Today is Saturday, July 20, the 202nd day of 2024. There are 164 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon after reaching its surface in their Apollo 11 lunar module.

Also on this date:

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In 1917, America’s World War I draft lottery began as Secretary of War Newton Baker, wearing a blindfold, reached into a glass bowl and pulled out a capsule containing the number 258 during a ceremony inside the Senate office building.

In 1944, an attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler with a bomb failed as the explosion only wounded the Nazi leader.

In 1951, Jordan’s King Abdullah I was assassinated in Jerusalem by a Palestinian gunman who was shot dead on the spot by security.

In 1976, America’s Viking 1 robot spacecraft made a successful, first-ever landing on Mars.

In 1977, a flash flood hit Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing more than 80 people and causing $350 million worth of damage.

In 1990, Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, one of the court’s most liberal voices, announced he was stepping down.

In 1993, White House deputy counsel Vincent Foster Jr., 48, was found shot to death in a park near Washington, D.C.; it was ruled a suicide.

In 2006, the Senate voted 98-0 to renew the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act for another quarter-century.

In 2007, President George W. Bush signed an executive order prohibiting cruel and inhuman treatment, including humiliation or denigration of religious beliefs, in the detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects.

In 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve Elena Kagan to be the Supreme Court’s fourth female justice.

In 2012, gunman James Holmes opened fire inside a crowded movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” killing 12 people and wounding 70 others. (Holmes was later convicted of murder and attempted murder, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)

In 2015, the United States and Cuba restored full diplomatic relations after more than five decades of frosty relations rooted in the Cold War.

Today’s Birthdays:

Former Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., is 88.
Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Oliva is 86.
Artist Judy Chicago is 85.
Country singer T.G. Sheppard is 80.
Singer Kim Carnes is 79.
Rock musician Carlos Santana is 77.
Author and commentator Thomas Friedman is 71.
Rock musician Paul Cook (Sex Pistols) is 68.
Actor Frank Whaley is 61.
Conservationist and TV personality Terri Irwin is 60.
Rock musician Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) is 58.
Actor Josh Holloway (TV: “Lost”) is 55.
Singer Vitamin C is 55.
Actor Sandra Oh is 53.
Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg is 51.
Actor Omar Epps is 51.
Basketball Hall of Famer Ray Allen is 49.
Hockey Hall of Famer Pavel Datsyuk is 46.
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen is 44.
Actor Percy Daggs III is 42.
Actor John Francis Daley is 39.
Dancer-singer-actor Julianne Hough is 36.

After their four-day break, the St. Paul Saints returned to play with an 8-6 win in Toledo, Ohio on Friday. The Sa7ints entered the International League break with six straight losses but snapped the streak with a big offensive night.

Randy Dobnak (8-5) pitched five innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks. Jeff Brigham earned his first save with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

But it was the offense that led the way with Chris Williams tallying three hits, including his 11th homer, to go with three RBIs. Payton Eeles had two hits and hit his second homer for St. Paul.

After the Mud Hens opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning, the Saints went to work with the bats. Williams hit a solo homer in the fourth to tie the game. Toledo took another lead before Eeles homered in the fifth and Williams followed with an RBI single. St. Paul scored five times in the sixth with RBI singles from Dalton Shuffield and Rylan Bannon before Williams plated the final run with a sacrifice fly.

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Beyond one big name band jumping ship at the last minute, it was otherwise smooth sailing Friday for day one of the new Minnesota Yacht Club Festival at St. Paul’s Harriet Island Regional Park.

Yacht Club, which continues Saturday, is the first major rock and pop festival on Harriet Island since Live Nation’s River’s Edge Music Festival in 2012. Despite promising St. Paul a five-year commitment, the concert promoting giant lost enough money to convince them to pull out after a single year.

Live Nation owns 51% of Yacht Club organizers C3 Presents, an Austin, Texas, company that’s also behind Austin City Limits Music Festival, Voodoo Music + Arts Experience and the modern-day Lollapalooza. But Live Nation apparently allows C3 to follow its own path.

Some concertgoers complained about food and drink prices, and long lines, but in terms of getting in and around the site, the infrastructure and general vibe, C3’s experience in mounting festivals became quite clear by late Friday afternoon, when Joan Jett and the Blackhearts played an hourlong set to a large, grinning and dancing crowd. (Organizers did not release an attendance number, but have said they expect more than 30,000 people each of the two days.)

On Thursday, Yacht Club’s social media announced reunited Southern rockers the Black Crowes had pulled out of their planned set at 8 p.m. Friday due to “illness in the band.” (The Crowes, however, did not address their absence online.) Rather than drafting an 11th hour replacement, the festival reworked the schedule and gave several acts more time on stage. Local band Durry got pushed nearly two hours later into the schedule for a set that started at 5:40, while Seattle indie folk act the Head and the Heart graduated to the Black Crowes’ planned 8 p.m. slot.

