Today Is November 29th 2007

Today is Thursday, Nov. 29, the 333rd day of 2007. There are 32 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 29, 1963, President Johnson named a commission headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy.

On this date:

In 1530, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, one-time adviser to England's King Henry VIII, died.

In 1864, a Colorado militia killed at least 150 peaceful Cheyenne Indians in the Sand Creek Massacre.

In 1924, Italian composer Giacomo Puccini died in Brussels before he could complete his opera "Turandot." (It was finished by Franco Alfano.)

In 1947, the U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the partitioning of the British-mandated territory of Palestine between Arabs and Jews.

In 1961, Enos the chimp was launched from Cape Canaveral aboard the Mercury-Atlas V spacecraft, which orbited Earth twice before returning.

In 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced he was leaving the Johnson administration to become president of the World Bank.

In 1981, actress Natalie Wood drowned in a boating accident off Santa Catalina Island, Calif., at age 43.

In 1986, actor Cary Grant died in Davenport, Iowa, at age 82.

In 1987, a Korean Air jetliner disappeared off Burma, with the loss of all 115 people aboard; South Korean authorities charged North Korean agents had planted a bomb aboard the aircraft.

In 2001, George Harrison, the "quiet Beatle," died in Los Angeles following a battle with cancer; he was 58.

Ten years ago: Former Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young, the city's first black mayor who held office for an unprecedented five terms, died at age 79.

Five years ago: The White House quietly announced that federal workers would get a smaller pay raise the following month because President Bush was freezing part of the increase, citing the fight against terrorism. Celebrity publicist Lizzie Grubman left the Suffolk County, N.Y., jail after serving 37 days of a 60-day sentence for backing her sport utility vehicle into a crowd outside a trendy Hamptons nightclub and fleeing.

One year ago: The first of two high-profile meetings in Jordan between Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was abruptly canceled amid conflicting explanations. (Bush met al-Maliki the next day.) Still losing money after job and factory cuts, Ford Motor Co. said 38,000 workers, almost half of its hourly production force, had accepted buyouts or early retirement offers.

Today's Birthdays: Hall-of-Fame sportscaster Vin Scully is 80. Blues singer-musician John Mayall is 74. Composer-musician Chuck Mangione is 67. Country singer Jody Miller is 66. Actress Diane Ladd is 64. Pop singer-musician Felix Cavaliere (The Rascals) is 63. Olympic skier Suzy Chaffee is 61. Comedian Garry Shandling is 58. Movie director Joel Coen is 53. Actor-comedian-game show host Howie Mandel is 52. Actress Cathy Moriarty is 47. Actress Kim Delaney is 46. Actor Tom Sizemore is 46. Actor Andrew McCarthy is 45. Actor Don Cheadle is 43. Actor-producer Neill Barry is 42. Musician Wallis Buchanan (Jamiroquai) is 42. Pop singer Jonathan Knight (New Kids on the Block) is 39. Rock musician Martin Carr (Boo Radleys) is 39. Actor Larry Joe Campbell is 37. Actress Gena Lee Nolin is 36. Actor Brian Baumgartner is 35. Actress Anna Faris is 31. Actor Julian Ovenden is 31. Rapper The Game is 28. Rock musician Ringo Garza is 26. Actor Lucas Black is 25.

Thought for Today: "A conference is a meeting to decide where the next meeting will take place." — Anonymous.

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Today Is November 21st 2007

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 21, the 325th day of 2007. There are 40 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 21, 1927, picketing strikers at the Columbine Mine in northern Colorado were fired on by state police; six miners were killed.

On this date:

In 1789, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1922, Rebecca L. Felton of Georgia was sworn in as the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.

In 1934, the Cole Porter musical "Anything Goes," starring Ethel Merman as Reno Sweeney, opened in New York.

In 1942, the Alaska Highway was formally opened.

In 1964, the upper level of New York's Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which connected Brooklyn and Staten Island, was opened.

In 1967, President Johnson signed the Air Quality Act.

In 1969, the Senate voted down the Supreme Court nomination of Clement F. Haynsworth, the first such rejection since 1930.

In 1973, President Nixon's attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, revealed the existence of an 18 1/2-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to Watergate.

In 1979, a mob attacked the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing two Americans.

In 1980, 87 people died in a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.

Ten years ago: U.N. arms inspectors returned to Iraq after Saddam Hussein's three-week standoff with the United Nations over the presence of Americans on the team. President Clinton signed a law giving the FDA new powers to speed the approval of drugs to combat a host of killer diseases, including cancer and AIDS.

Five years ago: In a historic eastward shift, NATO expanded its membership into the borders of the former Soviet Union as it invited seven former communist countries under its security umbrella. In Nigeria, deadly rioting erupted after a newspaper suggested Islam's founding prophet would have approved of the Miss World beauty pageant, scheduled to be held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja (the event was moved to London). Eleven bus passengers were killed in a suicide bombing in Jerusalem.

