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Friday, December 19, 2008

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!"