Local favorites Gully Boys opened the festival at 1 p.m. on the smaller stage followed by fellow homegrown act Harbor and Home on the main stage. From that point on, performances alternated between the two stages, with just minutes between bands.

Sets from buzzy country artist Morgan Wade and indie rockers Michigander paved the way for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, who earned cheers for their famous covers “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah),” “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Crimson and Clover” and “Everyday People” as well as band originals “I Hate Myself for Loving You” and “Bad Reputation.” They also covered the Replacements’ “Androgynous,” with Jett giving a shout out to the late Minneapolis band and their leader Paul Westerberg.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter took the stage prior to Gwen Stefani’s performance and asked the crowd to applaud the police and other city workers who helped make the festival happen. He also suggested it would return for a second year in 2025.

Stefani — who was promoted as a headliner along with Friday’s final act Alanis Morissette and Saturday’s main attraction the Red Hot Chili Peppers — performed with dancers and video at what sounded like a louder volume than the previous bands. She told the audience her brother-in-law is from Minnesota, so that sort of makes her a local. She then pulled out her husband, former “The Voice” coach Blake Shelton, to sing their current single “Purple Irises.”

It’s been some 18 years since her last substantial solo hit, but Stefani has remained in the spotlight thanks to her high-profile husband and the semi-regular duet singles they’ve released over the last eight years. Stefani and her band No Doubt reunited in April to headline Coachella to much acclaim, but have yet to announce any future plans together. Whatever happens, Friday’s crowd — which was heavy on geriatric millennials and Gen Xers with a smattering of boomers — gave Stefani a warm reception that matched the ideal summertime weather that graced the festival on Friday.

The Minnesota Yacht Club Festival wraps things up Saturday with a bill that includes Soul Asylum, Hippo Campus, Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue, the Hold Steady, Gary Clark Jr., the Offspring and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

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Sahith Theegala, the No. 11-ranked player in the world, highlights the 3M Open field finalized Friday by the PGA Tour ahead of next week’s tournament at the TPC Twin Cities in Blaine.

The 3M Open’s positioning directly in front of the Olympics golf tournament does generally seem to favor the Blaine event this season. Only four Americans can play in Paris, so many other top players can return from this week’s British Open in Scotland, play in Minnesota and then take the following week off.

That likely also helped the 3M Open draw the likes of 2026 Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (No. 19 in the world), Akshay Bhatia (No. 26) and Sam Burns (No. 28).

Bhatia is a rising star who committed Friday after missing the cut at The Open.

Rickie Fowler was somewhat mysteriously missing from the field list. Fowler — one of the Tour’s more popular names who has struggled this year after experiencing a resurgence a season ago — is currently ranked No. 99 in the FedEx Cup standings. Only the top 70 advance to the playoffs, and the 3M Open is the second-to-last regular season event.

But Fowler made the cut on the number at the British Open, and that could’ve sealed his decision not to come to TPC Twin Cities, where he played in 2021 and 2022. Other possibilities for commitments that potentially didn’t pan out because of weekend play in Scotland include Max Homa, Jordan Spieth and Cameron Young, who don’t necessarily need to play next week for points — though Spieth is currently No. 60 in the FedEx Cup standings and there is incentive to be in the top 50 by the end of the year — but may have considered another week of play had they exited The Open early.

One result to watch over the weekend is Justin Rose. The 2013 U.S. Open champion and Ryder Cup stalwart is one of the bigger names in this year’s 3M Open field, but the Englishman enters the weekend at Royal Troon just two back of leader Shane Lowry. If Rose contends deep into Sunday and perhaps even wins, he’d be a good bet to withdraw next week. Billy Horschel, who’s in a tie for fourth through two rounds in Scotland, may reconsider playing next week with a strong performance over the weekend.

Last year’s champion Lee Hodges is in the field, as is Tony Finau, the No. 18-ranked player in the world who won the 2022 3M Open, consistently plays well in Blaine and is the biggest name to return to Minnesota year after year.

The field features a number of young stars, including the current top-ranked amateur in the world in Luke Clanton, who’s in on a sponsor’s exemption after already recording a pair of top 10s on the PGA Tour this season. Neal Shipley also received an exemption. He’s been excellent on the PGA Tour after turning pro just last month.

Another exemption went to recent Gophers grad and Stillwater native Ben Warian. Other local connections include Blaine’s Jeff Sorenson, who’s in as a PGA section champion, Spring Lake Park grad Troy Merritt, Gophers alum Erik van Rooyen and past Minnesota State Amateur champ Tom Hoge.

Tournament play officially begins Thursday.