One year ago: Kathryn Johnston, 92, was killed in a hail of bullets during a botched drug raid by Atlanta police. Lebanon's industry minister, Pierre Gemayel, scion of Lebanon's most prominent Christian family, was assassinated in a brazen daytime hit. A methane gas explosion at the Halemba coal mine in southern Poland killed 23 people. Justin Morneau won the American League's Most Valuable Player Award.

Today's Birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Stan Musial is 87. Actor Joseph Campanella is 80. Country singer Jean Shepard is 74. Actor Laurence Luckinbill is 73. Actress Marlo Thomas is 70. Actor Rick Lenz is 68. Singer Dr. John is 67. Actress Juliet Mills is 66. Comedian-director Harold Ramis is 63. Television producer Marcy Carsey is 63. Actress Goldie Hawn is 62. Movie director Andrew Davis is 61. Rock musician Lonnie Jordan (War) is 59. Singer Livingston Taylor is 57. Actress-singer Lorna Luft is 55. Journalist Tina Brown is 54. Actress Cherry Jones is 51. Rock musician Brian Ritchie (The Violent Femmes) is 47. Gospel singer Steven Curtis Chapman is 45. Actress Nicollette Sheridan is 44. Singer-actress Bjork is 42. Football player Troy Aikman is 41. Rhythm-and-blues singer Chauncey Hannibal (BLACKstreet) is 39. Rock musician Alex James (Blur) is 39. Baseball player Ken Griffey Jr. is 38. Rapper Pretty Lou (Lost Boyz) is 36. Country singer Kelsi Osborn (SHeDAISY) is 33. Actress Jena Malone is 23.

Thought for Today: "Modesty is the only sure bait when you angle for praise." — The 4th Earl of Chesterfield, English author (1694-1773).

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Today Is November 15th 2007

Today is Thursday, Nov. 15, the 319th day of 2007. There are 46 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 15, 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as Pikes Peak in present-day Colorado.

On this date:

In 1777, the Second Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, a precursor to the Constitution of the United States.

In 1889, Brazil was proclaimed a republic as its emperor, Dom Pedro II, was overthrown.

In 1926, the National Broadcasting Co. debuted as a radio network.

In 1939, President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

In 1948, William Lyon Mackenzie King retired as prime minister of Canada after 21 years; he was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent.

In 1966, the flight of Gemini 12 ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Junior splashed down safely in the Atlantic.

In 1969, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington against the Vietnam War.

In 1979, the British government publicly identified Sir Anthony Blunt as the "Fourth Man" of a Soviet spy ring that included Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean and Kim Philby.

In 1982, funeral services were held in Moscow's Red Square for the late Soviet President Leonid I. Brezhnev.

In 1987, 28 of 82 people aboard a Continental Airlines DC-9, including the pilot and co-pilot, were killed when the jetliner crashed seconds after taking off from Denver's Stapleton International Airport.

Ten years ago: A day after moving to halt the import of modified assault weapons, President Clinton defended the action in his weekly radio address, saying such weapons did nothing but "inspire fear and wreck deadly havoc on our streets."

Five years ago: Palestinian militants raked Israeli troops and settlers with gunfire in an ambush, killing 12 Israelis in Hebron. Hu Jintao replaced Jiang Zemin as China's Communist Party leader.

One year ago: O.J. Simpson caused an uproar with plans for a TV interview and book titled "If I Did It," in which Simpson describes how he would have committed the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. One of four U.S. soldiers accused of raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing her and her family pleaded guilty at Fort Campbell, Ky. (Spec. James P. Barker, who agreed to testify against the others, was later sentenced to 90 years in prison.) Emmitt Smith was named winner of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" with his professional dance partner, Cheryl Burke.

Today's Birthdays: Judge Joseph Wapner is 88. Statesman Howard H. Baker Junior is 82. Actor Ed Asner is 78. Actor John Kerr is 76. Singer Petula Clark is 75. Comedian Jack Burns is 74. Actress Joanna Barnes is 73. Actor Sam Waterston is 67. Pop singer Frida (ABBA) is 62. Actor Bob Gunton is 62. Director-actor James Widdoes is 54. Rock singer-producer Mitch Easter is 53. Actress Beverly D'Angelo is 53. CNN anchor-reporter John Roberts is 51. "Tonight Show" bandleader Kevin Eubanks is 50. Comedian Judy Gold is 45. Rapper E-40 is 40. Actress Rachel True is 38. Country singer Jack Ingram is 37. Actor Jonny Lee Miller is 35. Actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier is 34. Christian rock musician David Carr (Third Day) is 33. Rock singer-musician Chad Kroeger is 33. Rock musician Jesse Sandoval is 33. Actress Virginie Ledoyen is 31.

