Cruzeiro from Brazil beats River Plate from Argentina and are the Copa Libertadores de América champions in Association football. July 31 NASA releases the famous Face on Mars photo, taken by Viking 1. The Big Thompson River in northern Colorado floods, destroying more than 400 cars and houses and killing 143 people. August August 1 The 1976 Summer Olympics ends in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Trinidad and Tobago becomes a republic, replacing Elizabeth II as its head of state with President Ellis Clarke. The Seattle Seahawks play their first American football game. Defending F1 World Champion Niki Lauda suffers serious burns in the German Grand Prix after a huge accident that nearly cost him his life. August 2 – A gunman murders Andrea Wilborn and Stan Farr and injures Priscilla Davis and Gus Gavrel, in an incident at Priscilla's mansion in Fort Worth, Texas. T. Cullen Davis, Priscilla's husband and one of the richest men in Texas, is tried and found innocent for Andrea's murder, involvement in a plot to kill several people (including Priscilla and a judge), and a wrongful death lawsuit. Cullen goes broke afterwards. August 5 – The clock of "Big Ben" at the Palace of Westminster in London suffers internal damage and requires frequent repairs. The clock is stopped at times on 26 of the next 275 days. August 6 – Former United Kingdom Postmaster General John Stonehouse is sentenced to 7 years' jail for fraud, theft and forgery. August 7 – Viking program: Viking 2 enters into orbit around Mars. August 8 – As part of the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger, a dispersal draft is conducted to assign teams for the players on the two ABA franchises which have folded. August 10—13 – Hurricane Belle hits Long Island and southern New England. Twelve people are killed by the storm and damage is $100 million. August 11 – A sniper rampage in Wichita, Kansas on a Holiday Inn results in 3 deaths while 7 others are wounded. August 14 Around 10,000 Protestant and Catholic women demonstrate for peace in Northern Ireland. The Senegalese political party PAI-Rénovation is legally recognized, becoming the third legal party in the country. August 16 – The Ramones make their first "professional" performance at CBGB in New York City. August 18 – At Panmunjom, North Korea, two United States soldiers are killed while trying to chop down part of a tree