Today is Friday, Aug. 30, the 243rd day of 2024. There are 123 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 30, 1916, on his fourth attempt, explorer Ernest Shackelton successfully returned to Elephant Island in Antarctica to rescue 22 of his stranded crew members, who had survived on the barren island for four and a half months after the sinking of their ship, the Endurance.

Also on this date:

In 1941, during World War II, German forces approaching Leningrad cut off the remaining rail line out of the city.

In 1945, U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Japan to set up Allied occupation headquarters.

In 1963, the “Hot Line” communications link between Washington and Moscow went into operation.

In 1967, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2005, a day after Hurricane Katrina hit, floods covered 80 percent of New Orleans, looting continued to spread and rescuers in helicopters and boats picked up hundreds of stranded people.

In 2021, the United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war with the Taliban back in power, as Air Force transport planes carried a remaining contingent of troops from Kabul airport. After watching the last U.S. planes disappear into the sky over Afghanistan, Taliban fighters fired their guns into the air, celebrating victory after a 20-year insurgency.

In 2022, Mikhail Gorbachev, who was the last leader of the Soviet Union, and waged a losing battle to salvage a crumbling empire but produced extraordinary reforms that led to the end of the Cold War, died at age 91.

Today’s Birthdays: Investor and philanthropist Warren Buffet is 94. Actor Elizabeth Ashley is 85. Actor John Kani is 82. Cartoonist Robert Crumb is 81. Olympic gold medal skier Jean-Claude Killy (zhahn-KLOHD’ kee-LEE’) is 81. Comedian Lewis Black is 76. Basketball Hall of Famer Robert Parish is 71. U.S. Senator Thom Tillis, R-N.C., is 64. Actor Michael Chiklis is 61. Actor Cameron Diaz is 52. TV personality/journalist Lisa Ling is 51. Former MLB pitcher Adam Wainwright is 43. Former professional tennis player Andy Roddick is 42. Singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha is 35.