Thought for Today: "To oppose something is to maintain it." — Ursula K. LeGuin, American writer.

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Today Is November 14th 2007

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 14, the 318th day of 2007. There are 47 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 14, 1889, inspired by Jules Verne, New York World reporter Nellie Bly set out to travel around the world in less than 80 days. (She made the trip in 72 days.)

On this date:

In 1851, Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick" was first published in the United States.

In 1881, Charles J. Guiteau went on trial for assassinating President Garfield. (Guiteau was convicted and hanged the following year.)

In 1907, two renowned children's authors were born: William Steig ("Shrek") in New York, Astrid Lindgren ("Pippi Longstocking") near Vimmerby, Sweden.

In 1922, the British Broadcasting Corp. began its domestic radio service.

In 1935, King Hussein of Jordan was born in Amman.

In 1940, during World War II, German planes destroyed most of the English town of Coventry.

In 1969, Apollo 12 blasted off for the moon.

In 1970, a chartered Southern Airways DC9 crashed while trying to land in Huntington, W.Va, killing all 75 on board, including the Marshall University football team and its coaching staff.

In 1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 1,000 level for the first time, ending the day at 1,003.16.

In 1973, Britain's Princess Anne married Capt. Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey. (They divorced in 1992, and Anne remarried.)

Ten years ago: A jury in Fairfax, Va., decided that Pakistani national Aimal Khan Kasi should get the death penalty for gunning down two CIA employees outside agency headquarters. (Kasi was sentenced to death in January 1998; he would be executed on this date in 2002.) Sara Lister, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and reserve affairs, resigned in the wake of political pressure after she had called Marines "extremists" and mocked their uniforms as "checkerboard fancy."

Five years ago: Pope John Paul II made a historic speech to Italy's parliament, urging Italians to work for world peace, uphold their Christian values and have more babies. Actor-comedian Eddie Bracken died in Montclair, N.J., at age 87.

One year ago: Gunmen kidnapped up to 200 staff and visitors in a raid on a Higher Education Ministry office in Baghdad. (Some 70 people were released the following day, but the fate of dozens remains unknown.) President Bush left the White House on a state visit to Vietnam. Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks won a wide-open race for the NL Cy Young Award.

Today's Birthdays: Former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali is 85. Actress Kathleen Hughes is 79. Jazz musician Ellis Marsalis is 73. Writer P.J. O'Rourke is 60. Zydeco singer-musician Buckwheat Zydeco is 60. Britain's Prince Charles is 59. Actor Robert Ginty is 59. Rock singer-musician James Young (Styx) is 58. Singer Stephen Bishop is 56. Blues musician Anson Funderburgh is 53. Pianist Yanni is 53. Actress Laura San Giacomo is 46. Actor D.B. Sweeney is 46. Rapper Reverend Run (Run-DMC) is 43. Actor Patrick Warburton is 43. Rock musician Nic Dalton is 43. Country singer Rockie Lynne is 43. Pop singer Jeanette Jurado (Expose) is 42. Rock musician Brian Yale is 39. Rock singer Butch Walker is 38. Actor Josh Duhamel is 35. Rock musician Travis Barker is 32. Contemporary Christian musician Robby Shaffer is 32. Rapper Shyheim is 30.

Thought for Today: "Comfort, opportunity, number and size are not synonymous with civilization." — Abraham Flexner, American educator and author (1866-1959).

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Today Is November 12th 2007

Today is Monday, Nov. 12, the 316th day of 2007. There are 49 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 12, 1942, the World War II naval Battle of Guadalcanal began. (The Allies ended up winning a major victory over the Japanese.)

On this date:

In 1815, American suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born in Johnstown, N.Y.

In 1927, Josef Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union as Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.

In 1948, former Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo and several other World War II Japanese leaders were sentenced to death by a war crimes tribunal.

In 1977, the city of New Orleans elected its first black mayor, Ernest "Dutch" Morial, the winner of a runoff.

In 1982, Yuri V. Andropov was elected to succeed the late Leonid I. Brezhnev as general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee.

In 1987, the American Medical Association issued a policy statement saying it was unethical for a doctor to refuse to treat someone solely because that person had AIDS or was HIV-positive.

In 1990, Japanese Emperor Akihito formally assumed the Chrysanthemum Throne.

In 1996, a Saudi Boeing 747 jetliner collided shortly after takeoff from New Delhi, India, with a Kazak Ilyushin-76 cargo plane, killing 349 people.

In 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, en route from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to the Dominican Republic, crashed after takeoff, killing 265 people.

In 2004, a jury in Redwood City, Calif., convicted Scott Peterson of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, and dumping her body in San Francisco Bay. (Peterson, who maintains his innocence, was later sentenced to death.)

