series auto race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Garry Jones)

2013 — Aaron Rodgers throws for a career-high 480 yards and James Jones has a career-best 178 yards receiving in Green Bay’s 38-20 win over the Washington Redskins.

Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers throws his towel to some fans after an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013, in Green Bay, Wis. The Packers won 38-20. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

2013 — Denver’s Peyton Manning passes for 307 yards and two touchdowns in the Broncos’ 41-23 win over the New York Giants. Manning (60,256) becomes the third quarterback in NFL history to reach 60,000 career passing yards, joining Brett Favre and Dan Marino.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) shakes hands with his brother New York Giants' Eli Manning (10) after an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013, in East Rutherford, N.J. The Broncos won the game 41-23. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

2017 — Cleveland has its AL record run stopped at 22 straight games as the Indians are beaten 4-3 by the Kansas City Royals, who become the first team to conquer the defending league champions since Aug. 23. The Indians came within four of matching the overall record held by the 1916 New York Giants.

Cleveland Indians' Francisco Lindor, left, slides safely into second base for a steal as Kansas City Royals' Whit Merrifield is late with the tag in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 15, 2017, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Members of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) wait to enter airport security as they depart Mexico City, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. They are members of a delegation who will travel to Europe in defense of Indigenous rights as part of events marking the 500th anniversary of Mexico's conquest. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Pope Francis prays as he meets members of the Jewish community in Bratislava, Slovakia, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. Ahead of a rigorous two days hop-scotching around Slovakia, Francis is spending Monday in Bratislava where the highlight of his visit is the encounter at the capital's Holocaust memorial, built on the site of a synagogue destroyed by the communist regime in the 1960s. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Children pose for a photo as they play in a camp for internally displaced people in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Women sells vegetables at Kaporo market in Conakry, Guinea Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. Guinea's longtime opposition leader says he welcomes the coup that deposed President Alpha Conde. But Cellou Dalein Diallo is calling on the junta leaders to create a transitional government and a timeline for elections as soon as possible. (AP Photo/ Sunday Alamba)

Republican conservative radio show host Larry Elder argues with a TV reporter during an interview after visiting Philippe The Original Deli during a campaign for the California gubernatorial recall election on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Haitian migrants walk toward boats that will take them from Necocli to Acandi, Colombia, near the border with Panama, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. Migrants have been gathering in Necocli as they move north on their journey to the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man swings a chicken over his kids as part of the Kaparot ritual in Beit Shemesh, Israel, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. Observant Jews believe the ritual transfers one's sins from the past year into the chicken, and is performed before the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown Wednesday. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

People shield their faces from wind and sand ahead of Tropical Storm Nicholas, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, on the North Packery Channel Jetty in Corpus Christi, Texas. Lifeguards paroled the beach to warn people of the upcoming conditions. (Annie Rice/Corpus Christi Caller-Times via AP)

President Joe Biden talks with California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he arrives at Mather Airport on Air Force One Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in Mather, Calif., for a briefing on wildfires at the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

People arrive for a protest against COVID-19 vaccinations and health measures, outside the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus in Ottawa, on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

A seaplane flies over a wildfire near the town of Jubrique, in Malaga province, Spain, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. Firefighting crews in southern Spain are looking at the sky for much-needed rainfall they hope can help extinguish a stubborn mega-fire that has ravaged 7,400 hectares (18,300 acres) in five days and displaced just under 3,000 people from their homes. Authorities are describing the blaze in Sierra Bermeja, a mountain range in the Malaga province, as a sixth-generation fire of the extreme kind brought by the shifting climate on the planet. (AP Photo/Pedro Armestre)

Harris Reed, left, and Iman attend The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" exhibition on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Supporters of California Gov. Gavin Newsom wave signs and California flags while waiting for the arrival of the governor and President Joe Biden at a rally Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Zay Jones (7) celebrates after scoring a game winning touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during overtime in an NFL football game, Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker)

A Kashmiri health worker registers the name of a woman before taking her swab sample to test for COVID-19 in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/ Dar Yasin)

The Frankfurt cathedral stands next to the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, early Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)