OCTOBER 13TH

Today is Monday, Oct. 13, the 287th day of 2008.
There are 79 days left in the year.
This is the Columbus Day holiday in the United States, as well as Thanksgiving Day in Canada.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Oct. 13, 1792, the cornerstone of the executive mansion, later known as the White House, was laid during a ceremony in the District of Columbia.

On this date:

• In 54, Roman emperor Claudius I died, poisoned apparently at the behest of his wife, Agrippina.
• In 1775, the United States Navy had its origins as the Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet.
• In 1843, the Jewish organization B'nai B'rith was founded in New York City.
• In 1858, the sixth debate between senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas took place in Quincy, Ill.
• In 1908, the Chicago Cubs won Game 4 of the World Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers 3-0 to take a 3-1 Series lead.
• In 1943, Italy declared war on Germany, its one-time Axis partner.
• In 1944, American troops entered Aachen, Germany, during World War II.
• In 1960, Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy participated in the third televised debate of their presidential campaign. (Nixon was in Los Angeles; Kennedy was in New York.)
• In 1962, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" by Edward Albee opened on Broadway.
• In 1974, longtime television host Ed Sullivan died in New York City at age 72.

Ten years ago:

• White House and congressional budget bargainers continued to hunt for agreement on issues snarling a massive $500 billion bill for the new fiscal year.
• Five scientists in the United States won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing ways to analyze molecules in chemical reactions and the Nobel Prize in physics for discovering how electrons can change behavior.
• The National Basketball Association wiped out the first two weeks of the 1998-99 season after collective bargaining talks broke off.
• The New York Yankees won the American League pennant, defeating the Cleveland Indians 9-5 in Game 6 of their championship series.

Five years ago:

• The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution expanding the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.
• Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed into law a controversial redistricting bill designed to put more Republicans in the Texas congressional delegation.
• Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich formally kicked off his presidential bid.

One year ago:

• Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, after meeting with human-rights activists in Moscow, told reporters the Russian government under Vladimir Putin had amassed so much central authority that the power-grab could undermine its commitment to democracy.

Today's Birthdays:

• Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is 83.
• Playwright Frank D. Gilroy is 83.
• Gospel singer Shirley Caesar is 70.
• Actress Melinda Dillon is 69.
• Singer-musician Paul Simon is 67.
• Actress Pamela Tiffin is 66.
• Musician Robert Lamm (Chicago) is 64.
• Country singer Lacy J. Dalton is 62.
• Actor Demond Wilson is 62.
• Singer-musician Sammy Hagar is 61.
• Actor John Lone is 56.
• Model Beverly Johnson is 56.
• Producer-writer Chris Carter is 52.
• Actor Reggie Theus is 51.
• Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is 50.
• Singer Marie Osmond is 49.
• Rock singer Joey Belladonna is 48.
• Actress T'Keyah Crystal Keymah is 46.
• Actress Kelly Preston is 46.
• Country singer John Wiggins is 46.
• Actor Christopher Judge is 44.
• Actress Kate Walsh is 41.
• Rhythm-and-blues musician Jeff Allen (Mint Condition) is 40.
• Actress Tisha Campbell-Martin is 40.
• Classical singer Carlos Marin (Il Divo) is 40.
• Olympic silver-medal figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is 39.
• Country singer Rhett Akins is 39.
• Actor Sacha Baron Cohen is 37.
• Rock musician Jan Van Sichem Jr. (K's Choice) is 36.
• Rhythm-and-blues singers Brandon and Brian Casey (Jagged Edge) are 33.
• Singer Ashanti is 28.
• Christian rock singer Jon Micah Sumrall (Kutless) is 28.

Thought for Today:

"There are some things one can only achieve by a deliberate leap in the opposite direction. One has to go abroad in order to find the home one has lost."
Franz Kafka, Austrian author (1883-1924).

"Let's all be careful out there!"