Ten years ago: Ramzi Yousef was convicted in New York of masterminding the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Four U.S. businessmen and a Pakistani were killed by gunmen in Karachi, Pakistan, apparently in retaliation for the murder conviction of Aimal Khan Kasi in the shooting deaths of two CIA employees. Jury selection began in Sacramento, Calif., in the trial of accused Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski.

Five years ago: In an audiotaped message, a voice purported to be that of Osama bin Laden praised terrorist strikes in Bali and Moscow and threatened Western nations over any attack on Iraq. Former FBI Director William Webster resigned under pressure as head of a special accounting oversight board created by Congress to rebuild public confidence shaken by a cascade of business scandals.

One year ago: Hundreds of relatives and friends of the victims in the crash of American Airlines Flight 587, which claimed 265 lives, dedicated a much-awaited memorial in New York. Gerald R. Ford surpassed Ronald Reagan as the longest-lived U.S. president at 93 years and 121 days.

Today's Birthdays: Rhythm-and-blues singer Ruby Nash Curtis (Ruby and the Romantics) is 68. Actor-playwright Wallace Shawn is 64. Singer Brian Hyland is 64. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jimmy Hayes (Persuasions) is 64. Rock musician Booker T. Jones (Booker T. & the MGs) is 63. Singer-songwriter Neil Young is 62. Rock musician Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (Blue Oyster Cult) is 60. Country singer Barbara Fairchild is 57. Actress-talk show host Megan Mullally is 49. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci is 46. Rock musician David Ellefson is 43. Actor Sam Lloyd is 40. Figure skater Tonya Harding is 37. Actress Radha Mitchell is 34. Actress Lourdes Benedicto is 33. Actress Tamala Jones is 33. Actress Angela Watson is 33. Singer Tevin Campbell is 31. Actress Ashley Williams is 29. Actor Ryan Gosling is 27. Contemporary Christian musician Chris Huffman is 27. Actress Anne Hathaway is 25. Pop singer Omarion is 23. Actress Macey Cruthird ("Hope and Faith") is 15.

Thought for Today: "Private opinion creates public opinion. ... That is why private opinion, and private behavior, and private conversation are so terrifyingly important." — Jan Struther, English poet (1901-1953).

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Today Is November 11th 2007

Today is Sunday, Nov. 11, the 315th day of 2007. There are 50 days left in the year. This is Veterans Day in the United States, Remembrance Day in Canada.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 11, 1918, fighting in World War I came to an end with the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany.

On this date:

In 1620, 41 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, anchored off Massachusetts, signed a compact calling for a "body politick."

In 1778, British redcoats, Tory rangers and Seneca Indians in central New York state killed more than 40 people in the Cherry Valley Massacre.

In 1831, former slave Nat Turner, who had led a violent insurrection, was executed in Jerusalem, Va.

In 1889, Washington became the 42nd state.

In 1921, President Harding dedicated the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1942, during World War II, Germany completed its occupation of France.

In 1966, Gemini 12 blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Fla., with astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. aboard.

In 1987, following the failure of two Supreme Court nominations, President Ronald Reagan announced his choice of Judge Anthony M. Kennedy, who went on to win confirmation.

In 1987, Boris Yeltsin, who had criticized the slow pace of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms, was dismissed as Moscow Communist Party chief.

In 2004, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died at a military hospital in Paris at age 75.

Ten years ago: Retired Gen. Colin Powell announced he would not seek the Republican presidential nomination or any other office in 2000, saying he lacked "the passion" for political life. Photography giant Eastman Kodak announced it was cutting 10,000 jobs because of fierce competition from Japan's Fuji Photo Film Co.

Five years ago: Iraqi lawmakers denounced a tough, new U.N. resolution on weapons inspections as dishonest, provocative and worthy of rejection. But the Iraqi parliament said it ultimately would trust whatever President Saddam Hussein decided.

One year ago: President Bush marked Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery by praising U.S. troops who had fought oppression around the world, yet spoke only briefly about Iraq, where U.S. commanders were re-evaluating strategy. The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution seeking to condemn an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Today's Birthdays: Dancer-choreographer Nicholas Royce is 82. Comedian Jonathan Winters is 82. Jazz singer-musician Mose Allison is 80. Author Carlos Fuentes is 79. Country singer Narvel Felts is 69. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is 67. Rock singer-musician Vince Martell (Vanilla Fudge) is 62. Golfer Fuzzy Zoeller is 56. Pop singer-musician Paul Cowsill (The Cowsills) is 55. Rock singer-musician Andy Partridge (XTC) is 54. Singer Marshall Crenshaw is 54. Rock singer Dave Alvin is 52. Rock musician Ian Craig Marsh (Human League; Heaven 17) is 51. Actor Stanley Tucci is 47. Actress Demi Moore is 45. Actress Calista Flockhart is 43. Actor Philip McKeon is 43. Rock musician Scott Mercado is 43. TV personality Carson Kressley is 38. Actor David DeLuise is 36. Actor Adam Beach is 35. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is 33.

