DECEMBER 19TH

Today is Friday, Dec. 19, the 354th day of 2008.
There are 12 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On Dec. 19, 1843, "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens, was first published in England.

On this date:

• In 1777, Gen. George Washington led his army of about 11,000 men to Valley Forge, Pa., to camp for the winter.
• In 1813, British forces captured Fort Niagara during the War of 1812.
• In 1907, 239 workers died in a coal mine explosion in Jacobs Creek, Pa.
• In 1932, the British Broadcasting Corporation began transmitting overseas with its Empire Service to Australia.
• In 1946, war broke out in Indochina as troops under Ho Chi Minh launched widespread attacks against the French.
• In 1957, Meredith Willson's musical play "The Music Man" opened on Broadway.
• In 1972, Apollo 17 splashed down in the Pacific, winding up the Apollo program of manned lunar landings.
• In 1974, Nelson A. Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States.
• In 1986, Lawrence E. Walsh was appointed independent counsel to investigate the Iran-Contra affair.
• In 1997, a SilkAir Boeing 737-300 plunged from the sky, crashing into an Indonesian river and killing all 104 people aboard.

Ten years ago:

• President Bill Clinton was impeached by the Republican-controlled House for perjury and obstruction of justice (he was later acquitted by the Senate).
• Two days after his confession of marital infidelity, Bob Livingston told the House he wouldn't serve as its next speaker.
• President Clinton halted airstrikes against Iraq after a fourth day of attacks.

Five years ago:

• Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi agreed to halt his nation's drive to develop nuclear and chemical weapons.
• Design plans were unveiled for the signature skyscraper — a 1,776-foot glass tower — at the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.
• Death claimed actress Hope Lange at age 70 and actor Les Tremayne at age 90.

One year ago:

• President George W. Bush signed legislation increasing fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles and requiring wider use of ethanol.
• An explosion and fire at a chemical plant in Jacksonville, Fla., killed four workers.
• An express train derailed in southern Pakistan, killing at least 40 people.
• Former Hyundai CEO Lee Myung-bak won South Korea's presidency.
• Rescuers found Frederick Dominguez and his three children, who had been lost in the mountains for three days during a snowstorm, in a northern California ravine.

Today's Birthdays:

• Country singer Little Jimmy Dickens is 88.
• Composer-lyricist Robert Sherman ("Mary Poppins") is 83.
• Actress Cicely Tyson is 75.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer-musician Maurice White (Earth, Wind and Fire) is 67.
• Actor Tim Reid is 64.
• Paleontologist Richard E. Leakey is 64.
• Rock singer Alvin Lee (Ten Years After) is 64.
• Actress Elaine Joyce is 63.
• Musician John McEuen is 63.
• Singer Janie Fricke is 61.
• Jazz musician Lenny White is 59.
• Actor Mike Lookinland is 48.
• Actress Jennifer Beals is 45.
• Actor Scott Cohen is 44.
• Actor Robert MacNaughton is 42.
• Magician Criss Angel is 41.
• Rock musician Kevin Shepard is 40.
• Actress Kristy Swanson is 39.
• Model Tyson Beckford is 38.
• Actress Amy Locane is 37.
• Actress Rosa Blasi is 36.
• Actress Alyssa Milano is 36.
• Actor Jake Gyllenhaal is 28.
• Actress Marla Sokoloff is 28.
• Rapper Lady Sovereign is 23.

Thought for Today:

"Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them."
Paul Valery, French poet and critic (1871-1945).

"Let's all be careful out there!"