There are 35 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
- Nov. 26, 1789, was a day of thanksgiving set aside by President Washington to observe the adoption of the Constitution of the United States.
On this date:
- In 1825, the first college social fraternity, Kappa Alpha, was formed at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y.
- In 1883, former slave and abolitionist Sojourner Truth died in Battle Creek, Mich.
- In 1933, a judge in New York decided the James Joyce book "Ulysses" was not obscene and could therefore be published in the United States.
- In 1942, President Roosevelt ordered nationwide gasoline rationing, beginning Dec. 1.
- In 1942, the motion picture "Casablanca," starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, had its world premiere at the Hollywood Theater in New York.
- In 1943, during World War II, the HMT Rohna, a British transport ship carrying American soldiers, was hit by a German missile off Algeria; 1,138 men were killed.
- In 1949, India adopted a constitution as a republic within the British Commonwealth.
- In 1950, China entered the Korean War, launching a counteroffensive against soldiers from the United Nations, the U.S. and South Korea.
- In 1965, France launched its first satellite, sending a 92-pound capsule into orbit.
- In 1973, President Nixon's personal secretary, Rose Mary Woods, told a federal court that she'd accidentally caused part of the 18 1/2-minute gap in a key Watergate tape.
Ten years ago:
- In the first speech ever by a British prime minister to an Irish parliament, Tony Blair predicted that Northern Ireland's troubled peace accord would ultimately work because of a strengthened cooperative spirit uniting Britain and Ireland.
- In India, at least 211 people died when two trains collided in the northern state of Punjab.
Five years ago:
- Human rights activist Gao Zhan, who was freed from a Chinese prison after the U.S. government interceded on her behalf, pleaded guilty in Alexandria, Va., to illegally selling American high-tech items with potential military uses to China. (Gao later received a reduced sentence of seven months in prison for her cooperation with authorities.)
- Hard-liners defeated moderates in Northern Ireland's legislative elections.
One year ago:
- President Bush met separately at the White House with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority a day ahead of a major Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md.
- Vice President Dick Cheney experienced an irregular heartbeat and was taken to George Washington University Hospital for evaluation.
- President Bush greeted the 2007 Nobel Prize winners, including former Vice President Al Gore.
- Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott announced his retirement after a 35-year career in Congress.
- Washington Redskins star safety Sean Taylor was mortally wounded when he was shot during a botched armed robbery at his home in Palmetto Bay, Fla. (Taylor died the next day.)
- Hall of Fame jockey Bill Hartack died in Freer, Texas, at age 74.
Today's Birthdays:
- Actress Ellen Albertini Dow is 90.
- Impressionist Rich Little is 70.
- Singer Tina Turner is 69.
- Singer Jean Terrell is 64.
- Pop musician John McVie is 63.
- Actress Jamie Rose is 49.
- Country singer Linda Davis is 46.
- Blues singer-musician Bernard Allison is 43.
- Country singer-musician Steve Grisaffe is 43.
- Actress Kristin Bauer is 35.
- Actor Peter Facinelli is 35.
- Actress Maia Campbell is 32.
- Country singer Joe Nichols is 32.
- Actress Jessica Bowman is 28.
- Pop singer Natasha Bedingfield is 27.
- Singer Lil Fizz is 23.
- Singer Aubrey Collins is 21.
Thought for Today:
"Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it."
Henry David Thoreau, American author (1817-1862)
"Let's all be careful out there!"