Thought for Today: "Whom God would sorely vex, He endows with abundant good sense." — Yiddish proverb.

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Today Is November 10th 2007

Today is Saturday, Nov. 10, the 314th day of 2007. There are 51 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 10, 1775, the U.S. Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress.

On this date:

In 1871, journalist-explorer Henry M. Stanley found Scottish missionary David Livingstone, who had not been heard from for years, near Lake Tanganyika in central Africa.

In 1917, 41 suffragists were arrested for picketing in front of the White House.

In 1919, the American Legion opened its first national convention, in Minneapolis.

In 1928, Japanese Emperor Hirohito was formally enthroned, almost two years after his ascension.

In 1938, Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" on her CBS radio program, which aired Thursdays.

In 1954, the Iwo Jima Memorial was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Arlington, Va.

In 1969, the children's educational program "Sesame Street" made its debut on National Educational Television (later PBS).

In 1975, the ore-hauling ship SS Edmund Fitzgerald and its crew of 29 vanished during a storm in Lake Superior.

In 1982, Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezhnev died at age 75.

In 1982, the newly finished Vietnam Veterans Memorial was opened to its first visitors in Washington, D.C.

Ten years ago: A judge in Cambridge, Mass., reduced Louise Woodward's murder conviction to manslaughter and sentenced the English au pair to the 279 days she had already served in the death of 8-month-old Matthew Eappen. A jury in Fairfax, Va., convicted Mir Aimal Kasi of one count of capital murder, one count of first-degree murder and eight additional charges stemming from a shooting attack outside CIA headquarters in January 1993. WorldCom Inc. and MCI Communications Corp. agreed to a $37 billion merger.

Five years ago: Bush administration officials promised "zero tolerance" if Saddam Hussein refused to comply with international calls to disarm. About a dozen tornadoes killed 36 people in Tennessee, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi and Pennsylvania.

One year ago: A new recording attributed to the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq (Abu Hamza al-Muhajir) mocked President Bush as a coward whose conduct of the war had been rejected at the polls, and challenged him to keep U.S. troops in Iraq to face more bloodshed. Actor Jack Palance died in Montecito, Calif., at age 87.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Russell Johnson is 83. Film composer Ennio Morricone is 79. Actor Roy Scheider is 75. Blues singer Bobby Rush is 73. Actor Albert Hall is 70. Lyricist Tim Rice is 63. Actress Alaina Reed Hall is 61. Rock singer-musician Greg Lake (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) is 60. Actress-dancer Ann Reinking is 58. Actor Jack Scalia is 56. Movie director Roland Emmerich is 52. Actor Matt Craven is 51. Actor-comedian Sinbad is 51. Actress Mackenzie Phillips is 48. Author Neil Gaiman is 47. Actor-comedian Tommy Davidson is 44. Actor Michael Jai White is 43. Country singer Chris Cagle is 39. Actor-comedian Tracy Morgan is 39. Actress Ellen Pompeo ("Grey's Anatomy") is 38. Rapper-producer Warren G is 37. Rock singer-musician Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World) is 32. Actress Brittany Murphy is 30. Rapper Eve is 29. Rock musician Chris Jannou (Silverchair) is 28. Actor Bryan Neal is 27. Actress Heather Matarazzo is 25. Country singer Miranda Lambert is 24. Actor Josh Peck is 21.

Thought for Today: "A nickname is the heaviest stone that the devil can throw at a man." — William Hazlitt, British essayist (1778-1830).

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Today Is November 9th 2007

Today is Friday, Nov. 9, the 313th day of 2007. There are 52 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 9, 1965, the great Northeast blackout happened as a series of power failures lasting up to 13 1/2 hours left 30 million people in seven states and part of Canada without electricity.

On this date:

In 1872, fire destroyed nearly 800 buildings in Boston.

In 1918, it was announced that Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II would abdicate. He then fled to the Netherlands.

In 1935, United Mine Workers president John L. Lewis and other labor leaders formed the Committee for Industrial Organization (later Congress of Industrial Organizations).

In 1938, Nazis looted and burned synagogues as well as Jewish-owned stores and houses in Germany and Austria in what became known as "Kristallnacht."

In 1953, author-poet Dylan Thomas died in New York at age 39.

In 1963, twin disasters struck Japan as some 450 miners were killed in a coal-dust explosion, and about 160 people died in a train crash.

In 1967, a Saturn V rocket carrying an unmanned Apollo spacecraft blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a successful test flight.

