There are 30 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
- On Dec. 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a black seamstress, refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., city bus. Mrs. Parks was arrested, sparking a yearlong boycott of the buses by blacks.
On this date:
- In 1824, the presidential election was turned over to the U.S. House of Representatives when a deadlock developed between John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford and Henry Clay. (Adams ended up the winner.)
- In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis closed after seven months and some 20 million visitors.
- In 1913, the first drive-in automobile service station, built by Gulf Refining Company opened in Pittsburgh.
- In 1921, the Navy flew the first nonrigid dirigible to use helium; the C-7 traveled from Hampton Roads, Va., to Washington, D.C.
- In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin concluded their Tehran conference.
- In 1958, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Flower Drum Song" opened on Broadway.
- In 1969, the U.S. government held its first draft lottery since World War II.
- In 1973, David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, died in Tel Aviv at age 87.
- In 1992, in Mineola, N.Y., Amy Fisher was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison for shooting and seriously wounding Mary Jo Buttafuoco. (Fisher served seven years.)
- In 2000, Vicente Fox was sworn in as president of Mexico, ending 71 years of ruling-party domination.
Ten years ago:
- Exxon agreed to buy Mobil for $73.7 billion.
- Cuba's Communist Party recommended that Dec. 25 be re-established as a permanent holiday.
Five years ago:
- India and Pakistan agreed to restore airline overflight and landing rights by Jan. 1, 2004.
- Boeing Co. chairman and chief executive Phil Condit resigned unexpectedly.
- U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow went on trial in Flandreau, S.D., charged with manslaughter in the death of a motorcyclist who'd collided with his automobile. (Janklow was convicted and served 100 days in jail.)
One year ago:
- Police in Wichita, Kan., identified a body found days earlier as that of Emily Sander, a missing college student whose disappearance drew nationwide attention after the discovery she was also an Internet pornography model named Zoey Zane. (A suspect, Israel Mireles, is fighting extradition from Mexico.)
- Four suspects were charged in Miami in the shooting death of Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor. (One ended up pleading guilty to second-degree murder; a fifth suspect was also charged.)
Today's Birthdays:
- Actor Paul Picerni is 86.
- Former CIA director Stansfield Turner is 85.
- Singer Billy Paul is 74.
- Actor-director Woody Allen is 73.
- Golfer Lee Trevino is 69.
- Singer Dianne Lennon (The Lennon Sisters) is 69.
- Country musician Casey Van Beek (The Tractors) is 66.
- Television producer David Salzman is 65.
- Rock singer-musician Eric Bloom (Blue Oyster Cult) is 64.
- Rock musician John Densmore (The Doors) is 64.
- Actress-singer Bette Midler is 63.
- Singer Gilbert O'Sullivan is 62.
- Actor Treat Williams is 57.
- Country singer Kim Richey is 52.
- Actress Charlene Tilton is 50.
- Actress-model Carol Alt is 48.
- Actor Jeremy Northam is 47.
- Actor Nestor Carbonell is 41.
- Actress Golden Brooks is 38.
- Actress-comedian Sarah Silverman is 38.
- Actor Ron Melendez is 36.
- Contemporary Christian singer Bart Millard is 36.
- Singer Sarah Masen is 33.
- Rock musician Brad Delson (Linkin Park) is 31.
- Actress Ashley Monique Clark is 20.
Thought for Today:
"Life begins when a person first realizes how soon it will end."
Marcelene Cox, American writer.
"Let's all be careful out there!"