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There are 59 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
- On Nov. 2, 1948, President Truman surprised the experts by winning a narrow upset over Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey.
On this date:
- In 1783, Gen. George Washington issued his Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States near Princeton, N.J.
- In 1795, the 11th president of the United States, James Knox Polk, was born in Mecklenburg County, N.C.
- In 1865, the 29th president of the United States, Warren Gamaliel Harding, was born near Corsica, Ohio.
- In 1889, North Dakota and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states.
- In 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour issued a declaration expressing support for a "national home" for the Jews in Palestine.
- In 1947, Howard Hughes piloted his huge wooden flying boat, the Hughes H-4 Hercules (dubbed the "Spruce Goose" by detractors), on its only flight, which lasted about a minute over Long Beach Harbor in California.
- In 1959, game show contestant Charles Van Doren admitted to a House subcommittee that he'd been given questions and answers in advance when he appeared on the NBC-TV program "Twenty-One."
- In 1963, South Vietnamese President Ngo Dihn Diem was assassinated in a military coup.
- In 1976, former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter became the first candidate from the Deep South since the Civil War to be elected president as he defeated incumbent Gerald R. Ford.
- In 1983, President Reagan signed a bill establishing a federal holiday on the third Monday of January in honor of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Ten years ago:
- Central American officials estimated more than 7,000 people had died in floods and mudslides triggered by Hurricane Mitch.
- Microsoft chairman Bill Gates took center stage at his company's antitrust trial, appearing on videotape inside a federal courtroom in Washington.
Five years ago:
- In Iraq, insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter carrying dozens of U.S. soldiers, killing 16.
- In Durham, N.H., V. Gene Robinson was consecrated as the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church.
- Kenyans ruled the New York City Marathon, with Margaret Okayo shattering the women's course record and Martin Lel earning his first marathon victory.
One year ago:
- Speaking at a graduation ceremony at Fort Jackson, S.C., President Bush said U.S. military deaths had fallen to their lowest levels in 19 months and the Iraqi people were slowly "taking back their country" in the wake of the American troop buildup there.
- Michael Mukasey drew closer to becoming attorney general after two key Senate Democrats, Charles Schumer and Dianne Feinstein, said they would vote for him despite his refusal to say whether waterboarding was torture.
- Choreographer Igor Moiseyev, who transformed folk dance into a legitimate art, died in Moscow at age 101.
Today's Birthdays:
- Rhythm-and-blues singer Earl "Speedo" Carroll (The Cadillacs; The Coasters) is 71.
- Singer Jay Black (Jay and the Americans) is 70.
- Commentator Patrick J. Buchanan is 70.
- Actress Stefanie Powers is 66.
- Author Shere Hite is 66.
- Rock musician Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake and Palmer) is 64.
- Country-rock singer-songwriter J.D. Souther is 63.
- Actress Kate Linder is 61.
- Rock musician Carter Beauford (The Dave Matthews Band) is 51.
- Singer-songwriter k.d. lang is 47.
- Rock musician Bobby Dall (Poison) is 45.
- Actor David Schwimmer is 42.
- Rhythm-and-blues singer Alvin Chea (Take 6) is 41.
- Rock musician Fieldy is 39.
- Rock singer-musician John Hampson (Nine Days) is 37.
- Rhythm-and-blues singer Timothy Christian Riley (Tony Toni Tone) is 34.
- Rapper Nelly is 34.
- Prodigy (Mobb Deep) is 34.
- Actor Danny Cooksey is 33.
- Rock musician Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) is 33.
- Country singer Erika Jo ("Nashville Star") is 22.
Thought for Today:
"Drop the question what tomorrow may bring, and count as profit every day that Fate allows you."
Horace, Roman poet (65 B.C.E.-8 B.C.E.)
"Let's all be careful out there!"