In 1976, the U.N. General Assembly approved resolutions condemning apartheid in South Africa, including one characterizing the white-ruled government as "illegitimate."

In 1986, Israel revealed it was holding Mordechai Vanunu, a former nuclear technician who had vanished after providing information to a British newspaper about Israel's nuclear weapons program. (Vanunu was convicted of treason and served 18 years in prison.)

In 1989, communist East Germany threw open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West; joyous Germans danced atop the Berlin Wall.

Ten years ago: A Boeing 707 jetliner carrying first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was forced to return to Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington after a sensor indicated an engine fire, which turned out to be a false alarm. (Clinton left the following day for a tour of Central Asia.)

Five years ago: President Bush said in his Saturday radio address that Saddam Hussein faced a final test to surrender weapons of mass destruction.

One year ago: Republican Sen. George Allen conceded defeat in the Virginia Senate race to Democrat Jim Webb, sealing the Democrats' control of Congress. Champion figure skater Michelle Kwan was appointed America's first public diplomacy envoy by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. CBS newsman Ed Bradley died in New York at age 65.

Today's Birthdays: Sportscaster Charlie Jones is 77. Baseball executive Whitey Herzog is 76. Former Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., is 71. Singer Mary Travers is 71. Actor Charlie Robinson ("Night Court") is 62. Movie director Bille August is 59. Actor Robert David Hall ("CSI") is 59. Actor Lou Ferrigno is 55. Gospel singer Donnie McClurkin is 48. Rock musician Dee Plakas (L7) is 47. Rapper Pepa (Salt-N-Pepa) is 38. Rapper Scarface (Geto Boys) is 38. Blues singer Susan Tedeschi is 37. Actor Eric Dane is 35. Singer Nick Lachey (98 Degrees) is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sisqo (Dru Hill) is 29. Actress Nikki Blonsky (Film: "Hairspray") is 19.

Thought for Today: "He who seeks rest finds boredom. He who seeks work finds rest." — Dylan Thomas, Welsh author-poet (1914-1953).

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Today Is November 8th 2007

Today is Thursday, Nov. 8, the 312th day of 2007. There are 53 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 8, 1923, Adolf Hitler launched his first attempt at seizing power with a failed coup in Munich, Germany, that came to be known as the "Beer-Hall Putsch."

On this date:

In 1837, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, a college exclusively for women, opened in South Hadley, Mass.

In 1889, Montana became the 41st state.

In 1932, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover for the presidency.

In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt created the Civil Works Administration, designed to create jobs for more than 4 million unemployed.

In 1942, Operation Torch, resulting in an Allied victory, began during World War II as U.S. and British forces landed in French North Africa.

In 1960, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard M. Nixon for the presidency.

In 1966, Republican candidate Ronald Reagan was elected governor of California, defeating Democratic incumbent Pat Brown.

In 1966, Edward W. Brooke, R-Mass., became the first black candidate to be elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote.

In 1987, 11 people were killed when an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded as crowds gathered in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, for a ceremony honoring Britain's war dead.

In 1988, Vice President George Bush won the presidential election, defeating Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.

Ten years ago: Chinese engineers diverted the Yangtze River to make way for the Three Gorges Dam, the most ambitious construction project in modern China's history. Evander Holyfield won the IBF heavyweight title in a fierce fight against Michael Moorer in Las Vegas.

Five years ago: The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 1441, which gave weapons inspectors the muscle they needed to hunt for illicit weapons in Iraq. President Bush said the new resolution presented the Iraqi regime "with a final test."

One year ago: After years of defending his secretary of defense, President Bush announced Donald H. Rumsfeld's resignation following the Democrats' triumph in congressional elections; Bush chose former CIA Director Robert Gates to succeed him. Israeli shells killed 18 Palestinian civilians in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun during an attack targeting militants.

Today's Birthdays: Actress June Havoc is 95. Actor Norman Lloyd is 93. Jazz singer Chris Connor is 80. Singer Patti Page is 80. CBS newsman Morley Safer is 76. Singer-actress Bonnie Bramlett is 63. Singer Bonnie Raitt is 58. TV personality Mary Hart is 57. Playboy Enterprises chairman and chief executive Christie Hefner is 55. Actress Alfre Woodard is 54. Singer-songwriter Rickie Lee Jones is 53. Rock musician Porl Thompson (The Cure) is 50. Singer-actor Leif Garrett is 46. Actress Courtney Thorne-Smith is 40. Actress Parker Posey is 39. Rock musician Jimmy Chaney is 38. Actress Roxana Zal is 38. Singer Diana King is 37. Actress Gretchen Mol is 34. Actress Tara Reid is 32. Country singer/former "American Idol" contestant Bucky Covington is 30. Actress Azura Skye is 26. Actor Chris Rankin is 24. TV personality Jack Osbourne ("The Osbournes") is 22.

