NOVEMBER 28TH

Today is Friday, Nov. 28, the 333rd day of 2008.
There are 33 days left in the year.
In American retail, today is known as "Black Friday."

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Nov. 28, 1942, nearly 500 people died in a fire that destroyed the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston.

On this date:

• In 1520, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reached the Pacific Ocean after passing through the South American strait that now bears his name.
• In 1907, future movie producer Louis B. Mayer opened his first movie theater, in Haverhill, Mass.
• In 1919, American-born Lady Astor was elected the first female member of the British Parliament.
• In 1943, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began conferring in Tehran during World War II.
• In 1958, Chad, Gabon and Middle Congo became autonomous republics within the French community.
• In 1964, the United States launched the space probe Mariner 4 on a course to Mars.
• In 1979, an Air New Zealand DC-10 en route to the South Pole crashed into a mountain in Antarctica, killing all 257 people aboard.
• In 1987, a South African Airways Boeing 747 crashed into the Indian Ocean with the loss of all 159 people aboard.
• In 1990, Margaret Thatcher resigned as British prime minister during an audience with Queen Elizabeth II, who conferred the premiership on John Major.
• In 2001, Enron Corp. collapsed after would-be rescuer Dynegy Inc. backed out of an $8.4 billion deal to take it over.

Ten years ago:

• Some Republicans expressed disappointment and outrage over President Clinton's written responses to 81 questions from the House Judiciary Committee concerning the Monica Lewinsky affair, with one accusing the president of "word games."

Five years ago:

• President Bush returned to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, after a secret, nearly 36-hour journey that took him to Iraq for a Thanksgiving visit with U.S. troops.

One year ago:

• A day after an international Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., President Bush told the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian territories he was personally committed to their mission of peace.
• Republican presidential rivals Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney clashed over immigration in a provocative, no-holds-barred CNN/YouTube debate.
• O.J. Simpson pleaded not guilty in Las Vegas to charges of kidnapping and armed robbery stemming from a confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers. (Simpson and a co-defendant were convicted last month.)
• Broadway stagehands and theater producers reached a tentative agreement on ending a crippling 19-day-old strike.

Today's Birthdays:

• Recording executive Berry Gordy Jr. is 79.
• Former Sen. Gary Hart, D-Colo., is 72.
• Singer-songwriter Bruce Channel is 68.
• Singer Randy Newman is 65.
• Movie director Joe Dante is 62.
• CBS News correspondent Susan Spencer is 62.
• "Late Show" orchestra leader Paul Shaffer is 59.
• Actor Ed Harris is 58.
• Actress S. Epatha Merkerson is 56.
• Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is 55.
• Country singer Kristine Arnold (Sweethearts of the Rodeo) is 52.
• Actor Judd Nelson is 49.
• Movie director Alfonso Cuaron is 47.
• Rock musician Matt Cameron is 46.
• Actress Jane Sibbett is 46.
• Comedian Jon Stewart is 46.
• Actress Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon is 42.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer Dawn Robinson is 40.
• Hip-hop musician apl.de.ap (Black Eyed Peas) is 34.
• Actress Aimee Garcia is 30.
• Rapper Chamillionaire is 29.
• Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead is 24.
• Actress Scarlett Pomers ("Reba") is 20.

Thought for Today:

"I am not sure that God always knows who are His great men; He is so very careless of what happens to them while they live."
Mary Hunter Austin, American novelist and playwright (1868-1934).

"Let's all be careful out there!"