Today in History: September 12, LA commuter train crash kills 25 people
Today is Friday, Sept. 12, the 255th day of 2025. There are 110 days left in the year. Today in history: On Sept. 12, 2008, a Metrolink commuter train struck a freight train head-on in Los Angeles, killing 25 people. Also on this date: In 1857, the S.S. Central America (also known as the “Ship of Gold”) sank off the coast of South Carolina after sailing into a hurricane in one of the worst maritime disasters in American history; 425 people were killed and thousands of pounds of gold sank with the ship to the bottom of the ocean. Related Articles New Mexico is the first state to promise free child care for all families FBI releases photos of person of interest in Charlie Kirk’s killing on a Utah university campus Americans mark the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with emotional ceremonies Today in History: September 11, thousands killed in terrorist attack on US Charlie Kirk, 31, helped build support for Trump among young people In 1940, the Lascaux cave paintings, estimated to be 17,000 years old, were discovered in southwestern France. In 1958, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Cooper v. Aaron, unanimously ruled that Arkansas officials who were resisting public school desegregation orders could not disregard the high court’s rulings. In 1959, the Soviet Union launched its Luna 2 space probe, which made a crash landing on the moon. In 1962, in a speech at Rice University in Houston, President John F. Kennedy reaffirmed his support for the manned space program, declaring: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” In 1977, South African Black student leader and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, 30, died while in police custody, triggering an international outcry. In 1994, truck driver Frank Eugene Corder piloted a stolen single-engine Cessna airplane into restricted airspace in Washington, D.C., and crashed it into the South Lawn of the White House. He died in the crash. In 2003, in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, U.S. forces mistakenly opened fire on vehicles carrying police, killing eight of them. In 2011, Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal to win his first U.S. Open championship. In 2013, Voyager 1, launched 36 years earlier, became the first man-made spacecraft ever to leave the solar system. Today’s Birthdays: Actor Linda Gray is 85. Singer Maria Muldaur is 82. Author Michael Ondaatje is 82. Actor Joe Pantoliano is 74. Photographer Nan Goldin is 72. Composer Hans Zimmer is 68. Actor Rachel Ward is 68. TV host-commentator Greg Gutfeld is 61. Actor-comedian Louis (loo-ee) C.K. is 58. Golfer Angel Cabrera is 56. Country singer Jennifer Nettles (Sugarland) is 51. Rapper 2 Chainz is 48. Singer Ruben Studdard is 47. Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming is 45. Singer-actor Jennifer Hudson is 44. Actor Alfie Allen is 39. Actor Emmy Rossum is 39. Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman is 36. Country singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini is 32. Actor Sydney Sweeney is 28.