Thought for Today: "Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling." — Margaret Lee Runbeck, American author (1905-1956).

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Today Is November 7th 2007

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 7, the 311th day of 2007. There are 54 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 7, 1917, Russia's Bolshevik Revolution took place as forces led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin overthrew the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky.

On this date:

In 1874, the Republican Party was symbolized as an elephant in a cartoon drawn by Thomas Nast in Harper's Weekly.

In 1893, the state of Colorado granted its women the right to vote.

In 1916, Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to Congress.

In 1940, in Washington state, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, nicknamed "Galloping Gertie," collapsed during a windstorm.

In 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented fourth term in office, defeating Thomas E. Dewey.

In 1962, Richard M. Nixon, having lost California's gubernatorial race, held what he called his "last press conference," telling reporters, "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore."

In 1967, Carl Stokes was elected the first black mayor of a major city — Cleveland, Ohio.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill establishing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

In 1972, President Nixon was re-elected in a landslide over Democrat George McGovern.

In 1973, Congress overrode President Nixon's veto of the War Powers Act, which limits a chief executive's power to wage war without congressional approval.

Ten years ago: In a rising war of words, the Clinton administration warned it was considering military options, including a cruise missile strike, if Iraq carried out its threat to shoot down U.N. surveillance planes.

Five years ago: In his first news conference since the midterm elections, President George W. Bush, charting an agenda for the new Republican Congress, said that homeland security came first and that an economic-recovery plan with new tax cuts would wait until the next year. Dick Gephardt stepped down as House Democratic leader in the wake of his party's election losses.

One year ago: Democrats won control of the House and Senate, riding a wave of anger over the Iraq war and congressional scandals. Keith Ellison, a Democratic state lawmaker from Minnesota, became the first Muslim elected to Congress. Panama won a seat on the U.N. Security Council after Guatemala and Venezuela dropped out to end a deadlock. Dhiren Barot, an al-Qaida operative who had planned to blow up the New York Stock Exchange, the World Bank and landmark London hotels, was sentenced in Britain to life in prison. Pop star Britney Spears filed for divorce from Kevin Federline.

Today's Birthdays: Evangelist Billy Graham is 89. Opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland is 81. Actor Barry Newman is 69. Singer Johnny Rivers is 65. Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell is 64. Singer Nick Gilder is 56. Actor Christopher Knight ("The Brady Bunch") is 50. Actress Julie Pinson is 40. Actor Christopher Daniel Barnes is 35. Actors Jason and Jeremy London are 35. Actress Yunjin Kim ("Lost") is 34.

Thought for Today: "All forms of totalitarianism try to avoid the strange, the problematic, the critical, the rational. To do so, they must deny the metropolitan spirit, equalize everything in city and country, and retain a center which is not the center of anything because everything else is swallowed up by it." — Paul Tillich, American theologian (1886-1965).

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Today Is November 6th 2007

Today is Tuesday, Nov. 6, the 310th day of 2007. There are 55 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 6, 1860, former Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln defeated three other candidates for the presidency: John Breckinridge, John Bell and Stephen Douglas.

On this date:

In 1861, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was elected to a six-year term of office.

In 1888, Benjamin Harrison won the presidential election, defeating incumbent Grover Cleveland with enough electoral votes, even though Cleveland led in the popular vote.

In 1893, composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky died in St. Petersburg, Russia, at age 53.

In 1900, President William McKinley was re-elected, beating Democrat William Jennings Bryan.

In 1906, Republican Charles Evans Hughes was elected governor of New York, defeating newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst.

In 1928, in a first, the results of Herbert Hoover's election victory over Democrat Alfred E. Smith were flashed onto an electric wraparound sign on the New York Times building.

In 1944, British official Lord Moyne was assassinated in Cairo, Egypt, by members of the Zionist Stern gang.

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower won re-election, defeating Democrat Adlai E. Stevenson.

In 1976, Benjamin L. Hooks was chosen to be the new executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, succeeding Roy Wilkins.

In 1977, 39 people were killed when an earthen dam burst, sending a wall of water through Toccoa Falls College in Georgia.

Ten years ago: The Clinton administration warned Iraq it could face military action or economic sanctions if it continued to bar U.N. weapons inspections. Former President George H.W. Bush opened his presidential library at Texas A&M University; among the guests of honor was President Clinton, the man who had sent him into retirement.

Five years ago: A jury in Beverly Hills, Calif., convicted Winona Ryder of stealing $5,500 worth of high-fashion merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue, but a prosecutor said she would not seek to put the actress behind bars.

One year ago: On the eve of midterm elections, Democrats criticized Republicans as stewards of a stale status quo while President Bush campaigned from Florida to Arkansas to Texas in a drive to preserve GOP control of Congress. Kenny Chesney won entertainer of the year and Brooks & Dunn's inspirational song "Believe" won three trophies, including single and song of the year, at the 40th Annual Country Music Association Awards.

Today's Birthdays: Director Mike Nichols is 76. Country singer Stonewall Jackson is 75. Singer Eugene Pitt (The Jive Five) is 70. Singer P.J. Proby is 69. Country singer Guy Clark is 66. Actress Sally Field is 61. Pop singer-musician Glenn Frey (The Eagles) is 59. Singer Rory Block is 58. Jazz musician Arturo Sandoval is 58. TV host Catherine Crier is 53. California's first lady, broadcast journalist Maria Shriver, is 52. Actress Lori Singer is 50. Actor Lance Kerwin is 47. Rock musician Paul Brindley (The Sundays) is 44. Rock singer Corey Glover is 43. Actor Peter DeLuise is 41. Actress Kelly Rutherford is 39. Actor Ethan Hawke is 37. Actress Thandie Newton is 35. Model-actress Rebecca Romijn is 35. Actress Zoe McLellan is 33. Actress Nicole Dubuc is 29. Actress Mercedes Kastner is 18.

Thought for Today: "The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." — Lucille Ball, American actress-comedian (1911-1989).

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Today Is November 5th 2007

Today is Monday, Nov. 5, the 309th day of 2007. There are 56 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Nov. 5, 1605, the "Gunpowder Plot" failed as Guy Fawkes was seized before he could blow up the English Parliament.

On this date:

In 1857, muckraking journalist Ida M. Tarbell was born in Erie County, Pa.

In 1872, suffragist Susan B. Anthony defied the law by attempting to vote for President Ulysses S. Grant. (She was convicted by a judge and fined $100 but never paid the fine.)

In 1895, George B. Selden of Rochester, N.Y., received the first U.S. patent for an "improved Road Engine."

In 1912, Woodrow Wilson was elected president, defeating Progressive Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt and incumbent Republican William Howard Taft.

In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term in office as he defeated Republican challenger Wendell L. Willkie.

In 1946, Republicans captured control of both the Senate and the House in midterm elections.

In 1968, Richard M. Nixon won the presidency, defeating Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and American Independent candidate George C. Wallace.

In 1985, Spencer W. Kimball, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, died at age 90; he was succeeded by Ezra Taft Benson.

In 1987, Supreme Court nominee Douglas H. Ginsburg admitted using marijuana several times in the 1960s and 70s, calling it a mistake. (Ginsburg ended up withdrawing his nomination.)

In 1990, Rabbi Meir Kahane, the Brooklyn-born Israeli extremist, was shot to death at a New York hotel. (Egyptian native El Sayyed Nosair was convicted of the slaying in federal court.)

Ten years ago: The House overwhelmingly approved a bill calling for the most far-reaching changes at the Internal Revenue Service in 45 years.

Five years ago: In midterm elections, Republicans won control of both houses of Congress and claimed a majority of the governors' races. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt resigned under pressure after a series of political missteps that had embarrassed the White House. Randy Johnson won his record-tying fourth straight National League Cy Young Award.

One year ago: Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced by the Iraqi High Tribunal to hang for crimes against humanity. Saying that he was a "deceiver and liar" who had given in to his dark side, the Rev. Ted Haggard confessed to sexual immorality in a letter read from the pulpit of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. Rockwall County, Texas, prosecutor Louis "Bill" Conradt Jr. killed himself as police tried to serve him with an arrest warrant alleging he had solicited sex with a minor online. Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil became the first South American to win the New York City Marathon, finishing in 2:09.59; defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka of Latvia won the women's race in 2:25:05. Former Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit died in Ankara at age 81.

Today's Birthdays: Singer-songwriter Ike Turner is 76. Actor Chris Robinson is 69. Actress Elke Sommer is 67. Singer Art Garfunkel is 66. Actor-playwright Sam Shepard is 64. Singer Peter Noone is 60. Actor Nestor Serrano ("24") is 52. Actor Robert Patrick is 49. Singer Bryan Adams is 48. Actress Tilda Swinton is 47. Actress Tatum O'Neal is 44. Actress Andrea McArdle is 44. Rock singer Angelo Moore (Fishbone) is 42. Actress Judy Reyes is 40. Rock musician Mark Hunter (James) is 39. Actor Sam Rockwell is 39. Country singers Jennifer and Heather Kinley (The Kinleys) are 37. Actor Corin Nemec is 36. Rock musician Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) is 36. Country singer-musician Ryan Adams is 33. Actor Sam Page is 31. Actor Jeremy Lelliott is 25.

Thought for Today: "Imagination is the only key to the future. Without it none exists — with it all things are possible." — Ida M. Tarbell, American journalist (1857-1944).

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